The Mermaid's Pearl (Tears of the Deep Book 1) (16 page)

Chapter Seventeen

“Rae, wake up. Come on, darling, please wake up,” a voice cooed quietly in the darkness, waking me from my deep sleep.

My head pounded, and I couldn’t will my eyes to open. A hand cupped my face, the thumb rubbing it gently. The familiarity of the voice hit me, followed by a sudden sense of relief. I was safe, and in good hands. It was hard to remember why I should slap his hand away and run for the hills. Hadn’t I been certain I never wanted to speak to him again?

“Aiden,” I whimpered, the name slipping from my lips before I caught myself. The pain pounded in my head again, and I groaned.

“Yes, I’m here, love.”

He was so much gentler, so different from the foul creature on the deck of his ship. Was it possible he had two separate personalities? I was confused as my eyes flittered open to see his face inches away from mine.

“Did they harm you?” he asked. His eyes were full of worry.

“They?” I questioned. It was hard to remember what happened before I blacked out. Then the young girl and her father’s faces flashed before my eyes, as well as the men who attacked us.

My eyes grew wide as I reached out to grasp his vest. “The girl and her father! Are they alright?”

“Yes, they are fine. I came looking for you and heard the commotion here. I knew all along that man had ill intentions, but you wouldn’t listen to me. I…disposed of them.”

I wanted to be angry at him for that, but my insistence on him calming the violence down is what got me in this predicament.

“They wanted me gold.”

I scoffed. “Isn’t that what
you
are after? Me and the king’s gold?” My words were laced with venom. I reminded myself I didn’t like him.

His face fell as he scratched his forehead, and then sat his hand on his knee where he was squatted in front of me. He shook his head, followed by a defeated sigh.

“Perhaps at one point,” he said, but his emotions were unreadable. His voice cracked as he spoke, laced with regret. What exactly he regretted, I didn’t care. He didn’t even acknowledge the fact I admitted there was a king involved.

“Well, now you’ve got me again. Let’s get back to your ship and get on with it,” I hissed, forcing the anger back into my words.

I stood up abruptly from the chair and the world swam around me. My hand covered my face to hide the swirling scenery, and Aiden stood up with me, his arms reaching out to steady me.

“Slow down there, you had quite the hit on the head.”

I rubbed my head in the spot where it throbbed and ignored the concern in Aiden’s eyes.

“Let’s go,” I said and pulled myself out of his arms. The skin where he’d touched me cooled down from his comforting warmth. The one I used to consider a comfort. A whine escaped from my mouth. I wanted to be close to him, even though I
convinced myself he hated me. And I hated him. Didn’t I? I couldn’t possibly give him the time of day after what he did to me—embarrassed me and treated me like a prize on his ship in front of his entire crew. Yet, he came here for me. He saved me again.

Aiden wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me to his body. The leather creaked as he began to walk forward, his body warm and more comforting than I cared to admit. I swallowed my pride and let him lead me out the door and down the street toward the ship. My body ached from the confrontation. Aiden kept shifting his eyes from side to side as if waiting for something to happen. He was ready, and his senses were keen. That’s what he needed to survive as a pirate, I supposed.

As we neared the ship, he led us in a different direction, not toward the plank leading up to the deck.

“Where are we going?” I demanded and tried to pull away from him. I didn’t want to go anywhere with him.

He wouldn’t let me go. “Somewhere where we can talk.”

“Fine,” I said, as if this wasn’t exactly what I had been wanting from him. Of course, that was before he treated me with as much respect as he’d give his shoes. Now I wasn’t sure that I wanted anything to do with him.

I couldn’t let my feelings for him grow any deeper. He wasn’t the kind of person I needed, and there was no way I would allow myself to fall in love with him.

I was surprised to find he led me to a beach, one far enough away from the ship where none of the pirates could see us. There was no one around. The sky was clear of clouds, showing the moon above and the stars shining down on us. It was such a beautiful night, but there wasn’t much time to stargaze. My eyes were immediately drawn to the sea. The sound of the waves crashing against the beach called to me, and I desperately wanted to run to it.

“Aye, here we are. The night is beautiful isn’t it?” he asked.

“
Aye.
” I laughed as I slipped out of his grip and continued to stare at the water crashing against the sea.

“Go on,” he encouraged and held his hand out toward the water.

I smiled excitedly at him and ran towards it, took off as if I’d found a long lost love. I guess though, I had. The second my feet touched the water, I was lost. Laughter erupted from my chest in the most splendid way as I twirled in circles. My hands flew out into the air as I spun, going faster and faster until I fell.

But Aiden was there, his hands catching me before I hit the ground below. I continued to laugh; reaching up to grip his vest and see the smile on his face. He was no longer wearing his heavy leather coat, but I could see it behind him on the sand.

“The sea is my place of escape, love. I’m glad you enjoy her too.”

My laughter paused at his words, searching them for meaning, and remembering those times I saw him gazing out at the ocean. I found my footing
on the sand and ran my hands up his chest to cup the back of his neck. My heart fluttered away, off to a distant land where he and I had someplace in common—a place where he was more than an evil pirate captain and capable of loving a rambunctious mermaid princess like me. It was a world where that could actually happen.

I tilted my head to invite him to kiss me, but stopped myself. I drew back from him, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. Giving in to him now would only prove he could treat me as he wanted.

“Me too,” I whispered. “I love her. She is my home.”

“Yes, a place of rest. A safe place to think,” he agreed and let go of me. “I’m sure you have seen me stare off at it before.”

“I have.”

He chuckled and motioned toward his leather coat lying on the sand. “After you, my dear.”

Was he really being courteous?

“Thanks,” I said and took a seat on it.

As he sat down beside me, I reached out to run my hands through the sand. “So why have you brought me here?”

“Indeed, my actions are rather curious,” he said quietly and reached out to place his hand on my knee. I tensed up, ready to move away from him before my body betrayed me and tried to kiss him again, but he didn’t make any other movements. His eyes gazed at me inquisitively. “Are there suitors of your interest back where you come from?”

I was caught off guard, not having given those suitors a second thought since boarding
The Devil’s Pearl
. I laughed and shook my head. “No, not really. They only want to tame me into a woman who will do as they ask, and I can’t be bothered to waste my time with them. I want an equal.”

“And an equal you deserve, lass. So this…Tristen, is it?”

My head jerked up in shock at the mention of my friend’s name. “How do you know about him?”

“When you first boarded the ship, you didn’t sleep well. Often you would scream out his name in the night. I assumed he was one of your suitors.”

I was relieved he didn’t know much of my friend because he wouldn’t be able to find or identify Tristen. “He’s a friend of mine.”

“And do you love him?”

I wasn’t prepared for the question. For years I thought Tristen was the one for me, but these feelings around Aiden had me second-guessing myself. “I always thought he and I would somehow end up together, even though he is a commoner. At least with him, he treated me like an equal. But no, I know now I wasn’t in love with him.”

“Although you are a princess, and he is not a prince…”

“Yes.”

“Uh huh. So I
do
have competition. There
is
another trying to win your heart.”

My breath caught in my throat at his words, the world narrowing down on the two of us as it had before and made it hard to breathe. I had no words to say because I was surprised beyond belief. After the way he treated me, I thought I was only there for his amusement. Now he was opening up, and he seemed to be honest. He looked at me like he looked at the sea, with fascination and adoration. My body
betrayed me as my stomach twisted into familiar knots only he could create. He was beautiful in the moonlight, speaking as a man, not a pirate.

“I was…hurt…when I found you’d run away tonight,” he admitted as he raised a finger to run softly down the side of my cheek. My eyelids closed at his touch.

“And why was that?”

“Because I had hoped we came to an understanding. That we would respect each other and stop playing petty games.”

I opened my eyes and looked at him, pleased he was thinking the same thing as me. Especially since I had gotten my hopes up several times with him, and I didn’t want to do it again. I was terrified he would treat me harshly again if I got in too deep, and I would end up heartbroken. There were no words for what he said, so I kept silent and let him cup my face in his hands.

“I regretted treating you like a prize as soon as Hayes led you away, but I didn’t know what else to do. My men have to understand I am still their captain, and you need to be protected. You don’t make me weak, love, you make me stronger.”

My hand rose to settle on his as I forced out what needed to be said. “You should have told me what you were planning. You hurt my feelings really bad, and I thought there was more between us. I thought you cared about me. I’m not your property.”

Aiden nodded and pursed his lips before speaking again. “Treasures are forever, lass. I have loads of them in me ship. I’ve learned they don’t break hearts. They don’t leave.”

I understood exactly what he was talking about. “It’s something precious you can keep for yourself.”

His eyes grew wide as he looked at me. “Exactly.”

“I collect treasures as well. I have a hidden stock of them back at home. The adventure to get them is exciting too, I’m sure you can understand.”

He sighed. “Could you be more amazing? A woman who loves adventure and treasure as much as I do and doesn’t pirate for a living. It’s fascinating really. What else are you hiding from me?”

I bit my lip and looked at him. There was no way I was telling him I was a mermaid. We had things in common in addition to the undeniable attraction, but I still wasn’t sure about the trust part. “Nothing exciting, really.”

Aiden’s hand rose to cup my face as he looked at me in awe.

“Raewyn….” He started to speak and then looked away from me as if to think about what he wanted to say. He nodded to himself and returned his eyes to me, certainty lining his face. “That story I told you about, the one about the Irish prince. It was me, lass. Sailing the seas was a hobby of mine until my world fell apart.”

The information floored me and filled me with shock. I repeated his words in my heads and tried to form any coherent words. When I stopped staring at him in astonishment and remembered how to think, everything started falling into place. He was once an Irish prince, one who had everything, and lost it in a short span of time. He lost his love, his parents, and his sanity. The devastation he felt turned him into
one of the most dangerous men on the open seas. He turned toward what he loved the most, sailing the ocean, and became a pirate. His new identity allowed him to let out his frustrations, even if it was in an inappropriate way. It also explained his accent.  

He could see the confusion in my eyes. “I know, it sounds a little weird. Once it was all over, I burned everything. The house, the treasure, everything. Then I ran away on my ship, changed her name, and forgot my worries on the high sea. I’ve been running from it ever since.”

I was surprised at just how much Aiden and I had in common. Our parents were dead, we loved the sea, and we longed for treasures. I could understand what he dealt with before he became a pirate. My suitors wanted my title and my treasures. They weren’t interested in me as a person, but thankfully I never fallen in love with any of them, not like he did with his. For some reason, my destiny waited until I was captured by a pirate to show any kind of genuine deep feelings for a member of the opposite sex.

“This is my family crest,” he explained, holding up the bronze necklace he wore. It was a shield with a helm on the front of it, with a large “F” in the center. I often looked at it and wondered what it was. Now I had the answer.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Our kingdom was by the sea.” He looked up at me with a beautiful and genuine smile.

So was mine.
I wanted to tell him what I was and where I came from badly, but I didn’t.