Page 59 of Song of the Abyss

She looked over her shoulder, still bent down and giving him the most perfect view of her muscular globes that looked like the moon. “Would you turn around now?”

Even to him, his voice sounded hoarse. “Absolutely not.”

“Putting on a wetsuit isn’t the most graceful process. I know you think I look good now, but I’m about to make a fool of myself.”

“I’ll watch.” He had a hard time believing anything she did would put him off. She captivated him with just a flick of her hair over her shoulder.

Until he watched her put on that wetsuit. And suddenly he knew what it meant to have control, because he nearly burst out laughing multiple times. She shook, shimmied, pushed, and turned bright red in the face as she tried for long moments to get the wetsuit on.

He bit his lips and tried very hard to not say a word as she hopped up and down, only getting the material up a few inches at a time. Although the movement bounced her breasts rather entertainingly, it was hard to focus on that when she was cursing with every movement.

By the time her wetsuit snagged over her hips, she was breathless and angry. “You wipe that smile off your face, Daios.”

He did not.

“I mean it. I will come over there and... and...”

Tilting his head to the side, he gave her a feral grin that usually made people quake in fear. “What will you do, kalon?”

She stomped her little foot, adorably infuriated. “I don’t know! I will come over there and do whatever it takes. Now, will you help me, or are you just going to watch me struggle?”

“I was unaware I was supposed to help.” He didn’t stop grinning as he gestured for her to turn around, and then held onto the limp arm of her suit. “By all means, princess. Allow me.”

“Princess,” she muttered, yanking him a little closer so her arm was finally in the slot. “You know my father used to call me that all the time? Especially when I complained.”

He could understand why. But he didn’t want to be compared to that man. So instead, he leaned forward and in the lowest, most guttural tones he could reach, he purred in her ear, “Kalon, then.”

The shudder that went through her entire body was all too delicious. But then the entire building gave another groan, and he knew they had run out of time.

“Anya, will your eye piece survive in the sea?”

“What?” she asked, looking over her shoulder with her eyes a little glazed. Clearly she couldn’t hear the higher pitched creaking of the building.

“Your...” He gestured over his face.

“Oh. Bitsy?”

The two of them seemed to talk for a moment, words flashing in front of Anya’s eyes before she gave him a quick nod. “I guess so? She said she’ll be fine, but once we are somewhere dry, I will have to air out her circuit boards. But they should be waterproof. At least for a while.”

“Good. I do not wish to damage… her.” Even though it felt rather unnatural to worry about something that was made of metal and yet had life. The things he did for this achromo that she would never understand were strange.

Once they got the wetsuit on, he wrapped her in his good arm and slithered back toward the opening. He knew the instant she stopped trusting him. Or perhaps when her survival instinct kicked in.

“Wait, Daios. I can’t breathe underwater, remember? I don’t want to...”

He pressed his finger to her lips. “I am not going to kill you, Anya. I only wish to take care of you, remember?”

Her wide-eyed gaze locked with his, but then she set her jaw. He knew she was ready, even if she was terrified.

“Trust me.”

He drew her into the water with him, holding her closer when the shivers started. Soon she would warm up. His body would heat hers, but for now, she needed to shiver to get her temperature higher. Tucking her underneath his chin, he tucked her against his shoulder so he couldn’t see her face. If she balked or grew too nervous, he wouldn’t be able to do this.

“The People of Water have always been alone. The achromos, what we call your people, they have always been separate from our kind. But a year ago, a woman arrived. My brother took her as his mate and they have been discovering all the ways that we... fit.”

He winced at the choice of words. That was a terrible way to explain this to her, and she likely thought... Well, he didn’t want to know what she thought.

Shaking his head, he continued as he lowered her further into the water. The waves lapped at her neck now, and she clung to him as she hadn’t when they first fled from her city.

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