Kate and the Kraken by Honey Phillips

Chapter Six

Kate was dreaming. She was in her lab, studying the latest sample from the coast, when a man came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Big, powerful arms, but she wasn’t afraid. Instead, she leaned against him, knowing he would support her. His scent surrounded her, reminding her of the sea water she was analyzing.

He remained there as she added a drop of reagent to the latest sample, and she didn’t mind. That was another reason she knew it had to be a dream—she hated having anyone around when she was deep in an experiment. Even though her brain was focused on the changes in the sample, her body hummed pleasantly with the awareness of his presence.

When her work was completed, he would be waiting for her. She put her hand on his arm, and even in her dream she realized something was different. His arm was long and firm and smooth, but it didn’t contain the musculature she expected. More curious than afraid, she ran her fingers along the edge and discovered small suckers that clung gently to her skin as if kissing her.

As she explored, the not-arm came up to brush across her breast, pressing small, sucking kisses to the sensitive mound. Arousal washed over her so quickly that it shocked her awake.

And discovered she wasn’t dreaming.

A giant tentacle was wrapped around her waist, the tip curling up onto her breast. Oh my God. Something must have crawled up out of the opening in the cave floor. Was it going to pull her back into the water? Forcing herself to breathe slowly and calmly, she tried to slide out from under it, but as soon as she moved it tightened around her. The grip wasn’t in the least painful—in fact, it felt disturbingly erotic as it tightened around her breast—but it was clear that it had no intention of letting her go.

The rest of her body was pressed up against A’tai. He wasn’t moving, so he must still be asleep. Since they were in his territory, hopefully he had some idea of how to deal with the creature.

“A’tai,” she whispered, then paused to wonder if the tentacled creature could hear. When neither one reacted, she tried again, louder this time. “A’tai!”

He sprang into wakefulness, moving in front of her with shocking speed. As he did, the tentacle disappeared and she breathed a sigh of relief.

Until she realized that it had reappeared under A’tai, along with several more. For a horrified moment, she thought it was attacking him, and then she saw that his legs had disappeared, replaced by tentacles.

“What is it?” he demanded, scanning the cave. “Did something threaten you?”

“You—you’re part octopus.” Her voice came out shaky and breathless, even as part of her mind was immediately sidetracked by curiosity as to what type of evolutionary path had led to this.

“I don’t understand. There is no danger?” He looked confused, but after another glance around the empty cave, he lifted his body into a standing position. His tentacles wound together and formed what looked like human legs as he hurried back to her side.

“How do you do that?” she asked.

“Assume a land form?” He actually looked confused. “Is this not common in your world? Like this octopus you mentioned?”

“Umm, no. It’s a sea creature with tentacles, but much smaller. And not intelligent.” Although they had shown significant puzzle-solving skills.

His confusion turned to outrage. “You are comparing me to a lower life form?”

“Of course not. But perhaps there was some common ancestry. Or I mean, there would have been if you had been on Earth.” She glared at him. “You have to give me a minute here. We don’t have people who change forms, except in fairy tales.” And some of the romance stories she read late at night.

“I see.” He sank down on his knees beside her. Not knees, she reminded herself, even though the movement looked remarkably similar.

“You said this was your land form. Why did you switch while you were sleeping?”

“I did?”

“You most certainly did. I went to sleep with a man and woke up with a tentacle around my… waist.” She could feel her cheeks heating, but decided not to mention where else his tentacle had ended up.

The pale blue she had noticed before flickered across his skin. Definitely embarrassment, she decided, remembering that octopi could change color in regards to stimuli. What other reactions might he have? She suddenly remembered the gold that had shimmered across his skin just before he left her the previous day. What did it mean?

“I apologize if I startled you.” He seemed sincere, but she noticed he didn’t attempt to explain why the transformation had occurred.

“You can choose to use either form?” Now that she was over her initial shock, a number of questions bubbled up.

“Of course. The transformation is instinctive, but I can always control it if I wish.”

“That’s fascinating. Is there an evolutionary reason for the two forms?”

He sat back on his… feet and smiled at her. Those sharp pointed teeth made more sense now.

“There is a legend. Matua, the Elder Sister, created us from the sea foam as it sparkled in her rays. But Latiti, the Little Sister, was jealous and wanted us to visit her land, so she gave us the ability to form legs and breathe air.”

“That doesn’t exactly strike me as a scientific explanation,” she said dryly.

“Perhaps not, but it is a more interesting explanation than the fact that the ability to adapt to both environments undoubtedly provided a better chance for survival.”

“Maybe you’re right,” she laughed. “May I see?”

She extended her hand without really thinking about it, but saw his body tense. Instead of responding verbally, he simply uncurled a single tentacle and offered it to her. The movement was so graceful and natural that she didn’t find it alarming, especially since he simply held it out and waited for her to touch him.

A little cautiously, she stroked her hand along the back. It felt almost identical to the skin on his chest, just slightly rougher, the texture more obvious here. But when she slipped her hand underneath, the skin there was velvety soft. A row of equally soft, flexible suckers ran down each side—which technically made them limbs rather than tentacles. As she brushed across the suckers, she felt him shiver and looked up to find him watching her, his face intense.

“Are they sensitive?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you -”

“You’re not hurting me,” he said firmly, curling the limb around her hand.

One of his suckers pressed against her palm in what felt like a kiss, and it was her turn to shiver. Why did that feel so good? Her fingers closed around him, and she saw that wash of gold flicker over his skin. Hmm. Purely in the interest of science, she tightened her grip, then dragged her hand down to the narrow tip, letting her fingers trail across the underside.

He groaned, and the gold became more distinct before he pulled away from her, tucking his limb back in place.

“You taste delicious,” he said. “But if you want me to keep my promise, I think it’s time to end this exploration.”

“I was just testing your response to stimuli,” she said, hoping that she wasn’t blushing. But then she thought back to his words the last time she’d been awake. “You said you wanted a physical relationship with me.”

A definite flicker of gold. “Yes.”

“Is that even possible? Given our… differences?”

“Oh yes. I assure you I can pleasure you.”

His eyes gleamed with hunger, and she felt an unexpected pulse in her long-neglected clit as she imagined those small sucking kisses all over her body. For once, she had no response. For a long moment they stared at each other, and she could see his skin shimmer. But then he shook his head, and turned away.

“You are dangerous to my self-control, amali.”

“Amali?”

“A type of coral. Soft and beautiful—and deadly.”

That was actually rather flattering. It made her feel like some type of femme fatale instead of boring old Kate. She smiled at him. “I guess I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You should.” He glided over to the water. “Now I must check on the storm. And perhaps more fish?”

As delicious as the fish had been, the thought of a steady diet of it didn’t thrill her. But it would have to do until they reached land. A sudden thought struck her.

“When we leave here, where are we going?”

“To one of the southern islands. I have a… home there.”

“On the surface?”

He laughed. “Yes. My people spend most of their time there. Latiti was right about the lure of the land.”

That part was a relief, but an island sounded kind of isolated. “Is the capital on the island?”

“No. You do not need to worry. It is very quiet and isolated.”

With a reassuring smile, he slipped into the water. She scrambled over to the hole just in time to see all of his limbs gracefully unfurl before he disappeared from sight. With a sigh, she sat back. Normally a quiet island would have sounded wonderful, especially if the slavers were looking for her, but if she was that isolated, how could she gather information about this world? And more importantly, how could she find her friends?

A’tai did seem very intrigued by her—and concerned about pleasing her. Maybe it was just because she was different, but if she could take advantage of that interest, convince him she wanted to see the capital…

She’d never even considered using her feminine wiles on a man before, but then again, A’tai wasn’t exactly a man. And the thought of becoming more intimate with him wasn’t exactly unpleasant. Her traitorous body definitely agreed. A speculative smile curved her lips as she went to collect more water.