Chapter 16
Verity
The rain hammered against the roof like a thousand impatient fingers. Inside the hut, the air had thickened with heat and something else—something that made every breath feel significant.
My hand was still resting against Rainse's chest, fingertips tracing the edge of his greenskin. The texture was unlike anything I'd ever touched—smooth as kelp but alive, responding to me with tiny shivers and pulses. Each time I moved my fingers, his breathing hitched.
"You're staring," I whispered.
"You're touching me."
"Should I stop?"
"If you do, I might actually die." His voice came out rough, almost desperate. "And after surviving jellyfish, that would be embarrassing."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Can't have that."
I stepped closer, eliminating what little space remained between us. My other hand came up to rest against his shoulder, fingers sliding along the greenskin there. The fronds responded immediately, unfurling toward my touch like flowers seeking sunlight. Fascinating. Beautiful. Impossibly intimate.
He groaned, a sound that did things to my insides I wasn't prepared for. "Verity—"
"I know what I'm doing," I said softly, though that was only partially true. "Or at least, I'm choosing to do it. Isn't that what matters?"
"Yes." He caught my face between his hands, thumbs brushing my cheekbones with a gentleness that made my throat tight. "But I need you to be sure. Once we—if we—the bond will—"
"Will what?" I searched his eyes, seeing want and worry in equal measure. "Lock in? Become permanent? Make me crave seaweed pudding?"
Despite everything, he laughed. "The last one is irreversible, I'm afraid."
"I'll risk it."
Then I kissed him, and thinking became impossible.
This kiss was different from the ones before.
Those had been tentative, exploratory—two people testing the waters.
This was a dive into the deep. His mouth opened against mine, and I tasted salt and something faintly sweet, like ocean spray mixed with honey.
His hands slid into my damp hair, angling my head so he could kiss me deeper, harder, until we were both breathing in gasps.
The greenskin beneath my palms started to glow faintly—a soft bioluminescence that pulsed in rhythm with his heartbeat. Or maybe mine. I couldn't tell anymore where I ended and he began.
"That's new," I managed between kisses.
"That's you," he murmured against my mouth. "It only does that for—"
"Mates," I finished. "I assumed."
"And you're okay with that?"
I pulled back just enough to meet his eyes. They were dark and endless like the bottom of the sea. "I spent my whole life studying the ocean," I said. "Trying to understand it, measure it, explain it. But some things aren't meant to be understood. They're meant to be felt."
His expression softened into something that looked like wonder. "That's the least scientific thing I've ever heard you say."
"Don't get used to it." I tugged him back down. "I'm sure I'll have regrets in the morning. Probably involving spreadsheets."
"I'll risk it," he said, echoing my words, and kissed me again.
"Rainse," I said, the practical part of my brain fighting through the haze of desire. "I need to know—protection. I'm not on birth control anymore."
He went still. "Finfolk males are made sterile at puberty. A reversible treatment, but it requires specific intervention to undo. I can't get you pregnant. Not without hormone therapy I haven't received."
"The Matriarchs' doing?"
"Yes. Control over reproduction." His jaw tightened. "But in this case, it means you're safe."
"Okay." I exhaled. "Okay, good."
His hands moved to my waist, fingers splaying wide against my wet shirt. Even through the fabric, his touch burned. I made a frustrated sound and pulled back just long enough to yank the shirt over my head. It hit the floor with a wet slap.
Rainse went very still, his gaze tracking over my exposed skin with an intensity that made heat pool low in my belly.
"You're staring again," I said, though my voice came out shakier than intended.
"You're perfect."
"I'm soaking wet and covered in goosebumps."
"Yes," he agreed, voice dropping an octave. "Perfect."
Before I could respond, he closed the distance between us, his mouth finding mine with a hunger that stole my breath. His hands slid up my ribs, thumbs brushing the underside of my breasts through the thin fabric of my bra, and I arched into the touch with a gasp.
"This," he murmured against my lips, fingers finding the clasp. "Off. Now."
"Impatient?"
"Desperate." His voice was rough, almost broken. "I've been imagining this since I first pulled you from the water."
The confession sent a spike of heat through me. "That's very inappropriate timing."
"I'm aware." The clasp gave way and he pulled the bra free, tossing it aside without looking. His gaze dropped, and the sound he made was purely animal. "Verity..."
Then his mouth was on my breast, hot and demanding, and I stopped thinking entirely. His tongue circled my nipple before he sucked hard enough to make my knees buckle. Only his arm around my waist kept me upright.
"Rainse—" His name came out as a moan.
"Tell me what you want," he said against my skin, his free hand sliding down to work at my trousers.
"You. I want you."
"Be more specific." His fingers found the button, popped it open. "I want to hear you say it."
My brain struggled to form words while his hand slipped inside my trousers, fingers teasing along the edge of my underwear. "I want... God, I want you inside me."
"Better." The trousers hit the floor, followed immediately by my underwear, and suddenly I was completely bare while he was still half-dressed.
The inequality should have bothered me, but the way he looked at me—like I was something precious and profane all at once—made me feel powerful instead of vulnerable.
He dropped to his knees in front of me.
"What are you—oh—"
His mouth found the inside of my thigh, kissing and biting a path upward. The greenskin along his shoulders brushed against my legs, and the sensation was unlike anything I'd ever felt—electric and alive, reading every shiver and gasp.
"I've wanted to taste you," he said, breath hot against my skin, "since you first touched my greenskin. Do you know what that did to me? How badly I wanted to—"
His tongue found me, and the rest of his words dissolved into action.
I grabbed his shoulders for balance, fingers digging into the greenskin there. It pulsed beneath my palms in rhythm with what his mouth was doing, as if it was responding to my pleasure. The dual sensation—his tongue circling my clit, the greenskin vibrating against my hands—was almost too much.
"Oh God—Rainse—"
He hummed against me, the vibration sending sparks up my spine, and added his fingers. One, then two, curling inside me with devastating precision. The greenskin along his arms extended, tendrils wrapping gently around my thighs, holding me open for him.
"That's—that's not fair—" I gasped.
He pulled back just long enough to say, "Fair?" His fingers continued their movement, finding a spot inside me that made my vision blur. "I'm not trying to be fair. I'm trying to make you come so hard you forget your own name."
Then his mouth returned to my clit, sucking hard while his fingers moved faster, and the greenskin pulsed and the whole world narrowed to the coil of pleasure tightening in my core until—
I shattered, crying out his name, my legs shaking so badly he had to catch me. He gentled me through it, his movements slowing, tongue soft and soothing until I could breathe again.
"Okay?" he asked, pressing a kiss to my hip.
"I—" My voice didn't work properly. "That was—you can't just—"
"Use your words, scientist."
I grabbed his hair and pulled him up to kiss him, tasting myself on his tongue. "Bed. Cushions. Whatever. Now."
He smiled against my mouth. "Demanding."
"You started it."
In one fluid movement, he lifted me—easily, as if I weighed nothing—and I wrapped my legs around his waist on instinct. The cushions were suddenly beneath my back, soft and ridiculous, and he was above me, still wearing that damned belt.
"Off," I demanded, tugging at it. "This needs to be off."
"Allow me." He reached down and released the clasp himself. The belt fell away, and—
"Oh," I said stupidly.
His cock was magnificent and utterly alien.
The base was a rich kelp green that deepened gradually toward the head—an oceanic blue that glistened like wet stone.
But it was the movement that made my breath catch.
Thick ridges pulsed just beneath the surface, moving in a wave-like rhythm even though he wasn't touching it.
"It's..." I couldn't find words.
"Different," he finished, a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
"Beautiful," I corrected, reaching out tentatively. "Can I?"
He nodded, jaw tight.
When my fingers wrapped around him, the skin rippled beneath my touch—the ridges moving up and down like waves on a beach. The sensation was hypnotic, alive. Below, I could see the smooth, tight skin of his scrotum, and I counted—
"Three?" I asked, surprised into scientific observation even now.
"Is that a problem?" His voice was strained.
"No, it's—" I stroked him experimentally, watching the ridges pulse faster. "Fascinating. Do you control this? The movement?"
"A little." His hips jerked into my hand. "But once I'm inside you, I'll lose all control. The ridges will move on their own, responding to—oh fuck—"
I'd squeezed gently, thumb brushing over the blue head. "Responding to what?"
"To your pleasure." He caught my wrist, stopping me. "Verity, if you keep doing that, this will end embarrassingly fast."
"Will you fit?" The question came out more uncertain than I intended.
His expression softened. "We're compatible. The bond wouldn't exist otherwise. And the greenskin will help. Trust me?"
I guided him to my entrance, lifting my hips in invitation. "Show me."
He pushed inside in one slow, devastating thrust.