Choice

by Jean Booth

  “Hey—” I was cut off by a painful grip on both my hand and hip as Raif swept me behind him. Apparently Raif sensed that I was going to ask to just be sent home. I held my tongue. I trusted Raif enough to get me out of here without them opting to kill me.

  “Raifuku speaks with the sort of knowledge and foresight that should have been delivered to King Atlas before we joined the last war. We will open court tomorrow for all who wish to voice their concerns either for or against the destruction of this woman. She will remain Raifuku’s prisoner and all are forbidden to associate with her. When the sun rests in three days, the Council shall convene again to either fulfill the prophecy or eliminate the cause for concern. It is so decreed. May Poseidon bless you with clear skies and strong winds at your back.” With Nereus’ words, Raif took hold of me. He turned me to face him.

  “Natasha, I apologize for this, but I need you to close your eyes and allow me to carry you. I will explain everything when we get home,” he whispered, so softly I barely heard him. Though his whispered words carried concern, his face, which was visible to every Atlantean in the crowd, only showed boredom.

  He quickly scooped me up and threw me over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry so I could stare at his backside. My protests died as soon as they started. He had a very nice butt. I held on tight, but there was no way I was closing my eyes from this view. He turned and hurried out of the building with determined strides.

  I couldn’t help but picture his face with a firm expression on it, daring anyone to approach him. I watched as feet turned away from us, until they completely disappeared from my viewpoint. We cleared the building and Raif swept me from his shoulder to his arms, holding me like I was cherished. He ran to his home. We were there within minutes with his stride and speed. He was barely out of breath.

  “Okay, Raif, you can put me down now and tell me what is going on.” He set me down in his living room and started pacing. I didn’t know whether I should go to him, or let him come to me. In my mind those were the only two options. I was also trying to maintain my indignant anger at how I’d been treated. My blood boiled just thinking about the hundreds of strangers convening to decide my fate as if I were an inconvenience. “Raif, please talk to me. I have to know what’s going on.”

  I tried to intercept him during one of his passes, but he evaded me. As he passed I could hear him mumbling in another language. Suddenly he stopped and let out an inhuman roar. It reminded me of the lions I’d seen on television, claiming their prey. I backed away slowly, not knowing which Raif to expect from moment to moment, fearful for the first time in his presence.

  “Raif. Please calm down, or tell me what I can do to help you. Please, I need you right now. What the hell just happened? Why is my life hanging in the balance?” Tears slid down my face and for once I didn’t care. I was terrified. In no way was I ready to die. I wanted to choose life, even if it meant staying prisoner here. I would miss my family terribly, but I would live with that sorrow if it meant I could live.

  “Poseidon! Why her? Why bring her to me if you are just going to take her away? How have I offended you to be punished in this manner? Why must I endure this suffering and pain? Answer me, Poseidon! I know you are there.” He fell to the ground, his shoulders shaking. His hair hid his face from me, but the words that left him were angry, bitter, and tight with suppressed tears. “Oh, what a cruel game the fates play. Natasha, I cannot even wish that you had never been brought here, for I cherish every second I have had in your presence. I don’t know why we were chosen to start setting the wheels of change in motion. I wondered at the feelings and had hoped to inquire of Atreyu the extent of them as well as continue to explore them with you. I have never felt this way about another living being in my eleven thousand years of life, and now know I never will again. Three marvelous days is all I will have to hold onto in my memories when we could have had an eternity of happiness together. This is a true injustice being placed on us.” His voice cracked and shook. He wouldn’t make eye contact with me.

  “Raif, please, just tell me what’s going on.” My heart was breaking at the sight of him hunched on the carpet, shoulders shaking and alone. I started inching closer to comfort him but remained wary of his ever-changing emotions.

  “We are left with only one option, as I am not capable of allowing them to destroy you. I must take you to Cleito and hope she has devised a way to transport you back to the surface. Offering a false option to the people has satisfied them for now, but I will not allow them the choice to take your life. Having an alma xemelga is truly the most wonderful and terrible thing in the world.” He started mumbling to himself and I desperately tried to follow his one-sided conversation. “There is still a small chance that they will let you live. We could keep our feelings secret and you could remain my willing prisoner for the rest of eternity. Perhaps they will see reason in this matter where they had not before.” He looked up at me with such hope and terror mixed in his expression that my heart broke all the remaining restraint I had. I smoothed back his black hair and wiped the tear-streaks from his cheeks with trembling fingers.

  “There was fear in Nereus’ eyes. No. He will not let you live.” He bowed his head. “Even if everyone else votes to keep you, I don’t think he will honor their wishes.” He whispered and I placed my hand on top of his head and ran my fingers down his silky tresses. Gently, I lifted his face to mine. His anguished expression tore at every part of my heart. My soul wept with his. “Natasha.” My name was a plea, filled with love and agony.

  I lowered my head to his and kissed him. It was only meant to be a chaste kiss to ease his worried heart, but as he clutched my body to his, it grew. I slid to my knees to give him better access to my mouth. His hands slid up my back until they were fisted in my hair. He tipped my head back to hungrily feast at my mouth. Everything ceased to exist. We were the only two people in a world of nothingness. He was strong, demanding, needy, and yet so gentle.

  I opened my mouth, accepting everything he had to offer. There wasn’t a better place in the universe than in his arms. My hands explored every part of his neck and torso, memorizing every ripple, ridge, and dimple. Distantly, I heard myself whimper. He responded with an answering growl that vibrated his entire body. I shivered with excitement.

  He pulled back and hesitated for a moment, but before he could say anything I started undoing his shirt. His words dried in his throat before they could even be uttered. Apparently I wasn’t moving quickly enough for him, because he yanked the hated clothing from his body in one swoop. When his face appeared again, no longer hidden by his shirt, his expression was one of someone committing a sin. He schooled his features and looked at the ground.

  “Forgive me! I was not—” I put my trembling fingers on his lips, halting his apology.

  “Please. I need you.” I kissed him again. This time I didn’t even try to keep it chaste. I kissed him as if he was water and I was trapped in the desert. He removed my dress and we were finally skin to skin. I’d craved this moment from the first time I opened my eyes and saw him staring back at me. I shuddered in his arms, feeling the electric currents running through every pore of my body, into his, and back again. He lifted me into his arms and without breaking our kiss for even a moment he carried me, naked, to his bed. He placed me gently on the sheets and stepped back to stare at me longingly for a moment. I felt my necklace slide around to my back leaving a thin silver line around my neck as my only covering. He moved toward the bed and I held out a hand.

  “Wait.” I was breathless in my need for him.

  “I did not mean to presume that we would be intimate. Forgive me.” He bowed his head and moved to leave.

  “No. I only wanted you to wait so you would take your pants off. No need to get off the bed twice. Remove them and come here.” I held onto one arm so that he wouldn’t disappear on me.

  He smiled as if I’d just answered all his prayers and removed his pants. He stood there for an eternity just staring at me lying
on his bed like a feast. My mouth dropped open as I gazed at his perfect body. I started to shiver slightly in fear as well as anticipation as he was huge. There was no way we were doing this without it hurting a little.

  I pulled him to me and took his mouth with mine again. His hands explored my body, gently sliding up my arm and down my side. He stopped at the underside of my breast and smiled when I whimpered. He took my breasts in his large hands and swept his thumbs across my nipples. I was putty. He released my mouth to nurse at one breast and I came right then.

  His right hand continued to play on the one breast as he licked and suckled the other. His left went exploring for my moist, heated center. He found the nub and I came again. No man had ever been able to play my body so well. I writhed and moaned on his bed, helplessly crying out for more. I needed him at that moment, more than I needed to take my next breath. I tried to reach down between us to touch him, but he moved. He placed his finger inside me and felt the effect he had on me.

  He moaned and thrust his finger faster, adding a second. I was close again, begging him to join me. I desperately wanted to hold him if he wasn’t going to enter me, just so he could feel the same release I was going to feel in a moment. My helpless whimpers caused him to smile with my nipple still sheathed in his mouth. He bit down as he continued to thrust with his fingers.

  I could feel his member against my thigh as I met every thrust of his hand. Just as I started my climax, he pulled his fingers out and sheathed himself into me. I barely registered his size entering me as I screamed in ecstasy. He stayed still, letting me come down and breathe for a second before he started moving. My body was still reeling from the aftershocks and every slow thrust brought another small wave of excitement through me.

  He looked intensely into my brown eyes with his teal ones and I knew he wasn’t going to last long. He was so large that he rubbed every spot I didn’t know I had. His slow thrusts were taking me higher than I’d ever thought possible. He kissed me and that seemed to be the conclusion to our joining. I exploded from the inside out. I felt every part of my body release to the universe in sheer bliss.

  I saw images of my lonely life of responsibility intermingled with his. We shared more than the intimacy of making love. Our souls left our bodies to join each other and return as a fractured whole. They soared in ecstasy, in the knowledge that we’d finally come together. When my soul soared back into my body, I realized that Raif had passed out on top of me. The last thought I had before I blacked out was that he was a very heavy man.

  Natasha? Love, are you all right?” Raif asked, his deep voice thick with concern and contentment.

  I felt him snuggled behind me, rubbing a hand slowly up and down my arm. I was cradled protectively in his arms, facing the wall. I felt sore, and more at peace than I had any right to be. I was home for the first time in my life, and while I knew that thought should’ve terrified me, I was comforted by it. I turned in his embrace and looked at him. His face held an expression of peace that I subconsciously knew no one else had ever seen. I knew this was the man that held my heart. The man he’d been in front of the Council had been a façade to protect himself from the betrayal and politics of his life. I treasured being able to know the real Raif that he kept hidden from the rest of the world.

  “That was amazing. If it’s always like that we’re likely to solve the problem of my destruction without the king’s interference. I’ve never felt this content before.” I smiled and kissed him slowly.

  We enjoyed lazily exploring each other’s mouths. Our hands slowly traced paths down backs and up arms. It was a simple enjoyment of touch more intimate than anything else I’d ever experienced. I knew deep into the recesses of my being that I loved this man with my entire heart. I pulled away and looked at him. He’d felt my necklace on my back and pulled it forward. At its sight, he stiffened in my arms.

  “Where did you get this?” His voice trembled.

  “I was sitting on the beach looking out at the ocean when I realized I was holding it. I’d thought I was sifting through shells at the time. I just thought it was beautiful and unique.” My tone was a little defensive. For the first time since finding the stone, I felt uncomfortable wearing it. I started to take it off and he stilled my hands.

  “Natasha, with what we have just shared I am going to demand that you do not play me for a fool. You did not get this on the surface. You got this from here. I know, because I made this after we sank and it has been missing. I had meant to place it on a chain for my future bride, but it was no longer in my box when I made the proper chain for it. I will ask you again, where did you find this?” His touch was no longer gentle and caring, but cold. I yanked the necklace off my neck and threw it at him as I jumped out of his bed.

  “I am telling you the truth, asshole! I found the stupid thing on the shores of the Bimini Island and was captivated by it. I felt like it was a gift from the sea and I couldn’t bring myself to get rid of it. Even showing other people caused me to feel possessive over it. I bought this chain for it on the same island and haven’t been able to part with it since. I had no idea it was from here or that you’d made it. Since it’s that important to you, take the stupid thing back. I certainly don’t want to hold something that’s so obviously meant for someone else.” When I’d finished, I stormed into his bathroom to bathe so that he wouldn’t see me cry. I felt foolish, like an unruly child. Everything was so intense here, things happened so quickly and I hadn’t had time to think about anything. I had watched his face as I yelled at him and knew the moment he realized I was telling the truth, the emotions crossing his face confused and scared me. I didn’t hear him come in, with the water spraying my face, but felt his arms pull me close to his body.

  “Forgive me, amada. I should have known that Poseidon sent it for you. He somehow knew you were meant for me and wanted to give us his blessing. I was just shocked to have seen it again. He must have known you were mine and claimed you as such before we met. It is yours; it always has been and always will be. You are my alma xemelga and I am yours. Please don’t cry. I was wrong to be angry with you.” He stroked my back in circles and lifted my chin so I could see his face. “I cannot bear to see you upset, amada. Forgive me?” He kissed me. I was having difficulty dealing with emotions that had been sealed away behind a wall for most of my life, and wasn’t comfortable with the vulnerability I felt around him. But I could no more hold a grudge against him than I could have held my bare hand in a flame.

  After we’d showered, we dressed and laughed when both of our stomachs began growling. His kitchen was done in black marble and a darkly stained wood. I thought at this point the beauty of this place would have become normal, but I was wrong. There were herbs drying above the center counter as well as in the open pantry. I was surprised to see modern, if not higher-tech appliances in the kitchen of a man who seemed so comfortable with the archaic. Everything was gorgeous and would make the most seasoned chefs jealous.

  I sat on a barstool and watched him move around the kitchen. I craved him on a base level that was disturbing in its intensity. Without doing anything, he was tempting.

  “To understand the predicament we are in now, you must understand our history. You remember me telling you that when we were created the gods had divided the earth and created their lands to suit their needs?” He looked up with his piercing teal eyes and waited for affirmation.

  It was luck that a nod was acceptable, as that was all I was capable of at that moment. All rational thought left me at the sight of his face framed by the inky black of his loose, wet hair. I attempted to hide my reaction from him, but the corners of his mouth still curved in a knowing grin.

  “Well, there existed a time before that and a time even before that, which has been lost in its telling. The time before the division of lands was when the three brothers ruled the planet. Zeus commanded all living things, Poseidon, the land and the waters, and Hades was tricked by his brothers into ruling the underworld. Zeus shared the pow
er of the humans’ love with his brothers and the lesser gods. As long as tribute was made to the three brothers, the lands prospered. The people worshiped Zeus and Poseidon, and they in turn rewarded the people with fertile lands and their protection. It was a relatively peaceful time and the gods, excluding Hades, were content to let things be.”

  “Everyone’s heard this story. It’s a myth. The gods battled, Hades lost, they all disappeared,” I interrupted, hoping to lead him past a pseudo history lesson. He looked at me, withering any further desire for interruption.

  “Hades had always prided himself on his cunning intellect and was incensed that Zeus and Poseidon had been able to trick him into ruling the underworld. He was the only god that did not benefit from the praise and the love of the people. He was forced to live on the torment of the deceased’s misery.

  “Zeus and Poseidon thought to contain Hades retribution by depleting his power source, as it is almost impossible to gain strength from the dead. In his fury, Hades conspired with the fates, who have always loved a good deception, and had the souls of every living being divided.”

  “Wait. What do you mean that Hades lived on torment? I thought gods could only gain power if they received praise. That’s why Hades stole Hera’s daughter, so he would have one living soul to shower him in adoration, right?”

  “Not really, that is more a twist humans have placed on this tale to make Hades more a tyrant than he really is. You see, as Zeus and Poseidon gained power with the love and worship of their people, Hades’ power had transformed and started to grow with the tortured pain of every soul that had departed from the living world. What better way for him to gain in power than by splitting the souls, ensuring that not only would he have twice the amount of suffering, but they would suffer all the more by being incomplete? He also knew that by being incomplete, the people would turn away from the gods in their search for their alma xemelga thus depleting the power base of his enemies.”