Chapter 27
Twenty-Seven
Pisces emerged from the lab into the warm island air, the salty breeze caressing her skin. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the strange, dark hue that tinted the horizon, a stark contrast to the vibrant blues and greens of the island. A knot of worry twisted in her gut as she took in the ominous sight, the distant waves churning with an unnatural energy. ”Look,” she whispered, pointing across the water, her voice barely above the whisper of the wind.
Aries fell into step beside her, his presence solid and reassuring. He observed the darkness beyond the water, his brow furrowed in thought. ”Try not to worry too much,” he said, his deep voice gentle yet filled with a quiet strength. ”Aquarius is likely right—this is probably just another one of Dark Gemini”s illusions. She was known for playing those kinds of tricks long ago.”
Pisces tore her gaze from the unsettling skyline to meet his eyes, searching their dark depths for comfort. ”But what if it”s not an illusion?” She chewed her lower lip, anxiety gnawing at her like a relentless tide. ”What if she really did scorch the Earth?” Images of the devastation Aquarius had shown them flashed through her mind—the charred ruins, the billowing smoke obscuring the heavens, the eerie silence where there should have been life.
Aries stepped in front of her, blocking her view of anything but him. His broad shoulders and chiseled features filled her vision, his dark eyes boring into hers with an intensity that stole her breath. They were penetrating, still dominating, but tempered with a newfound softness. ”Even if that”s the case, we”ll find a way to fix it.” His thumb stroked her cheekbone, his touch gentle and electric all at once. ”You will reclaim the power of the Cerulean Tear, Pisces. With that kind of power, anything is possible.”
A flicker of hope ignited within her at his words, warmth blooming in her chest. Perhaps he was right—she had once wielded an immense force, one that could potentially restore life to the scorched planet...if that”s what was needed. Straightening her shoulders, she nodded, letting his unwavering confidence in her abilities bolster her resolve. His faith in her was like a torch, guiding her through the tempestuous sea of her doubts.
”Come,” Aries said, taking her hand in his, his palm rough and warm against hers. He guided her up the beach toward her small cabin nestled among the swaying palms, the sand soft and cool beneath their feet. ”Let”s get you inside and figure out our next move.”
As they approached the little one-room dwelling, Pisces couldn”t help but notice how the island itself seemed untouched by the strange, ominous darkness marring the horizon. Here, everything was as lush and vibrant as ever—the sapphire waves lapping at the golden shore, the verdant foliage dancing in the gentle sea breeze, the calls of tropical birds filling the air with a soothing melody.
A tentative smile tugged at her lips as she followed Aries inside, the rough wooden door creaking on its hinges. The cozy interior provided comfort and familiarity, the light filtering through the gauzy curtains, painting the room in a soft, golden glow. Maybe Aquarius was right after all, and this was merely one of Dark Gemini”s twisted illusions, a smokescreen to hide her true intentions.
Aries marched into the bathroom, his footsteps heavy on the worn floorboards. The sound of metal creaked, followed by the rush of water against tile. When he emerged, she sensed a shift in his demeanor, a guard that hadn”t been there before. ”You”re probably exhausted. Take a shower, and I”ll find you something to wear.”
Her gaze followed him as he walked out the door, his broad back disappearing into the bright sunlight. She couldn”t help but wonder if the gaps in her recent memory might be the cause of his wavering, a rift between them that even the stars couldn”t quite bridge.
The shower was the most celestial thing she could call to memory, the warm water cascading over her skin like a soothing balm. Even though she”d lived through Sag”s mind, she was still finding it difficult to connect the dots between the images she”d seen and her physical body to reconcile the vast expanse of her celestial existence with the confines of her mortal form. Given what she”d been through, she wasn”t surprised at how her limbs ached, her skin felt raw and sensitive, and there were small cuts on her feet that had already begun to heal, the skin knitting itself back together before her eyes.
Wrapping a towel around her as she walked out of the bathroom, the steam billowing in her wake, she saw a tray with a small pot of tea, some fruit, and pastries, and a small vase of vibrant blooms adding a splash of color. ”Aries,” she said with a smile, touched by his thoughtfulness. Then she noticed the folded black T-shirt on the bed, the only item of clean clothing in her possession. She eyed it, lifting it and letting it unfold, the soft fabric whispering against her skin. ”You”ve got to be kidding me?” Aries said he”d get her something to wear. She expected it to be something a little more substantial, a little less...intimate.
With a sigh, she dried her hair, the damp strands curling around her face. She slipped on the oversized T-shirt, the hem brushing her thighs, and settled down to eat. Some time passed as she lay on her bed, her mind racing, sifting and sorting through every image and detail Sag had given her, trying to piece together the fractured mosaic of her memory. By the time she realized Aries wasn”t coming back, the sun had set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink.
After peeking out her door, she walked barefoot along the sand to Aries” cabin, the grains cool and soft between her toes. The sound of the waves and the rustling leaves seemed amplified in the growing darkness, the island coming alive in a symphony of nocturnal sounds.
She didn”t bother to knock, the anticipation thrumming through her veins, urging her forward. She simply pushed on the door, and it swung open, the hinges whispering in the stillness. There was Aries, sitting on the side of the bed, his forearms resting on his thighs and his head hung low, his dark hair falling over his brow. When the door clicked closed behind her, he looked up, his expression one of cool restraint as his eyes raked over her in his shirt, the intensity of his gaze sending a shiver down her spine. The corner of his lip lifted only briefly before his face turned stony again, a mask of control slipping into place.
”Thank you for the food,” she said, stepping further into the room, the floorboards creaking beneath her feet.
”You”re welcome. We forget you”re working by mortal physics now. You need food to survive.” His rough yet soft voice was filled with a tenderness that belied his stoic expression.
Pisces took another step into the room, her gaze fixed on him, scanning the angled lines of his body, the curve of his muscled arms, the way the fading light played across his features. ”We...or you?” she whispered.
He thought for a second, and she saw a flash of sadness cross his face, a flicker of vulnerability that made her heart ache. ”I forget,” he said, looking away, his jaw clenching.
”What”s wrong?” she stopped her advance, feeling the shadow of his despair, the weight of it pressing down on her chest. ”I thought you”d be glad I know who I am now.”
Raking a hand through his dark hair, he nodded, the movement jerky and tense. ”I am.”
”Then why didn”t you come back to my room? Why are you hiding out in here?” The memory suddenly presented itself to her like a Tarot reader flipping the first card, the image vivid and clear. He thought she was intimate with Scorpio. He thought she”d betrayed him. Sag had overheard the conversation, the words seared into his mind. Perhaps he was still harboring resentment, a poison that threatened to taint the bond between them. Pisces took another step closer, wary of approaching too fast, causing his walls to go up, shutting her out once more. ”Is this about Scorpio? What you saw?” she asked, her voice gentle, coaxing.
”No,” he said, his voice gravelly, the sound rumbling through her like distant thunder. ”I don”t know how deep Gemini”s betrayal goes, but I no longer blame you for whatever you did or didn”t do.”
That hint of doubt still lingering in his words cut deep, a jagged blade slicing through her heart, but she held back the emotion edging its way up, the lump forming in her throat. She didn”t have enough of her own mind to argue her innocence; the memories were still too fragmented and elusive, so she let it fall away for now, a battle for another time. ”I saw what we were,” she looked out the window, the stars twinkling in the velvet sky, ”in the stars.”
He didn”t respond, didn”t meet her stare, his gaze fixed on some distant point beyond the glass. Had Gemini”s darkness now gotten to him, too, seeping into the cracks of his armor, the chinks in his resolve? ”Why didn”t you come back?” she took a step closer, her bare feet inching toward him on the wood floor, the distance between them seeming to stretch and yawn. ”Are you angry with me?”
”No,” he rumbled low, the word more felt than heard, a vibration that echoed through her bones.
She took another step, closing the gap between them, the heat of his body palpable even from a distance. ”Do you want me to go?” He didn”t answer as she took another step, bringing her right in front of him, so close she could feel his breath on her skin. Standing there, looking down on his magnificent form, now hunched over with his head down, she sensed something heavier than sadness, a burden that seemed to weigh on his very soul. Was it grief, a mourning for what they had lost, what had been taken from them?
She reached out and touched his hair, letting her lithe fingers run through the black, silken strands, marveling at the softness, the way they slipped through her grasp like water. ”Do you hate me?” the words came out of her mouth in a trembling whisper, a question she feared the answer to more than anything.
His head shot up, his eyes meeting hers with a smoky intensity, a fire that burned through her, setting her aflame from the inside out. ”Never,” he growled, the word fierce and unyielding, a vow spoken in the language of the stars.
Despite the thread of fear that ran through her, she held her ground and continued combing his hair with her fingers, slowly dragging them through until she finally clutched a handful and gently tugged, forcing him to look at her and meet her gaze head-on. ”Then what is it?”
He let out a breath, the sound ragged and heavy, and gently grabbed her hips, his fingers digging into her flesh, sending sparks of electricity racing through her veins. He rested his head on her stomach, his forehead pressed against the soft fabric of the shirt, the heat of his skin seeping through the thin barrier. ”I”ve failed you so immensely...” his words fell hard, each one a stone dropping into the still pond of her soul, rippling outward in endless waves.
Pisces hugged his head to her body, trying to soothe the fiery ram, to quell the storm raging within him. ”You haven”t failed me, Aries. We”re Zodiacs. This is what we do.” The awareness came from somewhere beyond her comprehension, a well of knowledge that ran deeper than memory, deeper than time itself. The words just fell from her mouth, but as they did, she knew they were true, an immutable law written in the very fabric of the universe.
He looked up, keeping his hands possessively on her hips, his thumbs tracing small circles on her skin, igniting a heat that pooled low in her belly. ”I let her fool me. I let her fool us all. And I let her almost take you from me more than once.” The pained look on his face left no room for doubt, a raw, unfiltered glimpse into his soul. He didn’t hate her. He hated himself, a loathing that ran so deep it threatened to consume him. ”Shhh,” Pisces said, pulling him back to her warm, soft body, cradling him against her. His hands began to slowly wander over her lower back and down her legs, tracing the curve of her thighs, the dip of her knee, the arch of her calf.
”I can”t look you in the eye, knowing what I”ve allowed to happen. I can”t look at you and see that failure reflected back at me.”
”Hey,” Pisces grabbed his chin and lifted his face to hers, forcing him to meet her gaze, to see the truth shining in her eyes, ”Mortal or not, I am still born of the stars. We are Zodiacs. We don”t live for yesterday, and we don”t live for tomorrow. We live for right now.”
There was a spark of resilience in his eyes, a glimmer of the warrior she knew him to be, the fighter who never backed down, never surrendered. She leaned in closer, bringing her lips just a breath from his forehead, his scent filling her nostrils, a heady mix of smoke, spice, and something uniquely him. ”You are Aries—warrior of the stars, forged in fire. You are alive, and I”m alive. We”re together right now. What else matters more than that?”
The match she”d struck ignited in him as a low rumble reverberated through the room, through her body, setting her nerves alight with anticipation. His hands wandered, sliding down her calf and back up her thigh, his touch leaving trails of fire in its wake.
But even as desire coursed through him, Aries hesitated, his hands stilling on her hips. He looked up at her, his eyes dark with hunger and trepidation. ”Pisces...last time, I nearly...” He swallowed hard, the words sticking in his throat. ”I nearly destroyed you. My power, my energy...it was too much for your mortal form.”
Pisces cupped his face in her hands, her thumbs brushing over his cheekbones, tracing the line of his jaw. ”You won’t hurt me,” she whispered, her voice soft and soothing, a balm to his battered soul. ”I”m not afraid. I trust you, Aries. With my body, with my heart...with everything I am.”
He closed his eyes, leaning into her touch, a shudder running through his powerful frame. ”I don”t want to hurt you,” he murmured, the words a plea, a prayer.
”You won”t,” she assured him, pressing a gentle kiss to his brow, his skin warm and smooth beneath her lips. ”We”ll take it slow. Just let me lead; let me set the pace.”
Aries nodded, a gesture of surrender, of trust. He loosened his grip on her hips, allowing her to step back, to guide him. Pisces smiled, a soft, tender curve of her lips, and reached for the hem of the shirt, slowly pulling it up and over her head, baring herself to his heated gaze.
He took in every detail of her, his eyes roaming over her curves, the swell of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the flare of her hips. ”You”re so beautiful,” he breathed, his voice rough with desire, with awe. ”Like a goddess, like a dream made flesh.”
Pisces felt a flush spread over her skin, a warmth that had nothing to do with the balmy island air. She reached for his hand, threading her fingers through his, and brought it to her breast, pressing his palm against the soft, pliant flesh. ”Touch me,” she whispered, her voice a siren”s song, a temptation he couldn”t resist.
Aries groaned, low and deep, and began to explore her body with reverent hands, his touch feather-light and achingly gentle. He traced the curve of her breast, the peak of her nipple, the dip of her navel, the jut of her hip bone. Everywhere he touched, her skin sang, alive and electric, every nerve ending firing with pleasure.
Pisces arched into his touch, her head falling back, her hair cascading down her back in a waterfall of gold. She reached for him, tugging at his shirt, desperate to feel his skin against hers. Aries obeyed her silent command, pulling the garment over his head and tossing it aside, revealing the sculpted planes of his chest, the ripple of his abs, the coiled power of his muscles.
She stepped into his embrace, pressing her body flush against his, a gasp escaping her lips at the contact, at the heat of him, the hardness of him. Aries wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, his heart beating a fierce, immortal brand against her own.
”I need you, Aries,” she breathed as she guided his hand between her legs. He steadied her with a firm hand on the small of her back while the other pushed his fingers inside her. The sensation nearly unraveled her, buckling her knees as a wave of pleasure crested through her body. With a primal growl, he seized her, lifting her onto the bed, the sheets cool against her flushed skin.
This was what she wanted from him, his attention solely on her without malice or disdain. She wanted to see the desire in his eyes and feel his energy needing her as much as she needed him.
Her back arched as his fingers worked inside her, stroking and curling, while his other hand slid along her body, mapping every curve and hollow. ”Oh my gods, Aries,” she breathed, her voice a needy whimper. His chest rumbled as he brought his face up to hers, his fingers never ceasing their maddening rhythm.
”Tell me you”re mine,” he rasped. He hovered over her, staring at her with a predatory stare, his eyes dark and intense.
”I”m only yours,” she breathed, arching up to meet him, her skin begging to be scorched by his touch, to be branded by his fire.
”Good.” A wicked smirk crossed his lips, a promise of pleasure and sin, and then he dropped to his knees, yanking her body closer to the edge of the bed. Pisces didn”t have time to catch her breath before he brought his mouth to her apex, his fiery breath mingling with the wetness of his tongue as he slid it over the most sensitive part of her, over and over, a torturous, blissful dance.
”Oh, Aries,” she cried, her lower half nearly off the bed. The only thing between her and falling was the iron grip of his muscled arms, anchoring her to him.
”You”re a fucking goddess,” he murmured between licking, biting, and sucking her apex, his words vibrating against her flesh. Her hands clutched the sheets as he went harder, his tongue delving to her very core as he dug his fingers into the flesh of her hips, holding her in place. ”Prove to me you”re mine,” he mumbled, dragging his teeth across her sensitive bundle of nerves.
”I”m yours,” she cried, the words torn from her throat, a declaration and a plea all at once.
”Prove it,” he repeated, suddenly pulling away and rising up, his arm braced on the bed. A cold space stretched between her and his intoxicating warmth, a void she ached to fill.
”How,” she whispered, feeling vulnerable and exposed under his dark stare, a shiver running through her despite the heat of his gaze.
His breath was heavy, his eyes reflecting a phantom fire, and she suddenly worried that he was toying with her, that this was all some cruel game. ”Aries, I?—”
He silenced her with a thumb to her lips, pressing gently before slipping it into her mouth, a silent command. Then his other hand trailed over her breasts, circling her nipples, across her navel, and back to her apex, where he pushed his fingers between her legs again, sliding into her slick heat with ease. ”Come for me,” he rasped, moving his fingers inside her with deft strokes, hitting the spot that was screaming to be touched while his thumb pressed lightly on her, a maddening pressure that made her see stars.
He seemed fascinated, watching her with wild intensity, his eyes flaring as her muscles tightened and her breath hitched, her body climbing higher and higher under his skilled touch. ”Come for me if you”re mine,” he growled, lowering some of his searing body weight onto her, the heat of him seeping into her skin, into her very bones.
Only whimpers escaped her now, growing louder and more desperate under the weight of his stare and the assault of his fingers until she couldn”t hold it back anymore. Her body contracted around him, dripping wetness as it pulsed over and over, holding him to her like an iron ring, a vise of pleasure. A lock of hair fell over his smoldering eyes as he watched her, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips. Then he lowered his mouth and trailed hot kisses down her neck as she rode his fingers, letting the last waves of his celestial energy work through her, igniting every nerve ending in a cascade of sensation.
When he was done playing her body like a finely tuned instrument, she was utterly spent, boneless, and sated. He edged beside her and drew lazy circles along her skin, tracing abstract patterns that made her shiver. He circled her nipple, drawing wider and wider around her breast, then trailed down to her stomach, laying his calloused hand flat on her sensitive flesh. Every touch made her skin prickle and her body shudder, aftershocks of pleasure rippling through her.
”Do you believe me now?” she asked, her voice a sated purr. ”I”m yours.”
Aries smirked, a glint of mischief in his eyes. ”Maybe.”
She looked down the length of his body, wondering why he’d never removed his pants. He followed her gaze and shook his head, a rueful smile on his lips. ”Sorry, Starfish, that”s an ocean we can”t cross right now. I did almost kill you the last time.”
Pisces nodded, biting her finger at the pang of longing in her chest., wishing she could remember.
Aries growled and nuzzled her neck, his tongue trailing a hot path from her shoulder to her ear, his breath tickling her skin. ”If you want to remember, I can go get Sag, show him what I saw, and then have him show it to you.” A wicked smile lit his face, and she suspected that if she said yes, he”d do it in a heartbeat.
”Absolutely not,” she said, holding back a yawn, the day”s exhaustion finally catching up to her. ”The last thing I want is for Sag to see us like that. I”ve already seen enough of him.”
There was a sudden shift, and a blast of jealousy flashed across Aries” face. His jaw clenched, and his eyes narrowed. Too tired to argue, Pisces patted his muscled shoulder, the skin warm and smooth under her palm. ”Simmer down, Sparky. I”ve got no interest in Sag.”
With a hesitant grunt, he positioned himself higher on the bed and then pulled her up to rest in the crook of his arm, her head pillowed on his chest. After a moment”s pause, he said, ”What did you just call me?”
Pisces subdued a giggle, a grin tugging at her lips. ”Um, Sparky?”
A low, threatening rumble that nearly shook the bed came from his chest, but his eyes still held a glimmer of amusement. ”Don”t ever call me that again.”
Pisces shrugged, snuggling into his warmth, breathing in his scent, a mix of smoke, spice, and something uniquely him. ”You call me Starfish.”
”Yeah, but that”s a good name. Sparky? Come on. Make better choices, Starfish.”
She felt his chest bob with laughter, the sound a deep, comforting vibration. ”Nope. I think I”m set on Sparky.”
He grunted and pulled her closer, his arms tightening around her, a cocoon of warmth and safety. ”We”ll see about that.”
Pisces smiled, a feeling of contentment washing over her. Here, in his arms, the troubles of the world seemed far away, a distant memory. For now, there was only him, only them, two stars in a vast, endless sky, burning bright, fierce, and eternal.