Page 76 of Music of the Ocean

Indigo didn’t move. He stood near their bed, his tentacles stilling in the water, his gaze fixed on Saxby’s bare chest.

Saxby’s hands moved to his waistband next. He hooked his thumbs beneath the fabric and paused, holding Indigo’s eyes for a beat longer than necessary. Then, he pushed the garment down, the motion unhurried.

The fabric peeled away from his hips and thighs before sliding free of his legs. Thank the gods he didn’t have shoes to fight. The pants joined the shirt on the floor, and the current nudged both pieces into a slow spiral.

Kind of how Saxby felt.

He straightened, standing fully exposed in the dim light. Water moved around his body in gentle eddies, and a stream of tiny bubbles rose from his exhalation.

Indigo’s tentacles stirred. One extended toward Saxby, then stopped, curling back toward Indigo’s body. His gills fluttered faster, and his bioluminescent markings brightened along his arms and chest, the blue glow intensifying to a deep pulsing cerulean.

Saxby stepped forward, closing the distance between them. The water displaced by his movement brushed against Indigo’s skin, and Indigo’s tentacles unfurled in response, spreading outward in a deliberate fan.

Saxby reached for Indigo’s wrist, his fingers wrapping around it. The contact sent a visible ripple through Indigo’s bioluminescence, the markings along his arm flaring brighter before settling into a rapid rhythmic pulse.

“Your turn.” Saxby’s voice was low, barely above a murmur, but it carried clearly in the quiet chamber. “My mate.”

Indigo gasped.

“Yeah, I called you my mate. And you’re mine. My mate.”

Indigo yanked the cross-body bag off and threw it across the room. “I have waited so long.”

“You won’t have to wait any longer. Never again.”

Indigo’s bioluminescent markings along his torso pulsed violently, casting shifting patterns across Saxby’s chest.

Saxby’s gaze traveled downward, then back up. His hand tightened on Indigo’s wrist, and he pulled gently, drawing Indigo closer. The coral veins overhead dimmed farther, the chamber’s lighting shifting to its nocturnal phase. The water temperature dropped by a fraction.

Indigo’s tentacles curled around Saxby’s body. One was at his waist, another at his thigh, a third winding loosely around his forearm. The suckers pressed against Saxby’s skin in alternating patterns. Each contact left a faint, tingling sensation.

Saxby’s hand found the side of Indigo’s face and traced the ridge of scales along his jaw. Indigo’s tentacles tightened their grip, drawing Saxby closer until their chests pressed together. The water between them warmed, carrying the sharp scent of their arousal.

Then, Saxby kissed Indigo. Their lips met in a collision that was neither gentle nor tentative. Indigo’s eyes fluttered shut, and the bioluminescent bands along his neck and collarbones went incandescent with sudden intensity.

At first, it was Indigo who hesitated, but Saxby’s persistence turned the kiss into something hungry and wild. Indigo’s tentacles trembled, their suckers contracting and releasing in a slow motion against Saxby’s body as they caressed him.

The kiss deepened. Saxby’s hand moved from Indigo’s wrist to the side of his face, cupping his jaw and angling Indigo’s head back. Their noses brushed, and Indigo let out a choked sound. Desire snaked through Saxby, making his cock jerk against Indigo’s stomach.

Saxby shivered when Indigo gripped his hips tight enough to leave indentations. Oh yeah, that carefully controlled strength was hot.

Saxby pressed closer. The differences in their anatomy made the connection awkward, but the awkwardness only fueled the urgency. Indigo’s tentacles never let him drift too far away.

Saxby broke the kiss first, but only to catch his breath. Indigo’s mouth chased after his, brushing against his jaw, his chin, the corner of his mouth. The desire was unfiltered, the water thick with it.

For the first time since entering the city, Saxby felt at home. Felt like this was where he was supposed to be instead of his presence being an accident. Saxby’s nerves were alive and screaming for more.

Saxby’s other hand slid down Indigo’s back, following the line of his spine to where the tentacles emerged from his body. His fingers brushed against the base of one tentacle, and Indigo’s entire body shuddered, a visible tremor that rippled through his frame.

The chamber’s ambient hum provided a constant backdrop to the sounds of their fast, uneven breathing. A stream of bubbles rose from between their bodies, catching the dim light as they drifted upward.

Saxby’s hand continued its exploration, and Indigo’s breath hitched. His tentacles coiled tighter, and the bioluminescent markings along his arms blazed bright enough to illuminate the alcove for a moment.

The water temperature continued to drop, the cooler current carrying away the heat generated by their bodies. But the space between them remained warm, insulated by the press of skin against skin and the shared rhythm of their breathing.

Saxby shivered as Indigo’s tentacles suddenly moved with a deliberate slowness, and each one seemed to have its own agenda as they mapped Saxby’s skin. One slithered across his chest.

The cool, damp touch left a tingling wake as it circled his nipples before the suckers adhered for a moment, only to pull away with a faint, wet pop. Others coiled like bracelets around Saxby’s wrists and forearms.