Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52553 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 263(@200wpm)___ 210(@250wpm)___ 175(@300wpm)
“You have nothing to worry about. I’ll be there.”
As sexy as it is to think this big kraken man is going to protect me from predators in the deep, I remain unconvinced. He’s bigger than me, but that doesn’t mean he could take on a literal kraken. “What are you going to do? Glare at it with disapproval until it begs for mercy?”
His grin flashes again, lingering a little longer this time. “My magic is more than deterrent enough.”
Magic.
I blink. “What are you, King Triton?”
His brows draw together. “Who is King Triton? He’s not a territory leader in this realm.”
Right. Of course. Pop culture references will fly right over his tentacled head. “He’s not a real person. He’s a cartoon, which is a whole bunch of drawings put together to make a figure look like it’s moving and . . . You know what, never mind. It’s not important.” I sneak a glance at him, sure I’ll see the signs of him checking out on this conversation. The glazed gaze. The fidgeting, trying to find a smooth conversational exit. Maybe even some rolled eyes at my rambling.
Thane watches me as if I’m divulging the world’s secrets. His dark eyes are intent, and he’s still in a way that should probably feel predatory but makes butterflies erupt in my stomach.
I lick my lips. “Um. Anyways. I’m convinced swimming will end with me as fish shit, so I would like to pass.”
“Catalina.” The firmness in his voice makes me shiver. “You will be here for seven years. My territory is over ninety percent water. Learning to swim is not optional.”
He’s probably right, but I’m stuck on something else. Obviously I knew the demon deal was for seven years; I read the contract before I signed it. But I hadn’t really thought about what seven years in this tower would do to me. “I can’t stay here,” I burst out.
He flinches. “Unfortunately—”
“I don’t mean with you.” I don’t pause to see if that’s what he really intended with his statement. “I mean in this tower. Alone. Going out of my mind. It’s torture, Thane.” I was doing a good job of pretending I am totally fine with this setup and maybe that it’s even kind of cute that he wants to protect me from chefs wielding knives, but a couple weeks have me climbing the walls. I don’t like to think of what state I might be in after one year, let alone seven.
The teasing on his face disappears as if it were never there in the first place. “I intend to keep you safe.”
“Keep my body safe, maybe. If you really meant to keep me mentally and emotionally safe, you wouldn’t lock me up.”
“You are not locked up.” He pushes back from the table. “You are not a prisoner.”
“Cool, so I can leave whenever I want.” I shove back too and rise. “Guess I’ll go now.”
Thane rises too. “By all means, Catalina.” He motions with one long-fingered hand. “Shall we?”
I’m riding high on frustration, which has never been a good emotion for me. I don’t know how to deal with it, so I don’t deal with it at all. Instead, I do whatever it takes to stop feeling that way. Right now, that means action.
I stalk ahead of Thane out of the room and down a damp hall. Another time, I’d lag behind so I could marvel at how smoothly he moves on his tentacles. There’s a hypnotic element to the rise and fall of his body as he shadows me to the stairs. Not right now. I’m too keyed up.
It’s only when I reach the bottom that I realize my mistake. Of course, I can’t leave. I can’t swim. Which the bastard knew when he threw that gauntlet at my feet.
I spin and give a mocking slow clap. “Congratulations. You’ve made a fool of me. Well done, asshole.”
He’s obviously clenching his jaw, which I would find satisfying if I wasn’t so embarrassed by marching down here. And now I have all the damned stairs to climb again.
I’m going to have an ass of steel after all this. Too bad I can’t even enjoy the thought of bouncing a quarter off it right now. “I’m done,” I say.
A tentacle lashes the ground in front of me, stopping me in my tracks, but when I look up to meet Thane’s gaze, he’s just as reserved as he always is. The only indication that he’s anything less than calm is the way his tentacles shift around him.
I prop my hands on my hips and glare. “Is this the part where you shove me into the water and forcibly teach me to swim?”
Thane blanches. “That is torture.”
Is it? My mother just called it learning the hard way. I learned a lot of things the hard way. I shrug. “It would get your point across.”