My hand travels back up her spine to cup her jaw. “Then it shall be called Saelim Island, in memory of your father.”
Her lips part with a wobble. I hold myself back from grabbing one between my teeth and taking her worries away. She searches my face for a lie she won’t find. “Really?”
This time, when I grunt, she lights up.
“I like that.”
Her attention drops to my lips when my lips stretch into a smile. “Yes?”
She smiles back at me. “Yes.”
26
Cindi
Would Dad be absolutely chuffed about having an island named after him?
Shit yes.
He’d make it his opening line to every new person he met. He’d print out a map, circle the island, then make it his phone screen background and have it framed.
Would Dad be absolutely pissed about me being a willing captive on said island?
Eh.
My gut says no. My logic also says no.
Am I still thinking of plans on how to get the fuck out of here? Also, no. In the early days, the best thing I could come up with was holding a gun to Ordus’ head to force him to take me back—which I was doubtful would work.
Yes, I want to go back to the mainland. I miss it. I want a change of scenery for a bit.
But no, I don’t want to spend every waking moment scared the Gallaghers will find me.
AndmarryOrdus to save all krakens and probably slow down global warming in the process? I—I don’t know.
Where does that leave me?
Well, I at least know that leaves me cradled in the arms of a monster who’s killed for me, goes the extra mile for me every day, and has abs hard as rock that contract whenever I wriggle.
So I keep wriggling, keep squeezing my legs around his waist to feel his breath hitch, his hand tightening around my thigh.
And because I’m an awful human being, I play with his hair to watch his eyelids flutter and grow heavy.
I ignore the weight of the future to focus on the sound of his shuddering breaths in the small dome around our heads. I gnaw on my lip, barely paying attention to how the island looks underwater. We returned my surfboard to the shack and ate dinner before Ordus asked whether I wanted the full outdoor tour.
I jumped at the opportunity. I’m telling myself it’s out of pure curiosity, not because I want to spend more time with him, but I know the truth.
It’s addicting to see someone be so responsive to me in a way that doesn’t bring pain. Tommy had a hair-trigger reaction, but it’s nothing like Ordus. This man is like a puppet on my string, and there’s nowhere else he’d rather be.
I’m enraptured by all of it.
If I really think about it, sure, there’s likely an element influenced by the alleged soulmate thing. But it’s still more than that, right? He doesn’t need to bring me chickens, build me a hammock and swing set, or learn how to cook human food.
I just can’t make sense of his distance, though. He went from singing his undying love for me every two seconds to grunting and the occasional sentence here and there. If he really, truly wanted me to marry him and end the Curse, why hasn’t he mentioned it? Not even once?
Why he isn’t trying harder for me to marry him so his people don’t starve to death? My gut tells me he genuinely is giving me the choice, simply happy to have someone else on the island…which doesn’t sit right with me. His people are suffering because of something I could supposedly prevent.
I don’t know what to make of it.
