I deepen the kiss, tilting my head and brushing my tongue against her lips, and she opens for me instantly—like she’s been waiting for it. And maybe she has, as we both let out a long-held sigh and breathe into each other. She makes a noise in the back of her throat and steps closer, and my cock twitches to attention instantly.
Our tongues tangle together, going to war like we always do. It’s like the banter we once passed back and forth, the rapport between us like that of old friends when we’ve known each other for such a short time. All my good memories of her rush back…of sharing french fries in my quarters on the Naiad or chatting in the cockpit for hours.
“I miss you,” she whispers against my lips, fisting her fingers in my shirt. “Kye, I miss you so fucking much…”
I just kiss her more, harder, deeper. Fiona whimpers, her knees going weak, and I hold her against me as my fingers begin to vibrate against her lower back. She’s wearing some kind of armored bodysuit and I can’t get close enough to her.
I’m on the verge of tearing her clothes off on this rooftop when a chime sounds from my wrist, and then Fiona’s.
We break apart slowly. I don’t want this kiss to ever end.
But our family has to be worried about us.
I raise my comm to see Nereus hailing me, and Fiona answers hers as well. Looks like Taln is reaching out to her. “Where are you?” Nereus asks, concern twisting his features. “Aramis just got back to the ship and said you ran into some trouble, and the Hyperboreans are trying to lock down the port…we need to leave before they do.”
“Sorry, Ner,” I murmur. “We’ll be right there.”
“Fiona is with you?” he asks.
I raise my eyes to find her with flushed cheeks and kiss-bruised lips. She’s so gorgeous that I can’t help but crack a smile. “Yeah…she’s right here.”
Nereus sees the look, and mirrors my own smile. “Good,” he says. “Come home soon.”
And then he terminates the connection.
Fiona finishes her call with Taln and looks up at me, a goofy smile on her face. But as we lock eyes, both our smiles fade. There’s…a lot that we need to work out, and I’m not sure if I’m ready to do that yet.
Plus, I can’t just keep covering my problems over with sex and booze, despite how good they feel.
“We should talk,” I say. “Later?”
“Later,” she agrees. “For now, let’s go home.”
And we head back to the Wrath: a place that is most definitelynothome.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
NEREUS
It seems like we never stay in one place very long, and it’s suddenly grown very tiring.
We depart Vehyris just after Fiona and Kye return, both of them looking a little worse for wear but otherwise unharmed.
I want to talk to both of them—Ineedto—but when Kye gestures toward his quarters and Fiona walks past me and into Taln’s arms, I realize that I can talk to her later.
He seems to need me more than she does right now.
We don’t hold hands. He barely even turns to look at me as the doors to his quarters swish open.
This room isn’t like his room on the Naiad. It isn’t particularly small or dark; it’s much like mine, except there’s no pool in it for me to unfurl my tentacles. There’s a large bed pushed against the chrome wall, a red and white comforter on a large square double bed.
There are two sleek tables flanking each side of his bed, metal and small. I don’t know what they’re for, but I don’t ask. The door swishes closed behind us, and Kye pulls me toward the bed, where he slumps down.
“So Aramis made it back okay?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say. “Right before you did. They weren’t hurt, but they didn’t look great. What happened?”
“Okay, don’t get mad,” he says, flashing me a coy smile but not looking me in the eyes.