Page 19 of Echoes of the Tide

That’s exactly what she needed. One with abs that flexed under her gaze and biceps that made her want to bite them.

What? No!

She let out a disgusted sound and stalked away from him before she did something stupid. “Shut up, you big oaf!”

“Whatever you say,kefi.”

Ace refused to let him goad her. She would not turn around and ask what the hell that meant. Even if she wanted to.

CHAPTER 8

Maketes watched her sleep. She probably didn’t think he could see her, especially not when he slid back into the water. But the much smaller room she’d chosen to sleep in had a window as well. It was easy for him to swim out into the dark waters and situate himself where he could watch her. Just in case anything went wrong.

And maybe just because he liked looking at her. He’d been right about her hair drying into a pretty color. There were streaks of lighter brown in it, and it was darker underneath, giving layers that made her hair shine now that it was clean.

He had half a mind to ask how it had gotten that greasy and unclean. Was there nowhere to bathe in Gamma? That couldn’t be right. There were so many places for her to bathe, considering they lived surrounded by the ocean. But everyone there had been dirty. Even the men that had been surrounding her had been grimy, just like her.

With his tail anchoring him to kelp, Maketes watched her. Sure, it had been a slight lie about traveling in the middle of the night. The depthstriders were a risk to swim through with a human, and one he wasn’t going to take. But the risk tohimself? Nonexistent. None of the depthstriders attacked their own, although the other pods were fair game.

A human, though? He wasn’t sure they wouldn’t want to battle him for the right to rip her apart.

The moment she stirred, he quickly headed back to the opening. He was right where he should be the moment she staggered into the main room, yawning and rubbing her eyes. She had her glasses in her hand, and he marveled at the roundness of her features.

He was so used to his kind’s angular faces. The sharp edges and hard jawlines were strong and proud, and he was certain she must find him attractive in a way. But she had a face like the shape of the moon. Her cheeks were so soft looking, with a smattering of freckles and the rosy hues of a blush. And when she slid those glasses back in place, focusing on him where he waited for her to look at him, he felt like all the breath in his lungs was stolen.

An achromo that was all his own. Maybe that was all he’d been waiting for.

“Good morning,” he said, feeling his gills already standing straight out as he waited for her to notice him.

Her brows furrowed, and she winced. “Is it a good morning?”

“You seemed to sleep well.”

“What about this—” she waved up and down her body “—makes you think I slept well?”

He pillowed his chin on his fist, looking her up and down before saying, “You drool in your sleep.”

Immediately she wiped at her chin, but there wasn’t anything there for her to wipe. Her expression changed to one of confusion before she glared. “Were you watching me sleep?”

“Someone had to keep watch.”

“The door is barricaded, and I would hear anyone trying to get in. That’s so weird that you watched me sleep!”

He shrugged. “Anyway, we have a busy day together. You wanted to get to the top of the tower, right?”

As expected, his swift change in subject threw her. She stood there, staring at him in obvious confusion, and almost as though her body had stopped working. He had to hide a grin, because he knew it would only make things worse. But really, she was adorable, floundering to find something to say to him.

Maketes couldn’t help but prod just a little more. “You did want to go, right?”

“Yes,” she blurted out before muttering under her breath about meddlesome men.

He did grin then, watching as she yanked that ugly diving suit off a chair and started pulling it onto her legs. One by one. He watched her movements avidly, wondering if she’d let him touch them. She’d let him touch her hair, and that had been very enjoyable. Maybe if he asked really nicely, she wouldn’t mind if he explored that interesting bend in her back.

Really, he just wanted to touch her. It seemed like it would be pleasant.

“Would you stop staring?” she grumbled. “It is way too early to be dealing with your nonsense.”

“Unfortunately, I am the only undine who made the deal to work with you, so you do have to deal with me no matter how little you want to.” He smiled at her when she looked. “But I think you want to spend time with me.”

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