Excerpt of Inhale by Kendall Grey

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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.