Page 36 of Kraken Cove

“There’s a hatch and a ladder leading straight down into the water. At night, when all the guests were in bed, my family and I used to sneak down there for the night.”

Mia stares at me. “Really? What’s it like?”

“I could show you, if you wanted to see.”

“Right now?”

“Right now.”

Before I’m prepared for it, Mia steps forward and I think for a moment she’s going to jump off the boardwalk fully clothed. Then she looks back at me and lifts her dress over her head and drops it at her feet.

I’m still staring at her in the thin pale blue underwear which is the only thing she now has on, when she steps up and hoists one leg over the handrail. Then I’m jolted to my senses. Quickly I strip off, praying she doesn’t mind that I’m not leaving my underwear on. I won’t fit them properly when I shift anyway so there’s no point.

There’s a splash and a shriek as Mia hits the water and I follow close behind. It’s cold. I gasp until I shift and my skin changes to the thicker, muscle rich flesh of my water form. My glow lights up the sea around us and Mia makes a soft noise and turns, treading water to look at me.

Self conscious, I wrap my arm around her and draw her close. My cock is already semi-erect just being this close to her, but I will it to behave. “Stay close. I can breathe for you, but not if you panic.”

“OK.” She gives me a nod to show she understands and I wait until she draws in a deep breath, then I submerge us both beneath the surface. The water is dark save for where my glow illuminates the area around us. As we move, tiny fish flit into view as if to welcome us.

This section of the inlet is rocky. There’s an ancient bike, submerged before my brothers and I were born and slowly rusting away. Even that has been transformed into a thing of beauty by the sea. The rusted wheels have grown seaweed and sunk so far into the sand that they look like they belong here.

There’s a little cave in the rocks in a deeper section of water. Dad has grown weeds across the entrance. I pause here and bring Mia’s face to mine with a gentle hand under her chin. She’s still and calm as I lean in and close our lips together. As I breathe softly into her mouth she catches on. Soon she’s drawing air from me easily while I breathe through the gills that opened on my neck as soon as I shifted.

I release her reluctantly, knowing that if I let myself get carried away this will turn into more than sightseeing. My cock stirs against her leg and she giggles, releasing a flurry of bubbles.

To distract us both, I brush aside the weeds with one tentacle and lead her inside the cave. It’s cozy inside. In the first cavern there’s room for five or six people, but as you go deeper, the spaces grow smaller. At the back are the smaller rooms my dad carved out for me and my brothers. Roots of trees from above and holes in the rock make great places to grab onto with tentacles. I pause to give her more air, finding it harder to pull away this time.

When I release her, she drifts away from my arms and I force myself to let her explore.

Her small hands run over the crevices and curves of my childhood room. It warms my heart. She turns back to me with a smile of wonder I can’t help returning.

I love how she takes all this in her stride. The way she accepts my monstrous nature as if it’s every bit as much a part of her as it is me. I should never have doubted her. Mia’s not the sort of girl to let that be the thing that comes between us. I refuse to believe that.

When she returns to my arms for more air though, her skin is cold to the touch and she’s shivering. I’ve kept her in the water too long.

Quickly, I give her the air she needs and wrap my arms around her. A tiny sound escapes Mia as I dart from the cavern and back out into the inlet. My tentacles propel us at speed through the water and we break the surface moments later.

Mia draws in a long breath. “Wow. It’s s-s-so lovely down there.”

I frown. “You’re cold.”

“Only a little.” The way her teeth chatter as she says this gives her away. “I didn’t notice last time you shifted, but your tentacles glow so brightly in the dark.” She’s staring.

I want to tell her why, but I don’t want to freak her out. Instead I move us toward a ladder on the side of the boardwalk and help her out. “Come on. I have towels in my truck.”

I carry her over to the truck and dig out three towels, wrapping her in two until she stops shaking. Then I dry myself off enough to shift and throw on a pair of jeans I have in the back. I start the engine and turn the heater up to make sure she’s warm enough and drive her up the hill back to her house, mind running over the dinner and her reaction to theunderwater cave and yeah more than a few times over every inch of what I saw of her gorgeous body and her hard nipples dark beneath the pale blue of her bra.

It’s going to be another long night, I can tell.

FOURTEEN

Luke

I’m sure not ready to leave when we pull up in her driveway on Bambara Street. So I’m glad when I follow her to the door and she invites me in. I’m not expecting anything except the chance to spend a little more time with her, but the second the door shuts behind us, she drops the towels to the floor and then she’s standing in front of me in nothing but damp, translucent panties and a thin bra.

I lick my lips and I’m pretty sure a small pathetic noise of need escapes me before she lifts on her toes to wrap her arms around my neck and claim the proper kiss I’ve been dying to give her.

My mind goes a little blank. One moment we’re by the front door and I have her up against the wall, kissing her hungrily, grinding through my jeans on those thin wet panties; the next I’m setting her down in the doorway to the master bedroom. Mia reaches behind her to unfasten the strap of her bra. My mouth goes dry. Somehow, I remember to breathe while she lets it drop to the floor and exposes her small, perfect breasts. Then she stops. Her gaze flicks up to mine while her thumbs hook under the waistband of her panties. “You’re just going to watch?”

---