Shifters, Beasts, and Monsters (8 page)

He swung around, and strode back into the sea. One of
his reptile hands pressed her face against him, guiding her to the appendage
she needed to breathe. It was larger than she’d expected. It barely fit into
her mouth.

Keep it in your mouth. Do not attempt to breathe
through your nose. Press your face tightly against me and breathe only through
the bud. Do you understand?

She nodded her head. Pressed against his chest, she
could see nothing. The Zrakon’s hand pressed her head to the bud. His other
hand settled on her back, monitoring the inward and outward movements of her
lungs. He didn’t hurt her, but the pressure was firm and unyielding.

She felt him surge as he dived forward and down, and
then the waters swallowed them.

Chapter Five

At first, it was terrifying. Most of her senses were
cut off—she could not see, smell, or hear anything underwater. Even
though she could taste the salty air that was filling her mouth and her lungs,
she was still afraid she would breathe in water and drown. She was also afraid
he would dive too deep, where the pressure would be too great for her human
body to withstand. She could not control the depth, the speed, or the course they
were taking. The knowledge that she had no influence on this wild creature was
humbling.

How foolish humans were to believe themselves the
master of all beasts.

She could feel pressure against her eardrums, but it
was not uncomfortable, so he must be keeping them near the surface. Did he
understand human physiology? If so, how?

He was going so fast. The water skimmed her body like
fire; the tentacles, wet now, cradled her hard against his chest and abdomen.
His body heat transferred to her, keeping her warm as he had promised, despite
the cold temperature of the Scottish sea.

He was not quite as large as he had seemed at the
sacrificial rock: from the bottoms of his legs to the top of his head, he was less
than twice her height, although the long tail added length in the water.

Just as she thought the air was beginning to taste
stale, they angled up and broke free of the water. She felt his lungs exhale,
and for an instant, there was nothing to breathe until he took another deep
inhalation. Through the bud, the sweet sea air filled her own lungs. It felt as
if they were flying, and she would have screamed with a wild combination of
fear and delight if she could have. But his hands remained where they were,
firmly pressed to her head and back, keeping track of her breathing.

His lungs full, his huge body arched like a dolphin’s,
and they were diving again.

On and on they surged, with Kate relaxing as she felt
more comfortable with the breathing. It was a peaceful world—devoid of
light and sound, and requiring nothing from her but passive acceptance. She
could not affect this dominion where sea dragons were in their element. There
was nothing for her to do but submit and allow his power and strength to carry
her onward. He swam, rose, breathed, and dived, in a steady, beautiful rhythm.

She was no longer cold; she felt warm in his arms...er,
tentacles. It occurred to her that the breathing bud in her mouth was a bit
like a cock. It was shorter and stubbier than a human penis, and its diameter
was bigger than anything she had tried to get her mouth around before; in fact,
her jaw was aching. She couldn’t loosen her lips or she would drown. Not that
he would have permitted this. One of his webbed paws kept pressing her face
tightly against him.

It was to protect her from losing the contact, she
knew, but it felt rough, as if he was forcing her to grip him tightly with her
mouth in a kind of oral rape. For some reason, this did not horrify her. It was
all part of the same feeling of complete powerlessness. They were in water, his
element, and her life was dependent upon him.

She wondered if he felt pleasure, embracing her like
this. The bud was probably more like a nipple than a cock, and many men enjoyed
having their nipples manipulated. Without analyzing what she was doing, she
darted her tongue forward, exploring the center of the bud. Unlike the rest of
his rough hide, his underside, where she was held, was not as rough or gnarled,
and the breathing bud was made of even softer stuff. It felt silky to her
tongue, and it tasted of salt and the sea.

He shuddered as she used her tongue on him, which
encouraged her to try it again. At least it kept her mind off wherever they
were going and what her fate was likely to be when they got there. She ran the
tip of her tongue in a circle once, then again. It felt good on her tongue. She
heard a deep sea dragon growl, then heard his voice in her mind again. 

Stop playing around or you’ll give rise to the
Hunger. I won’t be responsible for what happens after that.

“What’s the Hunger?” she thought back at him. This
method of communication exhilarated her.

Trust me, you don’t want to know.

“I’m curious. I want to know everything.”

Again that rumbling sea dragon chuckle.
You like
playing with fire, girl?

“We’re underwater,” she sensibly pointed out.

He shifted her slightly, and something huge and hard
pressed between her legs. She inhaled more deeply than usual as she realized it
must be his ginormous sea dragon cock. It felt as if she was sitting on the
blunt end of a log.

There was absolutely no way. None. “I think maybe you
should go pick on someone your own size. Like a female sea dragon.”

Unfortunately, there aren’t any in this world.

“You’re claiming they exist in other worlds?” If
sarcasm could be expressed telepathically, she was giving it her best shot.

The human part of me is more interested in human
females.

“So there is a human part?”

Like I said, it’s complicated.

“Do you really rape those village women?”

They volunteer, so I wouldn’t call it rape.

“I don’t understand how you could penetrate a human
woman with that and not kill her in the process.”

As you may have noticed, I do have other parts.
The tentacle that was holding the lower part of her body curled around her leg
and stroked her inner thigh. Another drew its tip down her spine, making her
shiver. Wow, it felt good. She moaned, almost losing her tight grip on his
breathing bud. He pressed her face harder against him.

Don’t get too excited. We’re not there yet.

I don’t believe this, she said to herself, hoping she
was blocking at least some of her thoughts from his hearing. Some kind of
monster wants to have sex with me, and he’s going to make me like it!

Abruptly, the peaceful rhythm slowed and stopped. He
rolled over onto his side, bringing her out of the water. His clawed hands no
longer pressed upon her, and she felt the tentacles that held her against his
body loosen.

Breathe the air,
he
ordered, pulling her away from the bud. For a moment, she felt dizzy. She was
almost afraid to breathe on her own.

 A single tentacle wrapped around her waist, and
whisked her out of the way as he rolled back onto his belly in the water. He
released her into the sea beside him.
Swim
.

Instead, she thrashed. Even though the water was calm,
the wake his body produced sent waves over her head. She felt cold now that she
was no longer enveloped by the warmth of his body. She felt clumsy in the
water, compared to him.

A tentacle shot out and encircled her body, supporting
her and keeping her afloat. She clung to it and looked around.

They were still in the dark sea, off shore, but she
could see the island and Mallochbirn Castle, albeit from a different direction
than she had seen it from the mainland.

“We’re still near Mallochbirn Keep. Why did it take us
so long to get here?”

I had to swim around to blow off some energy. Be
thankful. It was either that or this:

 An image filled her mind. Kate understood at once
that he was sending it to her. She was lying on her back on the stony strand
beside the rock where Effie had been bound. She was naked and slick with ocean
spray. Her legs were stretched widely apart and her hips were writhing.
Something long and slithery wound around her thighs, slowly approaching her
curly mound. It was one of his tentacles. It caressed her bare skin, rubbing
and sucking at her with the tiny suction cups on its underside. Then it poked
between her legs and pushed into her while she twisted and moaned.

Another tentacle was snaking over her bare breasts.
Her body arched in rhythm to the increasingly fierce thrusts. A third tentacle
plundered her mouth. Just as she was about to explode in ecstasy, all three appendages
retracted and the monster crawled forward and crouched over her. Its huge
thorny cock was lining up to penetrate her. Rip her open, rather, since there
was absolutely no way....

“Stop it!” she gasped, even though she felt excited by
the strange scene.

I did stop it, although I’m damned if I know
why. You’ve really messed up my Midsummer’s Eve revels, lass.

“Why do you sound so human?”

 
I told you I have a human side.

“Is the human side of you cold? This water is
freezing. I am not built to withstand such low temperatures. I’ll get
hypothermia.”

You’re right. My apologies.
His
tentacle heaved her up into the air and deposited her atop his shoulders.
There were more tentacles on his back, but they were much more slender and
somewhat shorter than the big ones on his chest. His back was tougher, with
harder scales and various knobs and dorsal fins. “Hang on,” he said as he began
swimming toward the island.

He was too broad to sit astride, so she shifted
around, grasping the tentacles—which seemed to cling right back—until
she was kneeling on his powerful shoulders. Feeling his tough dorsal scales
undulating between her legs and thighs as they moved through the water made her
flush and feel a lot warmer. But she was wet and still cold.

 “I’m still shivering, Zrak. I wish you hadn’t ripped
off all my clothes.”

Do you want me to cradle you against my chest
again? That’s probably a lot warmer.

“No, I want to see.”

Several warm tentacles curled themselves around her.
Better?

“Yes.” I could get used to this, she thought. It’s
like tentacle bondage. She promptly blushed at the thought, which she hoped he
hadn’t heard.

It was too dark to see the island well, but it looked
inhospitable from this side—all rocks, stones and crags. He swam toward a
mammoth cliff; she could not see a beach or even a place for him to step up out
of the sea.
We’re going to dive again. How long can you hold your breath?

“Uh, I don’t know. Twenty seconds?”

It’ll only take ten. Stretch out more—lie down
on me. I’ll hold you. Breathe in deeply a couple of times first, to saturate
your lungs.

She complied. “Where are we going?”

To my lair
.

“Oh.” She slid her legs behind her and pressed her
torso, carefully, along his back. It was not as comfortable as being pressed to
his chest. Various hard protrusions from his armored hide jutted into her. His
tentacles tightened on her, holding her in place.

Deep breath,
he said, and
dived.

He moved fast. They were surfacing again before she
started to feel the need for air. The tentacles loosened and she pushed herself
upright. They had surfaced in the pool of a small underground cavern.
Looking
around, she gasped in delight. The walls of the cavern were alight with a
multitude of colors—many shades of blue, green, red, yellow and purple.
There were huge chunks of crystal everywhere. The crystal light was magnified
by small oil lamps hanging at frequent intervals. The light from these
shimmered and shivered as it was reflected from one bright crystal surface to
the next.

“Oh, my goodness, it’s beautiful! Where are we?”

Under Mallochbirn Castle.
He
lifted and deposited her into shallow, warm water. She found her footing and
walked out of the water to a beach of fine white sand. She started to squeeze
out her hair, which was loose and heavy with seawater.

The sea dragon swam around in the pool, watching her.
She felt the heat of his gaze and sensed that he was holding himself back with
remarkable restraint. He wanted to do the things he had shown her. He could
barely stop himself from moving ahead with the entire program.
You’re sexy
with your hair down.

“Wouldn’t you find me more attractive with big teeth,
a tail, and tentacles?”

No. Feel me.
Down the
golden tunnel rolled an onslaught of his emotions—sweeping through her
like the wind. Most of all, the Hunger. It was more than a man’s lust—it
was a primal storm of need and desire. Like the light, it seemed to radiate
around the cavern, from crystal to crystal, infinitely magnified.
You are
mine, Catriona Beaton. I want you, and I will have you. You are in my world
now, and you cannot escape your fate.

Kate gasped, more shocked by this than by anything
that had happened on this strange, wondrous night. “How do you know my name? He
told you, didn’t he? Ross Malloch. Or am I dreaming this whole crazy thing? I
must be dreaming, but what a dream. I don’t think I want to wake up.

Yes, it is a dream. For now, that’s all it is.
You will not remember this until I give you permission.