Page 20 of Secrets & Curses of Fate

Haden stepped forward with an odd look.?

“Gods don’t know how to do everything?” he asked seriously.?

I gave him a pointed look.

“Of course not. We have to learn how to do pretty much everything you do. We are just older when we learn it because we are never children.”?

“Never children?”?

“When we are created, we are formed mentally and physically around the age you are now, between two hundred and fifty and three hundred years old. I was never a child.”?

Haden glanced at the water before looking back at me.?

“So, I can teach you things?”?

“Yes.”?

“Storm, this is exciting.” He smiled as he walked closer to me. “I’m going to teach you so many things.” His eyes seemed to darken for a moment, and my stomach clenched when I realized what he was thinking about. I licked my lips as I tried to get my brain to start working and not think of how good Haden’s skin would feel under my hands.?

“Do you want to touch?”

My gaze snapped up to his eyes, not realizing that I was staring so aggressively at his bare chest.?

“Yes.”?

Surprise flashed in his eyes before he smiled.?

“Then you need to take your clothes off and meet me in the water so I can teach you how to swim.”?

I didn’t realize that the idea of swimming would make me so anxious. What was under the surface of the water?

“It’s alright. I won’t let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?”?

I nodded.?“Yes.”?

“Good. I am going to get in the water, and I’ll keep my back toward you until you tell me to turn.”?

“Alright.”?

Haden kissed my forehead on the way by. I watched him walk out into the water until everything but his head was covered. Slowly, I started undressing. I kept my camisole and underwear on, though, so I wasn’t completely naked. I took a step into the water and sighed at how good it felt on my feet.

“You can turn,” I said with a pounding heart. I was not in the water yet, but I wanted him to see me. Haden turned, and his eyes widened as he stood up, the water rolling off his chest.? Gods, he was a fucking sight. I smiled as I walked toward him. Once I was close enough, he grabbed me, and I wrapped my legs around him as he kissed me.

The feelings I had for him were overwhelming, and I could feel the tears burning in my eyes. Gods, this was stupid. I released my legs from around him and turned away so he wouldn’t see that I was getting emotional. He wouldn’t allow it, though, and paddled around me in the water so that I was once again facing him. ?

“Are you crying?”?he asked suspiciously.

“No,” I lied as glowing tears fell down my cheeks.

He sighed. “You know that your tears are literally impossible to hide. What’s wrong?”?

I stared at him for a moment and felt everything bubbling up again. I tried to shove it back down so I didn’t embarrass myself, but I couldn’t help it.?

“Sometimes, I feel overwhelmed when I see you.”?

He frowned.?

“No, not like that,” I said quickly. “I mean, I do feel overwhelmed, but in a good way. It is like all these feelings start swarming in my chest when I look at you. I am overwhelmed with how much I like you.” I was babbling, and I knew it. I stopped talking, and Haden stared at me with a bemused expression on his face. I panicked. “And we’ve only known each other for a short time. Can you imagine how much more I will love you in a month? A year? Hundreds of years from now? It's going to swallow me whole. It is swallowing me whole already, Haden. I think of you when I wake up in the morning; I spend all day with you, and then I think of you as I fall asleep, and it still feels like I am not with you enough. I did not expect you to be so… perfect for me.”?

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