Page 13 of Little Saint Nautilus

I drew a deep breath and expelled it. "It is as I said. I am a nautilus. A full nautilus. My size decreases, my body morphs, and I retreat into my…shell.”

I paused for a moment, trying to embolden myself to share something I’d never shared. "You wouldn't be able to tell me apart from other nautili except for my size. My kind aren't as big as our ancestors were, but far bigger than simple creatures."

"I doubt that," Cory interjected.

"What do you mean?"

His fingers squeezed mine. "I think I would be able to tell, size difference or not. There's something about you. I might not know any of your kind, but I think I would knowyou. Maybe it’s because of what happened in the past. I don’t know, I can feel it." He gave me a sweet smile, making me warm all over. Could he feel the connection between us, too? Did humans sense their mates as we did?

"I think you're special too, Cory. Not that I know other humans.” It wouldn’t matter if I did, though.

"So how big is it? Your shell." Cory asked.

I pursed my lips, trying to think of how to describe it, but I decided the easiest way was visually. Pulling myhand away from his, I held them chest-width apart. I was much smaller than Cory, my frame more lean and petite. It probably would have been about half the breadth of Cory's broad chest.

His eyes rounded. "And you can fit inside of that?"

I nodded once. "Yes, it's quite comfortable. I enjoy the tight space because it makes me feel safe."

"So how does that work, exactly? Is your shell a part of you? Does it generate somehow when you want it to?”

“Hmm. It’s a part of me in the way your boat…”

“Kayak,” Cory corrected. “Sorry, continue.”

“Yes, kayak. The way it is a part of you when you move through the water. As one, though not fused together. My shell doesn’t grow from me. It has always been what it is, a shell. It doesn’t change with me.”

Cory’s brows pinched together, looking sweetly puzzled. “So…where does it go when you’re in your hybrid or human forms, because…you definitely didn’t have it with you on the beach?”

I bit my lip and shifted my eyes. “I try to put it somewhere safe so I can return to it. I don’t normally stray this far from it.”

Cory’s arched brows fell. “Oh. I didn’t know.”

“Of course. There's no way you could know.”

“Is it somewhere safe now? Do we need to get you back to the beach?”

A part of me wanted to scream,‘Yes! Immediately.’but a bigger part knew I couldn't leave yet, couldn't leave him. It was worrisome to be so far from it, but Cory lit me up in the way I'd always dreamed, and we had hardly touched. I couldn't give that up so soon. Determination had me shaking my head.

“No. I'm not ready to leave yet if that's all right?”

Cory squeezed my hand. “Yeah, yes, of course. I’m not ready for you to leave either, but I want to respect your needs.”

“Thank you, Cory. You have been. You've been very kind.” I rubbed my thumb across the back of his hand, enjoying the rough texture. What would his hands feel like on my body? I wanted nothing more than to know the answer to that.

We chatted over our breakfast. The man across from me, who you would never be able to guess was anything but human, told me about hisshelled form. It was so hard to fathom, but I would love to see it, to see him, with my own eyes.Him. Fuck, I needed something to call him, and he was trusting me to pick out a name. It was a huge responsibility and names were so personal. I racked my brain, trying to think of something for him.

He was too unique, too incredible to be a Gary, Dylan, Bob, or Steve. He was beautiful. His brown hair was such a lovely contrast to his fair skin. What would he look like in his hybrid form? I had a faint recollection of his touch underwater, but all I could see was his face and the brown hair flowing around him with the motion of the ocean. No, certainly not a Michael or John, either.

“I migrate at different times of the year. With the cooler waters along the coast in the winter, this area has been a part of my annual migration for a long time now, but particularly in the last eight years.” He lifted his face to look at me with those big, beautiful brown eyes and wore a soft smile.

Eight years. Since my accident. He said he’d been searching for someone and he found him. Found me. With all the places he could go, the oceans he could explore, he chose to come back here every winter… looking for me. It was a bit of a mind-fuck, to be honest, but a good one.

What would it be like, though? To get to see places most people never would? Sure, there were submarines and equipment that could be used to observe and learn more about the depths below, but this person across from me had seen it, lived it, without any tools, just as himself. He was an utter marvel.

My eyes went wide as a story came to mind. I slammed my hand on the table, making him jump. “I’ve got it!”

The beauty across from me leaned forward slightly, though I could see the surprise still etched in his face. “You got what?”

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