Suddenly, he wasn’t just beside her. Touching and yet not, he formed a cage around her body, his legs bracketing hers, his hands gripping the rocky lip beside her own. “I’m not going to let you drown.”
She believed him. She couldn’t have said why. But she let out a shuddering breath. “You’d better not.”
He dipped his head, and his breath tickled the lobe of her ear. “You’re my sykyrah. I will never let you down.”
Probably the hottest thing anyone had ever said to her. She let go of the rock wall and turned, placing her fingers on his shoulders before she could sink like the heaviest rock to the bottom.
He met her gaze instantly. Glowing, his expression intent.
“You shouldn’t say that.” Just like she shouldn’t be touching him. Touching that bronzed skin proved it soft and warm. Hairless, too, his chest smooth, and not because he shaved. Her lower body dangled in the water parallel to his. They even brushed a little bit. He could have easily pinned her to the rock if he’d wanted.
She eyed his mouth, waiting—hoping—for a kiss.
“I will say what I feel for you because it’s true.”
There was something highly arousing about having a male, a man of this much virility, declaring himself. Finding her attractive.
Wait. Did he find her attractive? He certainly appeared to flirt and tease but never actually touched her. Was that because he kept true to his word? Or was he not all that interested?
Why was the answer suddenly important?
“Do you think I’m pretty?”
“Pretty seems too mundane a term. Exotic, perhaps.”
“Hardly exotic with my red hair,” she said, scrunching her nose.
“I like the color of it and the spots on your skin.” He brushed a thumb over her cheek, and her breath caught.
“You said I was alien to you.”
“I also said you were beautiful.”
He had. She couldn’t hold his gaze and stared at his chin. “This bond thing you’re so keen on. What does it do? How does it work? I assume it’s some kind of marriage. Does the woman suddenly become your slave?”
He laughed. “Hardly. We judge on merit, not gender.”
“Until someone gets pregnant, I’ll wager. Then the woman gets stuck at home watching the kids.”
He shook his head. “Some do. In some families, the males choose to raise the children. While others hire the services of someone better suited to the task.”
“You mean they get a nanny?”
He shrugged. “If you mean a guardian of children while the parents are away or working, then yes.”
“How many kids do you want?” she asked suddenly.
“I don’t know. Ask my mother and she’ll tell you at least a half-dozen. She wishes she could have had more than four.”
“You have three sisters?”
“And possibly a bastard brother, but we don’t talk about him,” he said with a grin.
She blinked at him. “You have to talk about it. That was a total soap opera mention.”
“What does a cleansing opera have to do with family scandal?”
It was impossible not to grin at his oddly literal interpretation. “More than you know.”
“The talking helps you, doesn’t it?” It startled to know he observed her so closely that he noticed she was calmer.
“Logically, I know the chances of me drowning are slim. But…”
“It is like when you burn yourself. You remember the heat and the pain therefore you flinch.”
“That’s actually a pretty good analogy.” Her nose wrinkled.
“The important thing, though, is to train yourself to not let that fear grow.”
“I’m in the water, aren’t I? I’d say I’m doing good.”
“Very well, which is why I’m going to move away, slowly.”
Instantly, she went rigid, and her nails dug into him. “I don’t know if I’m ready.” What must he think to see her terrified of something so basic?
His expression remained patient, not a hint of mockery in it. “You’re ready, and I’m right here. If it helps, keep a hold of me as you draw your body into a straight line.”
“Is this the part where I’m supposed to tuck my pelvis and clench my cheeks?” She remembered when Katrina tried to show her in the oily stuff the Zonians used for bathing.
“Your cheeks have nothing to do with it.” He looked adorable when she confused him.
She glanced down to his chest instead. It didn’t help.
He tilted her chin, and his gaze was soft as he said, “You can do this.”
“Sure, I can. I just need to hope my ass floats.” She glanced at the water, stalling some more, unable to shed the irrational fear. She’d be fine.
“Ready?”
She almost yelled no. “What if I lose my grip on you?”
“I’m here.”
Reassuring words. She took a deep breath, another. He waited patiently. Too patiently.
“If you tell anyone what a pussy I am about water, I will kill you,” she threatened. She still had one knife strapped to her ankle.
“This will be our secret,” he promised, and then he drifted away from her, meaning her arms fully extended.
She dangled practically without support. If he moved any more, she might lose her tenuous grip. She stretched and leaned forward, trying not to let panic fill her. She kept her fingers relaxed on his skin rather than clinging to him like a leech and screeching she was gonna die.
Barely. She was one heartbeat away from full panic. Her body drifted, rising behind her, lying her flat, but not quite level. Her chin dipped into the water. She might have whimpered.
Immediately, he was soothing her. Kind of. Rather than mouth platitudes, he told her what to do. “Close your mouth and hold your breath if you go under.”
“I’m not going under,” she muttered.
He did, though. His sudden dip meant she lost her grip on his shoulders. Panic, waiting in the wings, immediately rushed in, and she flailed, splashing water into her face, even opening her mouth to scream and feeling liquid rush in.
Then his hands were there on her waist, holding her steady and above the surface, his voice snapping, “Spit that out!”
She obeyed, thankful he knew what to say because anything else and she would have probably cried.
“Take a deep breath. Again,” he said.
She breathed, ashamed of herself. Of her fear.
“Why did you panic?”
“You went under.”
“I did. And I’m fine.”
More than fine, he was slick and wet. He held them aloft, face to face. He leaned in and rubbed his cheek against hers. Odd, yet soothing.
“You don’t have to fear,” he rumbled,
“Promise you’ll hold me.”
“Always.”
It was then she realized it wasn’t his arms around her but his tail!
Twelve
“Please don’t scream. I might go deaf.” His tone was dry, but she heard the underlying fear. Was she going to reject him for being different?
She held tight to her panic and took in the situation. His hands were skimming the water keeping them afloat while his tail curled around her. It wasn’t crushing her to death like an anaconda or slimy as expected. Hell, she’d thought it was his arm. In a sense, it was another limb.