My wolf lends me strength, and the next hit loosens the kraken’s hold enough that I gain back an inch, then two.
Rushing water is a distraction I can’t afford, but I turn anyway. Then duck the fuck out of the way as the shark angles his body, zooming through the water right for me.
Son of a bitch!
The tentacle latches onto me tighter than Spanx after a Thanksgiving meal, cutting off my blood supply like a tourniquet.
Slowly, so I can really see my death coming, the kraken pulls me toward its mouth.
My shoes just scrape along the first row of teeth when a pair of large hands clench around me. I fight against the sudden terrifying hold, but then I’m pulled up through the thick water.
I glance back to see Torben looking like some furious sea god. His long locks drift in the darkening sea. He’s beautiful.
And fucking terrifying when he’s furious.
Back and forth I’m wrenched like a tug-of-war pull toy until Torben thrusts out a hand just above my head. Magic twirls like a current. His fire dies on impact, but the water warms and warms until it’s sweltering, morphing the cold ocean around us into a bubbling hot tub. Light burns brightly inside Torben, turning him into a glow stick of hellfire that becomes a beam driving the creatures who live in the dark away from us. Screeching loudly, the tentacle loosens and then releases, leaving behind a wicked bruise.
That same power that lives inside me flares with gratitude as I turn in Torben’s arms and wrap my own around his narrow waist.
He seems shocked, suspended in the heated current as his magic subsides. Tentatively, his arms close around me in a hug that would be far more enjoyable if I could breathe in the scent of him… or breathe at all.
But I still feel protected in his strong arms.
His fingers trail up my back, tickle along my neck, and skim along my jaw until he’s cupping my face. Sea green eyes close slowly and a shiver races through my entire body as he comes closer. Bringing his mouth to mine, he covers my lips in a soft caress that grows steadily harder. His lips are softer than I expected, and so warm against the cold chill of mine. Torben forces them apart and breathes life into me.
I don’t understand how, but it fills my lungs and eases my anxious pulse.
It’s a small breath, but enough to keep me from passing out just yet. My heart tightens when he pulls away, leaving me shocked and bewildered that he cares enough to keep me alive.
It wasn’t a kiss. It wasn’t intimacy. It was just… magical air shared between a girl and fucking Aquaman.
Not a big deal at all.
For a man who fears nothing, there’s a healthy dose of apprehension in his expression when he pulls away, but it clears in an instant, making me question whether it had ever been there at all.
Mossy green eyes so dark they’re nearly black tell me all I need to know.
Hang the fuck on…
I cling to him as his powerful arms propel us downward. The ocean fights us, trying to claim Torben while rejecting me altogether, but he’s not leaving me behind.
I don’t have time to dwell on whether or not that’s a good thing. After experiencing the ocean from hell, what waits for me on the other side is a mystery I’m not sure I want to uncover.
But fuck it. I’m out of options, and I’m out of time.
Torben’s air is bleeding slowly from my lungs as black dots start to pepper my vision.
He struggles and kicks and swims against the tide, a force of nature in the body of a hellish god.
I’m on the verge of passing out when the sea finally yields. It claims me.
The current sweeps us up in a rollercoaster ride that makes me nauseous. Dips and curves make my stomach drop through my feet until we enter a swirling whirlpool, then it leaves me altogether.
Through it all, Torben doesn’t release me. One hand is a bar against my back, his fingers digging into my shoulder while the other crosses my back with his hand on my ass.
Wrapping my legs around him, I hold on, burying my face in his neck. I whimper as we swirl faster and faster until the bottom drops out.
I’m falling once again, this time headed straight for Hell itself.
