Alec plucked her hair from her cheek that clung like seaweed, then grazed his knuckles down the side of her jawline, where he noticed a bruise. It was a fresh bruise that couldn’t have been more than twenty-four hours old.
Alec’s heart caved, and a serious look stole his expression. “Did someone do this to you?”
Circe was sure that if she spoke of it, emotion would burst out of her.
Pain had attached itself to these horrible words. How could a person understand without living through it?
Helpless. Powerless. Spineless.
Why must anythinglessbecome her life?
Why not otherlesswords?
Relentless, she thought.
This was her curse. No matter how fierce she was, she still allowed someone to take pleasure in making her believe otherwise. But no matter her trauma, she still found the good in living and believed in love. And this was her magic.
So that was when she kissed him.
It was a thirsty kiss, one that called upon her entire body.
Her legs encircled his waist and her fingers tangled in his wet hair.
She had been so starved for it since the last, and despite all efforts, she began to cry from the hardened ache shattering.
When she pulled away, heartbreak adorned her features. “Make love to me,” she pleaded between kisses, her lips brushing across his.
Alec searched her eyes. Inside them, there was a longing that touched the deepest parts of him. That was when he knew this was what she truly needed. To be touched softly, to be kissed intensely, to be beloved deeply. Nothing else felt righter than this moment.
So Alec did just that. He kissed her slowly, passionately, pushing up her floating skirt and touching her in a way a woman should be touched.
“You are my sun, Circe,” he whispered into her ear, soothing her. That was when he looked her in the eyes. “You are the center of my world.”
He cradled the back of her head in one hand, using the other to untie his breeches.Abandon despair onto romantic affair.
And he held their kiss as he thrust himself inside her.
Circe’s head fell back in his hand, and Alec’s lips dragged down the length of her throat when he pumped into her again.
The two made love in the ocean that day.
The islander and his siren, with ice water in their veins.
Alec did not think of the consequences that would follow.
Circe did not think at all.
CHAPTER 24
ADORA
Flashes of lightningspread through the open window of the lighthouse and touched particles dancing in the room. The rest of the space was drenched in cool dim. It made the lighthouse feel old-timey, like a filter had stamped this moment.
From the fireplace in the living area, the crackling of the flames drifted into the bathroom, where I was soaking in a clawfoot tub. The water was surprisingly warm and instantly eased the chattering of my teeth.
After eating, Stone sat in the bathroom with me, propped on a wooden chair next to two vanilla colas. He was drawing in his sketchpad, eyes locked and flicking up and over the golden coil at me every few seconds with a flex in his jaw. Each time, strands of snow curled over his forehead and tangled with his long black lashes. Though he was quiet, he professed his all on paper, his wrist moving gracefully despite being attached to an indignant hand. All emotion was not in his heart but at his fingertips.
A smile stretched my lips, and, unable to stand it, I leaned forward and rested my chin on my crossed arms, looking up at him. “Oh,the stern face.”
