Page 5 of Paper and Passion
Chapter 5
Alex
The store is moving! This place is full of surprises. The rhythmic swaying has my sweet little human stumbling again. She’s adorably clumsy. But I don’t mind because it gives me an excuse to touch her.
With one hand on her hip and the other behind her back, I lock her against me. As part aquatic creature, I’m used to the swell and sway of waves and tide, so the movement of the store doesn’t bother me in the slightest. I rock with the movement, bringing my human with me. We’re roughly the same height so our hips line up, our breasts press together, our noses nearly touch.
After a moment of tension, she softens against me, resting her soft cheek against mine.
“It’s almost like we’re dancing,” shewhispers, her breath tickling the tender skin at my neck.
“You’re very nice to dance with.” I hold her a little tighter, an ache forming low in my belly. I might be closer to my fertile cycle than I realized. Either that, or this woman is sending me into an early heat just by her proximity.
Adrian teases that I’m too quick to say someone isThe One, but I’ve never had a reaction like this to a human before. The last time I felt such instant attraction, it was for my mate. I didn’t realize the same would be true with my human mate.
My tentacles swell and expand, circling us like a curtain. My arousal soaks the thin thong I put on this morning. I want her.
And I know she feels the same.
We shift with the building, and she lets out a little whimpering moan. The sweetest sound I’ve ever heard. Adrian will go crazy for that sound.
I turn my head ever so slightly, and my lips brush just below her ear. “What’s your name, sweet girl?”
“Tillie,” she whispers.
“Tillie,” I taste each short syllable.
Her body trembles against mine. The small room suddenly feels too warm.
“I’m Alex.” I lift her hair with a tentacleand lick the shell of her ear. Salty and sweet and delicious. She trembles, so I do it again. “Alex Harrow.”
The store stops moving, but we continue to sway.
“Alex Harrow,” she repeats.
“Hmmm.” I like my name on her lips. I wonder how it’ll sound when she screams it in pleasure. “I’d very much like to kiss you, Tillie.”
“Oh, um.” She pulls back. Not out of my arms, but just enough to look at me, sucking her lips into her mouth. “This is weird? Isn’t it weird? I shouldn’t… I mean, we only just met. I don’t know anything about you.”
When I open my mouth to respond, there’s adingfrom my phone. It breaks the mood just enough to cause Tillie to step back.
“I should probably check on the store,” she says.
“Let me help you.”
My phone makes another noise, notifying me of a second text message.
“No, no, I’m fine.” She waves her hands, palms out, then drops them as she looks around at the mess. “But… um, the job is yours, if you still want it after…”
“I want it.” My voice is low and sultry, andI hope to all the seas she understands exactly what I mean. “I’ll start now.”
She nods once, then hurries out of the room. What happened clearly freaked her out, but I don’t think she was scared ofme. She wasn’t afraid of the monster I am. It was something else that had her running. A fear of the immediate connection between us, if I had to guess.
And that’s something I can work with.
I take my phone out of my purse and look at the messages.
Adrian
