Tears are burning in my eyes, but I am straining her words.
“Please,” she whispers. Her voice is thick with agony and crying.
I blink against the emotion. “Why do you want me?”
Silence.
Deafening silence.
I repeat myself, louder this time. “Why do you want me?
“Because-because… because you make me feel safe, villain or not. I need that back.”
I whip around. The way she looks at me, her eyes wide and her lips open, stirs something within me. The pieces of myself that I just laid bare begin to come together. I feel... peace.
My voice is hoarse as I whisper, “I’ll stay.”
I cross the room in three long strides, falling to my knees before her chair. She's trembling, and I hold her tightly despite the water. Pressing my forehead to hers, I murmur, "I don't want to fight anymore."
She clings to me, shuddering breaths racked with quiet sobs. I know I shouldn't be doing this. I'm a pirate, and she's a mermaid. But at this moment, I don't care. I just want to hold her, to be close to her. A part of me is relieved that she wants me to stay, but another part is terrified at how much I need her.
It's a miracle when her lips capture my own with fierce passion. Her desperation and need for me are clear in how she presses herself against me. My hands roam over her back and arms. She moans softly as my tongue brushes against her lips, and she parts them, letting me in. I explore her mouth thoroughly, savoring every taste and every sound she makes.
Then she pulls back, taking in my soaking shirt. She straightens her own top and clears her throat. "I’m not ready to do this again yet.”
I put space between us. “Whatever you say, princess.” This was to be expected, things being as complicated as they are between us. Tonight, I would work for every touch of her skin. I would do whatever she wanted.
Because whether she knows it or not, I am hers.
30
Move Slow
HELENA
Erik is reclining on the leather couch in front of the TV. His feet are tucked under him as he lounges. An open book is balancing on his leg.
I’ve never felt more strange. Was it really just two hours ago we were screaming at each other? Sobbing like idiots? How do two beings go from that to… this?
I splash the water around the scales on my waist, keeping them hydrated so they don’t itch. I put on a trashy show,The Real Life of Pixies. Elva had once mentioned it to me.
Erik glances up from his history book on the Goddess Fortuna, and his nose scrunches. “I don’t understand how you can watch that garbage?”
“I don’t understand how you have access to such peak, prime-time entertainment, and you don’t want to watch it,” I retort.
He watches the Were shoot her lover, and he gasps. A grim smile comes over Erik’s face as he says, “Excellent. Exactly what should happen to cheaters.”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “So violent, pirate.”
He glances from the corner of his eye at me. When he catches me staring, he returns quickly to his book.
The episode stretches on. Soon, Erik’s book lies forgotten in his lap, and he is completely engrossed.
“I think the most unrealistic part of the show is that a Vampire who looks like that has no one interested in her,” he gestures emphatically to the figure on the screen.
“Oh? I thought you weren’t interested in all nonhuman species,” I say, lazily drawing a watery circle on the armrest of my chair.
That makes him snap out of his hyperfocus on the television. He shifts his legs and stands, the book falling to the wayside, his attempt at reading completely abandoned.