55. Cin
Cin
“Where is he?” Mama shouts as she wraps her arms around me. Hugging me tight while she cries. It’s rare to see, and my tears fall in time with hers.
I can’t speak, looking over her shoulder to where they’re pulling Talon onto the boat. His unconscious form is alarming, the blood trailing down his hip and leg makes my chest feel like it’s caving in.
“Where is Serge, Muffin?” She uses her thumbs to wipe away my tears, her voice is panicked as if she’s worried he’s coming back.
“I killed him,” my voice doesn’t sound like my own, yet I know it came from my throat from the way it hurts to speak. Tears and angry sobs bubble up my neck. “I killed him, I’m sorry, Mama.”
She pulls me back into her chest and helps me to the boat. Talon is laid out on the bench near the back, and I sit on the floor of the boat near his head. Mama sits down with me, throwing her arms around my shoulders.
“He would have killed you,” she says, hugging my head to her chest. “And he wouldn’t have half the remorse you’re giving him right now.”
I hiccup as the tears flow down my face. She’s right. I know she is, but I don’t want to talk about it right now. All I want is for Talon to be okay.
I want my life back, I want to go out and enjoy life with him by my side. He started out as someone I loathed to run into, now I can’t imagine doing life without him.
If he dies…
No one says anything until the boat arrives somewhere near the shore. Toby, Henry, and Banks are all there waiting by the SUV’s. They rush to help get everyone off the boat and carry Talon to an idling SUV.
Toby allows me room to slide in, and gently I put Talon’s head in my lap. Stroking his golden curls that have started to dry, my eyes are glued to him, making sure his breathing is even.
“What hospital are we going to?” I ask Henry who’s driving.
He looks through the rearview, but I don’t keep eye contact. Not wanting to look away from Talon too long, just in case.
“Gran is waiting at a safe house not too far from here. She will patch him up enough so that we can get him home safe,” Toby says gently, and I nod. He lays his hand on my knee and squeezes. Just once, I know he’s bringing me comfort in the best way he knows how.
The ride takes longer than I’d like. Talon murmurs and groans but doesn’t open his eyes. When we finally arrive, the boys help carry him in and Gran quickly gets to work, stabilizing him so we can get back on the road.
Once we finally get to the mansion, Nile and Diego rush out with a stretcher and take him inside. Mama rushes to me, grabs my hand, and walks with me straight into the house to Talon’s room, where our roles have reversed, except I’m the reason he’s there. Guilt assaults me, and I double over. Lake water pours from my lips as everything starts to settle. Mama rubs my back, calling for Mack to come help.
He brings me a trash bag, which I gratefully use, rejecting all of the lake water I swallowed when Serge held me under the water.
I need a shower, the smell alone is fishy and pungent, but I don’t want to leave him. I can’t leave him.
He’s mine.
After my stomach decides it’s done puking up everything I had in my body, Mama asks if I want to shower. But I can’t. Not until Talon opens his beautiful blue eyes and tells me he’s okay.
Even if it’s a lie.
I snuggle up to him, careful to watch for the tubes that Gran connected to him. His skin is deathly pale. I’m so used to seeing his skin sun-kissed. His eyelids are purple, but I can’t look away.
My own eyelids start to get heavy, and I let my body drift next to his warmth.
Featherlight fingertips trail a path down my face, waking me up. My eyelids flutter open to Talon’s smiling face hovering above me. His eyes are solely focused on me, and I gasp.
“Hi, Spice,” he plants the softest kiss on my lips, and I want to weep in relief.
“Hi, Fish Boy,” I croak, my voice scratchy from throwing my guts up.
His smile is radiant despite the tubes still stuck in his arms, his coloring looks better, almost normal. I push him away, making him shift onto his back.
“Wanna join me for a shower?” He licks his bottom lip, and I smack his chest. But God, I’m happy he seems to be in normal Talon shape. He sits up, and I notice the caps that cover his IV, “Gran came in while you were sleeping.”
He lifts up to press a kiss to my scar, and I run my fingers over the bandage that covers his side and the one just under his collarbone above it. They’re packed with white gauze covered in clear bandages. He’s been ready to take a shower for a while it seems.
“I guess since you do smell like a fish…”
He wraps his arms around my hips and pushes me back on the mattress, “well, I am your Fish Boy.”
I giggle as he peppers my face and neck with kisses, when he lets me go he stands slowly from the bed and offers me his hand.
“Don’t worry, the adults are gone for a while,” he winks.
Rolling my eyes, I take his hand and follow him to the bathroom, where he starts the shower and pulls down towels and washcloths. A swarm of bees takes over my stomach, and I bite my bottom lip.
The way he looks at me, with eyes that appear like the ocean's current, I can see just how much he loves me. It’s strange, being able to read him, knowing how much he cares. I never would have guessed this day would come, yet here we are.
“What?” He tilts his head and scrunches his brows.
“Nothing,” I shake my head and smile. I don’t know if I could ever put into words how our life went from hating each other to this, but I’m thankful it did.
The room is starting to fog as he removes his clothes, smirking at me in challenge. Slowly, I pull off the dress they put me in, it’s dry and starting to crust from the lake water and blood. My body underneath is bare, and he drinks me in like I’m the last drop of water in the desert.
He stalks closer, through the steam, and kneels at my feet. He palms my sides and glides them down, following the curves of my body. I run my fingers through his hair, pushing it off his forehead away from his eyes that I love so much.
His lips carve a path from the bottom swells of my breasts, down my full stomach. He kisses every stretch mark, every dip of cellulite.
“You’re so fucking beautiful,” he says against my skin. He pulls me with him into the shower. It’s tiled in white marble, with a bench seat under a rainfall showerhead. The moment the water hits my skin, I moan in bliss.
It feels fantastic, the warmth flows over us and he captures my lips. “You taste like mine, Talon Rossi,” I say and his whole body trembles with a groan.
“Fuck, Cin,” he says, “I’m yours, just like you’re mine.”
We dress in Talon’s room, and I sneak kisses whenever I can get them before we head to the kitchen. I’m starving, and I know he probably is, too.
The guys must be outside, I don’t hear anything coming from the living room.
Filling two glasses with water, Talon slides one over to me, where I’m perched on one of the stools at the island. I sip slowly, and he drains his while I laugh and watch as he throws some fruit onto the island from the fridge.
Strawberries, cantaloupe, pineapple, and grapes are all precut thanks to Chef.
We eat in silence, shoving the fruit in our mouths. I make a noise that I know sounds filthy, and Talon growls at me.
“Those noises, Cin.”
I smirk and lean in to touch his lips to mine. We finish off the fruit and get settled on the couch. I don’t want to hurt him or pull his stitches, so I choose to sit carefully beside him.
Talon has other plans though, and yanks me in between his legs, situating us so we’re pointed directly at the TV. After scrolling through Netflix for ages I finally see something that has been on my watchlist for ages.
“That one!” I shout, and he stifles a laugh.
“Of course, you pick a chick flick,” and then grumbles something about being full of shit, and I twist in his arms to give him my best ‘try me’ look.
“Watch your movie, woman,” he laughs.