Page 16 of Tentacles and Teeth

My phone chimed, and my heart leapt into my throat.You don’t know it’s her, the logical part of my brain cautioned.It’s more likely a work call from someone back home. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment.I ignored it, grabbing the small device and waiting impatiently for the half second it took to recognize me and unlock. Sid’s name glowed up at me, sending excitement buzzing through my body like a shot of pure espresso.

Hey, beautiful. Hope your first day went well.

Completely alone, I gave in to the need to let some of my joy out. Bubbles sloshed as I wiggled like an overexcited puppy before sucking in a breath and typing a response.It did! Long, though. I’m knackered.

The three dots signifying her typing barely flickered before another message came through.Look at you, speaking like a native already.

I snorted, sending an emoji with its tongue out. Her next text came in before it even loaded.

Should I have let you sleep last night?

I bit my lip, smirking.Mmm, no. Definitely not. Last night was...I typed out “so fucking hot” only to delete it and replace it with “mind-blowing.” Deciding that was still too much of an ego fluff—even if it was fully deserved—I settled onwonderful.

It was perfect. You’re perfect.

So fucking delicious, sweet girl.

I’m starving for another taste.

I stared at the phone; lingering tiredness pushed aside as my sex woke up with a vengeance. Sid didn’t play games. At least, not the coy, back and forth dating games I was used to. I don’t know why I expected anything else. She’d been breath-stealingly open about her desires since she first lit me up with those hungry eyes back at the Broken Crown.

I did some quick mental shifts, feeling strangely liberated as I set aside the “rules” and focused on what I felt, what I wanted.I’ve been dying to text you all day, I sent, because it was true. Everything made me think of her. The chair I’d sat on during the after-lunch meetings had been hard, and I’d fought the need to fidget as my abused pussy ached and phantom tentacles whispered over me. But also, I’d wanted to tell her about the antics of my irrepressible assistant-slash-minder, Jeremy, just to hear her laugh.

I’d been tempted to snap a selfie for her at dinner, to see if she’d be jealous of the sharp fanged and oily voiced investor who’d been oh-so-friendly with his calculatedly casual touches and seat ever so slightly too close. Not that she had anything to worry about. I wouldn’t have been interested even if my mind wasn’t completely consumed with memories of her body sliding over mine.Almostcompletely, except for the part that was shivering with the desire to run just to see how fast Fenn would catch me.

The phone vibrated in my hand.Oh yeah? What’d you want to talk to me about?

How the hell did I put all that into a text? I looked around blankly, hoping inspiration would strike me out of the ether. It did not. Another chime.

Kat got your tongue? ;P

I groaned, typing with rapid taps.That was horrible. You should be ashamed.

Don’t you know by now that I have no shame?

Sinking lower into the steaming, rose scented bubbles, I held my phone carefully aloft.Obviously.

Ouch. Come on, sweet girl.

Tell me.

I relented.Not any one thing, especially.I chewed my lip, then blew out a breath as my fingers flew across the screen.I just kept thinking about you. Wishing you were here. I...missed you.I pushed send before I could second guess it, slapping the phone down and submerging myself in the almost too hot water.

My ringtone warbled, muffled, and I jerked upright in the tub. Blinking through the bubbles slipping down my face, I regarded the buzzing device as if it were a snake poised to strike.Pick up the phone, Katarina, my more rational side coaxed.It’s just a little emotional intimacy. You can do it. You let her use you like a puppet. You can manage an honest conversation about your feelings.Nerves made my arm feel like it weighed a hundred pounds, but I reached out and accepted the call.

“I missed you too.” Sid’s voice curled around me like smoke in the empty room. I set the phone to speaker, placing it carefully out of danger in case of flailing. Or...waves.

“That’s...really nice to hear,” I managed eventually. Blowing out a breath, I decided to go all in. “You don’t think we’re moving too fast? I mean, we just met last night. And neither of us was looking for...whatever this is.”

“No.” Sid’s voice bounced with a chuckle as it filled the surrounding darkness. “I’m not asking you to move in, or marry me, or claim allegiance to my clan.”

That was strangely comforting, and my muscles began to slowly unclench.

“I had a fantastic time last night. I very much want to do it again. And what I’ve seen of you, I like. I want to get to know you. If you hadn’t had this conference, I would’ve asked you to stay the weekend, or at least tried to take you out again.”

“Yeah?” I was feeling pretty warm by that point, confidence bubbling up once again. This openness thing wasn’t so bad once you got past the first jump.

“Yeah.” Her voice shivered through me like a promise. “So, talk to me. Tell me about your day.”