Page 29 of Kept By the Kraken

Bjorn

“Why marine biology?” I ask.

We’ve settled on the old couch in front of the fire. Penelope lies on my chest, her legs tangled with mine as we snuggle under a blanket.

She turns her head, nuzzling into my chest. “My parents wouldn’t pay for art school and the thought to defy them never crossed my mind.”

My chuckle rumbles. “That’s hard to imagine. You’re persistent.”

“In some things maybe.” She’s somber now, and I want to understand what caused the change.

“If you could have chosen for yourself, what did you want to do?” I run my hands along her back, trying to soothe her.

“Ever since I was little, I’ve been drawn to the ocean. Like, obsessed with orcas and stingrays, reading all about the ocean, collecting shells,” she admits, a smile in her voice. “My best memories were made at my grandmother’s house on an inlet in Florida. We would spend weeks in the summer exploring. But I never wanted to study it the way I do now.”

I flip a strand of her hair back and forth between my fingers and trail it down her nose, tickling her until she bats my hand away. “What did you want?”

“I wanted to live in the ocean, breathe it in. It always felt like my skin fit better in the water.”

“Because you belong to it, as do I. The sea calls us to our mates.”

She makes a thoughtful sound. “Is it weird I’m comforted by that? That means I was always meant to find you. And from the moment I met you, it was like I needed to know you, that you were somehow important to me even though we were strangers.”

“No. I don’t think it’s weird. I find comfort in it too, even though I was afraid of opening myself to you.”

She props her chin on my chest, looking up at me. “At least you did it. You asked what I wanted? What I dreamed of but was afraid to do was capture the beauty of the ocean as an children’s book illustrator. I wanted to explore the oceans of the world and tell stories about their creatures, make them accessible to kids.”

I wrap my arms around her, squeezing her tightly as she likes. “How did an illustrator end up a marine biologist?”

She sighs. “In my house, there was no college for art or the humanities. It was the sciences or math or business. I thought it was easier to avoid confrontation, to do what I was told.”

“Why?”

“I’ve always sought approval. I tried hard to be my family’s version of good, but it never came naturally. I didn’t know any other way to be. I was miserable and anxious all the time.

“When I was nineteen, I had a relationship with my undergrad professor. Daniel’s class was fascinating. It was one of the required humanities classes I had to take for my major. I went to his office hours once to ask questions and then kept going.”

“That was your ex-husband, the one I hung up on?”

“Yeah. He was older and persistent. I didn’t get a lot of attention from men or boys. It’s like they always looked past me.”

“Idiots. You don’t need their attention.”

Penelope laughs and I squeeze her ass, my Beast grumbling in my chest.

“Okay, you don’t like to share. I hate it, so we’re good.” She says the words teasingly, but I can hear the pain beneath them.

This prick Daniel helped feed into her parents’ bullshit. Penelope is bold color and bright laughter. I hate that they made her feel like less.

My record with her is far from spotless, but I know I messed up and won’t ever let it happen again. “I promise, Penelope, that mates are forever.”

I tug under her arms and bring her to me. She runs her hands in my beard as I take her mouth, promising her with my body what I said with my words.

The kiss lingers, a slow smoldering heat that’s more comfort than desire. I inch away and hold her delicate face between my palms. “Will you tell me what happened?”

She sits back, straddling my waist and looking at the fire. Her voice is hollow when she speaks again. “My parents surprised me for a visit and caught Daniel and me together. They loved him. He was everything they wanted for me.

“My dad comes from old money. I think Daniel realized that night that I would be a good meal ticket, and after that visit, we went public with our relationship. Professor positions are prestigious but not paid well and Daniel had executive taste. When we got engaged, my parents bought us a house and made Daniel the executor of my trust fund. As my husband, my family believed that he should be the financial and legal guardian of my affairs.

---