The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter Thirteen

The memory of the attack lingered in my mind for days. The more time I spent with Aiden, the more my own feelings betrayed me. By saving me multiple times, he proved I was safe with him—something I didn’t think he was capable of doing. As I laid in bed alone, I didn’t feel like myself. The room was dark and silent, the only sound being the wood creaking against the rough waters. My thoughts kept me awake, wondering back to Aiden and my time on the ship. 

I hadn’t been able to fight this emotion pulling us together, and Aiden hadn’t mentioned feeling anything for me. I suspected it, but we hadn’t talked about it. Even if we did have feelings for each other, what would it even matter if they were reciprocated? There was no way we could ever be together.

The door creaked open slowly, followed by the sound of Aiden stepping into the room. He shut the door quietly behind him; only the squeaking of his leather pants could be heard in the darkness. My eyes slammed closed so he couldn’t see that I was still awake. I was still torn between confronting him with my feelings and keeping quiet. Inside, I tried to rationalize with myself and talk myself out of it, but I’d never been one to think too hard about something. My decision to talk to him was quickly made.

When he emerged a few minutes later, I peered out underneath my eyelids to sneak a peek at him. He was clad in a pair of simple black cotton pants that hung low on his hips. My pulse sped up in my chest as he walked toward the bed. Goddess, he was a gorgeous man. He was strong and dangerous, charming and demanding, and in total control of his ship. I was terrified I had fallen victim to his charms, because every time he came near me my heart started to race, and I forgot how to breathe. Every time he touched me, my skin burned in that very spot. It wasn’t possible, I was sure, but it felt that way. The way he gazed at me from across any given room at any given moment, studying me as if he was trying to figure me out, had me dreaming about his lips on mine. I hated to admit it, but he was different from most pirates, just as I was different from most princesses.

I feigned a yawn and whispered his name. “Aiden?” I had to know what this spell was he’d placed on me, what all of these feelings were, and if he felt the same. I was tired of playing games with him. I wanted answers.

He paused as he leaned over to blow out the candle and then stood up straight, that studious look on his face once again. “What is it my pet? You should be asleep.”

“I couldn’t…”

Aiden furrowed his brow as if concerned and came to sit on the edge of the bed, giving me plenty of space—even though I wished he would be just a bit closer. I wanted to see if his touch burned again.

“Are you well? Did someone disturb you?”

I shook my head and moved closer to him. “No.”

“Well I’m glad you’re up. There’s a matter I need to discuss with you.”

“And I you,” I added quickly. I admired the way candle light bounced off his face. It made him look a little more dangerous, but also sort of angelic.

“Ladies first,” he offered.

“No,
captains
first.” I tested out the word on my tongue and looked to him for approval.

Aiden raised a raven brow as he looked back at me, surprised at my words, even though he couldn’t hide the smirk turning up at the corner of his lips. He was pleased with it. I smiled back at him as I motioned for him to continue. If we were going to figure this out, I needed to try to be civil.

“I want to know how you did it.”

“Did what?”

“Healed me, Rae.”

Suddenly the world fell out from other me, the smile faded from my face as I stared back at him. “Healed you?” My pulse sped up, and my vision seemed to narrow in on his face, waiting for answers.

Had I? I thought back to when I cleaned him up and cursed myself as I remembered the tears that flowed when I saw him injured. They were tears with a purpose, ones with true feelings in them. Somehow they must have gotten mixed in with the water. I’d healed him and didn’t mean to.

“My lip is no longer broken; my nose is not swollen. There are no bruises on me where there should be. In fact, I’m in no pain. When I came to check on you, my injuries were worse than I cared to admit. I had internal injuries that should have killed me. I came to set you free in case we didn’t win control of the ship. Care to explain how my injuries are all healed?”

My breath caught in my throat. Even though he’d been hurt, he wanted to save me. I was surprised he thought of me under the fear of losing his ship to anther pirate. After all, wasn’t he the worst of them all? Nothing made sense anymore, and I had no answer for him. I hadn’t even known the extent of his injuries when I healed him, but it still worked. Still, one part of his revelation stuck out.

“Set me free?”

“I would rather see you free in the ocean than in the hands of that blasted Captain Gabriel.”

“But who…who is he?” I hadn’t heard of such a person, and if they were someone Aiden was afraid of, I wanted nothing to do with them.

“Someone you don’t need to worry about. He’s gone now. When I returned to the deck, his ship had gone. Only a handful of his pirates boarded the ship, but I feared the worse.”

“You
feared
?”

Aiden cocked an eyebrow and smiled at me as if he had no worries in the world, but I could see them just under the surface. His eyes gave him away every time. “No, lass, just protective of what is mine.”

I wanted to argue with him, that I wasn’t his, but now was not the time. In a way, he told me he cared for me and my safety. I felt protected and safe, more than before. For now, I could be his, but only for now. It would never work long term; he would eventually lose his interest and move on to someone else. I had no expectations of it being more than that.

When I placed my hand on his arm and smiled up at him, I was surprised at the happiness stretching across it. I wished it was fake, but I feared it wasn’t. Whether or not I wanted to, I liked him.

“I can be, Aiden. For now at least.” 

Aiden’s hands grabbed my arms and looked at me with confusion in his eyes. “What’s the matter with you? Have you been spelled?”

I shook my head. “I was hoping you could answer that question for me.”

“Now why would I do such a thing? If I’m to have a lady, I will charm her myself. I don’t need magic for that. I’m offended, lass.”

I couldn’t take the curiosity anymore. The need to figure out what this knotting in my stomach was and this rush of my pulse when he was around took me over. I pushed the quilt off me and pulled myself up onto my knees. I reached out towards him and placed my hand on his chest. His heart was racing just as fast as mine was. I loved it. My hands ran around the back of his neck to pull me closer to him. His muscles jumped underneath my touch.

He was so strong, and without his captain uniform, a man was all I could see as I trailed my eyes along the path of my hands. My eyes meet his again, and I was surprised to find they were closed. His face scrunched up in agony.

“What’s wrong?” I whispered. He was going to turn me down again.
I’m such a fool.

He raised his hand to tangle in my hair and hold me back so I could not move closer to him. “You are so beautiful, Rae. I would love nothing more than to oblige your curiosities, but I am a gentleman. As I have told you. You have shown me your
stubbornness, and as I have also told you: I will not kiss you unless you ask me to. Don’t think you can fool me with your trickery.” His words were serious, and so were his eyes when he opened them.

“It’s no trick, Aiden. I want you to kiss me, please Aiden. I need to know what this is.” An unfamiliar nervousness ran though my body and under my skin as I waited for his answer.

He stared back at me in shock, clearly taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting to hear me say that. A moment of indecision crossed his face before he obliged and slammed his lips onto mine. I braced myself by stiffening my body and lacing my fingers behind his neck, but nothing could have prepared me for the intensity of the moment. It was as amazing as I worried it would be, sending my body into a frenzy of goose bumps and my pulse into a familiar racing. He pulled me closer and deepened the kiss.

His lips were fierce and burning against mine and made up for all of the frustration we wreaked upon each other over the past few days and all the tension that gnawed at us each time we were near each other. It also erased all the times I pushed him away and pretended not to be interested.

There was more to my refusal than I initially understood. In reality, I was fighting the way I felt about him. I didn’t want to admit to myself how much I wanted this pirate. Everything led up to this moment. Aiden’s body against mine was everything I missed when I kissed any of the mermen back home, a passion that ripped through my body and left me breathless. I had never felt this way before, and I never expected to feel it with a
human
. It was as if my whole body awakened for the first time.

I hadn’t meant to give into him like this, but there was something about the twinkling promise of adventure in his eyes that pulled me to him—just as the ocean and silver moonlight called to me. This attraction between us was bigger than the both of us. It was something I couldn’t fight anymore, and I hoped he didn’t either.

My mind clouded over with one thing: Aiden. Every brush of his lips calmed something in me, even though it terrified me I needed him so badly. His body led me into dangerous waters, into a place where I wasn’t sure I could escape. His rough hands held me close and ran over my skin as if he’d known me my whole life. A familiarity was there—something I couldn’t place, and it was wonderful. 

He pushed me back against the bed and climbed on top of it with me. His hand ran greedily down my body and onto the bare flesh of my leg. A low sound escaped from his mouth as he slowly began to trail his hand up my thigh, pushing the thin cloth of my dress higher. I clung to him, lost in his embrace, and kissed him back as if he were the only thing keeping me alive.

As his free hand moved the strap of my dress off my shoulder, his lips followed the path, planting kisses along the newly exposed skin. Each touch of his lips sealed my fate, and I lost all ability to think. All concerns of what we should and should not be doing disappeared. The only thing that remained was the feel of his fingers against my body and his lips taking the time to explore every available part of me.

He pushed himself up on his elbow and pulled back enough to show a devilish grin. His eyes took
me in hungrily for just a moment and took my breath away. Lowering himself back to my skin, his lips moved down my neck, nipping at my skin as he pleased, until he found a sudden interest in the soft spot underneath my ear. It sent shivers down my spine, and I tangled my hands into his hair.

“
Aiden
,” I whispered, unable to stop his name falling from my lips.

He groaned against my skin as he lifted his hand higher, pushing my dress up and running across my stomach. His lips pressed against mine again, and I whimpered into them, tightened my grip on his hair because I couldn’t fight back the need in my body. His ended the kiss and rested his forehead against mine; his deep laughter resounded through the room and tucked itself away into my heart. I wanted him, needed him, more than anything I had ever yearned for in my life.

But there was something he needed to know. Something I dreaded to tell him.

“Aiden…”

“Yes?” He looked up at me.

“I haven’t, uh.” I stammered, unable to speak the words. I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks in embarrassment because he had a lot of experience in this area. Surprise showed on his face, but as he opened his mouth to speak, I felt the need to explain. “It’s not that I haven’t had the chance. I just—I’ve never felt like this before. This is what I’ve been waiting for.”

“Rae,” he said. His voice was laced with incredible desire. “I have not been with anyone I cared about in many, many years. None of the women I have spent time with have meant anything to me. They are
nothing
compared to you.”

I smiled back at him. He was all I dreamed of, somehow. His words were genuine, and if I asked him to stop he would, but I didn’t.

“I want this, Aiden, don’t play games with me.”

The corner of his lip turned up into a smirk, and he nodded in response. “As you wish, Rae, my beautiful mysterious love. I’m yours.”

When he captured my lips again, my heart fluttered. Finally, he admitted he was mine.

Aiden’s hand moved down my stomach to its intended destination, and he pulled me further under his spell. My head fell back against the bed, my hands tangled in his hair impossibly tight as unidentified noises escaped my mouth. His touch was almost magical, knowing just what to do to make my entire being grow warm and yearn to have him closer to me. His kisses trailed along my skin, humming as he went, and muttering something in another language. I wasn’t sure what it was, but it fit his accent perfectly. I was lost in it.

My mouth grew dry as my body shuddered in anticipation. The core of my body grew warm, the tingling expanding through my body. It was amazing. I arched my back and his name left my lips in a needy whisper. “
Aiden
.”