Page 34 of Little Saint Nautilus

A satisfied smile stretched my lips, happy to be the cause of it. But since he didn’t want me to continue rubbing against him, I put my hands on the middle of the paddle to give me something to focus on. I felt the up-down movement of it as Cory continued to work it. Learning the rhythm of it, I spread my hands until they were just inside where Cory’s were placed. Instead of simply holding on, I began to push and pull along with him and I felt our speed increase ever so slightly. Had that been because of me? My heart jumped. Italmostgave me the same feelingas when I was in my nautilus form and drew water into the chambers of my shell before expelling it and propelling myself through the water.

“That’s it, you’re getting it,” Cory said from behind me, making me feel a burst of warmth with his affirmation.

When we reached the calm part of the water past the waves, Cory slowed his movements and lifted the paddle to rest across our laps. His arms folded around my middle. “How are you feeling?”

I let out a sigh. I didn’t expect to feel this…good. The combination of the sun shining on me, the sound of the water, our movement over it, and being enveloped by Cory all made for a rather enjoyable experience. “I’m okay. Surprisingly, better than okay. I’m having fun.”

I could feel Cory relax behind me. “That’s great to hear, Nemo. I love coming out here early in the morning, but it’s even better having you with me.”

I nodded and leaned back against him, looking out over the water. The land looked far enough away that it felt as if we were the only two who existed. Of course, I knew otherwise. Millions of creatures kept us company. I wished I could leap off the boat and swim down to the depths to encounter them. The pang that I expected to come with the thought was minimal, as I was fairly content where I was.

“Should we try to catch a wave, or do you want to stay here?” Cory asked and leaned his head to rest on mine.It felt really nice to just simply be here together, to be in his arms. I probably could have stayed like this all day. I wanted to know what it was like, though. To feel the rush that Cory talked about, to know what it was like to ride a crest.

“Let’s catch a wave.”

“Yes! All right, here’s what we’re going to do.” Cory gave me instructions for when we would paddle and when we would stop and lift it out of the water, so we didn’t create drag. We would have to work in tandem, our movements in sync.

He turned us around and pointed us toward the shore. “You ready?”

My heart raced in anticipation as I gripped the paddle with my hands right beside his. “I’m ready.”

“Okay, here we go.”

We pushed down with the right side first, then left, both of us moving together perfectly. A swell was building, and we raced to get to the top of it. When we reached the peak and felt it lunge forward, we drew the paddle out of the water and let the wave do the rest of the work. Suddenly, we were soaring. Flying at a speed much greater than I could reach with my own propulsion. A laugh burst out of me. Without thinking, I threw my arms out to the side, and my head fell back with my eyes closed as I surrendered to the sea. Surrendered in a way I never dreamed of.

It wasn’t long before the kayak slowed, and the bottom of it scraped the sand. My eyes opened. “Oh. It’s over already.”

Cory snorted. “Yup, it doesn’t last very long.”

“So, what do we do now?” I couldn’t help the disappointment that bled through my voice. The rush had stopped far too soon.

“We paddle back out and do it again.”

I turned slightly, so I could look over my shoulder at him. “Really? Can we?”

He met my gaze with a wide grin. “Absolutely, sweetheart.”

“Yes!” I shouted triumphantly.

We ended up surfing the waves ten more times. The muscles in my arms burned from holding them wider than usual to accommodate Nemo’s body, but I loved it. I fucking loved every second of it. Surfing was a solitary thing typically, and I usually appreciated that, but having Nemo with me, seeing him radiate with glee from the thrill of it, and feeling him pressed against me the entire time, made it an altogether different experience. A truly incredible one.

The only downside was I’d been achingly hard through most of it. At one point, I was certain I was going to come in my wetsuit with his perfect ass bouncing against my cock. It had taken a herculean effort to get my mind off it because that wasn’t a mess I wanted to deal with before work.

Nemo was practically glowing by the time we were done. He was breathtaking. And of course, his linen pants were soaked, leaving nothing to the imagination as they adhered to him. Fuck, the sight of him practically had me salivating.

Once I had my shop opened, I gave him a dry pair to change into, or that image of bending him over the counter might come true. But that wasn’t how I wanted our first time together to go.

Luckily, the shipment I’d been expecting had come, and it had been a good distraction… for both of us. Nemo seemed excited to learn how to help. Before long, my first customer had come through the door.

It had been a busy day, and I was glad I didn’t stay closed for the day. Nemo had taken to organizing and shelving products really well. He seemed perfectly pleased with the task. Precise too, facing everything forward exactly right. He stuck his tongue out as he concentrated on sorting bracelets and was just so fucking adorable.

Having him here certainly made the day go by a lot easier. I usually didn’t mind the quiet times and the solitude, but his presence made everything brighter. I even let him have a go at ringing a customer up after he’d watched me do it several times. He wasn’t good with money yet—I imagined there hadn’t been much opportunity to count cash at the bottom of the sea—buthe was so pleased with himself, and proudly announced ‘Happy Holidays!’to every single person.

If I were a rational human being, there was no way I could fall for him as quickly as I had, but rational went out the window after having been spooned by dozens of cirri all night. What did rational matter? Because I was… falling for him. Completely, madly, wonderfully, falling for him.

By the time we got home, Nemo was yawning. “I didn’t know working could be so exhausting.”

I snorted. “Yes, it can be. It was a very busy day. You did great, though. I’m so proud of you.”

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