Page 35 of Heart of the Deep

Whack.

“—foolish—”

Whack.

“—thick-skulled—”

Whack.

“—kraken!”

She adjusted her hold on the stick, spreading her hands wide for better control, and jabbed the fork-shaped end over the creature’s neck. Its body writhed, legs scrambling in the rotting leaves. Larkin pressed a boot onto its body, just behind the stick, and drew her knife. She sliced the creature’s head off in one quick motion.

Larkin stumbled back, shoulders heaving and cheeks red, and blew the hair out of her face.

Dracchus knew she was skilled with guns, but that had only given him the smallest glimpse of her capability. This female wasn’t merely a huntress, she was awarrior.

And she would be his.

Warmth spread through him, and his shaft pressed against the inside of his slit.

She bent forward and plucked the still-writhing body off the jungle floor. Her blazing eyes met his. “The next time I tell your ass to move, youmove. This is a vorix. One bite, and you’d be dead before nightfall.” She tossed the carcass to him. “That’s dinner.”

Larkin was already walking away, using the stick like an extra leg, when he caught the creature. He took a single glance at her kill and grinned. He’d provided for many females during his life. This was the first time a female had provided for him.

Dracchus followed her, though now she seemed to make little effort to keep a pace that didn’t have him crashing through the vegetation. Branches and exposed rocks poked his tentacles and scratched at his skin. They were a minor irritation, irrelevant compared to his main focus — the swaying of her hips, the swing of her long hair against her back.

He wanted this female more than he’d ever wanted any other. His previous pursuits of females had been fulfillments of duty first, a means of pleasure second. If the kraken did not mate, they would not produce younglings, and their people would die out. He knew all the females he’d mated, though the details of their time together had faded from his memory.

They’d done their duty. What more had mattered?

Were he a more contemplative individual, he might’ve reflected upon the reasons for his attraction to Larkin. Might have explored and analyzed those reasons, might’ve determined their root causes and learned something about himself in the process. But this was a simple situation for Dracchus — he wanted her, and he would have her.Whymade no difference.

He knew, somehow, that his time with her would not be forgotten. She would be burned into his memory forever, granted more thought than any of his kills and conquests.

Larkin stopped, tilting her head to the side. “Do you hear that?”

Dracchus halted behind her and listened. Wind whispered through the leaves, and countless unseen creatures made their calls. Somewhere in the distance, a branch cracked, producing a clamor as it crashed to the jungle floor.

Then he heard it — not the rumbling of the sea he’d known since his earliest days, but a lighter sound, rushing water trickling over rocks and stones.

“Water,” he said.

She grinned. “Damn right it is.”

Larkin broke into a run with awhoop. Unwilling to let her out of his sight, Dracchus gave chase. She was a formidable hunter, and she’d not yet claimed him as a mate, but instinct drove him to protect her at all costs.

He used trees and their large, tangled roots to propel himself forward, following Larkin and the strengthening sound of water. When he broke through the final barrier of plants, he found himself beside a natural pool. Water poured into it from elevated land on one side, sending up a fine, cool mist that was a welcome refreshment after the stifling jungle air. Sunlight poured through the leaves above to create shimmering rainbows in the mist.

“Finally!” Larkin said.

Dracchus swung his gaze to her and stilled.

She toed off her remaining boot, dropping it beside the other, and lowered her hands to her waistband. She unbuttoned her pants and shoved them down, revealing her supple thighs and shapely backside; the latter was covered only by a scrap of cloth.

Had he thought clothing an unnecessary before? The covering on her pelvis teased him, offering a maddening hint of the plump petals of her sex. This clothing had purpose — to drive him wild with desire.

His cock strained against his slit, and he clenched his jaw against the discomfort. He wouldn’t embarrass himself by extruding and spilling his seed like an adolescent experiencing his first look at a female.

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