“Not transformation. Protection. A sharing of… essence.” He traces my lower lip. “It is intimate. More so than what we have already shared.”
The way he saysintimatemakes heat bloom low in my stomach. This isn’t just about a midnight swim. There’s something more he’s offering—something beyond the physical boundaries we’ve already crossed.
“Will it hurt?” I ask, surprising myself with the question. I’m actually considering this.
“No.” A tentacle slides up my back, curling around the nape of my neck in a gesture that’s become familiar. “It may feel strange at first. But I promise you, it will bring only pleasure.”
The last word lingers between us, charged with meaning. Whatever he’s suggesting, it’s clearly not just about showing me pretty fish and coral formations.
I should be scared. I should be backing away, making excuses about early lighthouse tours tomorrow. Instead, I lean into his touch, curiosity and desire overriding caution.
“Okay,” I whisper, making my decision. “Let’s go.”
Chapter 13
Depths of Desire
Roark
I’ve sailed treacherous seas in my time, weathered storms that would make Poseidon himself take pause, and commanded men who thought themselves the bravest souls to ever set foot on a ship’s deck.
Yet nothing in my many years has prepared me for the trust in Ashe’s eyes as she considers my offer to share essence.
The moonlight catches in her auburn hair as she stands at the water’s edge, hesitant yet unafraid. A remarkable woman—practical, determined, with a heart as vast as the ocean itself.
“You needn’t look so concerned, Miss Morgan,” I say softly, extending my hand toward her in invitation rather than demand. “I give you my word as a captain that you’ll come to no harm.”
Her lips quirk in that half-smile that has become so dear to me. “Your word as a captain, huh? Is that supposed to be reassuring coming from someone who probably made sailors walk the plank?”
“I never once made a man walk the plank,” I protest with mock offense. “Highly impractical punishment. Wasted good manpower.” I pause. “The threat of it, however, proved remarkably effective for maintaining discipline.”
She laughs, taking a step closer to the water, moonlight silvering her bare skin.
“So this ‘sharing of essence,’” she says, dipping one toe in the water. “What exactly am I signing up for, Captain?”
“It is a gift my kind can offer to those we—” I catch myself before saying too much. “To those we trust implicitly. My body will extract oxygen from the water and share it with yours. Myvision will become your vision in the darkness. The pressure of the depths will not harm you.”
“And this happens through kissing?” She raises an eyebrow, curiosity rather than skepticism in her expression.
“That is how it begins,” I acknowledge, feeling the subtle patterns beneath my skin brightening with my rising temperature. “It requires an exchange that is most efficiently conducted mouth to mouth.”
“Efficiently conducted,” she repeats, amusement in her eyes. “You make it sound so romantic.”
I feel a surge of embarrassment. “Forgive me. The poetry of human courtship was never my strong suit. What I mean to say is that it will be… pleasant. For us both.”
She wades deeper, water now lapping at her calves. “Is doing this a big deal for your kind?”
“It is. It creates a connection beyond the physical. For a time, you will sense what I feel. I may glimpse fragments of your thoughts, your memories. It is an intimacy few of my kind risk with those not of our species.”
“Why offer it to me, then?”
Because you looked at the monster and saw not something to fear but someone to help, I think but don’t say.Because in mycentury of existence, I have never met a soul who makes me feel less alone.
I say instead, “Because the wonders beneath the waves deserve to be seen as I see them. And because you deserve to experience them without the limitations of your human form.”
Her eyes narrow. “And that’s all?”
Under her perceptive gaze, I’m unable to maintain the pretense. “No,” I concede softly. “I offer it because I wish to share something of myself with you that goes beyond words. Beyond what we have already shared.” I extend my hand, palm up. “But the choice must be entirely yours.”
