Page 24 of Fallen from the Stars

“That guy had it coming to him!” She straightened and ran her hands over her midsection. “There’s nothing wrong with having a little in the middle.”

Vasil furrowed his brow and — well aware of the risk to his wellbeing — moved closer to her. His attention shifted from her belly to the black markings on her otherwise pale skin.

“I do not understand what has angered you,” he said as he came to a stop beside her and spread his tentacles to bring his head closer to her eye level.

Her eyes widened infinitesimally, and her body tensed, but she did not retreat. She glanced down at his tentacles and back up. “Umm…”

“Kraken females have slighter builds than males, but they are…solid.” He touched the pads of his fingers to his abdomen, pressing against the hard muscle beneath his soft skin. “There is nothing wrong with human women. Nothing wrong withyou.”

Theo’s cheeks reddened, the flush spreading down her neck to her chest. “That’s…kind of…sweet?”

“It’s not exactly a compliment,” Kane said.

Vasil frowned, eyes flicking toward the orb. The humans who used the diving suits said Sam, the suits’ computer, was helpful, and the voice of the Computer in the Facility had been a comforting, familiar part of Vasil’s life for many years, but he couldn’t imagine having oneinsidehim all the time, always speaking.

“Do you ever get tired of hearing him?” he asked.

Theo snickered. “Pretty often.”

“I’ve been taught that it is impolite to speak of someone as though they aren’t present,” said Kane.

“I can correct that,” replied Theo with a smirk. “Since you’ve been so cranky today, maybe you need a nap?”

“Sometimes I wish with all my processing power that I had a face just so I could glare at you.”

Her smirk widened into a grin. “I guess I’ll just have to use my imagination.”

Vasil tilted his head. It would have been easy to assume Theo’s relationship with Kane was adversarial, but his time around humans over the last two years had taught him differently. Though Kane and Theodora seemed to repeatedly insult each other, there was a familiarity and odd good-naturedness to their exchanges that reminded Vasil of Randall, who always seemed to have a quick retort on hand. It had taken time to learn that Randall poked fun at people he was friendly with, and that his joking was usually gentle. That he seemed to leave himself open to the same treatment from those close to him had helped ease Vasil’s realization.

“You arefriendswith your computer,” Vasil said.

Theo glanced at him, sighed, and raised her left arm. Kane’s orb moved with her wrist, maintaining a constant distance above it. “Kane…is my family.” She smiled sheepishly and shrugged one of her shoulders. “He’s the only thing that kept me sane most days. It’s…scary how quiet things can get when you’re alone a lot of the time.”

Vasil understood how she felt; he’d spent much of his time alone, constantly aware of the vast, merciless sea surrounding him, aware of his own tenuous hold on survival and how fragile life could be. The kraken had never been particularly social beings, not until a human had come into their lives. He couldn’t imagine going back to the old ways after experiencing the companionship, conversation, and laughter that had risen from his people’s integration with the humans of The Watch.

He couldn’t face that silence any longer.

And he wasn’t sure how to express any of that to Theo. For all the words he knew, none seemed adequate.

His eyes shifted from the light at her wrist to the black markings surrounding it. Extending his arm, he gently touched the pad of a finger to one of the thin lines. “What are these?”

She flinched but didn’t pull away. Tiny bumps rose along her arm.

“They’re called tattoos.” She gestured at the stripes on his shoulder with her right hand. “You look like you have something similar.”

“All kraken have stripes, but I have never seen a human withtattoos.” He slowly traced the black line, following it up her arm. She shivered. “Have you had them since birth?”

“No,” she said breathlessly, staring at his hand, “we choose to get them. They’re not a…a natural thing.”

Her skin was soft, warm, and responsive beneath his touch. His chest tightened, and his blood heated anew. He wanted to do more than touch her arm — he wanted to tear off her undergarment and run his hands over her bared curves. Her scent settled over his consciousness, more feminine now than before.

Vasil attempted to shake off the distraction of his desires, to focus on the conversation. He was curious about her markings, but his curiosity was fast turning toward the rest of her body — how would it feel, how would it respond to his touch? How would shetaste?

“I do not understand,” he said, forcing his hand to still when it reached her upper arm.

“We’re not born with them,” Theo said, “but some people choose to have them done. It’s like…decoration, I guess. It’s a way to change how we look. We can’t exactly change our skin at will like you can.”

Vasil brushed his thumb along the underside of her arm. There was no difference in feeling between thetattoosand the rest of her flesh “It isinyour skin?”

---