31.Alin #2
“Since when does that bother you?” I ask teasingly, starting to slide one of the thin dress straps down my shoulder provocatively.
He grits his teeth in response and quickly pulls the strap back up with all his self-control.
“No - man - other - than - me - can- see - you - naked! Do I need to repeat that?” he say each word slowly and clearly.
Instead of getting upset again, I understand that his jealousy and possessiveness might feel like a prison to other women, but to me, he is freedom.
I kiss his lips gently and whisper close to his mouth, “Thank you, Luca. I love you.”
“I know,” he replies with a smile, but his thoughts suddenly seem to drift far away.
A slight twinge of disappointment creeps into my chest, but I don’t let myself lose the joy of this moment in this place. I turn back to look at the water, knowing exactly what I need to do now.
“Luca, are you ready for a surprise from me now?” He looks at me with that soft gaze, the one only I can draw from him, trying to understand what I mean.
I grab his shirt and try to pull it up, but he’s too tall, and I get stuck, waiting for him to help me.
“Alin, we have plenty of time together to do this. I didn’t know I was dating a nymphomaniac,” he teases again, holding my chin to make me look at him and planting a quick kiss on my lips while my hands still grip his shirt.
I lightly slap his exposed, muscular chest.
“Trust me,” I teasingly smile at him, and he obeys, starting to undress.
I undress alongside him, and he quickly warns Graham to turn around. I roll my eyes in response.
“You need to stop rolling your eyes at me, or punishments will start coming accordingly,” he growls, but I see the passion in his eyes.
“Now I’m even more tempted to keep doing it. No one messes with a mermaid,” I tease him with a wink and pull his hand, moving together with him until our feet are next to the waves.
“It’s time I show you part of my world,” I declare with a smile, and he doesn’t understand.
“You want me to dive with you? Last I checked, I don’t have a tail or gills.” I laugh at his surprised reaction.
“How do you think sirens take sailors to the ocean floor while they are still alive?” He still looks puzzled.
“You’re asking me as if I grew up on fairy tales. I grew up with a gun in my hand, not books... “ he chuckles, waiting for an explanation.
“Trust me,” I request, running into the waves, diving headfirst into the water. Moments later, my head reemerges above the water, and my tail flicks through the waves.
Luca glances back to make sure Graham has gone into the villa and isn’t watching, then looks back at me with admiration.
He no longer seems afraid; his gaze is now curious, and excitement swells in my chest. I never thought I’d reach this point in my life.
I signal him to move toward me into the water, and he does as I ask.
I take his hand and dive back underwater with him.
He holds his breath with effort and opens his eyes underwater with difficulty.
I keep swimming quickly, pulling him with me deeper for a few more seconds and stop when I feel he can no longer hold his breath.
I lift my hand and create a large bubble of air around his head, separating his face from the water.
“Better now?” I ask, and he releases the breath he had been holding, astonished by what’s happening.
“I can’t believe it, I can talk underwater!
” he looks around. “I feel like a complete rookie for the first time in years,” he smiles at me, amazed.
He’s currently in my world, a place where he is utterly vulnerable, yet he chose to trust me.
I love this exposed side of Luca. I glance back at him, and he now examines my body in the water.
“No matter where we are, sea or land, you shine in every environment you’re in,” he comments, swimming closer to me.
I look at my body, following his gaze, and realize we’re deep enough now for my scales to start glowing. This glow intensifies the deeper I swim, making it easier to navigate in dark places at the bottom. Even with my strong underwater vision, I need the glow to help me navigate better.
I excitedly grab his hand, now he gets to see all the beauty that lies beneath the surface.
We swim forward, going deeper as we pass fish, colorful and glowing, entire schools swimming naturally between us.
Luca’s eyes are captivated by everything happening around us, he is speechless, following everything with his eyes.
The coral reefs around us are full of life and color, and suddenly, a familiar sound reaches my ears—dolphins.
I smile at him excitedly, “Now I get to show you my favorite thing in the sea,” I announce and quickly pull him along by his arm. His body struggles to keep up with my fast swimming, but I spot the dolphins within a few moments and stop.
“I can’t swim as fast as you, slow down,” his voice sounds behind me, and I turn to him with an apologetic look.
In my excitement, I completely forgot he can’t swim like me.
I swim toward the dolphins pod more slowly now, holding onto Luca, matching his pace.
We move among the dolphins, and I let go of Luca’s arm as he starts to swim on his own, stroking them playfully.
“They’re just like little puppies, you can play with them,” I tell him with a smile, bringing him closer and showing him how to approach them. He follows my lead. He’s in my world now. I keep reminding myself, as if I am dreaming.
Maybe one day, my parents will accept him too. The dream pops into my head, and I realize it’s a distant wish I’m not ready to deal with the consequences of just yet.
I look back at Luca, who now looks like a little boy with a radiant smile as he pets the dolphins, and I see his air bubble starting to shrink.
“It’s time to head back to the shore,” I inform him, and he nods, reaching out his hand to me, already understanding that I’ll need to take him back with my fast pace.
I laugh at the thought that our roles are reversed now that we’re in my world. I’m the one who needs to look after him. His arm is wrapped around mine, and I swim quickly back to our little private beach.
I lift my head above water, ensuring Graham isn’t on the shore, and let the sea carry us back to the sand.
Luca follows me out, helping to drag my body to a dry spot where I can transform my tail back into legs.
Once I do, he runs to get my clothes. I put on my top bra and no longer feel the pain in my back; the water has healed my wounds, as expected.
I slip my white dress back on while he sits beside me, already dressed and buttoning his shirt.
“Wow,” his voice suddenly breaks the silence as he leans back, watching the waves crash onto the shore.
I chuckle, “Now you understand where I disappeared to for hours when you were looking for me?” He turns to look at me, the realization dawning on him, and he laughs.
“I can’t replace those experiences, but I plan to be a big part of it from now on,” he declares with his captivating smile meant just for me.
“So, are we moving here?” I ask, glancing back at the villa, the open glass door reminding me that Graham is probably waiting for us in the car by now.
“I can’t move here right now; our place in Manhattan is tactical.
I have to stay there. But we can come here whenever we want.
This place is yours,” he says, picking up the key he gave me earlier, which I had left on my clothes.
He places it back in my hand, and I plant a long kiss on his cheek, resting my head on his shoulder.
“Why age eight?” Luca suddenly asks. What is he talking about?
“What about age eight?” I ask, wrinkling my nose at the strange question.
“Why did your father come for you when you were eight?” he clarifies his question.
My heart beats faster as I realize Luca really listened to me that day when I told them everything. He truly followed everything I said. He didn’t respond or ask many questions that day; he probably just needed to digest all the information.
My smile widens, “I see you were actually listening to me back in the apartment that day, Mr. Spallo.”
“If you keep getting naked in front of my men, I will stop listening to you in favour of thinking of suitable punishments,” he looks at me slyly and smiles back, but I know he’s not joking about that. I immediately plant another kiss, this time on his lips.
“He claimed there was an insurgency. After it took my mother time to recover, my parents had to invest a lot of time quelling a long-lasting rebellion,” I answer his question as my lips part from his, and my gaze returns to the view of the crashing waves, memories of that day surfacing in my mind.
Luca nods and remains silent as if my answer was the missing piece to the twisted puzzle he’s forming about my life in his head. But I’m glad he’s interested now.
“We need to get back; it’s almost 8 PM,” he suddenly says, bursting the small, intimate bubble we created here in this special place. I look at the sky, the darkness setting in, and nod.
“Just give me one moment,” I request excitedly, wanting to capture this special day.
I run quickly to the water, extending my hand forward and creating a small ball of water. Using my power, I shape it into a key and then solidify it. A little trick my mother taught me when I was a child on one of my father’s birthdays when I wanted to give him a special gift.
I hold the small key made from the sea water, smiling to myself. A small, transparent key that was once part of the beach where Luca and I shared my world for the first time.
I run back to Luca and place the small key in his hand.
“This is my memory of us here and my gift to you,” I say, knowing he watched every move I made with a smile. He tucks the key into his pocket and smile to himself when we head back to the car.
Graham sits in his SUV, guarding the villa’s entrance as if it’s hiding gold and diamonds. I still have no idea why Luca brought Graham here. I wonder if there’s still a danger he hasn’t told me about, but I trust that now we will face it together. I won’t let him risk himself alone anymore.