Page 51 of Kringle and the Kraken

“You are absolutely amazing.” He punctuated the statement with a kiss that went from sweet to hot in a tangle of tongues and a press of our bodies together. I felt one of his tentacles against my cheek and I reached up to hold it in place and stroke over it with my hand. With as close as we were, I could feel Levi’s half-hard cock against my thigh, and I was sure he could feel mine, but there was no urgency to fuck. Right now, the kiss was the destination rather than a stop along the way to something else, and that made my heart somersault. I knew I was falling for Levi, but this kiss was pushing me over the edge farther and faster. Our lips lingered against each other’s for several more minutes, but with the exception of the wayward tentacle that had come out to play, neither of us made a move to take it farther.

Levi pulled away and rested his forehead against mine, his breaths ghosting over my lips. “Will you show me the beach now?”

His tone was all wrong, like I was about to lead him to the gallows rather than down to a private beach, and I searched blindly for his hand, finding it and squeezing it. “What’s wrong?”

He squeezed my hand in return. “I’m nervous.”

“About?”

He tipped his head up, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob with a hard swallow before he brought his forehead back to rest on mine again. “Do you remember when I told you how krakens reproduce?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, to make the talismans, I basically have to go through that process, but obviously, instead of joining my magic with someone else’s, I have to basically bottle it up and hand it out to everyone in town.”

I wasn’t sure I understood the problem, so I waited for Levi to say more.

“I need to take my full kraken form.”

Silence again.

“And you’re afraid someone is going to see you?”

He shook his head, and his next words were whispered so low, I barely heard them. “I’m afraid seeing me in my full form is going to be the thing that sends you running, that makes you realize I’m not really human as much as I pretend to be.”

Most of the time, I wasn’t one for large declarations, and things between Levi and me were still arguably very new, but I needed him to know that nothing, absolutely nothing, would make me run.

And there was only one way to do that.

I took half a step back and lifted my hands to hold Levi’s cheeks between my palms. “This is not my usual MO, but, Levi, Ineed you to hear me when I say that there is nothing—absolutely nothing in this world—that is going to make me run from you.” He tried to look away, and I moved his face so his gorgeous gold-flecked eyes met mine again. “Hell, Levi, I’m doing everything I can to run toward you. Since I met you, I feel like I’ve been falling for you, and every new thing I learn about you makes me fall a little harder and a little faster.” I pressed a kiss to his lips like I was trying to push my words into him. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Levi nodded, the motion stopped by my hands that still held his beautiful face. “Okay. Then I’m going to tell you another truth.” He closed his eyes. “I’m scared. My dad said learning to reach my magic and channel it outward the way I need to takes time, and that’s a luxury we don’t have. The wraiths could attack again at any time. We need to get these talismans made as soon as possible so everyone stays safe while we figure out the rest.”

I dropped my hands from his face and joined our palms together. “Then why are we standing around here?”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

LEVI

The way Krisaccepted my vulnerability and took my hand to lead me past the lighthouse and toward the stairs that led down to the private beach made my hearts skip a beat. He’d been so honest with me about his feelings that my confession about being scared I was going to fail the town before I’d really even had a chance to prove myself had been an easy one to make. I knew Kris would stand by my side through all of what we were about to do and face.

And now more than ever, there was no doubt in my mind that he was mine.

My forever.

“Be careful. These steps can be really slippery, especially with the snow.”

The staircase was too narrow for us to walk side by side, so Kris went first. I gripped the handrail hard and followed him down to the beach. I hadn’t been in the sea since I’d arrived in Lifeboat, and my body itched with the desire to take my full form and swim in the icy water. The closer we got to the beach the more restless my tentacles became until they were straining the seams of yet another coat.

When we stepped onto the snow-covered sand, I shrugged out of my coat, my tentacles immediately whipping around me. Kris’s eyes were wide with interest, and he held out a hand.

“You can do this, Levi. I know you can, and if it doesn’t happen today, then we can try again tomorrow. Hell, you can move into one of my guest rooms and try every single morning and every single night.”

Kris seemed to realize that he’d essentially asked me to move in with him, and he shut his mouth, his lips closed tight.

“If I’m going to move in with you, I’m sure as hell not moving into a guest room.”

“You, uh, you’d want to move in with me?”

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