Hunter of the Tide Page 3

  “That’s good to hear, too.”

  Once she’d left, he shifted his attention to Ikaros. The prixxir glanced up at him with half-lidded eyes.

  “Let’s get you some food,” Randall said.

  Oddly, his mind drifted to Rhea as he walked to the mess hall; she’d barely left his side during his recovery, and he’d even woken on several occasions to find her leaning on the bed, asleep.

  Perhaps Aymee was correct. He wasn’t alone.

  But was that what he wanted?

  Chapter 3

  “It’s been two days. Do you think Ikaros remembers me?” Melaina asked, bouncing with excitement as she and her mother moved along the corridor.

  Rhea smiled at the youngling. “Perhaps.”

  Melaina had begged ceaselessly to visit the creature over those two days. Rhea had been tempted to give in — though it wasn’t the prixxir she wanted to see — but she knew the creature needed time to heal and adjust to its new environment.

  They passed door after door on their way through the cabins. They’d come often to visit Macy and her youngling, Sarina, but this was their first time going to Randall’s room. Rhea’s hearts thumped as they reached his door. A strange anxiousness tightened her chest at the prospect of seeing him again, this time in his den.

  Before humans came to the Facility, kraken rarely went to one another’s dens unless they were mating.

  Melaina moved in front of her mother and raised her fist. She knocked rapidly on the door, tentacles shifting restlessly beneath her.

  After several moments — each of which felt impossibly long — the door slid open. Randall stood in the doorway, his eyes wide and lips parted as he looked from Rhea to Melaina and back again.

  Rhea skimmed her gaze over Randall’s half-naked body. Since leaving the infirmary, he’d kept himself fully covered, usually in form-fitting jumpsuits. Now, he wore only pants, leaving his torso bare. His shoulders rose and fell with his heavy breaths and a sheen of sweat coated his skin. Rhea’s nostrils flared as she inhaled his masculine scent.

  “Can I see Ikaros?” Melaina asked.

  Broken from her distraction by her daughter’s voice, Rhea lifted her eyes to Randall’s.

  “Yeah,” he said, seeming to shake off his own stupor. “He’s roaming around some—” Randall glanced down as the prixxir, limping slightly, walked between his legs and brushed its long, flat tail over his ankle. “He’s right here, apparently. There’s some food over on the desk if you want to feed him.”

  “I do! Thank you!” Melaina bent down and wrapped her arms around the creature, cuddling it to her chest as she straightened. She closed her eyes and brushed her cheek against Ikaros’s head. Offering Randall a smile, she slipped past him and into his room.

  “The creature appears gentle,” Rhea said.

  Randall twisted to glance over his shoulder. “Ikaros is young. I’m no expert on prixxir, but I don’t think he’s more than a couple months old. He’d still be with his parents right now, under normal circumstances, so I guess I’m taking their place.”

  “And he is well?”

  “He’s not at a hundred percent yet, but he can move around well enough, and I swear he eats twice his body weight in fish every day.”

  Rhea smirked. “As do all younglings.”

  “I guess now I understand why my father used to say he could barely keep enough food in the house while I was growing up.” He looked down at his bare chest. “If you give me a minute, I’ll go get cleaned up. I didn’t expect anyone to stop by.”

  Her gaze dipped to his body again, and her smirk faded. She took in the contours of his musculature, followed the patch of dark hair on his chest as it flowed toward his waistband, narrowing in its descent. Her fingers twitched with the memory of how his hair had felt beneath her palm.

  “I do not mind,” she said.

  He chuckled, running a hand over his head. “That makes sense.”

  Rhea raised a brow. “In what way?”

  “I haven’t seen a kraken with clothes on yet, and I’ve been here for weeks. I get the sense that nudity doesn’t really bother you.”

  “Why would we wear such constrictive things? They would hinder our swimming and obscure our camouflage.”

  “When you put it that way, it makes sense. But here I am, talking about your—” his eyes dipped to her chest and rose quickly. He cleared his throat. “I’m sorry, Rhea. I didn’t mean to keep you standing in the hallway. Would you like to come in?” He stepped aside and gestured to the room behind him.

  Rhea moved through the doorway. Randall’s unique scent permeated the air; she inhaled deeply and studied his living space. The prixxir stood atop the desk, gobbling up the flakes of cooked, white meat Melaina was feeding it. The bed, positioned against the wall to the right, was neatly made, something she’d rarely seen in Macy’s room. There were a few pieces of clothing visible, but the ones on the table were folded and the shirt on the bed was spread flat.

  Had Randall always been so tidy, or was this him taking some control over his life after everything had been turned upside-down?

  “He is eating so well,” Melaina said, twisting to grin at Rhea and Randall. Her attention immediately swung back to the prixxir. She offered another bite of fish, and the creature devoured the morsel, long tail waving eagerly.

  “That’s good. It’ll help him heal faster,” Randall said.

  Rhea watched her daughter pet the creature. Melaina’s face was aglow with delight, and her eyes sparkled with adoration. Rhea’s chest tightened; the youngling’s wanderlust had caused trouble over the last year, but seeing Melaina so happy filled Rhea’s hearts near to bursting.

  And it was because of Randall. He’d made it possible by agreeing to care for the prixxir.

  Ikaros chirruped, cocking its head and tilting it back when Melaina dangled a bit of fish higher up. The prixxir followed the moving food with large eyes, and the instant the meat came within its reach, it darted up to snatch the food out of Melaina’s fingers. She giggled.

  “Once he’s fully grown, you won’t be able to hold food out of his reach anymore,” Randall said. “Not until you grow up, yourself.”

  “When I’m as tall as you?” Melaina asked.

  Randall glanced at Rhea, sweeping his gaze over her from tentacles to head, before looking back at Melaina. “You’ll probably be taller than me when you’re done.”

  “Are you done growing? You don’t seem so tall for a male.”

  Rhea smirked.

  “Yeah, I’m all done growing. Maybe I’m not as big as Dracchus—”

  “No one is as big as Dracchus,” Melaina interrupted.

  Randall smiled. “But I make up for it by being the hairiest one in this whole place.”

  Melaina laughed, pointing at Randall’s chest. “You are!”

  “Everyone has to have something they’re good at.”

  “Being the hairiest cannot be all you are good at,” Rhea said.

  “I might have a few other talents,” he replied, eyes roving over Rhea’s body again. Her brows rose, and her lips curved into a smile. “But I usually let other people judge that for themselves.”

  Rhea turned her face toward her daughter. “Melaina, go visit with Macy and Sarina.”

  Melaina straightened excitedly. “Can I bring Ikaros to show Macy?”

  “Maybe another time, kid. He’s still adjusting to living in here, and we don’t want to overwhelm him,” Randall said.

  She visibly deflated, but said, “I understand.” Melaina turned back to the prixxir and smiled, running her palm along its back. “I will see you again soon, Ikaros.”

  Randall walked to the desk and knelt. Melaina gently lifted Ikaros and passed him to Randall, giving the creature one more scratch under the chin.

  “You can come visit him any time your mom says you can,” Randall said, “but you have to promise me you’ll check with her first.”

  “I will,” Melaina said, her smile widening. She placed
a hand on Randall’s cheek. “Thank you, Randall.”

  He smiled back at her, and though his expression was a bit off-balance — perhaps he hadn’t anticipated such contact — it was warm and genuine. “Any time. Better go and check on Macy and Sarina now, and make sure they’re doing okay.”

  Melaina hurried to the door, opened it, and left. Rhea placed her hands on the doorframe and leaned into the hallway for a moment, ensuring the youngling went in the correct direction, before glancing at Randall over his shoulder.

  He brushed his hand over Ikaros’s back much like Melaina had before setting the creature on the floor. “Thanks for stopping by, Rhea. It means a lot to me.”

  Rhea pressed the button on the wall, closing the door, and turned to face him. There was no reason to hold back; she shifted her skin to a deep maroon and stalked closer to him. She raked her gaze over his body, admiring his strength — so different from that of male kraken, but no less appealing.

  Confusion spread over his features, furrowing his brow and tugging his lips into a frown. “Rhea… What’s going on?”

  She smiled as she approached him and stretched a tentacle to coil around his waist. Her suction cups kissed his bare flesh, sampling the saltiness of his sweat and the sweetness of his skin. She ran the tip of another tentacle over the leg of his pants, wishing they were gone.

  Rhea waved her hand toward her pelvis and opened her slit, allowing it to flower for him. “I wish to mate with you, human.”

  His color changed in the subtle way Macy’s and Aymee’s sometimes did, face taking on a pinkish hue, and his eyes gleamed as he stared at her slit. “Rhea, I…” Shaking his head, he stepped back, moving his hands to the tentacle around his waist. “It’s a bit fast, don’t you think?”

  She tugged him closer, brushing the backs of her fingers across his temple, teasing herself with a fleeting feel of his soft hair. “We can mate slowly, if you wish.”

  He released a shuddering breath, fingers tensing on her tentacle, and the heat of his body increased. Clenching his jaw, he took hold of her wrist and guided her arm down while gently pushing her tentacle away with his other hand. “That’s not what I mean, Rhea. This whole thing is too fast.”

  Rhea drew back, skin reverting to its normal gray. She glanced at her wrist, encased within his fingers, and lowered her brow. “You are rejecting me?”

  “No, I’m not rejecting you.”

  “Then you wish to mate?”

  “No.” He caught his lower lip between his teeth, and that ravenous light flashed in his eyes again. “I mean, not now.”

  Rhea frowned, uncoiling her tentacle from his waist and pulling it away.

  Randall released her wrist and ran his hand through his hair, down the back of his head, and around to rub the stubble on his cheek. “This is just…a little more complicated where I’m from. People have sex outside relationships, yeah, but for the most part, it’s…a process. Something you build up to.”

  “I do not understand. If we both wish to mate, why,” she waved her hand as she searched for the words, “build up?”

  “Because mating right now wouldn’t be anything more than…lust. A fling.”

  What was a fling? “This has always been the way of the kraken.”

  He extended his arms to either side, muscles shifting beneath his skin. “I’m not a kraken, Rhea.”

  She turned her head toward the door. Macy and Aymee were likely in their rooms nearby, two humans who’d brought change to the kraken. Was this part of that change? Had the human females built up to something more meaningful with Jax and Arkon?

  Rhea was one of the most sought-after females in the Facility. She needed only to look at a male, and he would come, offering his protection, his kills, and his body for her needs. Yet Randall had denied her. Her.

  She felt out of her element.

  “What would you have me do?” Rhea asked.

  “Take your time. Show me who you are, and learn who I am.”

  Rhea frowned and held her hands out to either side, as he had before. “This is me.”

  “That’s what you are, but not who you are. I have an idea, but I want to know more.” He took her hands in his and held them between their bodies, bridging the space that separated them. His hands were so different — larger than hers, with blunt nails, rough skin, and no webbing between their fingers. “I want to know you better. And, maybe, I’ll figure out my place here in the process.”

  Rhea pulled her hands from his grip and nodded once. “So be it.”

  His brows rose. “You’re not rejecting me now, are you?”

  She tilted her head. “No, human. We will attempt your ways, but make no mistake—” she leaned closer, leveling her eyes with his, and touched the underside of his chin with the tip of a tentacle “—you are mine.”

  Rhea would shred any kraken, male or female, who dared to touch what she considered hers. And this human belonged to her alone.

  Randall’s eyes widened, and he chuckled. “Damn. Guess you don’t mince words, do you?”

  Her gaze dipped to his lips, and she was tempted to discover what a kiss felt like. “I do not know many of your words.”

  “Words aren’t of much importance, compared to actions,” he said. “You claimed me from the moment they brought me into the infirmary, didn’t you?”

  She placed a hand on his chest and slowly slid it down his abdomen toward his pelvis. The hair beneath her palm was soft over his hard muscle. Rhea recalled the first time she saw him, recalled her surprise when she’d lifted his blanket to see his cock on full display as he lay in the infirmary bed. She’d been intrigued, curious, and shocked by her immediate attraction to him.

  The outline of his hardening shaft was visible through his pants. She smiled and met his gaze again. “I did.”

  He cleared his throat and caught her wrist again, guiding her hand away from his pelvis. “Slowly,” he rasped. Lifting her hand, he pressed his lips to her knuckles. Her eyes flared. “Humans have some old sayings. Patience is a virtue. Good things come to those who wait. Give this some time, Rhea.”

  She frowned, searching his face, uncertain of what to do, of what to say. This wasn’t how she’d been taught, wasn’t how the kraken did things.

  “You’re interested in me? You want me?” he asked.

  “Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

  “Then shouldn’t I be worth some time and effort?” He smiled lopsidedly, and the expression heated her blood.

  Rhea drew back. “You want me to woo you?”

  “I just want us to know each other before we jump into each other’s pants.”

  She glanced down at her lower half, confused by his words once again.

  “It’s an expression,” he said. “I mean before we have sex.”

  “Ah.”

  “Just give it time. Visit tomorrow with Melaina. Let me get to know you both, and we can move on from there.”

  She searched his expression. He sounded earnest, but this situation was unfamiliar to her. Did he not want her as much as she wanted him? His body suggested he desired her, even if his words implied otherwise.

  What would the other females think of her if they knew she was almost begging a male to mate with her? A human male, no less, when there were several kraken males she could choose from at any moment.

  She finally nodded; the opinions of the other females were meaningless. “We will come tomorrow.”

  Randall released her hand and stepped back, offering a nod of his own. “Good. I look forward to seeing you again.”

  Chapter 4

  Randall laid another fillet atop the flat grill. The meat sizzled, its scent adding to the already mouthwatering aroma of cooking fish. A pot of Halorian lobsters boiled on the stovetop nearby, its steam billowing into the automatic fan overhead.

  “This is going to be some good eating, little guy,” he said.

  Ikaros chirruped from his perch atop the counter. The prixxir lifted a paw and waved it toward the
food.

  Grinning, Randall turned to the island counter behind him and sliced a small piece from one of the remaining raw fillets. He tossed the morsel to Ikaros. The prixxir reared back on his hind legs — his limp was all but gone — and caught the meat in his mouth.

  “Maybe I shouldn’t let Melaina feed you quite so much. I swear you’ve gained four kilos since she brought you in.”

  The prixxir lowered his head, dropped the meat onto the countertop, and gnawed at it.

  “Good thing we’re not back at Fort Culver. The only animals allowed on the counters there are the ones that’re about to be cooked.”

  Randall smiled and tended the cooking food as Ikaros ate. He couldn’t deny his excitement. For the first time in the weeks he’d spent in the Facility, he was enjoying himself. That was strange after feeling lost and directionless for so long.

  Ikaros played a large role in that. The prixxir hadn’t left Randall’s side since being rescued by Melaina a week before. Though Randall couldn’t explain the bond he was forming with the creature, he knew it was powerful. At night, Ikaros curled up against him in bed, and had taken to laying over Randall’s feet whenever he was sitting.

  The creature had given Randall companionship, purpose, and made him feel needed. He’d never reflected upon the importance of such things before — he’d had the other rangers, the directive, the hunt; it had been more than enough to keep him distracted. He hadn’t realized how quickly an individual could lose their drive, how quickly a life could lose meaning.

  Ikaros had, after only seven short days, become one of Randall’s truest and closest friends.

  Randall’s sister, Elle, had always filled that role before. Thinking about her now made his chest ache; they’d cooked so many meals together, sometimes getting so caught up in conversation that the food would end up a charred mess. She’d been the only one he could ever confide in. And he hadn’t seen her in months.

  He checked the time on the wall display. Rhea and Melaina would arrive soon; after they’d visited him in his quarters for four consecutive days, he’d decided a change of scenery would be nice, and had invited them to join him in the mess hall for a meal. He wasn’t sure what he’d found more endearing — Melaina’s excitement at the prospect of eating cooked food, like she sometimes did with Macy, or Rhea’s almost comical reluctance. The kraken had eaten everything raw before Macy’s arrival, and only Jax, Arkon, and Melaina had been willing to sample cooked meat thus far.