Then it was too much. The wave crashed down on a rock, and Hæra’s skin was suddenly too sensitive for it to feel good anymore. She pulled her fingers away, panting, reeling with shock. Between her legs she was hot now, swollen and heavy. Her entrance felt stretched, though not sore.

Still wet too. Dizzy and disbelieving, Hæra looked at her fingers. The index one was coated with fluid, evidence of what she’d done to herself.

Orgasm. That’s what she’d just had. The adult books about sex had talked about it. They called it different things, although one of the most common terms had been “to come.” At first, that had confused Hæra. Come where?

To a place of deep bliss, apparently. She’d never imagined having an orgasm herself, that being an experience reserved for male Each-uisge. They enjoyed the mating act, while females hoped to survive it. Half of her species had clearly been robbed.

Hæra sighed. Coming was incredible. Her body was relaxing now, melting into the mattress in a way it never had before. Her heart rate was slowing, and the lips between her legs were still warm. Her vulva—that was the name for it. What was the sensitive spot called? She’d forgotten. She’d have to look it up again.

Madeleine must do this to herself too. Who wouldn’t? Who could deny themselves such pleasure when it was literally an arm’s length away? Hæra certainly planned to do it again. Often. What a pity it had taken her so long to discover the sensation.

And what a pity she couldn’t tell Madeleine about it yet, human sexual activity being private and all. They’d have to be more comfortable with each other first. More intimate.

Hæra licked her wet fingertip. It tasted salty. That was fitting. Would Madeleine taste like this too? Or was it another thing that was different for humans, like reduced physical strength and the need for fresh water?

She needed to look at those books again. One of them had mentioned something about “oral sex,” which had intrigued Hæra at the time, close as it was to eating somebody. If it would please Madeleine…if Hæra’s hunger had turned from blood to sex…

She wiped her finger on the sheet and blinked at the ceiling. From blood to sex. She was back where she’d started: wondering when she’d turned into someone who wanted to mate with a human.

The answer seemed obvious. She’d wanted it almost the moment Madeleine had returned to her. The question was where that desire slotted in alongside everything else: her need to return to the sea, her quest to become a Stormhorse, and what it would take to make that happen.