Tempest hurried to take a bite, then offered it to him again. Her eyes closed briefly as she appreciated the delicious creamy center of the baked good. When she held the treat out to him, Reed took another bite, his lips brushing gently against her fingers. She felt the touch all the way to her core.
They took turns like that until the treat had disappeared between them. With one last long sip of her coffee, Tempest smiled down at their empty plates.
“Would you like to see more of Crescent Cove?” she asked with a shy smile.
“As long as you’re right here beside me,” Reed whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her back and arms. “I’ll follow you anywhere, my Little Storm.”
Her brain seemed to short-circuit at the offhand way he bestowed the nickname on her. The way he said it, his voice deep and rumbling and full of affection, exhilarated her. Tempest took his hand and led him down the Boardwalk, telling him about each of the stores they passed.
Though it should have been boring, a basic tour of her little seaside town, she found herself enjoying every stop they made. Reed wanted to touch, taste, and look at everything. He truly was fascinated by the human world and how different it was from his own.
Hours passed as they smelled every candle and soap in one shop, then stopped for ice cream at another. The idea of chocolate but cold intrigued him, so she got a scoop of chocolate and a scoop of cookie dough for him to try.
Most Assuredly
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andering the length of the Boardwalk with Tempest by his side felt like getting everything Reed had ever wanted. Her considerate nature and patient answers to all of his questions about the human world allowed him to truly experience it all inways he hadn’t dared to dream of. There seemed to be an endless supply of new things to see.
As they approached the next shop, he turned to her again. “What is a spa?”
“Oh, you don’t have those under the sea?” Tempest asked with a giggle. “You can get a massage to rub out the tension in your muscles—mostly your back and neck. It’s so relaxing.”
A dark-haired man with long black hair tied up in a bun stood at the front of the shop, waving at them as he called out a greeting. He watched as Tempest smiled back at him and frowned.
This man was far too handsome to be on such good terms with his Little Storm. Reed didn’t like the idea of him putting his hands all over her back at all.
“Octavius owns and runs the Crescent Cove Spa,” she explained.
Then he caught sight of the orange tentacles peeking out
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from his back, their little suction cups unmistakable. This man was an octopus shifter. He had never seen one in their human form. The shifter wore a simple black shirt and black pants, his outfit nearly as nondescript as Reed’s own clothes.
It startled him to realize that this person who belonged as much to the sea as he did had chosen not only to live on land, but to stay there permanently. To build a business and have a job in a place like Crescent Cove had never occurred to Reed before.
As he contemplated this idea, he thought about Tempest’s diving partner, the sea lion shifter, who had clearly done the same. In fact, she had said that everyone in town was some kind of witch or shifter.
“Do you need a massage or a facial today, Miss Tempest?” asked the octopus shifter.
“Not today, Octavius,” replied his witch politely.
The merman frowned at their friendly exchange, the ease and comfort with which this person spoke to his Tempest. She barely spoke to most of the people they had passed throughout the day, though she was always kind to the shop owners and employees they interacted with.
This shifter, though, seemed entirely too comfortable talking to her. Reed shifted on his feet, wrapping one arm around Tempest’s waist as he turned to stare directly at the other man.
“I’m Reed. It’s my first day in town,” the merman said matter-of-factly.
“Ah, welcome to Crescent Cove, friend. How do you like it so far?” Octavius asked politely.
“Actually, that’s what I wanted to ask you,” Reed said quickly. “I’m from the Cascadia pod. We live off the coast from here. I’m curious, how did you come to live on land like this?”
“Well, I was actually raised on land and in the sea. In Crescent Cove, that’s pretty common,” replied the other man.
Reed blinked slowly. “Even for those whose creature form lives entirely underwater?”
