She pressed back against him, arching over his arm so more of her could touch him. She didn’t even care that they were both soaking wet or that her clothes clung to her body. She didn’t care that her nipples were so hard they ached for his touch.

Then, oh, he touched. He lifted that webbed hand and cupped one of her breasts. They both groaned into each other’s mouths, because she’d never felt her body come alive like hers did in this moment. She wanted to touch him back, but she didn’t know where she could touch. The spines on his back made it hard for her to touch him there, and it certainly wasn’t easy for her to grab onto his neck.

He had no problem touching her, though, and it seemed like he was enjoying himself far more than she had expected.

Again, he moaned into her mouth before ripping away from her. “You have no natural defenses, kairos.”

“You mean I don’t have claws and spines?” Her voice sounded so breathless. “I know that. Are you complaining?”

He looked down at his hand on her breast, then she felt him gently squeeze before running his thumb over her hardened nipple. “Not in the slightest, Mira. By all the gods of the sea, I can touch any part of you I wish without fear of poison or pain.”

“Endless touching,” she agreed, arching into his grip so he would touch her more. “Don’t stop. Please don’t stop.”

And maybe he wouldn’t have. Maybe she would have found out what was underneath those scales that pressed so deliciously between her thighs if they both hadn’t heard an angry thud from the other side of the dome’s glass. Then another. A pounding that rocked the entire dome and shifted her forward awkwardly in his grip.

She didn’t have a moment to breathe. One second he was in her arms, and the next he’d tossed her away from the pool before shouting, “Close it! Now!”

Then he disappeared. The only thing left was the splashing of his tail and the foam he had left behind.

For a second, she was frozen. Staring into the water with wide eyes and a sudden fear at what had come for them. Surely nothing would attack this dome. There weren't any dangerous sea creatures that came into shallow water like this. Was there?

But then she saw the vague shadow of a fin pass overhead. Then she saw the black tip of a tail that was all too familiar. She lunged for the lever that closed the moon pool and shoved it so hard, she was afraid she’d snap it off and end up stuck in here.

“Come on,” she hissed as it closed. “Faster, you ancient bitch.”

Eventually, it closed. Sealing her into the dome like a tomb.

Byte’s shuddering voice interrupted her fear. “Mira? What’s going on?”

“I have no idea.”

Snapping out of her panic, she raced for the windows of the dome. Cursing that she couldn’t see through some of the algae that already had grown back, she sprinted for the bed. Not caring that she soaked the mattress and the blankets, she jumped on top of it and peered out the portion of the dome that was still very clear.

All she could see were the dark outlines of undines in the distance. One glowing bright red, another yellow, and one blue that she would recognize anywhere.

OceanofPDF.com

Thirty

Arges

Arges swam with rage coursing through his body. All the lights along his tail flared bright and hot. How dare they? His people knew better than to track him, of all people, through the water. They knew what his mission was, and that he was only doing his duty as he was supposed to do. Mitéra herself had given him this task, and he could choose to do it in any way that he wished.

These were the excuses he told himself for the anger and fear that surged through his entire body.

He knew better, though. The truth burned in his chest just as hot as the rest of the emotions. They had interrupted him. He had found a mate, a true burning light that even now warmed his chest. He’d almost had her, and now they tried to take her away.

She was his. His to take, to steal, to kiss.

And oh, what a kiss. He’d seen humans do it before, but he had never thought devouring another person would make him feel so complete. He had only wanted her more. Wanted to dig himself into her skin and coil around her heart until he was wrapped so firmly around it that he knew it would only beat for him.

Then his brothers had to ruin things. The other warriors that he’d led for years, the ones he had taught to track and hunt, had used what he’d taught them against him.

He’d seen the shadow pass over her dome, and he had thought it was just another sea creature. There were plenty of silhouettes that could make that shadow, and he hadn’t wanted to stop kissing her. Touching her. Lingering on the soft feeling of her flesh giving underneath his fingertips. He had wanted to stay in that moment and that had nearly cost them everything.

His lower gills around his ribs had scented his brother first. The rough water that she’d splashed up as she writhed against him had been enough for the acrid bite of anger and blood to taint his tongue. He had known who’d come to see him. He had known who was coming for them.

So he had thrown himself into the water and sped away from the dome. Like any predator in the ocean, they saw movement and gave chase. There were three of them. Maketes, Daios, and another he could not remember the name of. But the lighter blue male couldn’t keep up with the rest of them. He was smaller, weaker, and Arges was certain he could not get into the glass dome that kept Mira safe.

Now he had to deal with the other two. The two who were dangerous, even to him.

Even missing an arm.

He led them far away from the dome, but not into the open sea. Daios fought like the gods of the ocean were on his side in the open waters. Arges had taken many a beating from his blood brother, and there were two of them to be concerned with now.

The shallow waters would work to his advantage. Though his brother was larger than him, Arges was more nimble. Even Maketes struggled to keep up with Arges’s speed as he looped and wove over the abandoned achromo village that had sunk underneath the waves. The buildings were short and squat, but they created an obstacle course that would be difficult for his brothers to get through.

“Arges!” Daios screamed, his cry of rage blasting through the water as sure as the voice of a sea god.

He did not intend to turn and fight his brother properly. Neither of them could afford to do so. He feared they would kill each other. At one point in his life, that may have been an honor, but no longer.

Not with a woman waiting for him to return. A woman who needed his guidance and help.

A woman he perhaps had stronger feelings for than he wished to admit.

Rotating his body, he rounded one of the houses in a tight circle that made his fins scream as the water tried to force him forward. But they would expect him to exit the old base on one side, and he intended to do it on the other.

If they wanted a fight, they needed to remember that he was the tactician. Not them.

As expected, they raced for where they thought he would leave, not even looking at where he might have hidden. Arges took his time then, letting them sit and stew in their feelings until he knew it would be difficult for them to see anything but rage. They would think with less intelligence and more feeling.

He would need every advantage he could take.

Hissing out a low breath, he launched himself from the corner of a building and swam in a giant arc around them. Once behind their bodies, he shot forward. Tail working hard, his breath ragged through his gills, he struck Maketes first around the waist. The smaller brother, the lighter-hearted one, would be the first to give up when the fight no longer suited him. It was safer to keep him away from Daios. Far away from the fight.