Page 49 of Expose Me

The water rippled gently over my skin as Zey made his way over and settled next to me with his back to the edge and his elbows resting on it.

“I fear we are more prisoners than guests,” he said.

“Really?”

“There have been at least four guards outside our door since we were shown to the room. I tried to leave to get you food while you slept, but they wouldn’t allow it.”

Ignoring the fact that he seemed to have made a habit of finding me food while I slept, I frowned, slightly worried. “What did they say?”

“That anything we required would be brought to us immediately, but they were under strict instructions to make sure we stayed in the room—for our protection, of course.”

I was a little proud of how dry and sarcastic he sounded—he got that from me.

“Of course.” I rolled my eyes. “Abraxos is protecting his interests, making sure what he wants most doesn’t slip out of his grasp. But he won’t wait any longer than absolutely necessary to fulfill his end of the bargain. We might technically be prisoners, but I think we’re safe here.”

“For now.” Zey nodded.

“Yeah, there’s no telling what he’ll do once he has the location of the Orb, but we have three whole days to make our own plans.”

Zey hummed and frowned slightly at the water, lost in thought. I felt kind of bad for ruining his water-induced bliss, so I decided to change the topic.

“Why did you choose this form?” I asked, folding my arms and resting them on the edge of the pool.

“The musculature and composition are well-suited to running and fighting—it is a warrior’s body. The features are appealing to you, ensuring you’ll be more amenable to providing assistance. And when you made me consider it that day in the hotel, the sum of its parts felt like me. The longer I remain in it, the more that feeling resonates.”

“Hold up.” I chuckled. He was always burying the lead. “I’m glad that you’re not walking around in a meat-suit that doesn’t fit, but can we go back to the ‘appealing to me’ bit?”

“Are you mad? This is seen as manipulative by humans, right? That’s not really something we have in Vuulectus.”

“You don’t have manipulation in—never mind.” I waved that fascinating info off. “Had you told me this then, I probably would’ve been mad, but I dunno ...” I shrugged. “I guess I know you better now, and I know it’s just your nature—that you weren’t doing it to hurt me or whatever.”

“I would never hurt you, Sky.” He fixed me with that intense, depthless look.

I glanced away, uncomfortable at his fervent declaration.

“How can you be so sure this form is appealing to me?” I smirked and turned my nose up slightly.

“Intuitive learning.” One side of his mouth quirked into a little smile.

“Well maybe it’s glitching or something. How can you be sure I don’t prefer a female form?”

He cocked his head to the side thoughtfully, but with an amused, teasing edge to the expression. Slowly, his features shifted, his shoulders narrowed, his chest expanded into breasts. Within moments, a female version of Zey sat in the water next to me. It was still him—her. The key features that I’d come to know so well were still there. Her hair was the same dark brown, but longer, the ends floating on the surface of the water. The facial features were very similar, but softer and without that sharp masculine jawline. The eyes ... the eyes were the same. That depthless black with the slightest hint of my own amber drawing me in like a moth to a flame.

“Hmmm.” A thoughtful look crossed her stunning face. “Perhaps I did make an error. You seem to be rather taken by this form.”

Even her voice was softer, gentler somehow.

“Do I?” My voice had gone breathy. I’d admitted to myself that I was attracted to Zey, but I hadn’t expected to be just as taken by the female version.

She dropped one of her elbows from the edge and turned to face me. The water hovered around her nipples, drawing my eyes to the swell of her breasts. They were a little bigger than mine, and I had an urge to see if they felt the same in my hands.

“You do,” Zey said, moving in closer, brushing my wet hair over my shoulder. I turned so we were facing each other. Inch by inch, we leaned closer, our eyes greedily exploring every inch of skin visible above the water.

I moaned softly when our lips connected, my hand moving through the water to her waist. I hadn’t been expecting just how soft the kiss would be. It still felt like kissing Zey, and when I closed my eyes, it was like I could sense the very essence of him in every spot where we touched. But on a very physical level it was ... different. Not better or worse, just different.

I’d never been with a woman before, never found myself interested. I might have to reassess that.

Zey ran gentle fingers up my arm and wrapped her own around my neck. My hand at her waist went to her back. As we drew each other closer, our breasts squished together. I gasped and pulled back, glancing down, mesmerized by the water lapping at the soft mounds, at the way they rose and fell with our synched-up breathing.

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