Page 185 of A Curse On Black Lake
“You have to trust me,” she says.
I chuckle and lift her straight up to claim her lips for a breath.
She hums, dropping her arms over my shoulders. I pull away and toss her into the water. She screeches and splashes.
When she comes back to the surface, she pushes water at me. I laugh, splashing her much harder. She sputters under the water and lifts both of her hands. “I surrender.”
I chuckle swimming over to her. “There are terms to your surrender,” I tell her.
She tilts her head, giving me a sassy look. “Alright, fine, what are they?” she asks.
I crook my finger, gesturing for her to come closer, and she swims over to me. I tap my cheek, asking for a kiss, and she giggles, plopping a chaste one on my wet skin.
“But I can do you one better,” she says, and grabs my shoulders, leaping into my arms.
Surely that’s not what she means.
She bites her lower lip, slipping down my front. Her warmth and the cold of the water shock me.
I groan into her mouth as she kisses me. Every graze and brush of our skin is heightened, more intense. Or maybe it will always be like this with her.
Eliana pulls back a little to look at me and pushes my wet hair back from my face. Her hips swirl against me, and I bury my face in her chest.
“I swear you love teasing me,” I say roughly.
She hums. “I have to admit it’s entertaining. But I also shamelessly admit I’m addicted to you.”
“I’m going to take that as a compliment,” I breathe roughly.
“You should,” she sighs.
“If you don’t intend to finish what you started, little witch, I suggest you stop now.” I tilt back, and she clasps my face. We devour each other. There’s no other way to explain it. If she were my last breath, I’d die a happy man.
She kisses me one more time. “Sorry,” she says, taking a deep breath, opening her eyes slowly.
“Don’t be.”
We gaze into each other’s eyes, and it’s like the world gets even slower, and it’s glacial in Black Lake. I think she’s about to say what I’m dying to hear and then she says, “This is nice.” She sighs and lays back in the water, getting her hair wet, while I’m still supporting her.
“Yes, you are,” I mumble, staring at her neck tilted back.
I spin us around in the water and she smiles, eyes still closed.
“When we’re done, what do you want to do this evening?” I ask her.
She opens her eyes and looks at the water, then suddenly screams so loudly my ears ring, as she pushes out of my arms and swims away.
“What? What? What is it?” I ask her, looking around me, it could be a water moccasin, but usually if you don’t bother them, they won’t bother you.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, reaching for her.
She shakes her head, staring at the water, backing up out of it. Her body shivers violently as she looks at the water with terror in her eyes.
I still don’t know what she’s seeing, but I try to swallow the panic building in my chest.
Following Eliana out of the water, I pick her up, and she locks her ankles at my back, burying her nose in my neck. Her erratic breaths heat my skin, and I hold her tightly.
“It’s okay. You’re safe. I’m here,” I tell her while I look around us. The water is black. Most days you can’t see to the bottom unless the light hits it right.
