27. Moss

27

Moss

All his dreams were coming true, just as he was running out of time to have any dreams at all.

Carol lay beneath him, her chest heaving, her eyes and cheeks bright. The room was like a cave—but one where they could be alone.

A shadow twitched in the corner of his mind. Not alone. Together.

The thought sounded so much like his own, he didn't question it. The same way he didn't question the pang of fear that accompanied it.

The kraken was still lying low. Which didn't matter, because its powers were becoming more and more a part of him; he could barely breathe in the salt air without hearing the ocean sing, and the way he kept feeling things he wasn't touching, the ghostly impression of tentacles that felt more like his every time he noticed them.

The clock was ticking.

He ran the back of his hand along Carol's face, marveling at how beautiful she was. He knew it was fate, but how the hell had he ended up with someone like her?

And why couldn't he have met her years ago?

He forced the thoughts back. They had tonight. Tomorrow would take care of itself, like his aunties always said.

He didn't let himself think about how that wasn't true. Tomorrow, he would take care of everything.

But tonight was his.

Carol took his hand and twined her fingers through his. Her cheeks went a brighter pink. * Tell me what you want me to do?* she suggested.

Well, fuck. He gazed down at her, spread out beneath him like a meal the universe had cooked up specifically for him. Heat flooded down her neck and past her collarbones, to where her skin disappeared under her soft sweater. Did she always dress like this? Soft clothes, in contrast to the sharp teeth and eyes that pierced your soul?

Not a question that he needed to be asking right now. And anyway, her teeth weren't a permanent part of her. They were left over from all the shit she'd had to deal with these last few days, and he was a freak for liking them so much.

Liking the way they slid against his lips and tongue. The sharp edges and the risk. The danger all wrapped up in this kind, anxious woman whose soul called out to his own.

How long would it take for him to forget everything he left here in the surface world?

*What makes you think you need to do anything?* He slid one hand under her sweater, spread his hand wide along her side and almost fucking exploded at her sharp intake of breath. Her whole body curved up towards him. * I want to explore every inch of you.*

She bit down on her lower lip and he froze, mesmerized. * This is weird, isn't it?*

"Why would this be weird?" Shit, had she heard him thinking about how hot her teeth were?

She hesitated, and then her thoughts poured into his mind, a winding current of uncertainty and embarrassment and longing. * It feels strange. We're meant to do this the moment we meet. Not wait until we already know each other.*

His eyebrows crooked up in amusement. "You're weirded out because we waited all of three days to sleep together?"

* It isn't the way things are meant to work, though, is it?* She still felt uncertain, but there was a shimmering excitement beneath her words, not the gut-clench of dread he had expected. * I already know what you smell like. How strong you are. How you taste when I kiss you. I've fallen asleep on you…*

He swore out loud. "Do you have any idea what listing all that out is doing to me?"

"I hope it's working." She grimaced, self-conscious. "It's—you know, we've done all those things, but we haven't done anything like this, and it's been a while since I… did anything even close to this."

"You're right that we know each other better than most soulmates do when they first get some alone time. Thank fuck for that, I say. You know all my darkest secrets. The worst thing to ever happen to me." His voice was ragged, the words torn straight from his heart. "But we have so much more of each other to explore." And so little time to do it in, he added silently. "We know what each other's kisses taste like, sure. But there's a lot more of you I'd like to taste."

Her eyes widened, their inky black becoming deeper and more hypnotic. "Oh?" Her voice wobbled slightly, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Was that possible? She'd said she hadn't dated for a while, but—hell. What kind of idiots did she normally hang out with, if nobody had ever told her how incredible she was?

"Every inch of you." Locking eyes with her, he kissed his way from her shoulder down her arm. She shivered into his touch as he licked her inner wrist. "You don't need to do anything. I…"

She writhed beneath him. Her legs gripped his waist, and suddenly he was on his back.