Chapter 12
Zoe
W e’d traveled for four hours, according to Vodyan’s watch, and my muscles hurt from holding on. But the pain was bittersweet, because finally, I got my fill of touching him, and it was amazing.
I just wished I could do that without the suit. Skin on skin in this position would have been amazing , and my imagination went rampant, trying to visualize how he’d feel against my bare…
I coughed, my face flaming with heat. Bad Zoe.
At least I was done pretending. I had the hots for my bodyguard, and there was nothing I could do about it as long as we were stuck together. That was my nature. Once someone caught my eye, I latched on. I became clingy, touchy-feely, and overly affectionate.
It was a huge problem in my dating life. Most of my previous partners didn’t have as huge physical needs as I did, and that included sex. I loved sex, but only with the right person. I had to get to know them and develop feelings first, but once I did, I was game to fuck multiple times a day for months. Shockingly, none of my previous boyfriends could keep up .
The media lied to me. Men weren’t even half as horny as I’d been led to believe.
But I loved all forms of touch. Cuddling, holding hands, brushing their hair or having my hair brushed, massages, small affectionate gestures in public, sitting in their lap, even grooming each other. I’d let my boyfriend in college shave me once, and it was a fantastic experience. The amount of trust involved and the tactile sensations were incredible.
He hadn’t lasted, though. None of them had. Apparently, I was too much to handle.
And Vodyan wouldn’t last, either, because nothing was going to happen between us. It was probably forbidden, anyway, though to be fair, none of the agents had sat me down and explicitly told me not to fuck my bodyguard. If anything happened, I could claim ignorance.
But of course, nothing would. Vodyan was a perfect gentleman, and even now, as he supported my ass with his forearm, it didn’t feel improper. He hadn’t even tried to cop a feel.
I, on the other hand, was dying to grind against him, and it took all my self-control not to. It would have been pervy and disgusting to hump him without his consent, anyway, and so I didn’t.
But God, did I want to.
“Could we maybe stop for a moment?” I asked when my legs began to shake. “I just want to rest for a few minutes.”
He slowed down but didn’t stop. When I pulled my head back to see him, he didn’t even look at me, his face set in a hard expression, eyes forward.
“What’s wrong?”
“I have to deal with something before I let you go,” he said hoarsely, his voice sack glowing with every word.
I couldn’t get over how cute that was. The voice sack, the flappy membranes by his ears, and the way he shimmered when his body was submerged were just absolutely delicious, especially since he wasn’t cute in general. No, he was bulky, strong, and lethal.
My mouth watered. Damn, I was a menace.
“Deal with something?” I asked, nonplussed. “What is there to deal with? And how long will it take? My legs are killing me, and I could really do with a moment to stretch them. Or could I maybe, I don’t know, straighten them while we move?”
I made to unwrap my legs, and Vodyan growled, pressing my hips to keep me from moving. I couldn’t help it. My pussy spasmed appreciatively at being manhandled like that.
I waited a moment until I was certain a moan wouldn’t fall out once I opened my mouth.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, wondering about this new mood of his. “Maybe I can help?”
He laughed mirthlessly, the sound hoarse and ragged, and I decided to award myself seven points for this one. It wasn’t a happy laugh, but a laugh nonetheless.
“No. It’s my problem. I don’t need help.”
I wanted to argue, I really did. I was a pushy person by nature, but I’d learned over the years that forcing my way through rarely helped and usually made things worse. So I took a deep breath and relaxed, squirming a bit to find a better position for my hurting legs.
“Fine, you know best. But the offer stands, okay? Any time.”
Vodyan exhaled through his mouth, releasing a flurry of bubbles, and hiked me up a bit higher. My inner thighs dragged against his lower ribs, and I had to bite my tongue to stay quiet.
“We should be there in under an hour,” he murmured, pressing me closer.
I gulped. His voice was lower, hoarse with something deliciously scratchy, and just damn. If he told me to spread my legs in that voice, I’d fall over myself in a rush to obey .
Except that was never going to happen, so I bit my tongue to get myself under control and settled in, resigned to endure one more hour of pain and excruciating temptation.
But we never made it there. About ten minutes later, Vodyan swore under his breath and reversed course, speeding up until we tore through the water like a rocket. I pressed my face to the crook of his neck.
“What’s going on?”
“Lamias.”
I wanted to ask him why he didn’t fight them like before when cruel howls and shrieks behind us made me flinch. It sounded like four or more voices. Probably too many to fight, especially with me attached to his front.
“Oh God,” I whispered, holding on tightly when another voice joined in from the left, whooping with a shrieking laugh.
Vodyan turned away from the new foe and sped up even more, cutting through the dark water. I desperately wanted to ask him if it was possible to outrun them or if there was a place we could hide, but I clamped my mouth shut. I’d only distract him, and I trusted him to get us out of this.
And yet, when another whoop came from above and Vodyan cursed bitterly, I couldn’t hold back a shiver of fright.
“They are herding us,” he bit out. “It’s okay. I’ll keep you safe.”
“I know,” I said through the tightness in my throat.
We swam deeper, so fast, I was dizzy, and yet the pursuit was right behind us. Vodyan grunted with effort, his tentacles pushing us forward with powerful thrusts, and I kept my eyes closed, holding on to him.
I didn’t even worry about myself. I was terrified they would shoot him in the back or hurt him in another way, but I didn’t say anything for fear of distracting him.
Let us be okay. Please, let us be okay.
“Almost there,” Vodyan grunted when another lamia dove at us from above, shrieking madly .
Suddenly, we stopped. I opened my eyes just in time to see we were in a dark, enclosed space. Vodyan’s chest heaved, his body shaking against me. The ground thudded, and we were plunged into total darkness.
Vodyan exhaled shakily and ran his hands up the back of my head and down my back around my air tank. His tentacles rose and wrapped around my hips and ankles, like he was afraid I’d fall away.
“Are you all right?”
I saw his face, ghostly like a mask in the green light from his voice sack. It extinguished as soon as he stopped speaking, and I cleared my throat.
“Yeah. And you?”
“I’m fine.”
I didn’t let go, and he held me firmly, absorbing my shivers. I gulped deeper and deeper breaths until I remembered about boxed breathing and switched to the right rhythm as my heart slowly calmed. Vodyan kept running his hands over me, his tentacles slithering against my legs, and the caresses soothed me.
“We’re trapped, right?” I asked when I was almost completely calm.
He hummed in confirmation, the soft glow dispersing the darkness.
“This is good news, Zoe. I should be able to dislodge the stone with my jet gun. We just have to wait for them to leave. They might put up a guard or two, but that I can handle.”
“Okay. I trust you.”
And I really did. Some fear was still there, which was natural, but it was a far cry from the panic when I first hit the lake. Because now, Vodyan was here to keep me safe.
I pressed closer. It was probably time to climb off, but I was so entangled in him now, I wouldn’t be able to if he didn’t let go of me first. And even though my muscles ached, I was loath to stop when he touched me like this.
Vodyan seemed reluctant to let me go, too. When he pressed his face to the top of my head, my breath hitched in my throat. This seemed different .
“Sorry,” he murmured. “It’s the adrenaline. I need a minute to make sure you’re safe and well.”
“It’s okay,” I said, my voice growing breathy as my heart sped faster. “Do what you need.”
I was shaking, but not from fear now. His voice sounded like that again. Ragged and hoarse, and just so deliciously intimate.
I flinched when a tentacle slithered across my buttock and up my back. Another one followed, and another, suckers pressing to me as he slowly wrapped me up in himself.
My body woke up with bursts of heat under my skin. I pressed closer, wishing I could see it, and yet grateful I didn’t. The darkness made it all hidden, and if it was hidden, it was allowed.
I exhaled sharply when a tentacle slithered under my abdomen, so low, it was just above my pubic bone. It pulsed gently, squirming between our bodies with small movements, as if he was rubbing himself against me. All his other limbs did that, too. I was surrounded by friction, and in the complete darkness that even my goggles couldn’t penetrate because there was no light here, my sense of touch grew even sharper than normal.
Tingles chased down my spine, my skin blooming with sensitivity. My breath grew shaky, each pass of his tentacles or hands building something hot and wanting inside me. I was surrounded, sinking into darkness and touch, and my throat burst with a moan that wanted out so desperately, I was afraid I’d fall apart if I didn’t release it.
But I held it back. I was terrified Vodyan would stop once he realized how into this I was. For all I knew, it was a completely innocent procedure vodnik bodyguards did. Fuck, I didn’t know. But I wasn’t about to make it awkward.
Something nudged the mask over my lips, and Vodyan released a bubbly breath through his mouth.
He stilled, just holding me close, his body surrounding me from all sides. My breath was fluttery and fast, and my fingers spasmed where I held him. I desperately wanted to rub myself against his torso, or maybe ask him to touch me, but he was evidently done with this strange caressing ritual.
And it was for the best. If he kept going, I would indeed moan and more, and it would probably cost me my dignity.
Slowly, he untangled himself from me until only his arms held me to him. I felt each limb that fell away like an acute loss to be mourned.
“I will let you go now, okay?” he said softly. “But you can touch me if you need. I know it’s scary.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said, my voice too high-pitched for my comfort.
I was so far gone and half-delirious with need. My pussy clenched greedily, and I bit back the disappointed whimper that wanted to tear free when his hands slid off me, and my feet touched the bottom.
It was good that he let go, I reasoned with myself. Distance would do me good. I had to cool down. Get my bearings.
Yes, I absolutely needed to get a fucking grip, because if he did that again, I would grab his tentacle and ride it or something, and that just couldn’t happen.
Down, girl.
While I chided myself in the privacy of my mind, Vodyan hummed softly, emitting enough light to make the walls of our cavern visible. He swam over to the entrance we came through and gently poked the edges, pushing at the stone that blocked it.
“We’ll wait a bit longer,” he said, coming back to my side.
The cavern was large enough for us to keep our distance, but Vodyan was so close, his tentacles brushed against my shins. I gulped, realizing what a prolonged stay here would mean. I was already thirsty, hungry, and my bladder was full.
“On a scale of one to ten, how uncomfortable will you be if I pee in here?” I asked, cringing a bit, though not much.
If I had to go, I had to go, and there was nothing for it.
He was silent and then a soft, surprised laugh resounded from his inflating voice sack. A full, green glow lit the cavern, revealing his white, sharp teeth bared in a smile. I blinked, and then chided myself for doing it. Even a second of having my eyes closed meant I missed out on the view of his gorgeous, handsome face when he laughed.
“Absolutely fucking zero,” he said when he stopped. I still didn’t dare blink, drinking in the good-humored sparks in his eyes. “Pee is warm. It will float up and out through the crevices in the stone above us.”
I grinned back. “Yeah, okay. But I think I’ll drink first, just to be safe.”
I fumbled with the mask over my mouth and finally peeled it away. Cold water pressed against my lips, and I gulped in a sharp breath through my nose. Then I opened my mouth and drank.
It was an odd experience. As soon as my mouth was open, water flooded it, and all I had to do was swallow. The water at the bottom was safe to drink. The low temperature kept it bacteria-free, and in my crash course on lake diving, I was told I could drink it as long as I was deep enough and the water looked clean.
The one downside was that it was freezing. I shook when more gulps hit my stomach, but I drank to satiation. When I was done, I pressed the mask to my mouth and sucked the water out until it sealed in.
“Well, this will hurt,” I muttered, moving away from Vodyan, my arms outstretched to feel for the walls. “But only for a short while. There’s a very thoughtful zipper down here. I don’t even have to take it off. I imagine that’s how human men feel all the time.”
When Vodyan made a choked sound, glowing for a moment, I shot him a worried look.
“What’s wrong?”
He rumbled. “Nothing. I’m just trying not to laugh at your commentary. I expect you don’t want me to light up the place.”
“Well, there’s nothing to see. But yeah. Keep it dark, and I’ll shut up. Or not. Wait. You said it will float up. Will it hit me in the face on the way? ”
He huffed softly, turning away so his back was to me.
“Only one way to find out, Zoe. I won’t like you any less if it does.”
My heart gave a hot little thud, butterflies fluttering in my stomach. They took off into a full flight before I could explain to them that what he said didn’t have to mean he liked me. It could have meant he couldn’t like me any less, because he already hated me.
But the butterflies knew better, and they wouldn’t settle.
In the end, no warm stream hit me in the face, but my coochie was stabbed with piercing cold. I zipped up, shivering and cursing, and Vodyan hummed in sympathy.
We waited some more after that. He told me about the hunting tactics of lamias, and how they very rarely banded up to herd their prey, usually in times of hunger or when they had a lot to gain.
“Carver’s emissary probably offered a lot for your head,” he said, his tentacle coiling around my wrist when I shivered. “But don’t worry. We’ll be out of here soon. I’m not sure how they will play it out this time, but lamias usually leave their prey in the trap for a few days until it weakens from hunger.”
Finally, he got up and shot at the rock. At first, it seemed promising. Fragments of stone chipped off, and I fancied it moved in the pale light from Vodyan’s voice sack.
But time passed, and Vodyan grew angry, cursing in between blasts from the jet gun. After about an hour of trying, he growled and stopped, swimming over to me.
“Let’s eat,” he said, reaching for the waterproof backpack he’d taken from the safehouse.
He brought out sealed tubes of military nutripaste for me and himself. They tasted very bland but were supposed to have a nutritious cocktail that supported most mammal species. Another upside was that I could just seal my lips around the circular opening and squeeze the paste right into my mouth.
“Try to sleep,” he said after we ate. “And I’ll check out a few other things. ”
I thought it would be impossible to fall asleep while we were in a literal trap, but the combination of exhaustion and the trust I had in Vodyan worked a miracle. I fell asleep at once, buoyed by the weightless feeling of being submerged.
I woke up groggy and thirsty some time later when Vodyan again blasted the stone with concentrated bursts from the jet gun. His face was drawn in a feral focus, his muscles tight, and a constant low hum emitted from his throat, letting him see.
When he was done with this round and lowered the gun, I got up. The water stirred, and he whipped to face me.
“Zoe, we’ve been here for six hours.”
I yawned, holding my mask so it wouldn’t dislodge. “I can’t believe I slept for so long,” I said sheepishly. “Did you get to rest, too?”
He shook his head, watching me with a tight expression.
“No. I’ve been at this fucking stone for hours. It won’t budge. There are a few spots I want to blast more tightly, but we’ve run out of time.”
I blinked a few times, wishing I could rub sleep out of my eyes.
“What do you mean? Are the lamias back?”
Vodyan clenched his jaw, releasing bubbles through his nose. Finally, he came closer with a gentle push of his tentacles and held my shoulders with both hands.
“No, Zoe. But the air in your tank will run out.”