A deep voice answered in my memory.“I thought I wascutie?”
Rubbing my pendant absently, I whispered the words that I could remember saying, though not who I said them to. “Cutie. Honey. Fish boy. Does it matter what I call you?”
“Not as long as you call me, my beloved Empress,” a very loud voice answered from behind me. I spun around in the waterto find Lachlan bowing so low, his forehead was touching the waves.
“Emperor, we are honored.”
I didn’t bow; I was caught in a trance. “So many gemstones,” I murmured, stepping toward the enormous creature. He was as tall as some mountains I’d seen, his enormous carapace covered with barnacles, and more. Gold chains draped in between clusters of gemstones of every kind, all of them shining brightly in the sunlight that split the gray clouds. Tentacles rose up all around his shell, though I could see a mass of tentacles peeking out from behind the carapace that held some sort of boat. A sailboat?
He wasn’t even remotely human-looking, so I wasn’t sure why I had to bite my lip to keep from making an inappropriately lustful sound. Then he blinked one of his enormous, ocean-dark eyes, and spoke through his beaked lips. “Every gem is yours, beloved. Every treasure in all the oceans of the world belongs to you.” He leaned forward and began to change. “As do I.” The large head, shoulders, and torso dissolved into the form of a man, though the kind of man I’d never seen before.
Except I have, haven’t I?I shook the thought away as I watched the enormous, glittering shell sink beneath the waves, until only a mass of tentacles below his waist, with the boat snared in them, still showed his true nature.
The man in front of me was twice as tall as I was, a bit taller than Skadi’s final human shape had been. This creature had chosen skin the color of the deepest ocean trench, and blue-black hair that sparkled with silver and gold as the sun caught it. His eyes were whirlpools that wanted to draw me down, and his lips curled into a smile that pulled at something.
I went ahead and made a lustful sound. “You’re… you’re…” A small tentacle snaked toward me and caressed the nautilus shell necklace I always wore.
“May I return your memories now, my Empress?” My tongue was glued to the roof of my mouth, so all I could do was nod. He lifted the pendant carefully over my head, pursed his lips, and sang one word, in a gorgeous, deep bass. “Remember.”
I did. All of a sudden, I knew him. “Cutie!”
Beside me, Lachlan choked out a warning. But I didn’t need to fear this male. I flung myself at him, though my own efforts would have had me landing on his thighs. Not a bad idea, given the solid handhold that lay between them. But a wave lifted me higher, into his outstretched arms, and I embraced the mate I’d forgotten until now.
His lips met mine, though his kiss turned to laughter when I asked, “What’s a girl gotta do to get some tentacle action around here?”
RADA
Ihad everything I needed. A half coconut shell filled with a combination of pineapple juice, slivers of fresh coconut, and icy cold rum, a nest made of the softest blankets I’d ever felt with my assassin’s cloak draped over the edge of the pillows, a selection of fresh seafood arrayed on a gold platter that had to have been created for some ancient king, and a gorgeous, eleven-foot-tall oiled male serving me my breakfast in bed.
The only thing missing was that male coming close enough to touch me. It had been six months, and I’d tried to seduce him for five and half of those, but he hadn’t budged. Not even one tentacle had gone lower than my collarbone, or higher than my knees. He had bent a little. Just this morning, he’d kissed me until my lips were swollen and the sea roared in my ears.
“Lusca, I know you think I’m too young. But I’m twenty-three, I’m not a virgin, and you promised me anything my heart desired.” I batted my lashes at the smirking male, my gaze dropping to the thickly woven kelp loincloth around his hips. “And my heart desires whatever you’ve got hiding under that thing.”
He chuckled darkly. “What if it’s not what you think, beloved? What if it’s something monstrous?” He stepped closer, and something thick and pendulous dropped below the loincloth’s lowest edge, swinging slightly as he walked. My eyes almost fell out of my head as it rose, apparently peering at me.
I bit my lip, trying not to laugh. “I don’t think a human form has a tentacle there, cutie. But in the interest of research, come on over and I’ll see what can be done with one.” I lay back on the blankets, the warmth of the tropical sun heating all the parts of my body that showed.
Of course, that didn’t include the pertinent bits, as Lusca had insisted on me wearing clothing around him at all times. Something about our age gap and a power differential and honoring my youth with his patience, blah blah. All it sounded like was me not getting to satisfy my curiosity.
“Come on, tentacle blocker. You know I’m on a knot fast. And you are a hundred percent Alpha; I’ve seen the coconut you have hidden under there.” I licked my lips, remembering the flash he’d given me when we met. He’d rescued me from some pirates who’d swarmed my little sailboat after I left Havira to explore the other islands south of the Wyngelian Sea, and brought me here to his own secret getaway.
“Would you like to explore some more of the Southern Reaches this week, beloved? I can carry you to the southernmost tip of the world.”
“Are there Omegas there?” I already knew the answer. He’d spent the past few months helping me find the few Omegas left south of the continent and making sure they were well protected. Last week, we’d made contact with the last one the merfolk had whispered about, a fierce, young Omega who lived alone on an island with no other people and had insisted on staying put. I’d made sure she had herbs and a solid boat, but we let her be.
Omegas choose, after all.
But I knew I had work to do in other parts of the world, and I couldn’t put it off any longer. Well, not much longer.
“No. I only want to explore your southernmost tip.” I wiggled my eyebrows and pushed out my breasts a little more. Lusca might act like he had all the patience a many-thousand-year-old creature would have, but the hunger in his fathomless eyes when I “accidentally” exposed small parts of myself was as strong as any force in the world. I let my top gape a bit, knowing he could see down to my nipples.
“Stop teasing, little Empress.”
“I’m not teasing. What’s a girl gotta do to get some tentacle action around here? I feel rejected.”
I had to laugh when the cocky smirk, the tentacle, and the air of sophistication all disappeared at once. “Ah, you are joking, yes?” His voice sounded slightly higher-pitched than usual on the last word.
Our eyes met, and his deep blue cheeks went an even darker shade as he saw the truth. I was not joking at all.
