Page 73 of Jewel of the Sea

There was an immense sound behind them — the deep, resonating bass of a massive rock breaking the surface — and Aymee and Arkon were thrust forward on a wave of displaced water. Her head came up. She sputtered and gasped for air. Arkon twisted as they crashed into the wall, taking the impact on his back; the force of it rattled into Aymee.

He shifted his hold on her, raising his arms to keep her above the surface as they came back down. Her hair, free of its tie, covered her face, and she coughed up water, but she didn’t go under again. Water lashed at them angrily and pulled away several times. Arkon kept them locked in place until the waves calmed.

Aymee coughed a few times to clear her throat and swept her hair back, looking up. Bits of debris tumbled from the hole in the ceiling, which had expanded by at least half of its original size.

“Ark—”

He yanked her into a crushing embrace with arms and tentacles. One of his hands cupped the back of her head, guiding her face to his shoulder. His breath was ragged, and faint tremors rippled through him.

Aymee slipped her arms around him. “Arkon?”

“I’m such a fool,” he muttered. “I should have known the rain would… I almost lost you, Aymee.”

“I’m okay.” She rubbed her hands up and down his back. His trembling didn’t cease.

“Are you sure?” A pair of his tentacles moved over her back, mimicking the motions of her hands.

“You saved me.” She kissed his shoulder, ignoring the thundering of her pulse. “I’m fine.”

Taking gentle hold of her hair, he lifted her head back. His eyes were rounded, pupils dilated to huge, black pits. For a moment, he just stared at her.

Then he leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers in a desperate, claiming kiss.

Aymee’s eyes widened only to flutter shut as she opened to him. Her body molded to his, held tight in his quivering embrace. He stole her breath as he took from her mouth, his lips caressing, sucking, nipping, and filled her once more with the breath of life. She tasted him on her tongue and craved more.

Heat suffused her. Her breasts ached, and her nipples tightened, frustratingly confined by the suit; all she wanted was to feel his skin on hers.

His hand slid from her hair to her neck, gently tipping her head back to deepen the kiss before his mouth trailed from hers and caressed her jaw.

“Arkon,” she sighed. Setting her hands on his chest, she gave him a little shove.

He drew back and blinked, his pupils contracting. “I am sorry, Aymee. I did not—”

Aymee covered his mouth once more in a kiss, silencing his words, before pulling back with a smile. “Don’t be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry about.” She rubbed her cheek against his. “Loosen your hold, Arkon,” she said softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Arkon eased his grip reluctantly, tentacles sliding over the suit at her waist, hips, and thighs as he uncoiled them. She parted her legs once they were released, and the throbbing between them intensified.

“Take us to the ladder,” she said, wrapping her arms around his neck.

He held her gaze as he swam. His trembling had ceased, but now a different sort of energy radiated from him.

Anticipation.

When they reached the ladder, he grasped one of the rungs overhead, anchoring them in place.

She kissed the small hollow at the base of his throat. “Wrap a tentacle around my waist and raise us up out of the water.”

When he obeyed, pulling up so their pelvises were exposed, she smoothed her palm down his arm, clasped his wrist, and guided his other hand to the ladder rung. “Keep your hands here.”

Arkon tilted his head, the curiosity in his gaze — which had become delightfully familiar to her — bolstered by intense longing.

“Why?” he rasped.

“Because I want you to trust me.” She brushed her nose over his cheek and kissed the corner of his mouth. Bringing her hand to her chest, she slid her fingertips around the suit’s circular chest piece. The suit loosened, gaping open in the back. Cool air brushed her skin.

“I trust you, Aymee.” The tentacle around her waist tightened infinitesimally.

She straightened, allowing him to take her weight, and pulled her arms free of the suit. She peeled the material farther down, exposing her breasts.

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