Page 28 of Kiss for My Kraken
Satisfaction filled Sam as he watched Nina wander through his cabin. Her fingertips traced the spines of his books, lingered on the smooth edges of driftwood carvings, and tapped against glass bottles filled with colored sand. Every corner she explored felt somehow transformed by her presence, as if she breathed new life into spaces he’d always inhabited alone. The sound of her footsteps across his wooden floor—soft, tentative, curious—was music he hadn’t known he’d been waiting to hear.
She’s here. In my home. And she hasn’t run.
“This collection of glass is amazing,” she said, holding up a bowl of sea glass that caught the lantern light. “Where did you find it all?”
“Various places.” Two tentacles curled involuntarily at her smile. “The river brings treasures if you know where to look.”
He gathered objects that caught his eye—beautiful things, interesting things—arranging them on his shelves with meticulous care. Yet he’d never once considered what anotherperson might think of them. Now, watching her eyes widen with each discovery, they seemed to take on new meaning.
Ozzie trotted behind her, occasionally glancing back at Sam as if to make sure he was still there. The dog’s easy acceptance was unexpected. While he would never hurt them, most animals knew that he could and kept their distance.
“He likes you,” she said, smiling at him, and he returned the smile.
“Apparently he’s a good judge of character.”
Her laughter rang out and the sound washed over him like sunlight, warming places within him that had been cold for longer than he could remember.
“Are you hungry?” he asked suddenly, realizing he’d been staring.
She looked over at him, a hint of color touching her cheeks. “Actually, yes.”
“Good. I have food.”
He crossed to the small kitchen area and set to work, lighting the small iron stove and retrieving two fresh fish he’d caught earlier and stored in a cooling basin.
“I have fish that I caught, but also…” He hesitated, then opened a covered basket on the counter. “I have food from town. From the River Cafe.”
She came to join him, peering into the basket. “You go to the cafe?”
“Not exactly.” He focused on filleting the fish. “Rona leaves packages for me on the outside deck.”
“Rona?”
There was an odd note in her voice, almost like… jealousy?
“The older female who owns the café,” he said quickly. “She’s also the waitress. She’s a siren and one of her gifts is that she always knows what someone wants to eat. Maybe if you went there and sat outside, I could join you.”
“On the deck?”
“I… I don’t know. No one in town has ever seen me on land. Most of them haven’t even seen me in the water.”
“But they know about you.”
It wasn’t a question, but he considered it as he arranged the fish fillets on a small iron pan. “To an extent—I think most of them know there’s something in the river, even if they don’t know what. And there are people I talk to occasionally. Flora, of course. Grondar, Jekyll, Eric. Ben knows about me, but he’s not exactly talkative.”
She laughed at that, then gave him a puzzled look. “Why do all of you call Dr. Jackson, Jekyll?”
“You know the story?”
“Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde? Of course.”
“Dr. Jackson is a Hyde.”
Her mouth dropped open. “You mean that’s real?”
“To an extent, although like all the stories that humans tell about Others it’s only a portion of the truth.”
“Like the stories they tell about kraken,” she said softly.
