Chapter 6

CHAPTER SIX

RIVER

I lie awake, staring at the unfamiliar ceiling in the dim light filtering through the sheer curtains. The window is open, and the soothing sound of the ocean is carried in by the breeze, but I can't sleep. And it's not because this isn't my bed. The guest room here at the beach house is extremely comfortable.

I can't sleep because it's only been a few hours since I learned that the world might be ending in my lifetime. Or, as it was explained to me, the world itself might not end, but the decision to let my species get wiped out would be made… sometime in the next seventy years or so. Before Perry dies a natural death, he'll make the call—either things will be improved enough for humans to continue, or the elements will stop fighting the tide of environmental disaster and let nature take its course. It might take a few hundred or thousand more years for extinction to occur. But the decision will be made during my lifetime.

Which, I'm not going to lie, made me want to curl up in a ball and sob while tearing my hair out. Incidentally, that was when Flame passed me the vodka bottle.

I only allowed myself two slugs, though (even if they were pretty hefty). I'm a scientist. I'm ruled by logic. And I needed a clear head to ask the right questions and get the information that mattered. By the time my brain was swimming with answers—some of which made no logical sense—it was late, and the guys insisted I stay the night.

Which brings me to now, and the decision I need to make. Although… is it really a decision at all? I'm a marine biologist. I'm an environmentalist. I'm passionate about saving the ocean. It seems like joining the fight to save the world is a no-brainer—especially when it would mean doing more of the same stuff I already do, just on a bigger scale. The guys have money, resources, and freaky supernatural abilities that could help me get attention for the issues the ocean is facing. Help me shift the worldview so more people join our fight. It's already a proven fact that younger generations are invested in saving the planet—they just don't have the influence needed to stop the carnage… yet . If we can hold back disaster for another ten years, more people who care will be in positions of authority.

Timing is critical.

Of course, there's also the possibility that this really is my brain trying to make my slow death by asphyxiation as painless as possible. But hey… if that's the case, why not go with it? I'm going to die anyway. Why not die while dreaming that a group of superheroes want me to help them save the world? There are worse ways to go.

Sighing, I sit up and toss back the sheet. If there's one thing I've learned tonight, whether this is a hallucination or real, it's that life is short. Tomorrow, I need to go to work and find out what the fuck happened with my equipment. I need to continue my research, and most likely begin looking at the best ways I can support the guys. I need to figure out how I'm going to find time to drive back and forth between this amazing beach house and my tiny apartment forty minutes away as often as possible while working crazy hours on my research.

So if I'm going to lie awake anyway, I'm going to put that time to good use.

On quiet feet, I slip out of the guest room and pad down the hallway. Aqua gave me a two-minute tour of the house before, helpfully pointing out where the bathroom was and whose bedroom was whose. I use that knowledge now, stopping outside his door and tapping lightly.

He mustn't have been sleeping, because I don't have a chance to wonder if I should knock again before the door opens. In the dimness, he smiles at me—his wide, happy smile, the one that makes me feel like everything in the world is going to be okay.

"Hi. Do you need to talk?"

How is anyone this sweet? "Yeah, that too."

Standing back, he gestures for me to enter, and it's only as the shadows shift over his moving body that I realize he's naked.

I mean… I was planning to steer things in that direction, but being preempted like this throws me off my game. Still, I walk in and make myself at home on the edge of the bed. There's an armchair I could have sat in, but that would be like taking a step backward.

Though, what the fuck is with this house? Who has bedrooms big enough to fit a king-sized bed and a dresser and a freaking armchair and not look cramped? My room at home barely fits a full-sized bed. Clearly being an incarnated element has perks.

Aqua sits beside me, leaving a respectful six inches between us, but hasn't bothered to put on pants, which makes me smile.

"If you have important questions, I can wake one of the others," he volunteers. "But if you just need to talk things over, I'm really good at listening."

"I know you are," I assure him. "Do you mind if I lean against you? I kind of want to be touching—" His arm and shoulder are pressed to mine before I can finish the sentence. I give a little sigh and let my weight rest against him—just a little. "Thanks. That helps me feel more grounded. There's a lot to think about."

"I know." His tone is pure sympathy. "This is new to me too. We've never told a human about us before—just Perry. Usually he remembers his past lives at some point while we're talking, and bam! We don't need to explain more, and he doesn't need to think about what to do. We just all get drunk to farewell his old life and then get on with our job."

Heh. That doesn't sound all that bad.

"I don't think I want to get drunk, but I do want to do something to farewell my old life. Even though I won't be leaving it as fully behind me as Perry does, I bet." Not when my research and job are so closely related to what I'm needed for.

"I can help you think of a way," he promises earnestly. "We can go diving, if you like? I know you're still delicate like a human, but I know all the best places to show you, and sea animals love me."

Aww. "Keep that for another time." Because yeah, it sounds like a fucking dream come true. "I was thinking… wondering… Do you find me attractive?"

His eyes get wide. "I think you're the most beautiful human I've ever seen," he says with guileless earnestness that makes me feel like a god.

"Thank you. I think you're beautiful too—on the inside as well as the outside. Would you be interested in having sex with me?" I'm messing this up so badly. With as awkward as I'm being, anyone would think I've been living alone on a deserted island my whole life. "You don't have to. I just mean?—"

"Yes. I would. Please. Can we? I like sex, and I know I'll like it best of all with you."

Instant. Boner.

"I think I'll like it best of all with you, too," I reply honestly, then stand and strip off my clothes.

Aqua stands too, and when I'm finally free of the constraining fabric, he takes my hand. "Can I kiss you?"

Oh my god, my heart can't take this. I never thought I'd meet such an amazing man out in the middle of the ocean, but I did. "I'd like that."

Our lips meet, hesitantly at first, and then, when we realize that the taste of each other is manna from heaven, more fervently. Somehow, we're not standing anymore, the mattress firm against my back, the sheets soft as silk, and Aqua's kisses are the most perfect drug that could ever hope to exist.

"I want to taste you," he whispers, pulling away from my mouth. I chase after him, but as he slides down my body, pausing occasionally to dot kisses over my skin, his words sink in, and I let him go.

The first touch of his tongue isn't on my cock, as I expected, but on my balls, and when he blows cool air over the wet, super-sensitive skin, my eyes roll back and I lose track of reality. I've always liked sex, but somehow, with Aqua everything is magnified—stronger, more intense. All I can do is try to breathe and let the sensations roll me under.

Mouth on my skin.

Lips wrapped around my cock.

Tongue teasing, teasing, teasing…

Fingers ghosting over my balls, sliding along my crack. I draw my knees up to give him better access, and the tip of his index finger slowly circles my hole.

"Aqua," I gasp. "Oh, god?—"

I don't get the chance to warn him before I come, but he doesn't seem to care, his throat working as he swallows greedily. When he finally pulls off me and lifts his head, I'm a sweaty, limp noodle floating on an ocean of endorphins.

He grins. "You taste delicious. How long do you need to recover?"

As though a switch is flipped, I'm suddenly filled with energy. This is going to be the best night of my life.