Page 85 of Song of the Abyss

A shadow passed over his head, and he looked up to see a yellow fin facing the opposite direction. Maketes even had his hand over his eyes as he blindly approached them, swimming by scent rather than sight. He held a yellow dress in his hand, the fabric trembling with the movement of the sea.

“Here,” Maketes said, his voice pitched low and quiet. “I’m not looking. I wouldn’t dare.”

Rolling his eyes, he draped the other hip fin over Anya’s legs, completely covering her from sight. “You can look.”

“Ah, we used to play this game when we were children. You’d tell me to do something, I’d do it, and then you’d hit me. I’m not falling for that as an adult.”

“I won’t hit you, Maketes.”

Anya stirred in his arms, propping herself up on his stomach and opening her mouth wide. He wasn’t sure what that was, but she sucked an impressive amount of air out of his lungs. Her long blonde hair tangled against her chest, but those sleepy eyes and that soft smile only reminded him that he didn’t actually want Maketes to see her.

This sleepy side of her, this soft version of the woman he adored, was for his eyes only.

“Nevermind,” he grunted. “I don’t want you to look.”

“See? I knew it was a trap,” Maketes grunted. “Just tell me when I’m above you so I can drop the dress.”

Anya reached around him to grab Bitsy where he had taken the droid off her head and hung her on the kelp. He’d been afraid they would crush her in their sleep.

He was almost disgusted with himself, caring for a droid like it was a person. But the droid meant something to her, and that meant he had to take care of it as much as he had to take care of her.

Disgusting, yes. Weak? No.

Anya slipped Bitsy over her head, her eyes flicking over the words that Bitsy had been recording for her. Her lips twitched before she looked above them and noticed Maketes floating there, his back to them and the dress in his hands. “If you move back a bit, it’ll be right on top of us.”

“Good enough for me,” Maketes grunted, holding the dress behind him and letting it drop. “Make it back in time for breakfast, yeah? Mira and Arges want to make a decision about Alpha soon. Apparently, your father has been causing lots of trouble.”

And all of it rushed back. Everything that Fortis had told him, everything that the depthstrider had shown him. He needed to tell the others. He needed to tell her.

But he didn’t rush them out of this warm, comforting morning. So he said nothing as he reached up to snag the dress that floated down toward them. He helped her into it as much as he could with one arm, but he braced her where she sat on top of him, holding her still so she could wiggle it over her form.

Fingers fanned wide around her ribcage, he couldn’t help himself from taking her in. Every inch of her was so lovely, and he’d touched and licked every part of it last night. Yet still, he felt as though there was so much of her he had yet to explore.

“Don’t look at me like that,” she said, her voice a low murmur as she finished buttoning the small pearls up her torso and between her breasts.

“Like what?”

“Like that.” Anya leaned down and kissed him hard. “We’re never going to leave this place if you keep looking at me like you want to take me again.”

His cocks kicked against his scales, and in an instant he was ready to go again. He wanted to take her in the kelp, maybe this time tie her up in a way that left her more at his mercy. He’d liked that.

The women of his people fought so hard while mating, and few of them had been tempted to try him out. Daios was too big for them to overpower, and that’s what they wanted. To overpower, to control, and to leave scars that would last a lifetime. He had no such scars of his own. Some of his people would claim that was a sign of disgrace.

But his little kalon was all too happy to be pinned. She had writhed underneath him, those little moans coming out of her mouth like a symphony of hallowed songs.

His claws clutched the borrowed dress, dragging her close to him again so he could nip at her lips. “If you wish to stay, then we certainly can.”

“I love how much this has felt like a bubble where only you and I exist.” Anya carded her hands through his hair, gently separating the tangled locks. “But the world does exist. And we should probably get back to them before something worse happens.”

He groaned, kicking his hips up into hers before stilling. “I hate that I agree with you.”

“Come on, big guy.”

She moved as though she were going to kick off him and start swimming, which was absolutely ridiculous. The mere thought that she could keep up with him was laughable, but also...

A low rumble vibrated through his chest before he caught her against him. “I’m not ready for you to be so far from me, kalon.”

Anya bit her lip, looking up at him through those thick lashes. “Is that so?”

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