Stolen Dream

Chapter Five

The kiss didn't last too long. Ky didn't want to scare her. He didn't deepen the kiss, if anything, he lightened it, simply letting their lips touch, motionless for a few more lingering seconds before he pulled back to look into her eyes. He needed to assess her reaction.

Her pupils were dilated, her breathing slightly ragged, and she immediately licked her lips, blinked and sat up, brushing him aside.

It seemed to Ky that she was reacting just as he'd hoped. He smiled a little and moved with her, taking her hand. "You okay with that?" he asked gently.

Ziza didn't know how she felt about the kiss. It was...thrilling, but it was also terrifying. He didn't know what she was and she doubted he would be able to accept the truth. He had a strong mind, but it was based firmly in reality. He was a planner, an analyzer, a doer, not a dreamer, though he did ask her about her dreams. Maybe, if...no. He wouldn't thank her for her omission. Would probably end up hating her for it. "We shouldn't do that again," she told him, still refusing to look at him. Instead, she pushed off the ledge and into the water. If she stayed up there with him, he'd draw her back in. She was far too susceptible to him.

Ky frowned down at her. Perhaps her physical reaction wasn't what he'd thought. Perhaps it had been fear? He could kick himself for scaring her. He'd tried hard not to. He'd given her time, moved slowly. What had he done wrong?

Ky put on his flippers and goggles, simply holding the snorkel for the time being. He dropped into the water after her.

"Let's go," she said without preamble, not giving him a chance to talk yet. She took a deep breath and dove.

Ky followed suit. He knew what was coming now, how to get out of the cave and how far down he was. He looked around now with far more interest. The panic from earlier was long gone, the fear of sharks a distant memory after that kiss.

There were fish everywhere. Little ones, big ones, all shapes, sizes, and colours. He saw something splashing in the distance, but couldn't make it out. Ziza touched his shoulder and pointed out past her to a huge sea turtle swimming near the bottom of the ocean, the sun shining through the water lighting up the multifaceted hues of green and yellow.

Ziza started up to the surface, knowing that Ky would need air as soon as possible. He began to look worried, so she took his hand and used her forward momentum to shoot him up faster than he could swim it.

She looked further for a moment, thinking she recognized the splashing ahead. She grinned, then went up with Ky. "You're in luck," she told him, pointing towards the splashing he'd noticed on the way up. "Dolphins."

His eyes widened behind the clear goggles and he dumped the water out of his snorkel and put it on. "Let's go," he said, the words horribly strange and muffled.

Ziza went on ahead, knowing he'd catch up and wanting the dolphins to accept him without too much concern. They were fairly used to humans, but they still wouldn't normally choose to be close enough to one for it to touch them. "Hey, again," she greeted warmly, the young spotted racing straight for her. She laughed and patted him just in front of his dorsal fin. "Be nice to my friend, okay? He's not as strong as I am. He needs more air, too," she told them in her own language.

The dolphins clicked and squeaked at her, letting her know they understood and would accept him. She surfaced again and looked around for Ky. He wasn't far away, trying to catch up with powerful kicks of his long legs. "Hurry up, they won't stay long," she told him.

Ky couldn't believe his eyes. She was in the middle of the pod, even seemed to be communicating with them somehow. One of them bumped her and she laughed and his eyes widened in shock. Had he seriously just kissed that mouth? Her teeth were all tapered to a sharp point, like nothing he'd ever seen before. Okay, like a vampire movie he'd seen once. Had she done that or was that natural for her?
He shook his head. He couldn't think about that now. He had to take advantage of the chance to see spotted dolphins up close and personal.