4. Creed

Chapter 4

Creed

I should have known better than to believe she was single. Of course, McKenna Carlisle would have a famous boyfriend, not some common blue-collar man like me.

I stare at the unopened bottle of whiskey I've had since I first let McKenna go five years ago, sitting on the table in front of me. And think how easy it would be to drink the whole bottle and drown out the memories of McKenna. But I haven't done it in five years—I won't start now.

Instead, I decide to go outside and throw the bottle off my boat into the water below, drowning it in the ocean water since I'll never be able to drown the memories of McKenna. My boat isn't huge by any means, but it's big enough to fit at least a couple of adults and a couple of kids.

Looking back to when I bought the boat, I wasn't thinking about the size. I was thinking of the escape. To set sail, leaving Love Beach and all the memories behind. Ironically, I've never taken the boat out on the water, content with leaving it docked in the marina, only going to it when I want to feel closer to McKenna, which seems to be more and more frequent every day.

I step out onto the deck, ready to throw the bottle into the ocean, when the voice of my Siren calls to me.

"No matter how many times you run from me, I will always follow—even if it's to the ends of the Earth—you're mine, and I'm never letting you go."

My gaze finds hers as the full moon illuminates her beautiful face as she stands on the deck of my boat with her hands on her hips and her long blonde hair flowing in the night breeze, reminding me of the old fisherman's tales of the Sirens of long ago that would lure a man to his death with the promise of love. I never understood how a man could be so blinded by love that he would give up everything and dive blindly into the unknown for the woman he loves. But looking at McKenna and remembering everything she meant to me, I finally understood why those men gave up everything for the woman they loved.

But it's my turn to ask her a question: "Do you love him?" When she gives me a blank stare, I clarify, "You're boyfriend from the bar, Jax Shepard." I fight to keep the jealousy out of my voice, but I've evidently lost when she gives me one of her mischievous smiles I've missed all these years.

"He's not my boyfriend. None of them ever were. It was all my manager Amber's idea to have me date the latest and greatest superstar of the moment. She said it would keep me relevant. I went along with it because I didn't want anyone else if I couldn't have you. I guess you could say I used them as much as they used me to hide behind a fake relationship so I wouldn't have to face dating for real. You're the only one I've ever wanted—the only one I've ever loved."

"You're all I've wanted, too. I'm sorry I didn't fight for us—that I let you go. Will you forgive me?"

She leaps into my arms, wrapping her long legs around my waist like I've dreamed of her doing a thousand times, "Yes, I forgive you. Now, give me my first kiss and my first sexual experience."

I brush a lock of hair off her cheek, "It will be my first kiss and my first sexual experience, too." At her shocked look, I continue. "It's always been you. I can't even look at another woman. I didn't want anyone else if I couldn't have you. I love you, my little Siren."

"I love you too. Now show me how much you love me." She whispers in my ear.

Like a man possessed, I carry her into my cabin and show her exactly how much I love her.