Page 45 of The Kraken's Queen

Our short history together.

Her fears. Strength. Love.

It blends together, creating a story. The story of us.

My eyes lock with Erin, and I see I’m not the only onedrowning in emotion. Her eyes are rimmed in red, conveying everything her melody is and her words can’t.

Please don’t hurt me.

Cherish me.

Be my home.

Just like that, the music fades to one last note. One that reminds me our future is yet to be written, just like the rest of this song. I’ve never been more excited to hear the ending. What lies in store for the pair of us.

I don’t get to ponder long because, in the next moment, Erin launches herself at me.

Chapter 26

Erin

I’m a goner.

I come apart at the seams by a sweet gesture that means more to me than any other gift I’ve ever received. A beautiful harp picked specifically for me. It’s not the harp I care for, though it is a beautiful instrument. It’s the man who went out of his way to learn my fears and desires. To look at all the broken parts of me and not be scared away. To learn what I like and truly listen when I speak.

Allarick has taken an interest in me from the beginning. He’s been nothing but sweet and patient with me while I try to figure out these conflicting feelings. Slowly, I’m unwinding myself from James’s web and falling hard for my sweet kraken.

There’s no mistaking this feeling. All-consuming and powerful. Love is patient, and our love is quiet. Perhaps it’s not even acknowledged, but it’s there for the taking if I want it. It blooms more and more with each passing day.

I may not know what our future holds, but I do know one thing. I want my husband. No…Ineedmy husband. Need to feel the last bit of James scrubbed away from me for good. I don’t want him to be the last man I’ve had sex with. The faked orgasms I acted out just to get the drunken man off me. I want to know what it means to be truly appreciated by someone.

When the song finishes, I still have more to stay. My body acts of its own accord, and I close the space between us, launching myself into his arms. But only my actions can speak for me now. I waste no time in finding his lips. Those beautiful, full lips I want to feel all over my body. Would he draw out my orgasm until I’m begging him to let me come? Or would he get me to completion as fast and as many times as possible?

I’m not sure which one is more appealing.

Part of me knows there’s no turning back. I’m certain I don’t want to. My only doubts are if Allarick wants me in the way I need him. But those are smothered as soon as Allarick wraps himself around me, his tentacles pulling me flush against his body. He kisses me like a starving man, and I’m his last meal. He kisses me like I hold the secrets to the universe, and he’s determined to discover every single one of them.

Allarick bites my lower lip and sucks it into his mouth. I let out a needy moan I might be embarrassed about later. He pulls back with a pop, but I don’t let him get too far away from me. I fear I’ll lose my nerve if we stop now.

“Is this your way of thanking me, sweet girl? Because if it is, expect many presents.” He chuckles, trying tolighten the intensity brewing between us. He’s not as unaffected as he seems though. His body is rigid, and his gaze is heated. Tentacles tighten around me, one stroking up and down my hip.

“Allarick…” Nerves threaten to overtake me, but then visions of rough hands and drunken thrusts plague my mind. Of nights of pain and drunken sex. Of saying no and wanting to stop.

That’s not good enough for me anymore.

It never was.

I deserve better.

Newfound confidence fuels me, and I lock him in with my stare. “Allarick, Husband, I want you.”

He doesn’t appear shocked or disgusted by my bold proclamation. “Is this what you truly want, Wife? Because, if I have you once, I’ll want you again. My resolve around you is crumbling, but I won’t take from you something you aren’t prepared to give.”

I appreciate him checking in with me and letting me make my own decision. But my mind is made up. I want this. I wanthim. He is what I choose.

“A husband should make sure his wife is satisfied on their wedding night,” I say.

Allarick drops his gaze to my lips before his darkened stare meets mine again. My heart pounds rapidly against my chest, threatening to burst free if he doesn’t touch me and soon. I’m surprised he can’t hear it. “We can’t have that, sweet girl, can we? Let’s go back to our room, and I’ll change?—”

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