Page 31 of The Kraken Games

“Yeah, she’ll be somewhere…” Then it clearly dawned. “Eh fuck—you’re the kraken this year, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“What you want with Luna?”

Kai repeated the line about her wanting his autograph and, like the goblin, the centaur’s lip twitched in amused disbelief. “She’s probably on her break right now. If you can’t find her, go look out in the staff courtyard, door at the back.”

“Thanks mate.”

“Hey, while you’re here—” The centaur took a notebook out of his pocket, a pen from behind his ear. “Scrawl your autograph here, so we can laugh over it when you get beaten.”

“That won’t be happening.” Kai grinned as he signed.

When he reached the door to the courtyard, he paused. What the fuck was he going to say to her, even if she was here?

Warn her off. Tell her to get the hell out of his games. Or she’d get hurt.

Nothing to do with your bruised ego?

Oh, fuck no, he was over her, wasn’t he? This was just about calling out her shitty behavior.

If she wasn’t alone, he’d turn and leave, Kai told himself. Cautiously, he moved through the open door, peered into the lunch area. There was a makeshift shade cover on poles over a long table and mixed stools. A straggly pot plant was trying to climb the mesh fencing, but clearly no one watered it.

And there she was, right up one end of the table, her straight blonde bob shining bright in a shaft of sunlight that fell through a rip in the shade. She was sipping a can of high energy drink, eating a sandwich and staring into space. Her legs were twizzled around the legs of the stool, and he could see the defined muscles of her shoulder and biceps in her tee. Strong, wiry, flexible. Yeah, well, that would fit with the memory of her acrobatic moves as they made lov—fucked.

That’s all. Just fucked.

Kai was sure his hearts were going to hammer their way out of his chest as he strolled over. Not until his shadow fell over her did she look up.

Her mouth had the grace to fall open.

Her strange golden eyes widened, then narrowed as her mouth almost audibly snapped shut.

“What the fuck,” she growled into her sandwich, “are you doing here?”

“Nice to see you too,” Kai sneered. His hearts still hammered, but an almost incandescent rage filled his chest now. Caustic, bitter. Inside his torso, the rustle of his damaged tentacles whispered.

And yet… at the same time his cock, the thing that had gotten him into all this trouble, twitched. He tried to think up words of insult, of hate. But he couldn’t.

“Who told you I was here?” she grunted, lowering her head, a heavy slice of hair falling across her cheek.

“A centaur. I said you wanted my autograph.”

She let out a snort, ripped off a mouthful of the stale-looking bread and chewed angrily, still not looking at him.

Steeling himself, Kai sat down opposite her, and there they stayed in spiky silence for what seemed like forever.

Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, he burst out, “Why did you just disappear?”

“Aw, are you sad I didn’t give you a farewell fuck?” she sneered, still chewing. Her lip curled and she wiped a splodge of sauce away with the back of her hand. Why was he even attracted to her? Really, when you looked at her, she was nothing but a sharp-faced little human, with a sharp tongue to match. But… he was. Hesowas.

“Were you manipulating me?” he growled.

“What the fuck are you on about?”

“Trying to find my weak spots?”

Her brows arched. “Did I?”

---