Page 36 of Between Salt and Serenades
I could only lie to myself for so long, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to pretend to be indifferent towards the amazing creature sitting on the other side of this tub. I had already given in once, and depths knew I would again.
I shook my head and cleared my throat before saying, “No, but I guess now we know what was in that jar.”
Breena made a pile of the suds until there was enough foam for her to pick up. She lifted the mass of bubbles into the air, and it jiggled as she moved it suspiciously close to me.
“What do you think you’re doing?” I asked, holding out a hand to prevent her from getting any closer. Her strength broke right past my defenses with nothing but a small push and agiggle until she was on my lap once more. She moved fast, and the next thing I knew, that pile of foam was on top of my head, spilling down my hair.
“Oh, you’re mine now,” I growled before blowing foam off my face as it began rolling down my forehead. It puffed up into the air, and Breena was distracted by the way it floated above us before beginning to fall back down to the water again. I used the moment of vulnerability to my advantage.
Blue shimmery swirls invisible to Breena began looping around her, pulling her off my lap with their magical tendrils. She glanced around, confused as she began moving her curious hands through the water that had seemingly come to life.
“Wha–”
Breena’s back hit the side of the tub furthest from me. Her arms shot out, splashing water over the sides. The back of her hands slammed into the porcelain, water wrapped around each wrist like a bind. She sat there flustered, straightened curls glued to her wet neck, nothing but the tops of her breasts peeking out of the water.
“You—” Breena jostled against her restraints. Her pure strength was a challenge against my magic, and it flickered and pulsed with each yank. “That magic of yours is going to get you into trouble.”
“And that’s exactly why I use it,” I said, leaning forward until I was on all fours in front of her. The top of my ass poked up through the water, cooling my bare skin. “You look ridiculous in that wet dress.”
“You look…” Breena trailed off as her eyes roamed my face. “Fucking beautiful with your clothes on the floor.”
I moved in until my face was inches from hers. A droplet of water hung from the tip of her nose, and I gently kissed it away. My mind was silent, no worries of being too forward, no worriesabout what it all meant. And then, it hit me like a tail fin to the gut.
“It’s really not fair, is it?” I asked, the pain sitting within me, mixing with something much sweeter. The water should’ve been cooling off by now, so why did it feel so much hotter?
“What isn’t?” Breena sank into her restraints, no longer using her strength to push against them. She simply accepted that I had her, and she was mine for now.
“You. Me,” I breathed. “And the fact that what we have in this moment can never last, never be more than what it is here and now.”
“You never know,” Breena said with a weary grin. “This world has a weird way of ensuring everything happens as it’s meant to. Now, stop worrying about the future and give me what you are so desperate to.”
“Desperate?”
“Mmhm…” Breena hummed, staring down at my mouth while biting her own. Our breaths mixed as I brushed her lips against mine. I wouldn’t tell her just how right she was, but I fully intended on showing her all the ways her mere presence tormented me.
I held my position in front of her with a ghost of a smirk. Breena leaned forward to meet my lips, but she wasn’t going anywhere, not if my magic had anything to say about it. She let out a grunt of frustration, then a plea. Not to be released, but to be touched. Kissed.Loved.
“Kiss me,” she begged against my mouth. Those words were all I needed to cave. I brought my lips to hers in a soft expression of release and downright desire.
I teased my hand up over the bodice of her dress and cupped her. My curious thumb slid over the hardened bead at the center of her breast, pulling a small cry from her lips. Shegasped into my mouth as I repeated the motion, this time, more intentionally.
“Get me out of this thing,” Breena demanded, her eyes mercilessly penetrating me.
“I don’t know,” I teased, moving the hem of her dress up her leg until it was bunched in my hand at the crease of her thigh. Her knees were on either side of me, and she held me there much like my magic held her wrists. “It’s kind of growing on me. Reminds me of the day we met when you wore that scandalously thin white shirt, completely soaked and see through.”
Breena released her bottom lip from between her sharp selkie teeth.
Those teeth.I wanted to feel them against my skin, scraping and carving her claim into me.
“And I insulted your fragile sensibilities,” she said.
“No.” I shook my head with a chuckle. “You broke my fragile concentration.”
I kissed her again, deep and needy, and she returned it, her delicious lips devouring me like I knew she could.I was lost in the way her mouth fit perfectly against mine when her lips hardened and contorted. I pulled back from Breena right as a scream ripped through her, as if she were breaking from the inside out.
I dropped the restraints I had on her faster than I could blink. Breena’s screams prickled across my skin and curdled my very soul. She curled in on herself, unable to breathe. She tried to suck in air, but sobs cut her off before she could pull in a breath.
“What happened?” I asked. “What happened?” I asked again when she didn’t immediately respond. I pulled her into my lap, my arms, and cradled her. In no more than ten seconds, pain shot through every cell that was in contact with her. It searedinto me, blinding me from the horrified look plastered across Breena’s face as she scrambled away from me through the water.
