Chapter 26
HAZEL
Iheld onto Draya as if he were the last bit of a fraying rope tethering me to this world, and the sounds of the ocean around us soothed the storm brewing within me.
As soon as we entered the Talassian Capital, Draya instructed the rest of the warriors to disperse, as we’d meet the following day to plan our next steps.
He then rushed us towards the wing of the castle that held my chambers, and I could have sworn I felt his claws extending and retracting against my skin.
I wondered if he sensed the same sort of frantic, unraveling desperation as me.
We shifted to our human forms as soon as we hit the dry hallway, and he nearly yanked me the whole way to my room.
He didn’t say a single word, just shut the door behind us and immediately began examining me from head to toe.
Emerald green eyes darted back and forth as he studied my face, tilting my head from side to side.
He then moved to my shoulders and arms, and I couldn’t ignore the soft scratches from his claws sending shivers down my spine.
His ears seemed to transcend between their human and Talassi forms, and his gills refused to disappear.
Greyish patches covered his olive skin, and I wondered what was going through his mind.
The sight was vaguely reminiscent of when I woke on that rock years ago, trying to piece together how I’d survived a shipwreck and been rescued by a man in the middle of the sea.
“Are you well?” I asked, reaching to brush the tips of my fingers along his tense jawline. He bristled at my touch, closing his eyes and inhaling a breath, and his hands tightened their grip on my forearms.
“I’m fine,” he said after a moment. “But Hazel, I need to know you’re not hurt.”
“I’m not,” I said gently, stepping one foot behind me.
“I can’t…” he trailed off, not allowing me to move from his hold.
“I don’t know what’s come over me, but watching your father speak to you like that…
It was infuriating. You deserve so much better, Hazel.
I want so badly for you to wake the monster that I know lives inside you.
I want you to set her free. The world has been cruel to you, and I want to protect you from it.
To make up for the horrors you’ve endured. ”
His words hit me like a steamship at full speed, and my chest tightened as I took in the meaning underneath.
I wanted to lean into him, to let him hold me and run those featherlight claws over every inch of me.
The things he’d said held a weight I wasn’t ready to dissect.
Instead, I desired nothing more than to be touched and ravished by him until I could no longer think or speak.
To be lost in the hard planes of his body as we sought pleasure within one another.
My thoughts were running wild, to inappropriate and sultry places, and I desperately tried to reel them back in while I focused on how to respond.
My feeble attempt at self-control was no use, as he was clearly fraying as well.
He abruptly picked me up, his hands gripping my waist as he brought me to the washroom, pausing for just a moment to bury his head in the crook of my neck.
I let my fingers glide over the back of his neck, savoring the stillness as we composed ourselves.
He set me down on the ledge of the pool before slipping in, allowing himself to shift back into his Talassi form.
Steam rose from the water within seconds, and he stilled directly in front of me, placing his large hands atop my thighs, still covered by my linen trousers.
His mouth opened as if to speak, but no words came out as he leaned his forehead against the inner part of my leg, releasing a ragged breath.
I should have been scared of him, or at the very least maybe a bit more concerned, but I wasn’t.
Watching him unravel gave me a sick sense of satisfaction, as it proved that he did, in fact, care for me.
I was delighted to know it wasn’t all in my head.
He was so close to my most private parts, and the thought sent more shivers racing through my body. I wanted him to explore my body further, so I arched my back in an effort to inch closer to him.
“Careful,” he said, his emerald eyes glassy peering up at me with pained desire.
We were two hopeless creatures, lost and lonely, fighting for a chance to be seen and understood, and I desperately wanted to give in.
I slipped off my linen blouse before lifting my hips to shimmy out of my trousers.
Never in my life had I done anything sexual with a man, and I had no idea what I was doing.
Despite my lack of experience, I felt oddly confident and powerful as his gaze trailed over every inch of me.
His jaw ticked, and his nostrils flared as I bared myself, allowing him to drink me in.
He’d seen my body before, but this felt wildly different, more desperate and untethered.
Desire coursed through me, and I slipped into the water, holding onto his shoulders as his hands wrapped around my hips.
“Hazel,” he breathed, his eyes travelling over the swells of my breasts.
“Thank you for warming the water,” I said, immediately wondering why I chose those words.
He cursed, shaking his head and holding my body away from his. “You’re doing things to me that I don’t understand,” he said, sounding almost angry.
“I think I do, though,” I said, “because you’re doing the same things to me.”
“I just… I want to consume you, but at the same time I want to worship you. I can’t... I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
“Stop fighting it,” I said, pulling his face to mine.
He hesitated for a moment, then pressed his lips to mine. The kiss was frantic, and I wrapped my legs around him as tightly as I could. In truth, I wanted him to consume me, to wreck me, to claim me as his and make me forget all the pain he’d put me through.
His hands roamed my body, claws softly scratching against my skin as he explored every curve and plane.
The sway of his tail beneath us brushed against my most sensitive spot, and I ground my hips against the ridges at the bottom of his torso.
My hands found their way to the gills on his hips, and I stroked the pads of my fingers over their soft openings.
He bucked against me, letting out a groan as his hands grew tighter, and a small smile crept across my face as I realized he likely drew blood.
“Fuck!” He exclaimed, suddenly pulling away. He pushed me backwards towards the edge of the pool, shaking his head as he opened and closed his fists.
Guilt wracked my body, and shame enveloped me as his rejection became evident. What is wrong with me? Of course he didn’t want me in that way.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Hazel, I… I can’t do this. I must go.”
He pushed himself out of the pool and shifted back into his human form, and I tried as hard as I could to force my tears to stay behind my stinging eyes until I heard the door to my chambers shut.
I stayed in the pool for a moment, willing away my tears and counting my shaky breaths.
Crying over Draya was pathetic, and I knew better.
Letting myself get lost in his powerful aura was foolish, and I deserved the heartache it caused me.
My body and heart were heavy, and I didn’t want to face the restless night I knew was waiting for me when I reached my rope bed.
Or, god forbid, the ministrations of Cordelia and her assistants.
My patience was wearing thin, and my will to keep fighting was dwindling.
As much as I tried to convince myself that this new life was better than my fathers estate or Akala Island, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was delusional.
No sane person would find happiness or hope in the things I’d been through.
The water eventually grew so cold I began to shiver, so I forced myself to finish my bath and leave the pool.
By the grace of the spirits of the ocean, my room was quiet and I was left alone.
A meal had been placed on the table beside the door, and I ate half of it before falling wearily into my bed.
Sleep evaded me, as I had assumed it would, but the soft cocoon of the bed and the quilts tightly wrapped around my body gave me some semblance of comfort.
I laid in bed, staring at the ceiling until I drifted into a half-sleep daze.