Excerpt of Inhale by Kendall Grey

<<>>

The clouds bombarded them with tiny droplets of rain, and
then large, gloppy plops crashed to the wooden dock like
splattered eggs from the sky.

Grabbing her hand, Gavin ran for shelter under the extended
roof of one of the dock buildings. A brown falcon pumped
its wings and took off from a log fence post. The muse
turned to him. Water dripping from every part of her, she
drew shallow breaths, her chest rising and falling,
straining under her shirt. Her teeth chattered, and goose
bumps dotted her neck.

He wanted to pull her into his arms and warm her up, but
that wouldn't have been a good idea. He let go of her hand.

"What were you doing out there?" Barely louder than the
storm overtaking them, her voice reminded him of the seeds
scattered throughout raspberry jam. Sweet and rough at the
same time.

He bit his lower lip, tried to slow his breathing.
"Looking
for you." He took a half step closer. Her tanned face
turned up to his as if in anticipation of a kiss, but he
read her intentions as more playful than lustful.

"I was gathering more wood. I missed you." Her left
eyebrow
arched as the blue aura swirled around her into a
mischievous yellow. She brushed her chest against his, and
it was all he could do not to tear into her mouth.

A drop of water plunged over those luscious lips and
trekked down her throat where it lingered for half a second
before disappearing under her hoodie. "Hmm," he said,
more
in response to the distracting droplet than her
reply. "Here I was hoping you needed to be rescued again."

She grinned back, peering up at him through the wet mass of
hair. "Not today, but thanks anyway." With that, she
resumed her voyage through the pouring rain, straightening
her arms out from her sides like a kid on a balance beam. A
crack of lightning illuminated her profile, casting shadows
of breasts, arse, and endlessly long legs on the wall to
her left, jolting him to unanticipated arousal.

He followed. "Wait."

She turned to him, and he stopped. God, that dripping wet
hair, those bright eyes, and Jesus Christ Almighty, the
bare feet on the rain-soaked dock. He swallowed hard to
suppress a groan. He stepped closer, despite his
conscience's warning not to. Hell, if he was going down in
flames with her, might as well throw some grease on himself
to speed things along.

"I'll be here if you need me. Any time..." What was he,
an
awkward teenager asking for a date? Fuck, he should have
kept his mouth shut.

Her head quirked to the side, and she touched a finger to
her ear, as if receiving instructions through some psychic
earpiece. She straightened. "I have to go somewhere else
now," she said, her smile unsure. "Find me tomorrow."

The boat-filled world around her crumbled under the weight
of fiery madness. Lightning ripped gashes through the
curtain of night, illuminating the docks in blinding,
forked bursts.

The muse disappeared from the dream into the other life she
lived without him. He was starting to become a little
jealous of that life.

But should he ever decide to look for her in
Realis—which he absolutely wouldn't—he knew
where she'd be. His eyes squinted in the dark as another
strike of lightning confirmed it.

Urangan Harbour.