She was still careful. She dug her fingers into his scalp, tipping his head so that she could kiss him the way she wanted. Long and slow, tasting and testing. No desperate panic. No flailing uncertainty. Just her, and Moss, and no more secrets between them.
Moonlight shone silver-bright in her heart, so bright she was sure if she opened her eyes, she would see herself glowing.
She let the edge of one tooth slide sharp across his lip.
Moss groaned and pulled her close. His hands were all over her, pushing her clothes aside. And then it was like he remembered he had more than just hands. Carol gasped as more tentacles slithered under her shirt. Her skin flamed at their touch.
*Is this okay?*Moss asked, his eyes dark flames glossed with an iridescent sheen.
Her mouth shaped the word, and her mind sang it. *Yes.*
He was wearing too many clothes, too. Which made no sense, because he’d come here in shifter form, and—
*Do I have to try harder to keep your attention?*His voice was amused. Right. He could hear her surface thoughts when they were this close together, enmeshed in the aura of his kraken’s presence.
*The only thing distracting me is your clothes.*She pulled at his shirt. *Deal with these, and…*
*No can do.*All at once, his tentacles left her. He drifted a tantalizing handful of inches away, arms open and empty. *That’s your job.*
Was he seriously—?
Yes. He was. And the same way he read her thoughts about him keeping his clothes with him while he shifted, she sensed the hesitation he’d pushed past to lay himself out before her like this. The same worry she’d tied herself in knots over: that what she wanted, at the very core of herself, was something he’d reject outright.
*Like this?*she asked, echoing his question, and tugged him closer with one finger hooked behind a button on his shirt. She kissed her way down his neck, starting where she’d left off, until she found his collar. The fabric floated in the water, a white flag in the darkness as they drifted deeper, further from the dying evening light. *Or… like this?*
She darted away before he could reply, disappearing into the gloom.
Her pulse buzzed with excitement. Moss’s confusion buffeted her, and then—
She felt the moment he understood, and the intensity of his response slid up her thighs, coiling sinfully between her legs.
Darkness pressed tight all around them. With her shark’s eyes and senses, she could see and “see” Moss still—but human eyes wouldn’t be able to penetrate the gloom. And she would bet he was keeping his eyes human for this.
She swam beneath him, barely moving, so he wouldn’t sense the ripple of water as she passed.
At the last moment, she reached out and slid her fingernails over his ankle.
He twisted in the water. She was already gone. The excitement thrilling in her veins didn’t lose any of its urgency but smoothed out, becoming slick and sharp. Her shark was no longer in the back of her mind; it swam alongside her thoughts, lending her its power.
Silent. Assured. A hunter from the dawn of time; a predator that never stopped.
Moss’s hair waved in the water as he turned this way and that. His heartpulse buzzed against her senses.
Another slow approach, an ambusher’s silence in the water, and as he twisted towards her she cut one button from his shirt.
Another. And another. Always sweeping behind him before he could catch a glimpse, cutting through the water like she was born for it.
Shewas.She was a shark shifter. The ocean was dangerous, fickle and merciless and unstoppable—and it was her home.
The same way this man with the ocean in his eyes was.
Home.Hers.
She undid the button on his pants. Slid one finger under the waistband, and this time as he jerked towards her she raked her teeth along his hip. Not a bite.
Not exactly a caress, either, but desire bloomed along the mate bond like blood in water.
Helikedthis. He liked what she was doing. What shewantedto do, teasing him with teeth and nails and the deliciousness of fear.
