Page 56 of Lover from the Waves

“It is,” Kane replied. “I think it’s best if I go into a standby mode, Kathryn.”

“You’re going?” She couldn’t keep a hint of alarm from her voice.

“I’ll be right here. All you need to do is call if you need me. But this moment is for the two of you, not me.”

His words coaxed her smile back into place. “Thank you, Kane. I’ll talk to you soon.”

“Enjoy, Kathryn.”

Kathryn twisted in Ector’s arms to look up at him, raising her eyebrows in question. Ector nodded and released his hold on her. He positioned himself at her side, took her hand, and guided her past the ridge.

The light from all the plants and creatures below gave her diving suit a blue tint, completely altering its look, but she didn’t waste any time studying that; there was so much else to see. Clusters of plants with thick stalks and heavy, bulbous growths at their ends—from which their glow emitted—rose from crevices in the rocky downslope like mountainside copses of trees presented on a much smaller scale. Plants—though some might’ve been creatures, she couldn’t have been sure—that were comprised of dozens of tentacle-like appendages were gathered in patches along the bottom. There seemed to be several variations of them. Some had more or fewer tentacles, some had tuft-like growths on their appendages, some had longer or shorter tentacles, but almost all of them glowed from their cores, making their appendages seem darker in comparison.

There were several tube-like formations rising from the bare stone in different locations. Some of these appeared empty, but long, translucent, hair-like tendrils extended from others, each lit up by tiny pinpoints of blue light. Clumps of seaweed grew in other places, their leaves varying in size and shape. Most had a deep violet hue in the current light, and some bore glowing growths that resembled large seed pods. There were flashes of bright red, purple, and green throughout from a variety of strange underwater plants and creatures, including things that looked like large-petaled flowers growing directly from the coral.

And the fish…there were so many kinds, most of which possessed uniquely vibrant coloration in this light. Some were so vibrant that part of Kathryn’s mind insisted they couldn’t possibly be real.

When they were over the center of the underwater garden, Ector brought them to a stop. He swung around to Kathryn’s front and raised her hand to his mouth. Once again, he brushed a kiss over her knuckles, and once again, she was saddened that their skin was separated by the suit. In that moment, she wanted more than anything to run her hands over him, tofeelhim.

He let go of her hand and eased back, putting a couple meters of distance between them. She moved her arms and legs in slow, easy motions to maintain her position; it didn’t take much effort thanks to the suit. His tentacles slowly spread to the sides, many of them curling up at their ends, and his chest swelled as though with a deep breath. She had the sense that he was presenting himself.

For me.

Ector’s eyes locked with hers. The joy his gaze had held moments before had receded to the background, overpowered by fiery intensity, and his smile had faded. She recognized that expression, that smolder. Before her eyes, his skin changed. Though it was made much darker by the predominant blue light, she’d have known that color anywhere—it was the same maroon he often took on when he was particularly…amorous.

She had no idea what he was about to do, and she couldn’t look away from him.

Maintaining that eye contact, Ector moved his body. He began slowly, but there was an underlying rhythm to it, like he heard music that she could not. His muscles stretched and contracted, pulling his skin taut over them. His every motion conveyed strength, control, and an undeniable sensuality.

He gradually increased his speed and expanded his range of motion. Kathryn’s wonder regarding their surroundings fell away, forgotten; Ector alone commanded her full attention now. And she was impossibly more enrapt when he spun for the first time and a ripple of color pulsed over his body from top to bottom. Those color-changing ripples grew faster and more varied as he spun again and again, gaining speed with each rotation. His arms and tentacles stretched and curled, and his body tilted from side to side, and all those colors combined with his spinning to create scintillating patterns on his skin. He was a living work of art.

And every time he turned toward Kathryn—no matter how fast he was moving—his eyes snapped to hers.

Kathryn was his focal point, his anchor, and she fully understood that this wasn’t some show, wasn’t meant as entertainment. This was a declaration. He was dancingforher.

Heat built rapidly at her core. It flared and spread each time Ector’s gaze met hers, and soon had suffused her entire body. His intensity, his prowess, his devotion…it was so much, so strong. She wanted it all. Needed it all; needed him.

His spinning slowed, and the colors that had been pulsing over his skin gave way to that maroon that was so much darker in this light. He finally spread his tentacles and splayed his webbed fingers, bringing himself to a halt as he came to face her again. She released a breath made shaky by anticipation when he eased closer. His tentacles grazed her legs, and a tingling sensation coursed over her skin. She longed to feel him flesh to flesh, to be free of the barrier created by the suit.

She could only stare at him, heart pounding, as he took one of her hands in his and looped his arm around her lower back. He drew her against him. Even through the suit, she felt the delicious velvet-over-steel that was his body. Kathryn instinctively placed her free hand on his shoulder.

She suddenly realized that this was the stance many couples in The Watch assumed when they danced together—and just as that realization struck, Ector swept her into the most memorable dance of her life.

There was still no music to be heard, but she felt the song in his heart as he twirled, sank, and glided, moving Kat through the water with a gracefulness she’d never imagined possible. They flowed together to that silent, all-encompassing rhythm. Kathryn giggled and laughed as her stomach fluttered. The glowing underwater garden spun all around her, its many sources of light reduced to streaks of color that added another layer of surrealness to the entire situation.

She knew then that he’d been right—swimming was like flying. She felt like she was dancing across an endless, clear blue sky, staring into eyes more brilliant than the sun. But even without this experience…

Ector made her heart soar.

Chapter 13

“This is beautiful,” Kathryn said as she took her first step onto the sandy shore. Though nothing could compare to the underwater paradise Ector had shown her the night before, this new location was still breathtaking.

It had been the waterfalls that had drawn Kat and Ector to this spot. There were several of them along jungle-topped seaside cliffs, their waters crystal blue and white, flowing into the ocean below. Kathryn and Ector had followed those falls until the cliffs opened to reveal paradise—a sheltered lagoon with bare rocks on both sides and a cliff face at its back. The vibrant turquoise water connected to the sea through a sandy gap in that ring of stone and was fed from the land by another waterfall—though Kathryn couldn’t rightly consider it a singular waterfall.

It was dozens of streams flowing from the top of the cliff and tumbling down over the uneven stone to create an erratic curtain of water that stretched across at least thirty or forty meters. Green and violet vegetation sprouted from the rocks and dirt all around, accented by flowers of at least a dozen colors.

The break in the cliffs continued beyond the lagoon, which had left plenty of beach and a gradual enough incline for Ector to push the boat above the tideline. After taking a few moments to enjoy the scenery, Kathryn led Ector on a hike to find a suitable spot for camp. Fortunately, they discovered it in short order—a wide shelf partway up the cliffside that was partially covered in that long, soft grass so common along the coast and which overlooked the lagoon. It was far enough away from the falling water to keep dry, but close enough to still pick up that strange but soothing blend of saltwater and freshwater smells.

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