Page 40 of Sheltered in the Storm

Pain. Blood. Falling toward dark water. Broken bones and burns and fear.

Lying in this tub, in and out of consciousness, unsure if I would live or die, with only this hot skin and these heartbeats to cling to.

I let out a ragged sound and buried my face against his chest.

Vos’s tentacles quivered. “My sweet Calla,” he murmured into my hair, and cooed.

I lost myself in that wonderful comforting sound and the security of his arms and tentacles around me. Vos’s coo didn’t banish those memories, but they cut less deeply. One breath at a time, one gentle caress of Vos’s tentacles at a time, the bitterness of terror faded.

I was safe now. I had survived. The raiders who’d been so cruel were dead. Vos had killed them all for what they’d done and they’d never hurt anyone else again.

And more than that, I was happy here. I was cared for and desired. Ismiled.

Vos cupped the back of my head and held me close. “I am sorry these memories surfaced. I feared they might.”

“I have to face the memories,” I said, my voice not quite steady despite how much I meant those words. “I can’t pretend it didn’t happen. That really only makes it worse.”

“Yes.” He covered my hand with his where it lay on my stomach. “I too must make peace with my past, so I may see my future more clearly.”

“What do you see in your future?” I asked. We’d talked about our pasts, but not about days to come. Maybe it was a dangerous topic because I had yet to decide what I would do once my injuries healed, but I wanted to know what he envisioned for himself. “If it’s okay for me to ask,” I amended.

“You may ask me anything. I will find the courage to answer.” He rested his chin on the top of my head. “I am sure it will not surprise you to hear my dreams are of you.”

No, it wasn’t a surprise. His admission was very sweet, and far less anxiety-inducing than I’d thought it would be. Maybe that was because he’d cooed, or maybe because the prospect grew more pleasant by the day.

I managed a small smile. “I don’t think anyone’s ever dreamed of me like that.”

He cooed softly.

Was he sorry that was true, or secretly happy that he was the first to think of me in that way? The answer might be that he felt both.

Two of Vos’s tentacles stirred the water around us while another wrapped around my ankle. “What are your dreams, my Calla? You said you wanted to earn a bonus from the Defense and use it to travel.”

How terrified he must be to ask that question—to bring up what I’d told him about what my plans were before the crash. To remind me of the choices that lay before me. But he’d answered me honestly, so I owed him the same.

“I’ve seen so many dark things,” I said. “My time on Ganai was a nightmare. A lot of what I saw and did before I joined the Defense was too. As a pilot, I fought for Alliance ideals against the scum of the galaxy. My commanding officer wasn’t all that much better than the scum I fought. Each day I put on myuniform and sat in a mission briefing with Captain Proos and told myself I could put up with anything if it meant getting that reenlistment bonus. Once I completed my service, it would help me finance travel to places where I could see beauty and good things and meet kind people.”

I moved my head and rested it on his tentacle so I could look up. His expression was so tender that a lump formed in my throat.

“I’ve been lying in your bed thinking about it all,” I continued, my voice raw. “What I dream of is choosing where I go and where I stay, and healing all these hurts. That’s my dream and the future I want for myself. I’m just not sure anymore if that’s out there somewhere or right here.”

He bent his head and brushed his lips on mine. “I understand.”

He really did, and that stirred more than desire. It warmed my heart, and maybe my soul too. I pulled his head down to mine and kissed him fiercely. His chest rumbled and his tentacles quivered.

When he raised his head, he gazed into my eyes. “Do you think you might find healing with…me?”

Vos had been so honest with me that his obvious reluctance to say what he’d had on the tip of his tongue made me squeeze his hand. What had he been about to say before he changed his mind?Do you think you might find healing with a monster?

Well, I’d already accepted his monstrous side, along with the side of him that cradled me like a treasure he was afraid to harm or lose. Maybe he was a monster, but he could bemymonster, if he didn’t mind me being his.

“Yes,” I said, my voice quiet but firm. “I don’t think being a monster is bad. Doing monstrous thingsis. You have not done one monstrous thing since I met you, and my gut tells me you never will. I might not trust anyone or anything in the universe, but I trust my gut. And I trust you.” I ran my hand through hishair and cupped the back of his head. “I wanted to find beautiful and good, and I found you.”

His grave expression became a grin. Gods above and below, the sight of his mouthful of sharp, pointed teeth made my pussy wet and my nipples hard.

He inhaled deeply, first with his nose and then with his gills. They fluttered against my skin. And his tentacles swirled in the water again, but not in anger or agitation. All four of them traveled up my legs and arms, coiling around me and plucking at my skin, as if Vos was drinking in my taste and smell in every way he could.

Every little suck at my skin made my pussy clench and ache because he wasn’t filling it. And when I thought about the ways he might use those suckers on my most sensitive places, I felt myself gush for him.

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