Page 27 of Lover from the Waves

Ector couldn’t guess how such matters would be viewed as humans and kraken became more integrated—both in culture and blood—over the coming generations.

He forced his gaze away from her again and entered the water, moving slowly; the fresh water smelled different, tasted different,feltdifferent on his skin, and he could not bring himself to plunge into it like he would have the ocean. Still, it wasn’t unpleasant—especially given the company.

Once he was far enough in, he spread his tentacles and submerged himself fully. He brushed his hands over his abdomen and was immediately reminded of his shameful performance. Strength and control—those had been the traits necessary for the kraken people to survive. Strength not just of body, but of willpower, of resolve, and control of one’s actions and emotions. He’d failed on both fronts, and he couldn’t help but be embarrassed even if Kathryn had ultimately been appreciative and amused.

A small part of him still saw spilling his seed outside of a womb to be wasteful. His people had always struggled to reproduce, and so self-pleasure—or pleasure not the result of intended reproduction—had always been seen as selfish.

But everything is different now, isn’t it?

Everything certainly had changed, and Ector’s views hadn’t been spared alteration. So what if his control had faltered for a little while? He’d been lost in a passionate moment with the female he intended to take as his mate. There was no shame to be had in that situation.

He rose, lifting his head and torso above the surface, and glanced toward Kathryn. She was standing at the waterfall now, holding her shirt from its lower hem and stretching it out in front of her. The tumbling water landed directly atop the taut fabric.

An unexpected pang pierced Ector’s chest. For a little while, Kathryn had been marked by the combined scents of their arousal, of their shared pleasure, and it had been far sweeter and more satisfying than he could’ve imagined. Knowing that those scents were being washed away from her and himself alike roused both a hint of sadness and a growing, possessive urge in Ector—the first whispers of an instinct demanding he mark her again.

Kathryn turned her head toward Ector, caught his eyes, and smiled. She dropped the hem of her shirt and waded toward him. “You look as though you have something on your mind.”

He nearly flashed violet again with a flare of embarrassment—not due to the nature of his thoughts, but for his failure to mask them. He clenched his fists at his sides.

She stopped in front of him, and her smile slowly fell as she searched his face. “Do…you regret it? What we did?”

Ector’s eyes widened, and he shook his head. He closed the remaining distance between them and placed his hands on her shoulders. “No. Not at all, Kathryn. It is just new, and I do not want to…misstep. That can mean to make a mistake, correct?”

She reached up and settled her hands on his forearms. “It does, but you didn’t misstep or make any mistakes, Ector.”

“My people have always moved quickly when it comes to mating. I do not want to make what I feel for you, or my intentions, seem shallow.”

“And what do you intend?”

He shifted a hand to her face, brushing the pad of his thumb over her cheek, relishing in the softness of her skin. “I want you as my mate. In the…new sense. The human sense.”

Her smile, her beautiful smile, returned, spreading wide. It brightened her face and made her blue eyes sparkle. She tilted her head, pressing her cheek into his palm—into his touch. “You want that? With me?”

The light in her expression made Ector’s hearts quicken. He nodded without hesitation. “I do. But the choice remains yours, and I do not expect you to decide so soon.”

Her eyes dipped, and her smile waned. “I…want this. I do. I just… It’s been so long since I’ve been with anyone, I just don’t know how to do this anymore.”

He gently combed his claws through the strands of her hair that had come loose from their tie. “If it makes any difference, Kathryn, I haveneverdone this. But I do not consider myself too old to learn something new.”

Kathryn returned her gaze to his. “Then we’ll take it at whatever pace feels right at any given moment.” She moved a hand to his chest, placing it over one of his hearts. “Being with you…feels natural.”

Ector leaned down and pressed his lips to hers tenderly, just as she’d shown him, sampling her taste and savoring her softness. His eyes drifted shut during that contact. When he broke the kiss and pulled his head away, he found her looking up at him with half-lidded eyes.

Her smile stretched a little wider, and she said a bit breathlessly, “You’re nothing if not a fast learner.”

“Well, itismy duty to please my female.”

Kathryn’s cheeks reddened, and she trailed a finger down his chest. “And is my male pleased, as well?”

Heat unfurled in Ector’s chest and rushed outward to suffuse his entire body, followed by a swelling of pride that poured fresh strength into his muscles. Simply hearing Kathryn refer to him as her male was nearly enough to urge him to action. His cock, which had finally receded during their journey to this pool, strained against the inside of his slit. “For now.”

The light in Kathryn’s eyes intensified, and the warmth of her body grew along with it. Before he could act upon that, movement in Ector’s peripheral vision caught his attention, making his hearts skip a beat.

A clump of grass at the edge of the pool shook, and something made a shrill call from within it. Instinctively, Ector placed himself between Kathryn and the creature to shield her with his body, his skin shifting turning crimson. His tentacles flared out to the sides, the rearmost rising to curl around Kathryn’s waist protectively, and he bared his teeth.

With a high-pitched squeal, a tiny, furry creature leapt from the grass and darted away, its stubby legs pumping desperately. It quickly disappeared in the thicker vegetation, its frightened calls fading with distance.

For a few seconds, Ector’s body thrummed with unspent energy, strength, and heat; he was ready to fight, to destroy. Then the ridiculousness of the situation—getting so worked up over a tiny, likely harmless creature—crashed down on him. The source of the warmth within him shifted to embarrassment, and he couldn’t keep a violet tint from his skin.

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