Also settling over me was a deluge of rain. It came so suddenly, I had no time to prepare, not that I could have done so anyway. Marek returned, telling me to head below deck, but I refused, wanting to navigate the storm, which we did, together.
AsTidechaserswayed from side to side, we sailed through increasingly large waves. Some, Marek dampened with magic. Others, he did not. I realized at some point he was playing with the sea, and we were never in any real danger. Even so, as day wore into night, I refused to budge, enjoying every moment, laughing as Marek harnessed the rain, making droplets appear as if they were racing each other.
It wasn’t until the storm began to abate and my human needs reminded me I wasn’t immortal that I finally relented. I had dried off, changed, and eaten, and now sat in my cabin— Marek’s cabin—wondering if I should go back above when a knock at the door startled me enough that I bound off the bed.
When I opened it, Marek stood there, drenched.
“I accidentally left my satchel on deck,” he said, nodding to the trunk in the corner of his quarters. “I will be quick to fetch dry clothing.”
I handed him a drying cloth and watched as Marek bent down to open the trunk.
“You did well up there. Remarkably well.”
“Thank you,” I said as he pulled out dry clothing and stood.
When our eyes met, the question that had run through my mind all eve, and most of the days, accidentally popped out of my mouth.
“What if… we had not stopped.”
Marek’s smile deepened. “If we’d not stopped, Issa, your virginity might no longer be a bargaining chip.”
Say it. Say what you’ve been thinking.
“But the… other things?” I could not continue. “Never mind,” I said, hurrying to the door. “As you said, last eve was a mistake. I should not?—”
I was spun around so quickly, it took me a moment to regain my footing.
“It would be an even bigger mistake to let you go.”
And with that, Marek’s mouth slammed down on mine.
It was nothing like the other two kisses. This one was raw and untamed, like the sea itself. He was still wet, but as our bodies pressed against each other, I didn’t care about that. Or the repercussions of our past. As his mouth slanted across mine, Marek’s tongue tangling with my own, I took his cues.
Leaning into his hands as they explored, I tentatively did the same. How often had I watched him about the ship and wondered what it would feel like to touch his arms as he swung from the rigging?
One moment, he was kissing me. The next, Marek had pulled away and was unbuttoning his shirt, now plastered to his body.
“What are you doing?”
His roguish smile was so very…Marek.
“I’m getting you wet,” he said, peeling his shirt from his body.
I sucked in a breath, seeing him this way for the first time. Marek was so perfectly formed, I couldn’t not help but stare.
“Have you touched a man like this before?” he asked, taking my hand and placing it on his chest.
I shook my head, unable to speak. He took my other hand and did the same, never breaking eye contact.
“Do you remember when you said there were other ways to find pleasure?”
Oh god, the feel of him. The sound of his voice, deep and suggestive…
“I do.”
“Do you know what those ways are, Issa?”
“Not precisely.”
