Page 89 of Echoes of the Tide

“I just want you to be comfortable.”

And happy.

He wanted her to feel the joy he had named her after. She deserved that more than anyone else he’d ever met.

“I’m comfortable,” she said with a laugh, drawing him closer to her.

And then he really looked. Just stared at all the golden light haloing around her head from the glow worms attached to the ceiling. The glimmering green from the water around himturned her skin paler than normal, an unusual shade that only made those brown eyes of hers look even more stunning. She was smiling down at him, her gaze softened with an emotion he couldn’t name but one that echoed deep inside of him.

He couldn’t stop himself. He circled her hips with his arms, staring up at her like she’d hung the sun.

“You’re so beautiful,” he said quietly. “Beyond what I ever expected when we first started talking.”

That smile turned even brighter. “You say the sweetest things.”

“I mean every word.”

“I can tell.” Her fingers toyed with the gills at the side of his face, watching them fan out and flutter for her. “I think... No, that’s not the way to start it. I don’t think. I am nervous that what we’re doing is going to change our lives, and I want to make sure that nothing changes between us.”

He wasn’t following. “Why would anything change between us?” Then he held up his finger for her silence. “Wait, unless you mean because you’ll be living here now and your things aren’t here yet? I’ll figure that out. We have our ways to get into the cities, obviously. You just tell me where you used to live.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Ah, it’s probably because there are other males of my kind here. The People of Water are very welcoming, and you are unmated. There will be many males vying for your attention.” All his gills snapped back against his face and he glared at some imagined male behind her. “You are not to entice them with your curves or your smiles.”

“Maketes.”

“What? I am allowed to request that you not look at other males. You’re too pretty and they are too stupid for you.” He nodded. “That’s exactly the reason. The People of Water aregood at many things, but I do not think there are any males that are a good match for you.”

Other than him. Which was where he was trying to go with this, but now he’d made it sound like none of them would be a worthy match for her beauty. Had he talked himself into a corner?

“Maketes,” she said with a laugh, gripping his head and making him look at her. “I don’t want anyone but you.”

She was squeezing his cheeks, so his words were garbled as he said, “That’s good news.”

“I don’t think you understand what I’m saying. I want you. Only you. The idea of being with anyone else drives me crazy, and I know that no one will ever compare.” She drew him even closer, her breath fanning over his lips. “I think I’m in love with you, you crazy undine.”

She was still holding him a little too tightly, but that didn’t matter. Because the moment she said she might love him, all of his lights flared brighter in the room. Everything inside him felt lighter. Better.

“You think?” he asked.

Her hands slid from his cheeks down to the gills on his neck. A bright red stained her cheeks as she replied, “I’m pretty sure.”

“That’s good, because I know I’m madly in love with you. I have been since that first moment I saw you jump into the water with me. From the moment I saw you face your fears and challenge the world head on. I was in love with you before we even said a single word to each other, and now having you beside me is my reason for breath. I didn’t know I could need someone the way I need you, but now my need is endless.”

“Stop talking,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to stop talking. I want to tell you a thousand more ways of how I love you. I only said it once so far, Ace. There are many more ways I could tell you. For example?—”

She kissed him, and all the thoughts fled out of his head.

Those lips against his were the softest things he’d ever touched. He loved it when she did this. He loved kissing her and feeling her little inhalations when he surged forward so their chests were pressed against each other. He loved holding her, feeling her tiny hands pressing against both of his hearts that beat only for her.

He loved it even more when she made those little noises in the back of her throat. The little moans that filled the entire cave with the sound of her pleasure. The sounds that made him see stars and want to feast upon every part of her body. All of it and more was what he loved about her.

She was a fantasy come to life. Better than any dream he could have dreamt up with his own mind.

“I meant every word,” he said against her lips, urging her backward until she was leaning against a stone. “I do love you.”

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