Page 10 of Lover from the Waves

“I don’t need your permission, Breckett. I’m a grown ass woman and can make decisions on my own. I’m only asking because we’re friends and I’d rather you not come down here one morning, realize a boat is gone, and wonder where it went.”

“I’m not letting you go out there on your own, Kathryn. No.” He swiped a big hand through the air, attempting to instill his words with a sense of finality. “You’re not doing this.”

“Iamdoing this, Breck,” she said firmly; she knew he was just worried about her safety, but that didn’t curb her frustration.

“I lost one daughter to the sea forever and almost lost the other,” Breckett said, voice strained. “I don’t intend to give it a shot at anyone else I care about.”

Kathryn’s irritation fled her in that moment. This was her friend, and he’d been her friend since she was a child. His first child, Sarina—who’d been so sweet, caring, and intelligent—had been swept out to sea by a riptide a year after Colin’s death. As though that weren’t bad enough, his younger daughter, Macy, had disappeared while at sea during another storm, and had been thought dead for weeks before her kraken mate returned her to The Watch. And he’d been close friends with Colin on top of all that. He was worried because he cared, because he knew firsthand what that worst-case scenario was.

But Kathryn knew, too.

“I can’t promise anything, Breckett, but I don’t mean to let the sea have me. You all risk yourselves every time you go out there, and I know deep in your heart you love it despite the risk. I have that in me, too. And all your worry didn’t stop you from letting Macy back out, because youknowit’s worth that little risk. We can’t let fear stop us from living.”

Is that what I’ve been doing this whole time?

He sputtered for a few seconds, face turning red. Then he swept a big hand over his face and said, “Damn it, Kat, at least take someone with you. Maybe Randall or one of the other hunters will be willing to go.”

“I would gladly accompany you,” said a familiar voice.

Breckett stepped aside and turned to look back, revealing Ector. Kathryn’s heart leapt as her eyes met the kraken’s. She didn’t understand why a simple glance from him could make her feel this way, didn’t understand how he could have such an immediate, powerful effect on her, didn’t understand what had changed in the last day to allow him that effect to begin with.

Was it because of that accidental intimate touch?

Because despite their differences—and her lack of understanding regarding her feelings—Ector was a man, and she was a woman, and even if age had granted her some wisdom it hadn’t made her immune to her basic desires.

“You aren’t supposed to encourage her, Ector,” Breckett said.

“But you just told her to take someone with her.”

“I was trying to dissuade her.”

Ector’s lips curled into a smile that sparked heat in his eyes. “I have a feeling Kathryn is not so easily dissuaded from anything she decides to do.”

Finally shaking herself back to her senses, Kat pointed at Ector and raised her eyebrows at Breckett. “See? He gets it.”

Breckett tilted his head back again and let out a frustrated huff. “I don’t think either of you gets it.”

Kathryn clamped her hands together and held them up. “Breckett, please. I need this.”

When Breckett met her gaze, Kat held it. She’d known him almost her entire life; whenever she hadn’t been out hunting with her parents, she’d been playing with Breckett and their group of friends. And because Breckett and Colin had worked together so closely, her friendship with Breck had continued strong into adulthood.

She had no desire to get into her reasons for needing to do this—they were too complex to articulate, and she wasn’t entirely sure of them herself. But he must’ve seen enough in her eyes to understand, if only a little.

Breckett’s shoulders sagged, and he let out a heavy sigh. “Fine. But only if Ector goes with you.”

“Thank y—” Kathryn’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?” It was only then that she realized what Ector had said before, and she turned her face toward him. He was watching her, golden eyes bright, still wearing that gentle smile as the ends of his tentacles restlessly shifted. She had a feeling he was holding some of their movement back.

“You require an escort, and I am more than willing to fill the role,” Ector said, moving a bit closer. “I do not have much else to do as of late, and I would be lying if I said the company is not appealing.”

Oh, damn.

Kathryn’s cheeks flushed, and she shifted on her feet. She offered him a smile. “That’s very kind of you Ector, but I…I don’trequirean escort.”

Breckett once again folded his arms across his chest. “No Ector, no boat.”

Kat snapped her gaze to Breckett. “You can’t do that!”

Even to her own ears, she sounded like a petulant child.

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