Yet here I am, changing this place into my vision, away from pirates and the Gallaghers, from the claws of crippling paranoia and the brink of hysteria.
My greatest threats on this island are the sharp rocks, bats that leave me alone as long as I return the favor, Vasz’s teeth, and the organ between my ribs that wants too much of Ordus’ attention. Companionship. To beat without feeling the twinge of the shards encasing it.
My attention fixes on the monster before me, carrying me like I’m his greatest treasure. Lips thin and wary. Jaw tight and clenched. Voice brittle. “I can’t say the wrong things if I never speak.”
The water quietly laps against us as I draw my hand over his hair and shoulders, down to the center of his chest wherethe purrs have stopped. It’s a sound I’ve come to long for, soft rumblings I hear as sleep lulls me into its clutches every night.
“You should talk more anyway,” I whisper. “You have a nice voice.”
A small smile tugs at my lips when the soft vibrations stir beneath my fingertips, unraveling every knot in my muscles.
Ordus’ eyes slowly travel down to my hand. He stills beneath me, so stiff, he could shatter. My eyes round, and every cell in my body screams in panic. Something’s wrong.
I frantically follow his line of sight to my breast, and the internal screaming turns deafening. My bikini shifted during the swim; now Ordus has a first-row seat to my exposed nipple.
Mortification stains my body in bright splotches of red. Before I can scramble to cover myself and collect the last vestiges of my dignity, a tentacle loops around my thigh, and the pointed tip brushes over my center.
I suck in a sharp breath, looking up at Ordus. Whatever pain painted him earlier has morphed into pure, unbridled desire.
He pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger, the tip of his claw curving over my lip. “The Goddess made you perfect, little mate.”
My eyelids flutter at the heat in his voice. It’s deeper than I’ve ever heard it before, a fraying thread about to snap.
Oxygen whooshes from my lungs at the press of a pointed edge along the inner seams of my bikini bottoms before moving across my ass to hold me up. A growl thunders beneath his purr.
There’s an unfamiliar comfort in knowing I could say a single word, and this will all end. He’ll let me go, maybe even fix my top for me, turn his head to give me privacy. The tension would evaporate.
He hasn’t pushed me to marry him because it’s my decision. He hasn’t touched me in inappropriate ways or said anythingthat makes my skin crawl because he won’t do anything unless I ask for it.
I shift my hips against his tentacle, grinding along the hard limb. Ordus’ nostrils flare, and his lips peel back to reveal his sharp teeth, his expression twisted with rage and desperation. I’m not scared. On the contrary—I want to wrap my arms around him, trace his harsh jaw, and hang on every word he’s willing to give me.
“Cindi,” he warns.
A bulb drags along my inner thigh. It pauses over my sex.
Oh. He’s just as affected as I am.
“You should talk more often,” I whisper, lips moving against his clawed thumb that could rip me to shreds.
I poke my tongue out, swiping across the harsh pad to taste the saltwater clinging to his skin.
“Tell me what you want,” he rasps. His fingers twitch against my ass, eyes never once straying back to my exposed chest.
Control. He’s giving me every ounce of it in this moment.
This is for me, not him. Everything he does is for me.
Goosebumps erupt over my flesh as he draws us out of the water, settling me against his thick limbs on the side of the pool. He towers over me, his hand still inches away from finding out it’s not the water making me wet.
His tentacle tightens around my leg, and warm liquid spills onto the delicate skin of my inner thigh. The muscles in my lower stomach spasm, and he takes a deep breath. The blacks of his eyes devour the blue, more beast than man.
And the monster is still giving me the reins.
I want to take them.
“It…aches.” I almost don’t recognize myself.
Ordus’ purr jumps in volume. “Tell me where it hurts.” He trails his finger along my cheek, bending down to brush his lips up my jaw to the shell of my ear. “Let me fix it,mate.”
