"He's not dead," was all he had to say.
"And you? You're not going to die I assume?" One side of her mouth curved up into a slight smile.
"I'll live."
Now reassured of his well-being, she realized they were alone.
She leaned forward and began to wipe away the ocean brine and dried blood. His eyes remained closed as she dabbed at his hands and forearms, moving up until she was wiping up around his shoulders and neck, using a fresh bottle of water to re-dampen the cloth. It wasn't much but better than nothing.
Everything will be back to normal in the morning.As she eyed his wounds, she knew Da had been right. Tomorrow it would be like this night never happened.
"I'm not afraid of your teeth." Rylie didn't know why she said it but knew that she needed him to know, needed to get it off her chest. "I wanted to tell you that before..." she trailed off.
Netto narrowed his eyes but his gaze did not leave her. His hand came around hers, hot and hard, and tugged the wet cloth out of her hands. He continued on cleaning his chest and abs without answering.
Her mouth went dry as the awkwardness between them intensified. "I'm sorry my father lied to you."
"Do you like Zeph?" He shot out, hard and thick, as if the question itself disgusted him. She was taken aback by the sudden vehement change in him.
"I don't know what you mean?"
"Do you want to have sex with him?"
Rylie stopped breathing abruptly, unsure how to answer or why he would even ask that. Her mouth opened and closed like an orange puffer swimmer. "No," she squeaked out at last. Zeph only had eyes for Janet, and anyone could see that. Zeph had never entered her mind.
Her answer didn’t comfort him; if anything, Netto only grew more rigid. Rylie repeated, “No. I would never want a man who wanted my sister. Every man does. So I don’t want men.” She hated that her voice shook. She didn’t want the Cyborg to know her insecurities, and she didn’t want him, or anyone, to be privy to her self-deprecation.
“I don’t.”
Rylie didn’t believe him. Every man was drawn to the siren. “She wants you. She wants you and Zeph.”
A look of disgust flashed across his face and he bared his teeth as his lips pulled back. Her eyes landed on them. Netto closed his mouth.
“She’ll never have me,” he spat.
Rylie smiled and was comforted by his disdain. She had never heard a man speak of her sister in such a way. She loved her sister beyond comprehension, but it made her happy that the man she liked didn’t carry some secret longing for Janet. Relief flashed through her and the tension between them faded into quiet.
“Oh, I don’t know. My sister can be very persuasive.” She couldn’t help but tease, hoping to see another look of disgust on his face.
“She’s not for me.”
“Why not?”
Netto rung out the rag, and her eyes slipped down to watch the blood-tinted water drip from its ends and pool on the floor of the boat. The trickle was the only sound between them as she waited for his answer. It meant something to her and she needed to hear it. She wanted the Cyborg in front of her regardless of how unmatched they were. That’s if he wantedher, her and not Janet.
And not because her sister wanted Zeph more.
“She is...doesn’t smell appealing. I can’t explain.” He soaked the rag again and ran it across the back of his neck. Rylie sat away and frowned. Netto wouldn’t look at her.
“Do I smell bad?”Maybe it’s her lavender.Her eyes narrowed. She didn’t wear perfume and often smelled of sweat from a long day at sea. She probably smelled terrible. It took most of her control to not sniff herself.
“No,” he answered, still without looking at her. She had hoped for something more from the Cyborg.
They sat in silence and the longer they went without speaking, the more tired she became. There was nothing but the glow of the watership around them and the glass enclosure to keep out the fog. Before long, Netto’s heat chased away the nighttime chill and made the upper deck stifling. Janet and Zeph had yet to return.
“Will you be okay?” Rylie broke the awful silence, at last, fiddling with her fingers.
“Soon. By morning the worst will be behind me.”
