Tempest must have heard him, or perhaps finally decided his gift was enough, because a few hours later, the gate opened once more. Emory held perfectly still as he watched from a distance and listened to the hum of machinery in the water.
The submersible arm lowered. An engine was powered on. Thrusters were activated. Lights beamed through the murky, nutrient-rich water.
The bulbous shape of his mate’s vehicle glided smoothly through the gate.
Thank the gods.
A hot prickle took root behind his eyes and the back of his throat. He was relieved to see her again, to know that she was not forever out of his reach, but that relief swiftly gave way to a proportional wave of screaming outrage.
She’dgone.She’d gone and if she’d chosen to never return, if something had happened to her on land, she would have been lost to him.
Unacceptable!
The hot prickle turned into a fire that washed through his veins, burning away the soreness in his limbs as he matched the vehicle’s speed. He glared at the back of the submersible, sharp teeth grinding. It was good that she had a way to traverse the water, but he would never allow her to do so without his shadow again. Where she went, so did he.
It was time he made that abundantly clear.
When they were nearing her cove but still far enough away to see nothing around but blue, Emory threw himself forward, fighting the drag of the water and the current to dart in front of the vehicle.
He knew from experience that they would stop automatically to reduce the chances of a catastrophic collision and used that to his full advantage. One good smack with the flat of his tail halted the submersible instantly.
Blood rushing with a potent mixture of desperation, excitement, lust, and possessiveness, Emory circled back around to at last bring himself face to face with his wayward little mate.
Gods.
He pressed his palms flat against the clear barrier that kept her safe from the crushing pressure of the water, each finger spread as far as the flexible webbing between them would allow. The sensitive pads flattened against the smooth surface, sending him all sorts of useless information that wouldn’t get him any closer to the woman locked inside.
But that was okay. His hands might have been vital to his perception of the world, but his eyes still worked just fine.
Emory stared into the dimly illuminated cockpit and found a small, wide-eyed woman staring back at him.
He’d seen her a hundred times, but nothing prepared him for a close-up view.
His mate was fine-boned. Her face was both pointy and soft, with a sharp chin, full lips, and rounded nose. Her brows were dark and her hair was cut short around her shoulders. It was a dark color that perfectly complimented her soft brown skin. Her mouth was slightly open, revealing blunt teeth, and her expression was one of perfect surprise.
She looked deliciously soft and entirely foreign to the hard realities of ocean life. Those delicate hands that gripped the steering wheel couldn’t snap the spine of a fish. Those shoulders clad in a yellow windbreaker couldn’t propel her through the water. The dainty ribcage hinted at beneath her clothing couldn’t possibly hold enough air to sustain her for more than a moment beneath the waves.
Even her frame was too narrow, not padded with a thick layer of fat and muscle like his kind. Even if she could hold her breath, which was doubtful, she wouldn’t survive the cold of the water for long.
But she wasn’t weak. She was healthy. He could see it in the flush of her skin, the clarity of her dark eyes. She was strong enough to hike the steep slope of the island every day. Certainly she would be strong enough to be his mate. He would just have to be very, very careful when he mounted and bred her.
With his cock pressing against his slit and his blood running hotter than ever, Emory bared his teeth and did the only sensible thing: he disabled the submersible.
Electricity crackled through his veins and out in one great burst through his palms. In a blink, the interior of the submersible went dim and the hum of the engine cut off. He knew from experience that short circuiting the vehicle would only momentarily disable non-essential functions. Life-support ran on a backup system not linked to any external wiring.
So his mate would still be able to breathe. She just wouldn’t be able toleave.
He watched the play of emotions run across her face as she realized that she was now completely at his mercy.
Satisfaction unlike anything he’d felt before flashed like lightning in his mind — great bursts of feeling that electrified every nerve.
His cock ached. His skin tingled. His muscles burned with the desire to reach through the clear barrier and stroke her soft, soft skin.
Fear flickered across her expression for a moment before, inexplicably, his mate took a deep, calming breath, her gaze never wavering from his own. They remained like that for a suspended moment. He couldn’t look away from her and she knew better than to avert her eyes from the predator that had trapped her.
He expected the fear to come back. He was certain there would be panic.
Neither made an appearance.
