“We’re in open water. The crates are loaded.” Elio pauses. “Figured it was time you decided where we’re going.”
Rune looks at me, and, for no reason at all, I want him to say the mainland. It’s selfish, and the fierce hope takes me off guard. To love him is to love the sea. And he will want to go home, dock at an ocean-held island where we can unload the relics we’ve gathered and return them to the siren kingdom where they belong. I tear my eyes from his, hoping he won’t notice the way that answer will weigh down my spirit. It’s unfair to him how the animal in me rears its head, sending a thrill of adrenaline through my veins, as if we’ve already touched endless soil. But it’s not where my heart is. There’s nothing for me on the mainland now. Nothing but fertile ground and nodding wildflowers.
“The nearest port on the mainland,” Rune calls, settling in to curl his body into mine, as if he doesn’t know how the answer sends my pulse fluttering and the world tipping beneath me.
“Where are we going?” I ask, snapping my attention back to study his face, my heart in my throat as Elio confirms and leaves us to our tangled silence.
Rune just nuzzles his nose to mine, then tucks a stray lock of hair behind my ear as the silence swells, making space for that foolish hope. For once, I don’t squash it down. He threads our fingers together, and when he speaks, the words nestle in me, slotting in for a piece I always knew was missing.
“Somewhere we can run.”
ASHORT WHILE LATER
EPILOGUE
RUNE
The sweet sound of Odi’s moans carries through the bedroom. Hearing it sends a fresh wave of pleasure through me like an electric current as I sink into her again. My hands grip her hips, teasing her with slow, sensual thrusts. She’s on all fours, head buried into the sheets, back arched perfectly for my viewing.
I shift my hips, watching my cock slide out, slick with her wetness. “Is this how you like to be touched?”
“Yes,” she says, releasing a sigh.
A grin spreads across my lips, and I grip her harder as I push back in, inch by inch. She moans softly again, arching into me further. I can’t drag my gaze away from the hypnotic way her ass ripples each time I pound into her. It’s a perfect arc, as if sculpted for my hands alone.
The sight consumes me, awantso sharp, ahungerthat can’t be sated.
Warm sunlight pours into the room, washing across the floor, coating Odi’s collection of leaves and shiny things displayed so lovingly on the dresser. It sendsrainbows up the other side of the wall, filling the room with an ethereal glow. We’ve been entangled in each other's embrace for days now. The only time we stop is to hydrate and replenish ourselves. Even then, we end up coming back together, on the table, on the balcony outside, under the stars. Wherever our hearts desire.
I can’t get enough of her.
“Rune—” Odi murmurs.
Her warmth gushes over my length as I pick the pace back up. Her pants become quicker, harder, our bodies slapping together as we find our pleasure. Release builds inside me, coiling tight with every thrust. Her thighs blush red beneath my touch, each sharp collision singing through us in waves that leave me trembling for more.
The bed creaks with a steady cadence, blending with my moans and Odi’s whimpers. She’s close too, I can feel it. I lean down—not slowing the pace—and grip her hair, gently tugging her head back. She gasps, pushing up onto her hands.
“I love the way my name rolls off your tongue,” I whisper against her ear.
Her breath catches. Lips parting slightly as her eyes flutter shut. I pull out, and thrust in again. I do this over and over, like a ritual. A sacred joining together of two souls destined to find each other across the sea.
She gasps.
My cock swells.
We repeat.
The rhythm builds until I can’t hold on any longer. “Say my name when you come. I want it to be the last thing that tumbles from your lips before you scream.”
Her body trembles, legs shaking as I feel her warmth clamp around me. Then she shatters. “Rune Caius Ahren,fuck me!” Her voice splinters through the halls of my mind. Bouncing around like a fallen star looking for a place to call home.
Behind my eyes, the galaxy splits open.
It hits like the sea in a gale, wave after wave, my body seizing, every muscle drawn tight until there’s nothing left but the crash, the flood, the drowning bliss of giving in. “Odelia,” I groan her name, voice breaking, forehead pressing between her shoulders as if I can anchor myself there.
After a moment, I sit back up, easing out of her slowly as I savour every inch.
The world softens, our bodies slick and heaving, the aftermath of our ecstasy lessening. My chest rises and falls, breath shuddering with uneven bursts. I let myself collapse onto the bed, wrapping her close.
