“Are you telling me that Georgia is under the influence of this lust thing?” I ask, looking at him slightly shocked. There is something that seems wrong about all this.
“I can’t say I have solid proof, and considering that we pay them a very large amount to work for us, I would expect the same level of service anyway. But yes, I would imagine part of their compliance has something to do with it.” He nods, pulling a cell phone out of the wicker picnic basket he pulls from the trunk. I wonder for a moment how it got in there and then decide not to worry about it.
“So she’s just going to come running out here, at God knows what hour, to pick up my car? Seriously?” I question him with a disbelieving stare. What the hell is going on? If I’d have known Orion had a woman practically enslaved due to his lust, maybe I would have worried slightly more about his effect on me.
“Seriously. She’s here to make my … correction, our lives better, Callie. Do you really want to spend the one night we have left on land for a whole month sorting out where to park your car? Or cooking for ourselves, or finding clothes? Trust me I’ve done it and it isn’t a whole lot of fun. Isn’t it better this way?” He places a hand on my shoulder and we move together over the sand as he makes the call to Georgia, passing me the picnic basket so he has a hand free, I muse on this point for a few moments. Would I want to give up this time to deal with trivialities, no, I don’t think I would. Maybe Georgia, in fact, is something I’m going to have to live with. After all, her staring at Orion is a small price to pay for the smooth transition from sea to land. I remind myself that everyone stares at him anyway, including me. I wonder as we step across the sand if Orion would cheat on me, I cannot fathom it for a second, and I’m dumbfounded as to why I’ve been so damn jealous. The man waited an eternity for God’s sake, am I really going to throw my toys out of the pram because he’s so attractive other women can’t help but look at him? I kick myself mentally, trying to tackle my emotions, which seem as of late to be in a continuous state of tumult and remind myself of the core of the matter. I love Orion and he’s trying his best. Maybe I need to try harder too.
“Hey, you okay? You look pale.” Orion puts the back of his hand to my cheek and I shudder, I’m colder than I thought, the Vivienne Westwood riding up in the salty kiss of the breeze.
“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m sorry I overreacted about Georgia.” I look at him, peeking up under the moonlight into his stunning features.
“Hey, it’s okay.” He hushes me, putting the cell into his back pocket, and pulling me into his chest. I inhale deeply, tears pricking my eyes.
“No, it was selfish. You’re trying to help me, treat me well, and I’m complaining like a brat.” I admit it and heaviness settles in my chest.
“Callie, please don’t cry. I’ve been sick inside watching other men looking at you tonight too. I know how you feel. It’s just something we have to learn to live with.” He in an instant looks so much older than me. In this moment when the night casts shadows upon the angular lines of his face, I see it; the years that have gone before, the loneliness that carved out invisible wrinkles and scars that magic has washed clean.
“I love you.” I whisper it, listening to his heart beat beneath the shell of my ear. We are standing in the sand, stone still, the wind moving around us. We are immovable, forever lost to time.
“Always.” he whispers the single word breathlessly, kissing my forehead with pursed lips as though he cannot contain his feelings and is trying to keep them in. I shiver involuntarily. He runs his fingers through the tangled strands of my hair absentmindedly and I hear his heart rate slow, almost like I’m calming him as I begin to feel goose pimples rise on my arms.
“Are you cold?” He queries me sincerely and I nod, teeth beginning to chatter.
“I would offer you my jacket … but … no jacket.” He pulls at the thin linen of his shirt, demonstrating it as flimsy.
“I’ll just go up to the beach house, I’m sure there’s blankets and stuff I can steal.” I mutter, he looks up the slope of the bay to the house. The lights are out and all the curtains in the topmost windows are drawn. Looks like nobody is home.
“Okay, but be careful and make sure you don’t disturb anything you shouldn’t. You don’t want your friends getting suspicious. You never know, they may contact the police if you leave traces of yourself behind.” His expression is serious and I nod, understanding the magnitude of what a police investigation might do.
“Okay, I’ll be right back, wait here.”
“Like I’d run away from you.” he chortles.
“Like you could, I have the mean machine over there; you know it goes nought to 50 in only three extremely noisy seconds.” I muse the possibility, thinking of his speed in the water. I wonder how fast he can run.
“I’d hear you coming a mile away. I’d hide before you caught up.” He jousts back and I chuckle.
“You couldn’t hide from me, Orion. I know your scent. And I just so happen to be very good at hide and seek, I always used to find Kayla in a matter of seconds.”
“I’m so flattered you equate my stealth with that of a four year old. You wound me.” He pretends to stab himself in the heart, falling to his knees in an over dramatic spray of sand.
“Get over it.” I smile widely, baring my teeth, letting him soak in my joy.
“Yes your Highness.” He salutes with a mock flourish of his hand and I turn on my heel walking away from him, up the grainy sand and toward the beach house.
“You know saluting a princess is kind of redundant. You really need to bow when addressing royalty.” I call back over my shoulder and I swear I can feel him bow, I smile to myself. Not a bad sense of humour for an old dude.
Inside the darkness of the house, all is quiet … or so I expect, but after a few moments, I catch a faint grunt from overhead. What the hell is that? I wonder to myself, hearing the floorboards creak once more. Thoughts of finding something to keep myself warm lost, I head up the stairs, taking off my shoes and padding across the wooden boards, trying to be as discreet as possible. On the top floor the noises get more frequent until I can discern they belong to two different individuals, one is high and the other low and guttural. I can’t hide my curiosity anymore, concluding that the lower voice belongs to a man and barge forward. I open the door, throwing it open and peering into the candlelit room, my jaw hits the floor. From underneath the sheets two heads appear, one belonging to Daryl and the other, to Mollie.
“Callie?” Mollie’s voice is high pitched and she looks shocked. I feel fury bubble through me, I’ve been gone two days and rather than them mourning my supposed missing status, they’re getting it on.
“Mollie!” is all I can manage, as I stare horrified into the clammy room. I knew she liked Daryl but it’s only been two days and she’s jumping into bed with him already? You can talk! my subconscious sneers at me but I brush it aside, Orion and I are different. Destined.
“Callie …” Daryl slurs his words; I wonder if he is drunk, which makes this whole situation so much worse.
“What the hell is going on here?” I ask, as Daryl’s gaze locks onto me.
“Nothing … I … We …” Mollie stammers and I wonder what the hell she’s thinking, Daryl was mooning after me not a week ago, doesn’t she see how screwed up that is?
“Forget it, Mollie. I just hope you’re smart enough to use protection.” I spit out the words and turn on my heel. As I walk down the corridor, rocking from heel to toe over the wooden floor, I hear a ruckus from inside the room. I had left the door wide open and assumed one of them was scrambling to close it so they could carry on their extracurricular activity. I reach the end of the corridor, heading toward the room I had chosen to be mine at my party. I’m about to turn into the room when a force knocks me off my feet, lifting me from the ground and slamming my face with malice into the wall that ends the hallway.
“Aghh!” I cry out, feeling my cheek crunch against the drywall.
“That�
��s right, take it bitch!” The chillingly familiar voice turns my blood icy in my veins.
“Daryl, what the fuck are you doing!?” I cry out, his hands round my throat.
“You thought you were too good for me, didn’t you. DIDN’T YOU!” he spits it into my ear, breathing vile hurried breaths into the skin of my neck, crushing my body against his and using his weight to restrain me. I’m terrified, my heart hammering against the wallpaper, my back slammed against his pectorals. I want to scream, scared of what he’ll do to me. He moves one of his hands down my body, stroking it, searching for the underside of my too short skirt, enjoying every second of my agonised helplessness with a malicious grin on his face.
“Please … Daryl …” I choke out the words but before I can worry about what he plans to do to me next, I hear fast-paced footsteps and a large muffled crunch. The weight lifts from my back and I fall to the floor, emotion flooding me and tears spilling from my eyes. I sit there and sob before his arms find me, I don’t need to open my eyes, and even if I wasn’t terrified of doing so it would be redundant. I know its Orion and I know he’s used those tautly muscled arms to inflict some serious pain.
“Shh.” He soothes, wrapping me up in his arms and pulling me to him. He sits on the floor, rocking me slowly for a few moments. We lean against the wall together, my flesh trembling.
“Are you okay? Did he hurt you?” I open my eyes and assess myself, trying to calm my breathing by focusing on his face.
“No … You got here before …” I burst into new floods of tears, weeping salt, shocked beyond belief.
“It’s okay … Shh.” Orion hushes me. I don’t want to speak so I bury my head in the soft cotton of his shirt. He releases me after a few moments, moving into the bedroom to my left and returning with a blanket. He wraps me up, cocooning me and picking me up like I’m no more than a baby. I hear Mollie.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You can’t just come in here and …” Then I hear her voice trail off.
“What the hell did you do to him???” I assume she’s looking at a passed out Daryl. I hear her feet moving against the hall carpet quickly. Tending to her wounded lover … or potential rapist … whatever she wants to call him.
“He attacked her.” Orion says the words, a hurricane force of fury being released in just three words. I pity the person on the end of his savage gaze, which I observe, peeking out from under my lashes.
“Don’t be so ridiculous.” She retorts. I hear the incredulous tone of disbelief and I bury my head deeper into his chest. Orion doesn’t answer, he just continues walking at a smooth pace, carrying me away and cradling me.
We sit down on the beach a while under the moon. I find it calms my nerves, which after the last three days, are officially in tatters.
“I don’t understand what made him so violent, I mean, when I barged in on them together he just got this look …” I explain, feeling my skin crawl.
“It’s lusting, it affects everyone differently, some people, like Mollie have hardly any noticeable reaction at all. Some …”
“Go psycho and try to kill you.” I finish and he nods, looking away with sadness in his eyes.
“I shouldn’t have let you go alone.” He self criticises and I can’t stand it.
“You didn’t know what would happen. Besides I can look after …”
“Callie, I swear to God that if you tell me you can look after yourself one more time, after what just happened, I’m going to lock you up.” He looks at me with an angry expression and a cocked brow. I swallow, avoiding the response I know I want to give.
“Fine. I just don’t understand what made him act so crazy.” I reply, wrapping myself tighter in the blanket.
“As I said, everyone reacts differently.” Orion shrugs but the question still niggles at me.
“Yes but, he knew me, like, he was in love with me before … I’ve never thought of him as violent.”
“Did you reciprocate his feelings?” Orion is in an instant bolt upright, his face now turned towards me and no longer staring out over the open ocean.
“No, I never …” I begin as he visibly exhales, sagging, deflated.
“That might explain it then, if he wanted you while you were human and all those feelings were unrequited, it makes sense that he would have a strong reaction to you now.” Orion puts an arm around my shoulder and I wince, still jumpy. He reaches over to the picnic basket that is by his left side and hands me a sandwich, I reach out from my grey blanket cocoon and take it, the bread soft to my fingertips.
“Eat and then tell me what else can I do?” He begs my response, wanting so badly to make sure I’m okay, my heart thaws, coming back a little from its shellshock. I eat the sandwich, taking small bites until it is gone, I still feel empty.
“Make love to me …”
“Callie, I don’t think that’s such a good idea.” He frowns and a large tear falls from my left eye, dribbling pathetically down one cheek.
“Please Orion, wash it away … my skin is crawling, please, make it stop.”
He cups my cheek, wiping away the liquid sorrow. He puts his lips to mine, moving me, pulling me closer and I relinquish to him. By the edge of the sea, a long way away from the house where I was attacked, Orion takes me into his strong arms and kisses me all over. As the tide washes away the day from the sand, Orion washes away my fear, makes me certain, makes me strong. I was lucky, because for what was to come next, a month in the life of an ancient undersea warrior, strength was exactly what I would need.
The night is diminishing into dawn as I lay, thoughts scattered about in the surrounding sand. “Well I don’t know about you, but I feel better.” Orion smiles, leaning over and placing a soft kiss upon my cheek.
“Me too.” I grin and he laughs.
“I love it when I get to see you like this, all mussed up and sexy.” He holds his head in his hand, propped up on one elbow.
“I gathered.” I tease back, seeing the fading stars reflected in his beautiful blue stare.
I sit up and hold the blanket to my chest, covering my modesty as Orion looks over lazily at the upturned picnic basket lying in the sand.
“Guess that’s a rain check on the rest of the food?” He shrugs and I laugh, secretly feeling my stomach squeeze. I feel the events of the night fading into the past as the moon begins to kiss the horizon goodbye, but that still doesn’t mean I’m not shaken by Daryl’s unsolicited attack.
“Guess we got a little carried away.” I admit and scramble around, searching for my discarded clothing.
“Don’t bother with getting dressed again, it’ll be sunrise soon.” Orion gives me a pleading look.
“Suuure … that’s why you don’t want me to get dressed!” I raise my eyebrows in amusement, tossing the scraps of material away, lying back down into the powdery sand and placing my head upon his chest.
“Does it ever go away, this constant craving?” I wonder aloud, looking up at him with wide eyes.
“I hope not.” He smiles sweetly and I return his look without hesitation or restraint. “Come on, back into the ocean! I want to see that gorgeous tail fin of yours again.” Orion commands and I raise one eyebrow and widen my eyes.
“Did you really just say that?” I ask, getting to my feet and wrapping the blanket around myself, feeling grains of sand falling to the ground. After stealing his cover, Orion is stark nude, not that I’m complaining of course. I admire his washboard abs and the tattoo around his left arm which leaves him looking even more muscular and defined.
“Callie, if you think it’s only this human form of yours I find sexy then you are deeply mistaken, princess.” He purrs, caressing each syllable with his adept tongue while placing one hand on my behind and squeezing hard. I squeal and run forward, dropping the blanket and feeling glad of the soothing waves against my skin as I bare myself to the night. Orion follows giving a hesitant look back towards the beach house and then together we are immersed in the deep body of the sea.<
br />
ORION
The love I have found is not what I expected. I feel on fire whenever she touches me, looks my way, smiles, and yet I am almost certainly terrified of her. The power she holds to destroy me and her carelessness with it staggers me, leaving me more defenceless than I have been in just under half a millennium. As the waves wash over us, she looks back over her shoulder at me, giggling wildly as a rip tide catches her, mussing her hair and causing her eyes to sparkle with novel excitement. In this moment she is alive, alive with a childish vibrancy that makes me feel so old I can barely stand it. As we journey once again to the hidden city, I watch her momentum through the water, so unpractised and raw with new power that has been awakened within her for less than a single percentage of my lifetime. I smile at the gorgeous pastel of the aqua scales that coat her lower half. I always knew she would be beautiful, that belief confirmed within me as soon as I met her, sitting, singing softly to herself in the sand, but I did not expect the mer blood within her to transform her to such a transcendently stunning creature. I place my olive hand onto her lithe back, skin like silk of the finest quality to touch and I feel the desire passing between us. She turns as we descend toward the floor of the ocean, passing hued coral and timid sea life silently, simpering gently. Her aquamarine eyes are on fire with longing.
“What ya thinking about?” She demands playfully and I inwardly chortle at her words. She is from another world entirely, where language had adapted to be such an expressive entity, to elaborate on every emotion and to be shared amongst all, not horded by few.
“The way you speak.” I reply simply, wondering how my use of language must come across to her, do I seem so terribly stagnant?
“Oh really, what’s wrong with how I speak?” She asks self-consciously, always the worrier, not yet able to conceive the length of time I have waited, not knowing she can do nothing wrong under my infatuated gaze.
The Kiss That Killed Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 1) Page 28
