"Theories," he repeated. His tentacles shifted a little, giving them just enough room for him to thrust up into her a little deeper before drawing back.
The friction was almost too much. She was still so sensitive, and he was just so big.
They didn't get up from that exact spot for a little while. But at some point, she would always remember that he had taken the flower out of her hair and put it somewhere safe. So she'd have it for later, he said.
This man would forever be her undoing, she feared.
Thirty-Seven
Proteus
Avery long time later, Proteus lay on his side watching her sleep. He had been perhaps a little too rough with her. They were both new to this pleasure, and the last time he'd tasted her there had been a distinct metallic flavor of blood. He should have stopped then, but Ellie had convinced him to go one more time. He was big enough to stop her, but he didn’t have the willpower to do so.
She was so damn convincing when she wanted to be.
Eventually they had both grown tired, and no matter how much they wanted to keep going, sleep had claimed them. Or at least, it had claimed her.
Proteus had stayed up to watch her. This immensely wonderful woman who had stepped into his life was forever a strange and odd creature. He liked watching her sleep anyway. The way her eyes twitched beneath her lids when she was dreaming, or how she breathed slowly but still curled into him when she wanted him to be beside her. And she always expected him to be there.
He had gotten up only once. His scales had dried out, so he needed to soak them before they got flaky and itchy. She'd made a sound that had him freezing halfway into the water. Needy and light, it had been the sound of someone who was searching for him.
Fool woman. He was a monster. A terrifying beast of the sea and someone who could easily harm her beyond any reason.
But she still wanted to hold him. She wanted to grab onto his arm and snuggle into his chest as she slept. It calmed her. Made it easier for her to breathe and... Well, if that was all it took.
Ellie didn't seem to mind that he was damp when he joined her again. She tucked herself back into his grip and breathed out a long, relaxed sigh. As though she hadn't been able to sleep well without him.
How wonderful it was to be so adored.
Finally, as the sun broke through the clouds after a strangely calm and clear night, she opened her eyes to catch him staring at her. For a while, they just looked at each other. He watched the emotions dance across her features.
Relaxation. Calm. Joy that he was looking at her and, in turn, she could look at him. But then her features fell into something that looked like sadness and guilt.
"What is it?" he asked. He reached a hand up, toying with her chin until he made her look at him. "I know that expression. What is wrong, Sisu?"
She opened her mouth, closed it, and then seemed to think better of what she was going to say. "I don't want to ruin this perfect bubble we're in. I want to stay like this forever, Proteus. Just you, me, and the sea."
"You know we can't."
"I do." She took a deep breath. "They suspected that we were lying to them. They had seen some of the documents that Pilothad locked away from them. If I didn't tell them the whole truth, they were going to walk."
It wasn't all of it. He could tell. "What do you mean, they were going to walk? The trap was set perfectly. The option for the humans to return Above is one that no one else could ever give them. I was gifting them their home."
"But they could tell we were lying," she insisted. "They don't want to return to the surface without knowing everything."
Anger burned already in his chest, but he was careful to make sure that anger wasn't aimed at her. She had been taken from him. Kidnapped. They might have even tortured the information out of her, and he had to know the whole story. "What did they do to you? I know you, Ellie. You wouldn't have told them everything without them threatening you. Did they harm you?"
Proteus lifted her arm, looking at the thin scab still on her wrist. He had seen every inch of her body, and he did not see more marks like this. But they could have injected her with something. They could have electrocuted her. He had seen their kind torturing others before. There were a lot of options for pain that left no marks.
"I did the right thing," she whispered. This time, he felt her hand trembling in his grip. "I told them willingly, Proteus. They needed to know everything before they went to the surface."
Carefully, ever so carefully, he put her arm down. Proteus could feel himself getting angrier. The gills along his ribs flared wide, and he wanted... He wanted to hurt something.
His hearts could not believe that she would betray him like this. She didn't have it in her. His woman had always listened to him. If she had disagreed with him, she would have told him so.
Space. He needed to put space between them or he would do something he regretted.
Moving closer to the water, he took a deep, steadying breath. "Why would you do that?"
