“Breathe, baby.”Caspian’s voice is suddenly in my head, shocking me, and the air explodes out of me. I struggle to get away, but he holds me tight. Eventually, I stop struggling and accept my fate. The minute I take a breath in, water floods my lungs, but I don’t drown. The tight feeling in my chest disappears, and oxygen inflates them. It becomes an automatic response, and my body relaxes in his arms.
“That’s my good girl,”he coos in my head, and my eyes shoot to his face. It’s only then that I notice I can see everything clearly.
“I can see you!” I project back, hoping it works, and it must because a wide grin crosses his face.
“Yes, we have a special lens that flicks down over our eyes, protecting them and making it so you can see. Are you ready to swim now?”he asks gently, but I can tell he’s eager to get moving.
“Lead the way,”I tell him, and with a rush of water, he darts off toward the bottom of the tank. I can’t believe that it’s this deep, and my eyes can’t stop darting around as I follow him. This spaceship keeps surprising me. There’s even a coral reef with fish swimming amongst it. No species that I recognize, so I stop and watch them. There’s so much to see, and I don't know where to look.
In fact, I’m so distracted that I don't see the approaching monster until it’s practically on top of me. Teeth like a shark, I can’t make out anything else as it comes closer and closer. My fear response takes over, and my tentacles act on their own, squirting purple ink at the monster just as it’s tackled from the side. It tumbles away into the murky ink, and I take my chance to escape, propeling myself to the surface as fast as I can. With a burst of speed that has to be thanks to this new form, I launch my body out of the water and onto the platform. My heart races and my chest heaves as I gasp for air.
What the fuck!
I’m still trying to catch the breath in my lungs when a commotion breaks the surface. I can hear Caspian and Nikos arguing, but it’s in another language that I don't understand. Shit, did my translator crap out because of the water pressure?
They both swim over to me, and Nikos has a contrite pout on his face until he looks up, his eyes glued to my chest. Yep, I’m definitely doing my best impression of one of those heaving bosom ladies from a tawdy romance book cover. Exposed nipples and all. I guess that’s enough to draw anyone's attention. Noticing where he’s looking, Caspian smacks him in the back of the head. “I know my mate’s breasts are distracting, but don't you have something to say to her?”
A flow of words comes out of his mouth even though his eyes stay on my breasts, but I hold my hand up.
“Wait. I can’t understand him. Something must be wrong with my translator.”
“He said that he is sorry. He forgot to warn his pet about you, and she was just protecting the pool.”
“His pet?” I know I sound skeptical, but sure enough a head pops up next to Nikos. The razor-sharp teeth are hidden behind a closed mouth. Its head looks similar to a turtle, but when it flips a tail, I know I’ve gotten it wrong. It thrusts its tail again and launches out of the water. The thing that lands on the platform next to me looks like a cross between a seal and a turtle. It has a small turtle-like head with a longish neck that sits on a wide seal-like body. Its skin looks like the shell of a turtle, but it's colored with camouflage-type blues and grays. Nikos’ pet flops its way over to me and gently nuzzles his head against the hand I held up, my heart melting when it makes little grunting noises as I scratch its hard surface.
Another flow of words comes from Nikos, and I look to Caspian to translate. “Sweetpea says she’s very sorry for scaring you and would like to be your friend. She says you’re welcome to come and swim whenever you want.” Caspian frowns and looks at Nikos as another torrent of words comes out.
“Of course my mate can come swim! You can just get over it. What? Since when did you want to find a non-Aquilian mate? I don't know if she will bring any friends. She’s only just arrived; she hasn't met many people yet.”
“Oh, I met Magenta today.” Nikos shudders visibly, as does Caspian. I gesture to them both. “What’s all that about?’
“Mags is nice enough, but she really is a maneater. She chews them up and spits them out. Commitment isnotin her wheelhouse.”
Huh, guess it’s kind of ironic that she called Dylan a manwhore then. Must take one to know one.
“That’s the only other female that has been nice to me, apart from Nixie, kind of, but she’s your sister, so that’s out.” I pause. “Thatisout, isn't it? Or do some aliens have different thoughts on sibling relationships?”
Again, they both shudder. “Fuck yes. Definitely out,” Caspian confirms.
“Well then, I’m sorry I can’t help him.” Nikos’ pout becomes more pronounced, but it has a twist of disappointment this time. He doesn't even say goodbye before he disappears below.
“Come on, don’t worry about him. I’ll show you how to shift back, then we can get Doc to have a look at your implant.” My heart skips a beat at the mention of Link, and Caspian gives me a knowing wink. “Maybe we should invite him to dinner.”
I feel a little guilty as I make my way back over to the edge and slide into the water. “You would be okay with that?” I swim up to my mate and wrap my arms around him, feeling like I need a little close contact right now.
He leans in and kisses me gently. “Of course, baby, anything you want.”
We swim back to the elevator entrance holding hands, and when we climb out, he shows me how to change back.
It’s hard to ignore the fact that I’m completely naked when I shift back. Especially when Caspian sidles up to me, now back on two legs himself, his erect cock sliding between the gap in my legs to rub deliciously against my pussy lips. “It’s the magic. Better to shift with no clothes on because they always disappear.” His mouth meets mine, but just when I think it’s about to get interesting, he pulls away. He moves to a nearby bag on the ground and pulls out two large towels, returning to me and wrapping it around me. “As much as I’d like to continue this, we should get that translator checked out, and I don't want everyone ogling my mate on the way.”
I grab the ends and pull them closed around me as he wraps the other towel around his waist. My skin has returned to its normal peachy complexion, but Caspian has stayed mottled blue and purple. He shoves the rest of my clothes and my shoes into the bag and throws it over his shoulder. Grabbing my hand, we head to the elevator and get on the way to see Link.
* * *
“I’m never going to remember how to get anywhere,” I complain to Caspian, lost as to how we’re getting here.
“Your watch has a built-in GPS,” he tells me, grabbing it out of the bag and helping me put it on my wrist. “You just have to type in where you want to go, and it will give you verbal directions. You can also pull up a map of the ship and zoom in and out to find things.”
