Page 54 of Song of the Abyss

Those little red splotches on her cheeks flared hotter and then suddenly her rhythm changed. She was panting now, then holding her breath as she moved a little faster, a little harder.

And he watched with rapt attention as she came on his hand with a long, drawn-out moan that nearly unmanned him.

“Beautiful,” he said. “You come so pretty, kalon.”

The consoles started going off, the loud shrieking filling his ears just as she let out another one of those moans that made his cocks ache and his spend swell deep inside him. He wanted just a few more moments. A few more seconds where they could lose themselves in each other while he knew that he shouldn’t be doing this.

But those loud noises and flashing red lights usually were a warning. And he knew she couldn’t hear them.

“Anya,” he said, drawing his hand away from her and cupping her chin. He forced her to look at the consoles. “Something is wrong.”

It took her a few seconds. Her breathing was so ragged, he feared there might be something wrong with her. But then finally she nodded and lunged forward for the consoles. The blanket fell entirely onto the ground and he sank deeper into the water so she wouldn’t know how much he was affected by her. Not yet, at least.

She slammed her hands on a few buttons, curses falling from her lips until the doors to their left sealed shut. Then he heard it. The crack. The rush of water that flowed through the tunnel beyond and into the room she usually slept in.

The loud boom rocked through the entire facility so hard that the entire thing moved. Water rushed up around him, nearly pushing him into the room and soaking her up to her thighs. He stayed right where he was, both of them frozen as the entire facility groaned. The sound was deep and aching, one he was certain she could hear.

They stared at each other, both silent, certain the entire facility was about to collapse.

20

Anya

Anya braced herself against the consoles and prayed. She hadn’t done that in years, but she wanted to make sure that someone was out there looking after her if this whole place suddenly imploded. At least it would be a quick death. Almost too easy, really. Her entire body would just crush into a blood mist and no one would know. Her father had no idea where she was. No one in Alpha did either.

They would just be two dead people in the sea, with only crabs to pick at the watery pieces of what was left of them.

But eventually the shaking died down. The water stopped churning on the other side of the door, and for a moment, she could breathe again.

They’d almost died. Again. It would take only the slightest push of the water or the wrong movement, and everything in this facility would shut down. The water would rush in and there was nothing he could do to help her. Not when all that chaos would likely throw the mask far out of her reach.

The mask.

“Fuck,” she whispered, feeling how shaky the word was in her throat.

The mask had been in that other room. She had no way of getting out of here now, and there wasn’t any way for him to get another one. At least, not without him leaving for a long time and gathering it up from wherever he’d gotten it before. But that would mean he had to leave.

She had no food. Only a small tool to purify the water that was filled with grit and grime.

Her situation pressed down on her shoulders hard now. She’d been so content with leaving her home and having this adventure for the first time in her life that she hadn’t realized just how dangerous this was.

And then there was the shaking in her legs that had nothing to do with fear. The shaking that had come from the mind-blowing orgasm that had almost felt painful against his fingers. He’d barely even touched her, and she’d come like she hadn’t in years.

Daios watched her with those dark eyes narrowed, like he was reading every emotion that flickered across her face. She didn’t want him to think she was second guessing what had just happened between them. But also she couldn’t focus on anything other than the minor shakes that still rattled through this building.

She couldn’t stay here. Both of them knew that.

This was only a temporary home for her, and even then, it was still far too dangerous for her to live in much longer. An abandoned facility with holes punched all through it and flooding issues wasn’t a long-term place to stay.

What had she been thinking? What world had she created inside her head that this was okay?

Breathing hard, she sat down on the chair and hugged herself as tightly as she could. “I think you know I can’t stay here.”

He didn’t respond, just stared at her like he always did. But she could read him a little better now. She could see the ticking of muscles in his jaw and how his tail lashed underneath the water. Whatever moment they’d just shared crumbled as their world twisted in another direction.

Her breath fogged in front of her mouth, reminding her of another problem. Turning toward the console, she said, “Bitsy. What’s going on with the heater?”

Little darts moved on the screen as Bitsy did her best to figure out what went wrong. “Life support is down to ten percent. The heating elements have been damaged in the tube collapse.”

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