Page 8 of Sheltered in the Storm

The sea creature’s tentacles wrapped around me with surprising gentleness, drawing me away as his hand withdrew from the Atolani’s chest. The Atolani went down hard on the deck, convulsing and spitting blood in his death throes. I would have kicked him if I could.

I fought to stay conscious. Sleep meant I’d no longer hurt so much, but I wouldn’t surrender to this creature or be his plaything or prey. The gentleness of his tentacles around me meant nothing. I’d seen these same appendages rend bodies into pieces. His fist had punched straight through a man’s chest. The fact the Atolani might have deserved his fate didn’t make it any less monstrous.

The rest of the creature’s tentacles swept me up and cradled me against a surprisingly warm chest. Not wanting to be torn apart or eaten, I fought his grip as best I could.

The lack of light and my own hazy vision made it difficult to see well. Up close, the creature appeared almost human, but with purple shimmery skin. His eyes gleamed soft and silvery, like starlight.

A humanoid body and four very octopus-like tentacles. He might be Fortusian, but who the hells knew. Out here on the edge of Alliance space, anything was possible. The universe wasvast and we knew only the tiniest fraction of the beings who lived within it.

I would have given anything to have a blade or gun, or even for one of his tentacles to be within biting distance. Either on purpose or not, he kept them out of reach of my teeth. I had nothing to threaten him with but my words.

“Let me go,” I said, or tried to say. The words came out slurred. I doubted he’d understood even if he spoke Alliance Standard. At least I’d managed to sound threatening. I tried again. “Let me go, or I’ll kill you.”

His eyes darkened. A strange kind of ripple passed through his tentacles. I tensed, expecting to be crushed or torn apart. Instead, he made a low, sweet sound.

Inexplicably, my body relaxed, as if my insides had turned to warm honey. My fury, pain, mistrust, and fear all but evaporated. When my head started to fall back, his tentacle supported my neck and nudged my head so it rested against his chest. The intimacy of the way he cradled me and my helplessness made me angry, but even that emotion felt muted, as if he’d emitted some kind of relaxing pheromones. Like a predator trying to subdue its prey.

So help me, I had not survived all the horrors of my life to be eaten by a sea monster, no matter how beautiful he was.

Beautiful?Where the hells did that word come from? He wasn’t beautiful. He was death incarnate.

Through the hard muscles of his chest, I heard three distinct heartbeats: one in the center and then two right after.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub-dub.

Lub-dub. Lub-dub-dub.

The rhythm soothed me almost as much as that strange coo, and that made me angry too. He’d slaughtered a half-dozen men in less than three minutes and his heart rate wasn’t even elevated.

“Let me go,” I repeated. This time my voice was pained but clear.

“Raiders,” he said in Alliance Standard, his voice rough.

I followed his gaze to the leather-clad Atolani, who’d finally gurgled one last time and gone still. Raiders, here on one of Jakora’s moons? No way they’d set up a base anywhere near a popular tourist destination. These men were likely just settlers, and my new captor had killed them all in what seemed like cold blood.

But before I could accuse him of lying, his glowing gaze met mine. “Deep breath,” he commanded me.

His imperious tone immediately set my teeth on edge. The only person I took orders from besides myself was Squad Captain Proos, and that was only because Ihadto. This monster, whoever the hells he was, didn’t get to order me around.

“No fucking way,” I ground out. If only my voice wasn’t so full of pain. “Let me go. You’re not taking me anywhere.”

He’d slaughtered a half-dozen people without batting an eyelash, but he flinched at my words or tone, or both.

Lightning fast, his human hand covered my mouth and pinched my nose. His tentacles encircled me completely, pressing me tightly to his body so I couldn’t move.

And then he dove out of the boat and plunged us headfirst into the roiling sea.

CHAPTER 4

VOS

The momentwe hit the water’s surface, my mate lost consciousness again, probably from pain.

My hearts ached at her suffering, but perhaps this was a blessing in disguise. Unconscious, she could not fight my attempts to care for her—or give me looks of hatred that cut me to the bone more deeply than any blade. In all my years, I had never felt such hurt.

I longed to swim in the deep with her, but unlike me, she did not have gills and could not breathe in the sea. I surfaced again immediately, holding her head above the water with my human arms.

Even almost drunk on her scent and the feeling of her body in my arms, I knew I must cover my tracks.

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