Page 38 of Treasure of the Abyss

“I told you.” Grinning, she slipped a piece of meat between herlips.

His eyes dipped to her mouth; she’d said there were many ways to kiss. How would her lips feel on different parts of his body? How would her skin taste on her neck, her shoulder, herthighs?

“You did.” He lifted one of the jointed legs and sucked the meat from within. Allowing himself to think of her lips, her warmth, or the softness of her touch would only cause him discomfort. “We need to speak of your…proposal,Macy.”

It hurt to watch her smilefade.

She lowered her gaze, picking at her food nervously. “What aboutit?”

“As much as I want to take you outthere—”

“I can’t stay here,Jax!”

“And we can find some solution to that. But your story…humans cannot breathe in the water. How long can you hold your breath? I might have nearly killed you merely by bringing you here,Macy.”

She frowned, her eyes roaming over everything around her — the hard-shells, the fire, the knife — settling, finally, on the heat gun. Her browcreased.

“The place you found the gun…are there more things there? If…if people once lived down there, they must’ve hadsomething.”

There were morethingsthan he could count in the Facility, and the kraken knew little about most of them. “What sort of device could help withthis?”

“There’s a suit in the little museum back in The Watch. It covers the entire body, and there’s a mask that goes with it. The first colonists used those suits for deep sea diving. I’ve only ever seen the one, but… Is there anything like that downthere?”

He’d explored every accessible part of the Facility as a youngling, had searched through all the containers and storage areas and examined objects he would never have a name for. That had been so long ago…the weapons were important to keep track of, as they could be used for hunting and protection, but so much else was beyond his people’sunderstanding.

“I do not know, Macy. There may be, but I will have to go andsearch.”

She raised her head and looked at him with wide eyes. “Youwill?”

He nodded. Yesterday, he would’ve called himself mad to even consider equipping her with a potential way to escape. Now he was excited over the prospect. Excited at the thought of having someone to share in the wonderment ofexploration.

Someone to chase away hisloneliness.

“Thank you,Jax!”

It was difficult not to smile at her gratefulness and enthusiasm; he didn’t fight the urge. He settled the end of a tentacle on her leg. Keeping it still afterward was even more difficult. “It may be well into the night before I return. Do you require anything before Ileave?”

Macy looked down and set her hand over his tentacle. She curled her fingers around it lightly, brushing them over his suction cups. A thrill coursed throughhim.

“No. As much as I’ll hate being alone, I’ll befine.”

He hoped she was being truthful. He slid his tentacle off her slowly, turned, and moved to the water. “Eat the rest. So it is notwasted.”

Macy chuckled. “I’ll leave the heads for you to pick atlater.”

Jax smiled and dove into thepool.

Chapter 9

Jax’s returntrip to the Facility was the fastest he’d ever made. He was sped on by the image of Macy, skin aglow in the soft orange firelight as the cave darkened. Sped on by the memory of theirkisses.

He couldn’t understand how such a simple form of contact had left such a strong impression upon him. Another mystery to consider; another aspect of his inexplicable, undeniable attraction to Macy. She should have appeared alien to him. Should have, at best, left him feeling indifferent. Instead, she called to him with an exotic allure stronger than anything he’d experienced with his ownkind.

How did humans mate? If kissing was any indication, their ways were stranger than he couldimagine.

As he neared the Facility, he slowed and dropped to the seafloor. This was his second return in only three days. By this point, the others wouldn’t be overly suspicious to see him back, but they might question his activities if he gathered some old human items and left again immediately. Ultimately, they wouldn’t do anything unless he put their home in danger, but he had no desire to endure the tedious interactions that would arise from the curiosity of the otherkraken.

He paused amidst a cluster of rocks overlooking the Facility’s main entrance, counting his heartbeats as he watched formovement.

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