Page 43 of Echoes of the Tide

Then she saw that dark head of hair and the bright splash of yellow that was at the surface. A deep sigh erupted from her mouth, more of a sudden thrust of relief. It was him. It wasn’t someone coming to kill her.

“Maketes,” she said, before launching herself at him.

His arms came up for her as though he knew what she wanted. Those strong arms caught her with ease, only sinking back into the water a little and only with the slightest “oof” as she kneed him in the gills. But she couldn’t get close enough. She couldn’t hold on to him tight enough to feel like she was finally safe.

His clawed hands came around her, clasping her tighter and pressing her underneath his chin, where she was nestled against the cold chill of his gills. He exhaled through them, water spilling down over her body, but she didn’t care. She only knew that in this moment, she wasn’t alone anymore.

“Kefi?” he asked, his voice pitched low, as though he was afraid something was in the cave with them. “You’re okay, dear one. You’re all right. I’m here.”

She shook her head against his throat. “I don’t know what happened.”

“I’m not leaving again.” He flexed his tail underneath her, swimming them to the edge of the water. Then, with a sudden jerk of his tail, he propelled them out of the water enough so that he was sitting on the sand.

It took such little effort for him to wrap her up in his arms. His tail came along her back, holding her tighter against him. She was surrounded by him. The seawater scent of him was so much better than what the sea actually smelled like. He was both warm and cold, a creature who smelled like salt and the deep cold waters that had always been her home.

Every bit of her tension unraveled. His hand came up to her short hair, carding through the locks. The tiny pricks of his claws eased her tension even more until she was a puddle being held against his twin heartbeats.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered against his chest.

“For what?”

“For... this.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me. Ever.” He held her even tighter, his arms shifting around her back as he got more comfortable. “I was bringing you a fish to eat, but I’ll admit, this is far more pleasant.”

She huffed out a small laugh, her breath fanning across his chest and sending tiny goosebumps dancing across his skin.“Pleasant? It’s nice for me to attack you the moment you show up?”

“This is the kind of attack I enjoy.” Again, that big hand smoothed down her spine, and suddenly this wasn’t just easing her fear.

It was more. It was so much more.

Heat flushed from the crown of her head to the bottom of her feet. All she could focus on were his hands. How his fingers spanned the entirety of her back, each claw tip just barely touching her skin. He was so warm even though some parts of him were cold. It was like everywhere he touched her, she was a furnace.

But no, it was more than that. Her heart was already beating harder and more heat burned between her legs. She wanted him. She wanted him to move that hand that was on the small of her back even lower so she could feel him grip her ass. That massive hand would have no issue grabbing onto her, rolling her over, moving her against his body as she so desperately wanted.

She wanted to grind down on him. She wanted to rock against him so those scales rubbed against her clit in a way she knew would be life changing. Ace just... wanted.

He’d saved her life more times than she could count. And as she leaned a little farther back from him, her eyes half lidded and heavy with desire, she saw the same need in him as well.

Maketes lifted his hand between them, those thick fingers brushing up her neck and gently cupping the side of her head. There was so much power in that hand. She’d seen him kill people without a thought, and yet he was shaking to remain as gentle with her as he could. “I almost lost you,” he whispered, his words guttural and harsh. “I do not like this feeling, kefi.”

“Yeah, me either,” she replied, seeing his gills flutter against the sides of his head.

Hadn’t he said that was a good thing? Proof that he wanted her?

She could even see it in the way he stared. His eyes widened. He must be able to feel them moving, and he knew as well that she could see them. If he was human, she thought, he might have blushed.

How was she supposed to stop herself? She touched those fluttering gills, feeling them undulate through her fingers. “I can’t remember what you said about these moving,” she whispered, the lie rolling so easily off her tongue. “Can you tell me what it means again?”

His tail shifted between her legs, slithering a bit with the movement and rubbing against her legs. “You know what it means.”

“I want to hear you say it again.”

A low rumble echoed through his chest, something that sounded almost like a groan. “Ace?—”

“They’re just words, Maketes. All you have to do is tell me why these are moving so much.” They moved faster with every word she said, shifting against her fingers until they were nearly a blur.

Again he arched. As though he wanted to press himself against her, but there was still some barrier between them. Words that were left unsaid.

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