“You can look at Wanda if you don’t want to look at me,” he said carefully.“But your exposed flesh should be protected.”
I nodded, seeing the faintest glimmer in his eyes.He spoke with a softness I’d never heard before.Norman was always cheerful, smiling, causing mischief.
But at that moment, he was serious.
Gentle.
Caring.
I met Wanda’s gaze, biting my lip as his tentacles caressed me, spreading his cold venom along my skin until it heated.The sound of the slithering wetness reminded me ofotherthings, and I had to clench my thighs together.
Wanda’s eyes glazed, and I realized if I was not careful, Norman would taste my lust.
Which only made me more anxious.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered.“I’ve already been fed, you don’t need to fret.”
I caught his gaze and nodded.
“I only tease Bane, but I have a much stricter diet these days.”He smirked, pulling his tentacles from my skin.
“On the count of three,” Wanda said.
Norman nodded.“One.”
Wanda took her position, calling us to her side.
I approached the edge of the cliff beside her with trepidation.
“Two,” I said, my voice betraying me.
Wanda slid her hand in mine, and the gesture was so shocking, I almost couldn’t comprehend it.
“Three,” she said, and with that, she pulled me with her like a kite.
Norman’s tentacles slid around me—and Wanda—pulling us both close to his chest.
I was acutely aware of how smooth his chest was; slippery, cool, and wet.I could hear his heart beating and feel the hardness of his muscles beneath that smooth squid-flesh.Wanda was beside me, and she smelled like citrus and salt and a haze fell over me that I was certain had nothing to do with lust and everything to do with trust.
“Hold your breath,” she murmured, and I did.
A moment later, I felt the brush of the waves, pulling me under.I tightened my arms around Norman, holding my breath.One small sucker latched onto my mouth and I stiffened.
“Just breathe,” he whispered, but his voice didn’t sound all that aquatic.It did sound different, though.
Magic laced through me.It started at my feet, slithering up my legs to my core and then extended everywhere.My legs felt...different.Like they were stuck together.
“Was this your plan?”Norman asked with a tinge of humor.
“And what would you have done?Carried her like a pearl?”
I turned to see Wanda—or what I thought must have been Wanda, because the creature in front of me was...
Terrifying, but also equally as beautiful.
Her feet were no longer feet, but glistening fins, but her knees were scaled.Her hands looked like talons, and she was some cross of bird-fish.But her eyes...there was no mistaking those eyes or that bright teal hair.Or those breasts.
Could you identify a woman by her breasts alone?
