27. The Intense Waves

Chapter 27

The Intense Waves

The Pirate

I woke with a start, feeling as if something were amiss. A sudden lack of warmth at my side. I rolled over to find Talia's spot in the bed we'd shared empty. My body jolted into action, and I jumped out of bed, searching for her the darkened room but knowing she was gone. Worry seized me, and the growing darkness coiling within me expanded, demanding I eviscerate any who had hurt her. Binding this siren to me had side effects I hadn't expected, but my teeth set on edge as I tugged my shirt over my head before I set out to find her. She couldn't be far; the binding saw to that.

Or did it? While I still had a wicked bruise healing along my jaw, nothing marred the smooth skin of hers. I didn't trust Proteus, or any of the Olympian gods, such as Dionysus. Fear lanced through me. Fear that she had decided not to help me break this curse. Fear that she had led me here to have Proteus help her break the binding. Fear that she had led me into a trap. If she proved to be as clever as she was beautiful, I wouldn't put it past her to have found a way to break it.

As I moved silently through the halls, Dionysus' dryads still enjoyed the night in the distance. Their song and laughter ringing into the air around me as I left the palace and crossed into the woods. The worn path led me through the trees lifting high into the sky, the song of the evening bugs ever present as I hurried through the darkness toward the beach.

I stopped just inside the tree line, the sight of her catching my breath as I watched her. She sat with her back to me, naked, her head tilted to the moon as the waves lapped at her bare feet. Purple and silver scales formed along her skin, but her legs held their shape as she simply breathed in the salty scents of the sea.

"Trying to escape?" I asked with a cautious tone as I approached. My booted feet sank into the stone with every step as I closed the distance between us.

She turned toward me, surprise lifting her brows as she spotted me. "No, actually, I just needed to feel it, the ocean, on my skin."

"Couldn't you just use the pond in the gardens? Or the river even?"

She laughed, turning back toward the beach. "Probably. But nothing beats an open beach beneath the silver glow of the moon." She sighed, leaning back on her elbows as the water continued brushing against her with the rhythmic flow and ebb of the dancing sea.

I tugged my boots off and dropped them into the sand before I let the cool kiss of the tide brush against my feet, lowering myself to sit alongside her. She turned to me, her eyes sparkling with mischief and excitement before she leapt from me, diving into the frothing waves. Her head broke the choppy surface several feet away, a playful smile stretching across her face as she beckoned me to follow. I hesitated for only a moment before I dove in after her, my clothes quickly becoming drenched, clinging to my body as I swam to where I'd seen her last.

She resurfaced inches from me, a glimmering dagger in her hand. Before I could react, she held the blade against the skin of my neck, her face inches from mine. Her gaze sparkled, not with violence or maliciousness, but with desire. Her body molded against mine, her tail swishing below the waves as she pressed herself into me. Through the thin fabric of my shirt, I could feel the press of her breasts against my chest, and I felt myself throb within her hold as I smirked down into her glittering gaze.

She wrapped herself around me, her scales melting away into her human form revealing her smooth skin and toned muscles. Her legs coiled around my waist, her bare core separated from my skin by the thinnest of fabrics. A raw, fiery passion ignited within me, warring with the darkness and stealing what little control I held.

A burning need hit me as I felt her body against mine, the cold blade of her dagger pinching at my neck as her lust-filled gaze held mine. Her hair draped down the sides of my face as she lowered her mouth to my ear, her breath warm on my tender flesh as she whispered, "I have a feeling you like being threatened."

She bit the lobe of my ear and a growl erupted from my chest as I carried her toward the beach. I answered her statement with the growing hardness of my cock, and she chuckled, the dagger still firm at my throat. I turned with her in my arms, slamming our bodies down into the sand and dislodging the dagger from her hold.

I crawled over her body, dragging my lips, my tongue across her smooth, bare skin. My mouth took gentle care with her pale breasts that heaved with breath as my tongue tasted the pink rose bud nipples. They were bared beneath the moonlight, begging for my touch, my care, as her body arched into my tender kisses. I took one into my mouth, my eyes lifted to hers as I swirled my tongue around the puckered tip, sucking the tip of it and pulling a moan from her that sent my blood boiling.

Releasing my hold on her, I began the slow trail to her other nipple, but before I reached the peak, her hands gripped my head as her hips clamped around mine. A second later, I lay beneath her, her hair curtaining her face as she peered down at me, the blade back in her hand and the tip pressing into the fabric at my chest.

My cock throbbed as her lips split into a wicked grin, her aquamarine gaze glittering as she dragged the tip to the vee neck of my shirt. She tucked the blade beneath the hem and with a jerk of her wrist, the sound of ripping fabric fell into the night as the cool air hit my bared skin.

I swore beneath her, shifting my hips as want consumed me. This vicious beauty would be my end. She arched against me, the cool tip of her blade still against my chest as she lowered her lips to my neck, trailing kisses along the crook of my neck to the lobe of my ear. I groaned as my bulge pressed against my pants and my hands fisted in the length of her hair.

Unable to take the torture of her lips against my skin any longer, I twisted her head until her lips met mine. Her blade nicked my skin, drawing blood and a hiss from me as our tongues warred against each other. I flipped her over onto her back again, needing her beneath me as our kiss deepened. Her hips lifted beneath me, and my control shattered.

I lifted myself above her, staring down at her as she dropped the dagger to her side. Her hands gripped at the fabric at my waist, and she tugged at the band.

"No, not yet," I said, shaking my head as I stared down at her. "And you forgot the dagger."

She picked the dagger back up, a vicious grin lifting her lips as she pressed the tip into my chest. "You are so twisted."

My hands pressed into her shoulders as I chuckled. "You don't even know the half of it."

I moved my mouth down her center, trailing kisses between her breasts, down her abdomen, to just below her stomach. My fingers trailed down her shoulders as my mouth lowered still, until my lips settled between her thighs and my fingers twisted and played with the hardened peaks of her chest. My grin teased her center, my tongue dragging along the crease along her leg, along the pink flesh of her core. I danced my attention around her nub, coming close but skirting away, leaving her wanting, needing, as she buckled beneath my tongue.

Her fingers fisted into my hair as she moaned out my name, sending my own desire wild within me. My kiss lingered along the sensitive bundle of nerves at her core, my tongue swirling along the pulsing nub as I closed my mouth over her core and suckled. I could taste her desire as my fingers continued their torture, my tongue sliding along her folds until I licked her opening. My tongue pressed at her center, tasting her as she arched into me, her hands holding my mouth to her as I worked her core with my ravenous tongue. My gaze lifted to meet hers, my want igniting within me as her glittering gaze latched onto mine. One hand fisted in my hair, holding my mouth to her, while her other held the blade to my throat, a constant threat against my neck.

I spoke, my words a vibration against her sensitive folds, "Tell me. What do you want to do with that dagger, my vicious little monster?"

My tongue lapped and swirled at her wet folds, dragging my hand down her abdomen, along her curves, to her center. My fingers danced along the skin of her trembling thighs, a barely there touch that sent her wild beneath me as she pressed the blade deeper into my neck. The sting of her blade had me moaning at her entrance as I slipped a finger into her heat, and her back arched higher as she moaned. I pumped my fingers into her core, my tongue dancing around the sensitive bundle of nerves, my hand still working the peak of her breast as my eyes clung to hers. I watched as she crested over that beautiful wave of ecstasy, my name falling from her lips as I lapped up the taste of her as her thighs clung to me, her hand pressing me harder into her core as she shattered beneath my touch.

The dagger fell from her grip as her fingers dug into the sand at her side as pleasure rolled through her, and I pulled away, her breath heaving from her as her brow creased. "What are you doing?" she gasped out, "Give me what I want!"

My lips pressed into her stomach, lifting into a smile as I said, "How am I supposed to pleasure you without the threat of being stabbed at any second?"

Her hand slammed to the sand, searching for the lost blade as she flipped us around. My back crashed into the sand, and I laughed as she pressed the tip of her dagger into my chest, drawing a bead of blood. Her back arched as she raked her core along mine, and then she moved the blade to my pants, cutting them from my hips before I could protest.

"I love seeing you lose control," I said, laughing as my length throbbed into the night. My breath hissed and caught as I felt the blade drag along the sensitive skin of my cock. "You are one, viciously beautiful creature," I murmured, kissing the crook of her neck as her blade drew a slow, steady line up my abdomen.

She settled her hips over mine, her heated core glistening against me. I watched her cautiously, her dagger still pressing against my chest. "Are you certain about this?" I asked.

Her lips spoke against mine, her hushed, lust-filled voice sending desire rampant through me. "Yes."

I splayed my arms out in the sand above my head, smirking up at her as my dark eyes glittered with want. "Then I am yours to have…" I flicked a glance to the sparkling blade gripped in the palm of her hand. "…but only if you ride me with that in your hand."

She grinned, a flash of uncertainty tugging at her features. "I have…" She trailed off. "I don't know what I'm doing."

My brow arched as I lifted myself toward her on my elbows. "You've never been with anyone?"

My body stilled beneath hers as she shook her head. Fuck, I knew I wasn't a good person, but I'd never taken anyone's first time from them like this. She deserved better than a cursed pirate consumed with darkness. My hands closed around her waist, and I went to move her from me, but she pushed the tip of the dagger against my throat, a rivulet of blood welling beneath the cool tip.

Her aquamarine eyes darkened. "You will give me what I need," she demanded.

My fingers brushed against my neck, coming away crimson with my blood. "Listen, I'm not in the business of taking maidenheads, even if it is from a creature who would gut me in a second without remorse."

Her shoulders relaxed as a vulnerability flashed in her eyes. "I—I need this," she said, her voice soft. Her fingers cupped my cheek as she held my gaze. "Please."

It was the plea on her lips that did me in. She didn't seem the type to plead or ask for what she wanted. My cock hardened beneath her, and she grinned, dragging the edge of the blade down her own skin. "I know you want this as bad as I need it, Kipp." She shifted her hips above me, rubbing herself against me. "I can feel that you do."

She slammed me back into the sand as she hovered her heated core over my hardened cock. I dragged my tongue across my lips as I looked up at her, the moonlight highlighting her smooth flesh and her beautiful curves. Gods, she was so damned hot, begging me for something she wasn't completely sure of.

"It will hurt," I told her, groaning as she rubbed her wet center against me.

A wicked smirk lifted her lips, and she snarled, her sharpened teeth snapping as her lilting voice said, "Like you, I don't mind a little pain." She pricked my pec with the tip of her blade, slicing my skin and sending a thrill through me as I arched toward her. I was a damned fool, but I knew this had gone too far to deny her now.

I flipped her over again, the tide at our bare feet as her hair splayed out around her head like a dark halo that shimmered in the moonlight. My fingers grazed the smooth line of her jaw as she watched me, her lower lip drawn between her teeth as I held myself over her entrance. "Are you sure?" I asked one more time, my hand wrapping around my painfully throbbing length.

If she said no, I'd walk away, even though it might kill me to do so. Instead, her fingers trailed down the lines of my chest until her fingers gripped my cock in her hold. She lifted her lips to mine, skin-to-skin, her breath hot on my mouth as she said, "I told you what I wanted." She brought the dagger to my face, then drew the tip down my chest until it rested against my shaft. "Now, take me or I'll cut this off."

A sly smile crept onto my lips as her fingers gripped me like a vise. I felt myself losing myself to the moment, wanting to ride her into oblivion, but I held back, teasing her with the promise of pleasure. Positioning my tip at her entrance, I felt her desire glisten against my cock, and I thrust myself into her heat. I stilled, watching her as she adjusted to the sensation until her body arched against mine, already begging for more. It took every ounce of control for me not to fully give in to the desire burning through my body, but I owed it to her to take this slow, drag it out, make this worth it for her.

She moaned as her hips shifted, tightening her hold around me as she chewed her bottom lip. My body shuddered, my control snapping as I slammed into her fully, feeling her warmth consume me as I buried my head in the crook of her neck, my lips trailing heated kisses along her delicate skin. The dagger still held within her grip pressed into my shoulder, and I stilled, not wanting to spill into her already.

Our bodies melded together as if they'd been made for one another. Slowly, my hips moved against her core, a rhythm of need building between us both as my fingers traveled every inch of her skin, along the curve of her hips to the flesh of her ass as I held her to me. She arched her hips to me, holding the blade to my throat as her other hand fisted in my hair, pulling my mouth to hers as our tongues danced seductively while our bodies met each other lust-for-lust.

I groaned against her mouth, my damp brow pressing into hers. My cock thickened, her core tightening around me as I slowed my thrusts. Her head tilted back as her hips arched, and I felt her convulse around my length as I spilled into her. My muscles spasmed as I fell to her chest, my body melding to hers as we rode the intense waves of pleasure together.

Moving the dagger aside, I kissed her, slow and sweet. I'd broken a long-standing rule for her, and I didn't even feel the least bit sorry for it. Her lids drifted shut as I rolled over and off of her, lying in the sand at her side as our chests heaved with our spent breath. As my head lolled to the sideways and I took her in, I realized for the first time that this dark soul lying next to me mirrored my own, and when this was all over, I feared I wouldn't be able to let her go.

I was a selfish bastard, and she had done something I had never had in all the centuries that I'd searched. She'd made this black heart of mine feel something.

I knew I was in far more trouble than I'd realized.