“I love you, too,” I whispered into the silence of the night.
His smile was unlike anything I had ever seen before. Nothing could be more beautiful. All of his previous smiles paled in comparison.
There, with the water rippling the side of the boat and the birds cawing overhead, we were content to hold each other.
With our bodies, we showed each other how pure and wonderful love could be.
IT WAS hours later when we returned to the dock. Blissful hours of memorizing each other’s bodies, discovering what we liked.
I felt sated in a way I hadn’t been in a long time, not since my time with Killian. In those moments, all fear and anger and hurt had disappeared completely leaving only me and Dair.
I felt safe in his arms. Loved. Treasured.
With great reluctance, we cleaned each other up and set course for shore.
I remained curled in Dair’s arms as he steered the ship. He stayed true to his word. Now that he had me, he wasn’t letting me go.
Only the moon guided us as we departed the boat. My legs felt like jelly, but this time it wasn’t just because of the ship.
Stumbling, I couldn’t release the very girly giggle.
I felt like a schoolgirl with a crush. Young and in love, the familiar feelings of elation coursing through my veins.
Dair met my smile with a blinding one of his own. I didn’t think I would ever get tired of seeing that, especially aimed at me. It was as if the clouds parted and the sun appeared.
“You’re beautiful,” I told him seriously.
“I love you,” he replied.
He hadn’t stopped saying that.
Each time, it sent delightful tingles down my body.
He suddenly lurched forward, eyes glazed, and I let out a surprised scream, staggering under his weight. His heart still beat steadily, and I nearly collapsed in relief. Gently, I placed him on the ground and spun to meet our attacker.
I lunged forward with my blade extended, only to stop short seconds before I would’ve cut the offender’s neck.
What the hell?
My eyes were wide, feet paralyzed with fear, as I met Tavvy’s blue eyes.
“Beautiful, you know you can’t hurt me.” He shook his head disapprovingly and took a step closer. His hand cradled my head, and he brought his lips a hair’s breadth away from mine. I was trembling with the need to stab him, to push him away, but I couldn’t.
I was trapped with a psychopath with no possible way to defend myself. My body physically wouldn’t let me harm him.
His tongue licked a long trail down my face, and I shook with revulsion and anger. And fear.
An all-encompassing, all-consuming fear.
Before the ball, I had thought I would be able to fight him and escape, but I now knew the truth. I was entirely at his mercy.
All I could see penetrating the darkness were his bright blue eyes and blinding white teeth as he smiled.
“My dear, I think it’s time we had a chat.”
THIRTY-SIX
Z
“You don’t want to do this.” I hated how my voice shook.
Tavvy’s fingers were rough under my arm as he led me up a stone staircase and into a dilapidated hut at the base of the cliff top.
It looked to be a small store, unoccupied, that sold seashells, glass wind chimes, and rental boats. Moonlight pierced through the open window, illuminating everything in vivid detail.
I was tossed to the ground like a rag doll, and I let out an instinctive grunt of pain.
“What do you see in my brother?” Tavvy’s cadence was harsh, broken, manic. He took a step closer to me, and I braced myself for pain. The man did not disappoint when he swung a fist at my face.
Pain erupted behind my eye, so intense that I gasped.
“Why him?” he continued. He sounded and looked completely unhinged. His eyes were wild, wild, wild as they swept over my face. “Why does everyone love him more than me? Why can’t I have a pretty mate? Why don’t you love me?!” The last statement was accompanied by a kick to my ribs.
Maybe it was foolish to poke the beast, but if I couldn’t fight back physically, I would get in his head.
“Because you’re a psychopathic asshole!” I hissed. Blood dribbled down my chin, but I ignored it. “Because you’re evil. And an ugly bastard as well.”
The next kick was enhanced with his Mermaid magic. I flew through the air, hitting a shelf that held glass statues of animals. I collapsed on the floor, and glass rained down on me. Shielding my head did little to stop the onslaught of pain, tiny nicks as glass cut up my arm.
“You’re a fucking coward, Tavvy,” I managed to say through clenched teeth. Pain radiated throughout my whole body. “That’s why no one loves you.”
He was in front of me a second later, hand tangled in my blonde hair as he pulled me to my feet. Pain emitted from my scalp, and I cried out.
“All I wanted was for you to be mine,” Tavvy whispered brokenly. “Why can’t you just be mine?”
Before I could reply that I could never belong to such an asshole, he kissed me.
Kissed me.
His tongue prodded the seams of my lips, but I kept my mouth closed. Disgust churned in my stomach. Disgust and an incandescent fury that threatened to burn me alive. I hated him.
Hated him.
It was on the opposite end of the spectrum of what I felt for his brother. I loved Dair intensely, with all I had to offer, and I hated Tavvy just as much. It was a pendulum that swung in both directions - one side hate, the other love.
But I couldn’t stop him, couldn’t push him away, couldn’t even angrily bite down on his lip like I wanted to. My
