The Orange Cat and Other Cainsville Tales (Cainsville 3.5)

He shouted for her again, and when she didn't reply, he knew "hiding" wasn't the answer. She'd have heard the panic in his voice and come out.

He swam toward the first hollow and dove to check it out. Then on to the next.

She had to be here. She'd hit her head or something, and he had to find her. If Liv got hurt, Gabriel would kill him.

Okay, kill might be an exaggeration. It'd be the cold death of exile to the wasteland of people Gabriel didn't give a shit about, which encompassed most of the population. Ricky had been inching out of that wasteland, proving he was more than just the biker kid Liv hooked up with. Which would change if Gabriel discovered they'd had a close call on this trip.

Arawn failing again. Failing Matilda. Failing Gwynn.

Ricky dove. He was twisting around when he saw a flash of pale skin, like a fish darting by.

Liv.

She must have been hiding underwater when he'd shouted, not realizing he'd been frantically searching. Just another round of hide-and-seek, their favorite game. Well, second favorite. Chase always came first for Ricky, a true son of the Hunt.

He reached to grab her, but she zipped behind him. Her hand cupped his ass, fingers tickling across it. He grinned, a little too broadly, swallowing water. He swam up just enough to break the surface for air, careful not to move so fast she'd think he wasn't enjoying the attention. That attention continued, fingers on his ass and then on his thighs, tracing between his legs and . . .

Fuck, yeah. He closed his eyes as she lightly caressed him, her fingers almost tickling. A bit of a tease, and then those fingers would wrap around him, firmly, knowing what he liked. An extended tease this time, though, and he let her have it, enjoying the soft caresses. When that stopped, he waited for that firmer grip.

Instead he heard her break the surface behind him, coming up for air, but when he turned, he caught only a flash of skin as she dove.

He followed that pale streak. She stayed deep, swimming beneath him and then coming up, right in front, and what wrapped around him this time? Not her fingers.

He chuckled. Well, that was unexpected. Not unwanted, though.

Hell, yeah. Definitely not unwanted.

She continued to tease him, now with lips and tongue, sliding over him and then away, and he resisted the urge to encourage her to stay a little longer. She was playing, and this was perfectly fine as an appetizer.

Her lips moved over him, pulling him in deep.

Yeah, perfectly fine.

When she swam away, he waited patiently. He heard her break the surface, louder now. Then she chuckled, and there was a splash as she dove under.

He saw her clearer as she swam around him at waist level. Her fingers found his thigh again, less tickling, more caressing. They continued on until . . .

That was better. Her fingers wrapping firmly around him, expertly moving, making his eyes roll back as he hissed a breath.

Hand still on him, Liv surfaced, grinning. "Well, hello there."

He grabbed her around the waist, pulling her into a hard kiss . . . while forgetting that he kinda needed his arms moving to stay afloat. They went under, Liv laughing and sputtering, her hand breaking contact as they resurfaced.

"Smooth as always," he said, making a face.

"Enthusiastic is better than smooth." She swam back to him and traced her fingers across his stomach. "Shall I continue?"

"Hell, yeah."

She smiled as her fingers wrapped around him.

"You can continue the other part, too," he said. "If you want."

"Other part?"

"The underwater blow job?"

Her hand stopped moving. "I . . . wasn't . . ." She paused and then let out a whoop of laughter. "Oh-ho. It seems someone was enjoying the attentions of the resident water fae. No wonder you were ready for action when I swam up."