Page 71 of Heart of the Deep

“Yes. You have woken a new craving in me, and I will never be sated in my lust for your taste.”

Larkin’s skin heated in a blush. She shouldn’t have been shocked by such blunt speech, not while living among men all her life, but the promise in Dracchus’s tone was beyond anything she’d ever heard. She squeezed her thighs together, her sex clenching with the memory of his mouth and tongue.

As though reading her mind, Dracchus growled, low and deep in his chest. “Sleep. When you wake, it will be with my tongue between your thighs.”

Chapter 17

Larkin wandered around the infirmary, picking up various items for inspection. She’d seen some of it back home, though much of the old tech in Fort Culver was no longer functional. Many more items, however, were unfamiliar to her.

Advanced technology was a luxury humans had learned to live without over the last few generations. Many of the old devices and machines had failed over the years. Tinkering and improvisation only went so far when sophisticated pieces required replacement — the colonies had never reached the point of being able to manufacture their own parts.

While she wouldn’t argue the fact that technology made life easier, Larkin found something gratifying in simple tasks like starting a fire without advanced tools. It was comforting to know that humans had the skills to carry on and survive when technology failed.

Without a doubt, the Facility was the most technologically advanced location she’d ever seen. The building itself was integrated with an interactive, talking computer, was powered by glowingrocks, and was bristling with gadgets and weaponry that the rangers would kill to have.

She hoped they never found this place.

A rapid, steady sound pulsed through the room, drawing Larkin’s attention. She turned her head to look at the others.

Macy was reclining on one of the beds, shirt pulled up and tucked between her breasts as Aymee directed the scanner over her belly. Jax held Macy’s hand, gaze flicking between his mate and the life growing inside her. Arkon was beside him with a wide smile. And Dracchus…

He’d positioned himself a bit behind them, holding Sarina and Jace — one child per arm.

The sight was at once heartwarming and heart-wrenching.

Larkin swallowed her emotions. She couldn’t allow it to affect her every time she saw a child. She’d accepted her reality a long time ago.

So why did it bother her so much now?

Because I never had someone I wanted to share a life with until now.

Larkin watched Dracchus, admiring his easy manner with the children. No one would look at him and think, even for a second, that he had a soft side, but he showed it often to those he cared about.

Could he be content with her? Could he take her as his mate without regret?

As she’d lain with him the night before, cradled in his embrace and feeling more loved than ever before, she’d allowed herself to believe there was achancehe could be happy with her. That belief, initially so innocent and mild, had shifted into a hope, into acraving, when he’d kept his promise and woke her with his tongue this morning.

Blushing, she tore her gaze away from Dracchus. Now was not the time to think about such things — especially considering Dracchus could scent her arousal. It’d be even more humiliating if the other kraken could, too.

“How far along?” Macy asked, running her hand over her slightly rounded stomach.

“I believe three to four weeks,” Aymee replied.

Larkin frowned, brows lowering as she stepped closer. She knew little about pregnancy, but women weren’t supposed to show so early on. Macy looked closer to threemonthsalong, not three weeks.

“Is something wrong?” Larkin asked.

“Nope, everything looks perfect, and the baby has a strong heartbeat,” Aymee replied with a smile.

“Then why is she so…big?”

Aymee turned off the scanner and pushed it up. “Kraken were genetically designed to have a low birth rate, but their gestation cycle is much faster, even when carried by a human mother. A kraken fetus is fully formed in about four months. It was all part of their plan to keep the kraken’s population under control while continuing to produce able workers.”

“It seems that it was only the females that were altered, as the males have no problem getting us pregnant,” Macy said, looking at Jax with a grin.

“We have been fortunate,” Jax said, settling a hand on her belly.

Aymee snorted. “If by fortunate you mean virile.”

---