Page 45 of Rising from the Depths

Nonetheless, his words caused a small pang in her chest. Did he view all their shared conversations as pointless? Was she nothing more than an annoyance to him?

“So…you’d rather not talk to me?” she asked quietly, folding her hands in her lap.

His frown intensified. His lips parted as though he meant to speak, but only a soft breath escaped him at first. He shook his head and dropped into what she now thought of as thekraken squat— tentacles splayed and torso low.

“You are theonlyone I want to talk to,” he replied, voice just as quiet, as he cupped the back of her prosthesis and lifted its foot off the floor. He raised her skirt with his other hand, exposing the prosthetic limb in its entirety.

“Even if it is pointless small talk?”

Kronus pressed the button that released the pin holding her prosthesis in place. He slipped the artificial leg off and carefully propped it against the wall. “It is not pointless with you.” He lifted his gaze to meet hers. “If I can learn even a tiny…somethingabout you, it is never pointless.”

Her stomach fluttered. Everything about Kronus was intense; his actions, the way he spoke, even the way he looked at her. It had never been like that with Blake. Their relationship had been a whirlwind of excitement and instant attraction — though that whirlwind seemed more a breeze now, compared to what she had with Kronus. The more distance she gained from her joining with Blake, the more she realized there’d been no substance to their relationship, no depth…

And if she knew that after only a couple weeks of reflection, she had no doubt the love between her and Blake had been fleeting. Hell, it probably was never love at all. It had been lust sprinkled with some adventure. She’d been hurt when he broke their union, but most of that pain was because she’d been left with nothing — she’d lost her leg, lost her friends, and then lost her only source of support. At heart, her suffering hadn’t been about losing Blake; it had been about being alone. She cared about him and was glad he’d come to no harm, but what she felt for him had never been love.

Sheknewthat now.

But what did she feel for Kronus? Was it simply gratitude?

He’d been there from the beginning of this new phase of her life, and she’d always be thankful for all he’d done, but it wasn’t that. Gratitude didn’t make her heart pitter-patter at the thought of seeing him, didn’t make her stomach twist into knots when he was near, didn’t send a rush of heat through her when their eyes met. It sure as hell wasn’t what made her crave the feel of him inside her even now, when her knees were too weak to hold her upright.

His hands slipped under her skirt, and his fingertips brushed over the slickness coating her inner thigh. Eva’s breath caught. Kronus stilled, keeping his eyes locked with hers for several seconds before hooking his fingers under the woolen sock covering her stump. He drew it off, folded it, and tucked it in the top of her prosthesis. He returned his hands to her thigh to peel off the liner, holding it delicately to avoid scratching her or damaging the material.

She placed her hands upon his, stopping him before he could remove the liner completely. “I…I can do this.”

His hands stilled, but he did not pull them away. “I know you can. ButIam tending to you now.”

Why had everything been okay while she wore the prosthesis, but now she could barely look at her leg, much less allow him to see it uncovered?

Because with the prosthesis, I can pretend it’s real. That I’m whole.

Maintaining her hold, she pressed her lips together and stared at her leg.

He resumed the movement of his hands.

“Kronus, please, I can do it,” she said, tightening her grip. She couldn’t keep her desperation from seeping into her voice. They’d just shared something wonderful, and she’d felt beautiful and desired for the first time in weeks. She didn’t want this…deformityto taint that.

Her struggles did not deter him; he slid the liner off, exposing her stump. She removed her hands from his, grasped the hem of her skirt, and attempted to pull it down over her leg, but he caught her wrists in his tentacles and stopped her. Tears blurred her vision as she turned her face away from him.

Kronus cupped her jaw with one hand, directing her attention toward him. “What is this?” he asked. “Speak plainly. Help me understand, Eva.”

She blinked, allowing the tears to spill down her cheeks. “I don’t want you to see it.”

“I have already seen it. Many times.”

“I don’t want you to see itnow. Not after we…” She closed her eyes and fought the trembling in her lower lip. “For a moment, for that wonderful moment with you, I felt whole. I felt…beautiful.”

“And why should that be any different now?” His thumb slid across her cheek, wiping away the moisture. “What have I done to make you feel otherwise?”

Eva opened her eyes. “You haven’t done anything. You’ve been…perfect. Youareperfect.”

Something subtly softened in his expression. His other hand slipped under her left knee, and the pads of his fingers drifted lightly across her skin. “As are you, Eva. What has been taken away from your body does not take away fromyou.”

Her chest warmed and tightened with emotion. “But it’s…ugly.”

“I have seen ugly,” he said, his hold on her strengthening infinitesimally, “and there is nothing about you that could ever be such.” Raising her leg, he bent down and placed a gentle, lingering kiss just below her left knee. His eyes never once faltered in holding her gaze; they shone with adoration and pride like she’d never seen.

Eva brushed her fingertips along the side of his face and around the outer rim of his siphon.

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