The Shell and the Star - Part 18

Before I get rolling with this week's portion of the story, I wanted to let readers know we'll be having a series of guest bloggers every Tuesday, starting tomorrow, June 21st, and we'll be hosting award-winning author EG Manetti to kick things off with her blog, An Epic Conclusion. Be sure to check back to learn more about her amazing SFR series.

For readers who may just be tuning in to this week's portion of The Shell and the Star, you can catch up on everything posted to date at this link:

The Shell and the Star  

For those following the story each week, last Monday we left Trey and Jinn just as they were about to go for a private swim. Jinn made the embarrassing mistake of trying to breathe under water, and Trey had to act quickly to save her. 

She recovered, and they are just about to set out to explore Trey's world...

Trey eased into the surf and held his hands out to her. Jinn located her bubble, bobbing along the rocky waterline at the far end of the cove, before sliding into the sea…and into his arms. Her white dress billowed around her legs as Trey released her waist and took her hand.

Again they played, enjoying the game of hunting and plucking unusual shells from the sands. Trey showed her a tiny sea creature he found, its soft, cylinder-shaped body sprouting a head full of thin appendages that Trey called tentacles.

“This is a very rare creature,” Trey told her after motioning her to the surface. “Some of its ancestors may have survived in the depths after the Fall, but it’s more likely this little one’s immediate ancestors arrived on Veros from the aquariums on Talstar.”

“You have fish here from Talstar?”

“Most of the fish you see on Veros came from your aquariums. Almost none of the shallow water creatures on Veros survived the impact, but a few varieties were restocked from your salt water tanks by the early Perlings long ago. Of course, Talstar’s freshwater species were only imported for study or food. They can’t survive in the oceans.”

He paused, and Jinn got the impression he wanted to say more, but if so, he held his tongue.

“I’ll put him back.” Trey disappeared beneath the waves.

Jinn heard shouts from the sparring Boggy Ball players beyond the cove, and when Trey returned, she mused aloud. “Tell me what it feels like?”

“What?”

“Swimming naked.”

Trey laughed. “One way to find out.”

Jinn smoothed the fabric of her dress underwater and leveled her gaze on him “I’d like…to try that. With you.”

The smile melted from his face. “You’re serious?”

“I think I am.”

Trey went still, his head cocked at an angle but his eyes still fixed on hers.

He raised a hand from the water and motioned her closer.

She eased up to him.

“You think?” Trey questioned in a throaty voice.

“I know.” Jinn looked him in the eye. “I trust you.”

“Could be dangerous,” he teased.

“Not with you,” Jinn replied. “Never with you.”

His grin melted away and the blue of his eyes intensified. “You’re sure about this?”

Jinn nodded. “Help me with my dress?”

He reached out to unhurriedly pull the white dress over her head and turned to spread it flat on the rock ledge. Backing off a stroke, he let her remove her underthings while he unwrapped his swimkilt.

She tried not to stare, but the changes to his body were breathtakingly apparent. There was nothing soft or lax in his lines. She’d been told about male arousal, she just never fathomed it could be so…magnificent.

What would it be like to couple with him? To know the strength of his body moving against her and inside her? Out of the water…or in it. Her skin pebbled in goosebumps as she explored her more daring fantasies.

She looked his way. Was he having the same sensual musings? Imagining how her body might feel melded with his? How she might respond to his most intimate touch?

Or was he trying his best to suppress such thoughts?

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Jinn has definitely "come out of her shell" with Trey as her trust in and affection for him grows, but that bond will soon be tested. Stop back again next Monday for the next episode. 

Have a great week!