“Cat!” he roars.
“I’m coming!” And I swear to the Gods, the moment we touch I’m going to crawl inside him and never come out. I never want to be apart again. We’ll make love, eat, and sleep. Forget about ruling the world. That means nothing to me. All I want is Griffin.
Tears stream from my eyes as my vision tries to adjust to the increasing light. Sheer joy and relief add to the flow. I round a bend, bounce off the wall, and leave the tinkling of shattered icicles in my wake. My shoulder throbs, but I welcome the pain. Enduring it means getting to Griffin that much faster.
I finally see the men moving inward from the mouth of the cave, three large shapes silhouetted against the blinding light of day. We meet somewhere in the middle of that first tunnel, and I throw myself at Griffin, suddenly shaking uncontrollably.
His arms close around me, strong, hard, and almost crushing. Griffin’s inhale shudders, and then a hoarse sound catches in his throat. He exhales my name like he feared he’d never speak it to me again, like he was almost sure he wouldn’t.
I wrap my arms and legs around him so tightly that wild Centaurs couldn’t drag me away. Our lips collide in a frantic tangle of words and breath.
“I love you. I love you. I love you.” I can’t stop saying it. Our teeth bump because he’s talking, too.
“Kardia mou. Psihi mou.” One steely arm circles my hips and the other my back. He strides into the tunnel.
My heart filled to bursting, on fire for him, I cling to Griffin, my hands tangled in his hair and my legs locked around his waist. We pass Kato, and Griffin looks away from me only long enough to give his friend a nod.
I grin like an idiot, and Kato winks back.
Low and fierce, Griffin says, “I’m never letting you out of my sight again. That was the longest ten days of my life. I thought—” His voice falters in a way that jolts my heart straight into my throat. Then he forgets about talking and slants his mouth over mine as we round the first bend in the tunnel. There’s nothing sweet or soft about his kiss. It’s fear turned into aggression. Possession. His tongue sweeps into my mouth, claiming every inch of it, and I thrust back, greedy for more.
Finally lifting his mouth from mine, Griffin stops, looks around, and then sets me on a shelf of ice. He settles his hips between my legs, and with my cloak under me and Griffin at my front, I don’t even feel the cold. His chilled hands grip my head as he angles my face back to ravage my mouth again. Soft black whiskers lightly scrape the tip of my nose, my lips, my chin, and a husky moan rises in my throat. I trace the delectable curve of his upper lip with my tongue and then suck hungrily on the fuller bottom one.
Griffin’s ragged breath fans my fevered lips. “I thought you were never coming back. The days… They just kept going by, and you never came.”
I curl my fingers into his hair, holding him tight. “I willalwayscome back to you.”
With a gruff sound, he settles his hands on my hips. “You should know better than to make promises you might not be able to keep.”
He’s right. He always is. But that’s a vow I’ll keep—in this life, or in the next.
Not answering, I lean forward and kiss him because he’s my hunger and my food, my thirst and my water, my air and my every breath.
Griffin drags me closer, and the feel of his arousal between us sends heat rushing up my spine. I wiggle to the very edge of the shelf, rubbing against him.
A soft groan resonates in Griffin’s chest. His fingers tighten on my hips. “This isn’t the place.”
His steely length is flush against my core, and white-hot desire is coiling deep in my belly. “This is definitely the place.” I tilt my head back, flicking a tangled mess of hair off my neck.
His face dips toward my throat. He stops. Pulls back. “What’s this?”
Uh-oh.“Nothing?”
Frowning, Griffin gently explores the tender ridges of my new scars with his fingertips. “What happened?”
There’s no use pretending he can’t see. Between our smoldering cloaks and the daylight filtering around the bend, it’s far from pitch-dark.
I take a deep breath. How does a woman tell her almost, maybe, probably husband she’s part fish? Apparently. “Do you find mermaids arousing?”
His eyebrows slam down. “What?”
“I almost drowned.”
“What!”
I wince, his near-roar still echoing around the tunnel.
Griffin clears his throat, trying again more calmly. “Would you care to explain?”
