Page 66 of Lagoon

“I…” She drank more beer. “No. It’s weird. Everything about all of this isweird.”

“I’m very into you, Angela, I should say.” His voice deepened. “I thought it was because you were carrying my spawn or something, but I just found out you’re going to expel them and nothing will have happened, and it didn’t change how much I’m, you know, sort of devoted to you, so…” He tilted the beer into his mouth.

She surveyed him. Even though he was all scaled and gilled, he still looked like himself. His body had the same generalshape and his features were intact. She’d always thought he was attractive, but now…

“I mean, maybe I shouldn’t say it,” he said. “Maybe it’s making you feel weird, and I’m not trying to put any more pressure on you, not after I already pressured you into taking my eggs inside you when that was seriously fucked up. I don’t want to hurt you, that’s what I’m saying? I want to protect you. I want… I feel…”

“I don’t mind that you’re into me,” she said.

“But you’re not into me?”

“I didn’t say that,” she said, running her gaze up and down his body. “I didn’t say anything like that.”

“So, you’re notnotinto me?” He gave her a little smile and drank more beer.

“I’m freaked out, Luther, and you’re…” She bowed her head. Her mind was swimming, things all at the edges, things that wanted to take over her body. But she couldn’t let them—they would make her panic. What happened to them now? And could they ever expect anything after this to be good?

At least the sex part… at least thatfeltgood.

She tipped the beer into her mouth and just drank the rest of it, swallowing and swallowing and—

“Hey, there’s liquor if you just want to get drunk,” he said.

She set the beer down. “I’m into you. I’m glad you’re here. I like your penis. And your other penis, that long stinger-thing, the thing that puts eggs in me. I really like that. I just wish I didn’t, I guess.”

“No, I get that.”

“Not because of you, because—”

“No, right, just because it’s fucked up, whatever is happening to us, and we have no control over it, and it just keeps getting weirder and—”

“Yeah, but at least there are orgasms,” she said.

“True,” he said.

She furrowed her brow, as she felt a lurch within her body, a ripple deep inside, a nice ripple. She let out a noisy moaning breath.

“What?” He sat up straight. “You all right?”

“I think… it’s the laying thing. I think it’s going to be… good.”

“Oh,” he said in a different voice. “Well, fuck yes, then.” He sucked in breath—through his nose, through his gills. She liked watching them move.

“Can you feel the air in your gills?” she breathed. “Can you swim in the water? Why haven’t we even tried to figure this out?”

“The sex stuff has been pretty distracting,” he said. “But totally. You lay the eggs, then we’ll go for a midnight swim and maybe fuck in the water. You want to try that?”

She let out a helpless laugh.

“Will you, like, take off your clothes and lay the eggs naked for me?” His voice was deep and a little scratchy, and she liked the sound of it.

“That’s what you want?”

“I like looking at your pussy a lot,” he said. “They’re going to come out there, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah, definitely.” Another wave of sensation went through her. She was going to need to take off her bottoms at the very least. She got up and stripped off her shirt and bra and then pushed out of her pants.

“That was really quick,” said Luther. “Is it too much to ask for a nice, slow striptease?”

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