Page 19 of Jewel of the Sea

“Yes, she is.” There was deep emotion hidden with Aymee’s question. A hint of sorrow, perhaps?

The corner of her lips tilted up. “I knew she would be.”

“I’m sure you’ll be able to meet her yourself, before long.”

She met his gaze. “Really?”

Arkon nodded. The hope in her eyes made his chest tighten. “Once she is a bit older, I do not doubt Macy and Jax will arrange for you to see her.”

Aymee averted her gaze to the water. “It’s not the same with the letters. I know she’s the one writing them, but it’s nother.”

Frowning, Arkon looked at the sand. From hopeful to crushed in an instant. Her sadness was a weight on his heart; how would he feel if Jax, Macy, and Sarina were taken out of his life?

He’d feel the same emptiness if Aymee were taken, though this was only the third time they’d spoken.

He placed his hand on her leg; her thigh was warm through the fabric of her skirt. “As soon as these hunters have moved on and Macy has recovered, I will make sure she starts to visit you.”

“I’d love that. Thank you.” Her smile returned, and after a few seconds, her eyes dropped to his hand. She tilted her head.

Arkon pulled his arm back. She hadn’t invited the touch, hadn’t given him permission, and he must have broken a rule of human interaction

Aymee caught his hand, hooking her fingers over his thumb, and drew it closer. Arm stretched toward her, Arkon leaned forward.

Her bronzed skin was dark against his pale blue-gray flesh, her hand tiny in comparison.

Aymee’s heat seeped into him. She lifted her hand away and traced her fingertip along the webbing between his fingers and up to the tips of his claws.

Her delicate touch sent a tingling sensation along his arm. It gathered in his chest to halt his breath; he’d never experienced anything like it. His skin was sensitive enough to detect minute changes in water temperature and current — a gift from the humans who’d engineered the kraken, if he chose to look at it that way — and that sensitivity turned the contact with Aymee into something euphoric.

“Hands are one of the most difficult things to draw,” she said, smoothing her palm over his. “But they are also one of the most beautiful.”

His eyes fixated on her hand, and he drank in every detail from her delicate knuckles to her long, slender fingers and short, blunt nails. The slightly rougher spots on her skin enhanced the sensation of her touch. He attempted to agree with her, but he wasn’t sure what sound, if any, came out.

She placed a finger under his chin and guided his head up until his eyes met hers. Smiling, she slid her fingertips along his jaw until she reached his siphons. “Macy told me these are not ears.”

Transfixed by her brown eyes, he shook his head. Her fingers moved with such grace, such gentleness, such confidence and precision, and his skin was ablaze beneath them.

“For breathing,” he said distractedly.

She circled her finger over the end of his siphon. “What’s it like? When you go from water to air and back again?”

Arkon swallowed and willed his mind to move past her feel, past her proximity and intoxicating scent. “It’s...it is like being suspended between worlds for a fraction of a moment. A fleeting taste of mortality as lungs or gills give out and my body adapts to its new environment.” He blew air through his siphons and Aymee yanked her hand back, laughing. Arkon shook his head again, unable to ignore the absence of her touch. “That sounds somewhat dramatic. I don’t mean to exaggerate.”

“I love the way you describe things.” She canted her head to one side. “What you are is the embodiment of amazing. To live in two worlds…”

“I must admit to having not done much living in this world. Not until recently.” He smiled, hearts thumping.

“Everyone has to start somewhere. I haven’t done much living, either. I find enjoyment where I can, but I spend most of my days tending to the sick and wounded.” She scooted back to lean against the stone wall and plucked a round, red fruit out of the basket. An apple. Macy had told Arkon that apples had been brought to Halora from the ancient human homeworld. “Our exchange days have been the brightest ones for me recently. It gives me something to look forward to.”

Arkon glanced down and traced a circle in the sand with the tip of a tentacle. “I spend my weeks anticipating the few minutes during which I’ll see you on the beach.”

“If only you hadn’t been hiding from me.”

He lifted his gaze to her; her smile had broadened into a grin. “As I recall, Aymee, you admitted to doing some hiding yourself.”

“I didn’t want to frighten you away.”

His skin shifted to pale violet. It took him a moment to force it back to normal.

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