Chapter Seventeen

Emma

"E xcuse me?"

I blushed immediately, knowing full well he would've been hit with the force of my thoughts about getting on top of his naked body and—

"Grab the spikes at the base of my neck and hold on," Rhyse said, interrupting me. Perhaps a little too sharply. Was he feeling something, too? Or was he just irritated with my lack of composure?

Probably taking pity on me.

That made the most sense.

"Oh. Then what?" I asked, trying hard to focus on being serious.

"Take a deep breath, and let me carry you."

"Carry me where?"

"Down there," he said in a slightly reverential tone. "To the world below. Let me show it to you."

Fresh nerves spiked my adrenaline even higher. "I don't know, Rhyse. That's a—hey!"

I sputtered, wiping water away as he splashed me with the tip of his tail.

Rhyse laughed. "All right. Now that you're done complaining, grab on."

"I won't be able to see," I pointed out.

"Oh, ye of little faith," he teased, pointing to the rear of the boat, where a mesh net hung.

Complete with flippers, mask, and snorkel.

"You planned this out."

"Of course I did," he said gently. "I want you to see this, Emma. I think you're going to enjoy it."

I masked my shock at the desire in his voice—and in his heart—by swimming over to the net to retrieve the items. Rhyse wanted to show me something … for my own enjoyment?

Something didn't add up. Why would he suddenly start caring about this?

"I want to show you, because this is the world I live in," he said, interpreting my emotions correctly. "The real one. The one I love."

"All right," I said, swimming over to his floating serpentine form, the wings tucked tight to his sides. "Show me."

I got positioned, took several short breathes to clear the carbon dioxide from my blood then breathed a deep lungful of air. Rhyse waited until I was ready. Then, with a sinuous motion, he powered his form under the water and down toward the seabed.

My hands were clamped firmly on one of the many protrusions along his spine. He moved fast and easily through the waters, but it was a smooth, easy acceleration. I had no troubles holding on.

Oh, wow .

The underwater world of the ocean floor opened up before me. The sunlight was tinged greenish-blue by the water, giving everything a little glitter. All manner of creatures and life was on the bottom. Shoals of fish swimming lazily along in seemingly random directions mixed with the occasional shark. An octopus, startled by our passing, shot a cloud of ink and jetted off in the other direction.

Not long after, Rhyse rose to the surface, his great lungs expelling the last of his held breath and inhaling deep for another.

"Wow," I said as we floated for a moment.

"I told you," he said softly, neck curled around so we could look at one another while we talked.

"It's beautiful."

"Yes, it is."

Rhyse wasn't looking at the ocean when he spoke.

Somewhat flustered under the intense gaze of his dragon, with its yellow eyes and vertical slit-like pupils, I glanced away. "Why this spot, though?" I asked. "Why here?"

"I'm glad you asked. Are you ready to go again?"

"Sure, I guess," I said, curious about the source of his eagerness filtering through.

Down we dove again. Rhyse moved faster this time. Diving a little deeper. The pressure on my ears grew uncomfortable but not horribly so. We cleared a ledge, and I nearly let go in surprise.

There, dead ahead, straight from a textbook or a TV show, was the rotting, derelict hull of an ancient wooden sailing ship. Resting partially on its side, a giant hole through the front showing how it had met its end, one mast jutted up from the rocky bottom like a titan of old, defiant until the end.

We circled the ship once then surfaced for air before diving again. This time, I momentarily let go of Rhyse, wanting to swim over and touch the ship.

For his part, the blue dragon stayed close, recognizing I couldn't stay below for long. He eased one paw gently through the gaping hole as I watched and teased open a chest lying just inside.

Something flickered in the sunlight. Eagerly, I dove down and snagged it before gesturing I needed air. Up we went. I stayed on Rhyse's back, legs astride him as he surfaced, clutching tightly to the objects in my hand.

A handful of golden coins, crusted over with growth.

"Wow," I said, tilting my palm left and right, letting the sun catch what little of the coins were still visible. "That is so cool . Real treasure ship loot!"

Rhyse laughed, swimming easily back to the boat.

"Are we done?" I asked, sensing he wanted me to stay.

"No. Just … wait here, okay?"

He waited until I was on the boat then dove swiftly, moving far faster than he could with me holding on.

"Sure, I guess," I said, not having had time to really answer or ask why.

I set my "haul" on the deck, pulling what growth I could from the coins and tossing it back into the ocean to pass the time.

Far quicker than expected, he surfaced next to the boat.

"What did you go do?" I asked, staring down as he paddled over, having returned to his human form at some point.

"To look at something," he said secretively.

"At what?"

I could see he was keeping one hand hidden from view as he climbed the ladder. It was hard to do with one hand, but he managed, preventing me from seeing what was in the other the entire time.

"What do you have?" I tried to peer around his back, but he just twisted out of the way.

"Turn around," he said, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

A smile? On Rhyse?

That alone was enough to get me turning. The soft scrape of a finger on my shoulder sent goosebumps down my spine.

Was I insane? Why was I trusting this man-dragon who so obviously wanted nothing to do with me? Nothing had changed.

Had it? Obviously, something was different. I just don't know what.

"I thought this might suit you," he said, settling a necklace over my head and locking the clasp behind my neck.

I looked down at the cool, heavy weight and gasped. "Rhyse! Look at the size of this stone!"

The necklace consisted of little more than a golden setting, which held within its grasp a brilliant blue sapphire half the size of my palm.

"Don't worry. I didn't pay full price for it."

I couldn't help it, I giggled. The girlish noise elicited a matching sense of amusement from Rhyse. I turned, still admiring the necklace.

"It's gorgeous. But I can't accept this, I don't—" The words failed me as I looked up.

Rhyse was still right there . I was in his personal space now. His chest inches from my face.

There was liquid all around us, but none of it seemed to be able to make it to my mouth as I stared into his eyes, heart pounding like drums in my head, body frozen, unable to move or do anything.

"I'm glad you like it," he rumbled, reaching out a hand to lift the necklace and admire it. "It fits well with the scale."

I nodded, unable to look away. That was one of the first things I'd seen, too. The matching blue on blue. It was fitting.

That wasn't what was on my mind at that moment, though. All I knew was that I just needed to pull back. To move away from him before anything happened. I was too close. We were too close. He was shirtless, I was in nothing but a flimsy piece of fabric. His muscles were so close to touching me. In any other situation, he would be leaning in to—

I was so focused on what would be happening in other situations, I forgot to monitor this one. Which was why I somehow failed to see Rhyse lean in and kiss me as he tilted my head back.

Not that he needed to. I was moving automatically. Opening myself up to the moment. To him.

He tasted like saltwater, but I didn't care. It was too intense a moment to let little things distract me. I had to focus. On his lips, full and heavy, or his fingers as they caressed my jaw. The way he'd so casually taken control of my head, keeping it there with the lightest of grips yet subtly making sure I knew I was doing what he wanted. It burned bright and hot. So very hot.

At some point, we parted, and I looked up at him through a haze of eyelashes.

"I thought you didn't like me?"

Rhyse shook his head. "It's more complicated than that. Besides, I thought you didn't like me."

"I don't," I said.

"Then, why are you kissing me?"

I shrugged, feeling breathless. "I don't know. Why are you kissing me?"

"I don't know," he rumbled. "I just …"

At a loss for words, he kissed me again. His hands slid down my back and gripped my ass firmly, pulling me close. Before I could react, he easily lifted me and placed me on a railing, so our heights better lined up. I tried my hardest, but I still let out the tiniest little moan at being so casually moved around.

My legs spread as he came closer. I could feel his cock in his shorts pressed against my leg. I wanted to touch it. To run my hands across the bulge and feel it stiffen.

This is insane. You hate each other. Why are you kissing him? And why is it so hot ?

There were no answers. Rhyse, for his part, didn't seem to have any interest in stopping to discuss it either. His fingers were busy reaching for the back of my bikini top, inching closer with every kiss we shared. He was giving me plenty of time to say no, to make him stop.

I almost did. I almost placed my hands on his chest and pushed him back. But I didn't want to. I wanted—

A long, loud blast of a horn startled us both. I yelped and jerked so hard I overbalanced and started to fall backward off the railing.

"Gotcha," Rhyse said, hauling me back over and onto my feet, my chest pressed to his side as we both located the source of the sound.

"Oh, sorry about that!" a leering face called from the boat holding just off our right side. "I didn't interrupt, did I?"

"Killian," Rhyse growled, his fingers curling into a fist.

I tried to move away from his side, to be able to see, but a deep warning rumble sounded in Rhyse's chest as he moved to stand in front of me protectively.

Things were going south. Fast.