Page 30 of Cursed By Seas and Darkness

He let go of my wrist, then wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me to him, until I was practically in his bedroll.

It’s for safety, he said.

“Well. If it’s for safety.” My heart thundered as I rested my head on his chest. His scent filled my nose. He smelled like the ocean on a warm day, and I snuggled in more. The steady patter of his heartbeat lulled me back to sleep.

When the sunlight hit the tent, filtering in through the canvas to shine on us, Kaga’s face took my breath away. I saw every angle of his face.

I focused on his lips, and the thought crossed my mind to give in to these feelings, to see what it was like to run my lips across his jaw.

Kaga’s eyelids cracked. I’ve never guessed you’d be one to hesitate, Allura.

“I don’t want to take advantage of you. Besides, I know you need your precious beauty sleep. Humans are so fragile.”

He smiled, one hand reaching up to cradle my head. In one swift movement, he flipped us both over. My eyes widened as his hips pressed into me. A thrill raced through me. Fragile, am I?

He crushed his lips to mine while his other hand traveled to my hips, gently squeezing. A delightful warmth surged in my core as his kiss intensified, sending a tingle of sensations through my body. For the millionth time, I wanted more.

He brought my leg to wrap around his waist, aiming his hips to better grind against me. My breath hitched as I kissed him back, desire coursing through me.

Does this feel fragile, Allura? He pressed his hips into me and I moaned.

“Definitely not.” My mind clouded and I could barely form the thought.

No. He felt powerful, strong. Pressing into me, it was as if he could tear me apart. And I’d enjoy it while he did.

He caressed my thigh, something I’d never experienced before. The sensation made my knees weak and I let out a moan. When my mouth opened, Kaga slipped his tongue in, caressing mine with his. The thud of our heartbeats drowned everything out. Never in my life had I ever wanted a man to ravish me like I did now.

My hands slipped under his shirt, and I scraped my nails along his back. Suddenly, thunder boomed in the distance. I froze, then shoved Kaga off of me, throwing the tent flap aside to see outside. Clouds loomed far away. I wasn’t sure how far off, though.

I closed the flaps and sat back on my heels. Heart beating, I turned and looked at Kaga. It wasn’t only the shock of the storm that made me jump away. These feelings I had were overwhelming. If I was honest, the intensity scared me.

Kaga lounged on the bedroll, hands behind his head, a smug grin on his face. I threw my shoe at his face, unexpected laughter bursting out of me when he caught it. “Let’s get moving. A storm is on its way.”

Are you sure? We could stay here.

I threw the other shoe at him, and it bounced off when he hit it with the one he held. He grinned innocently at me and I threw him a look of exasperation. Another boom of thunder and we worked quickly to pack up our things.

Chapter 23

The air was hot and sticky, and I struggled as we hiked up the jungle mountain. I’d never had my legs on for this long. Rarely had I spent more than a day or two with human legs, preferring to stay in the cool ocean. I can’t say I didn’t hate it. It was nice to stand on land. Though, I couldn’t float over things like underwater.

Every once in a while, Kaga would glance back at me to make sure I was doing okay. I did notice a pattern. If I started breathing too heavily, he would stop and lean against a tree, or stretch, pretending it was for his own benefit.

I knew because I tested it a couple of times by faking it. Besides, we had a week until the flower bloomed, and a month and a week overall before the witch came after us. We could afford a few breaks. My legs, at least, thanked me for it.

We stopped for lunch, and I plopped down onto a log unceremoniously, stretching out my muscles. Kaga sat next to me, close enough so our arms were touching. He handed me some fish jerky, his hand brushing mine. My heart jumped, but I made as little outward reaction as I could manage. Didn’t want him getting too comfortable.

I watched Kaga out of the corner of my eye as we ate, wondering about the change in him. He seemed so different here than in the ocean. More confident, in charge. Or was it from being away from his parents?

Not speculating, I simply decided to ask. “Why are you so different now than when you were in the sea?”

Kaga finished chewing before answering me, something I was grateful for. I have a persona I need to maintain in front of my parents and their associates. He ran a hand through his hair, his expression resigned. Away from them, I can be myself.

“You’re more fun this way.” I grinned as I glanced up at his face. He leaned closer to me until I could see the gold flecks in his green eyes as a smile split his face. He held still enough I could count them if I wanted. Daringly, I tilted my head and pressed my lips to his.

He ran his lips across mine, kissing me back, slowly deepening the kiss. I drew back, playfully biting his bottom lip. Why’d you stop? he asked.

I pointed to the sky. The bright, warm rays of the sun shone down, but dark clouds rolled in closer to the island than earlier. “I think we’d better get moving. Remember? We only have a week after the full moon.”

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