Page 103 of Golden Burn

“We should go.”

He starts to do pushups. “You mentioned that.”

“And you didn’t respond.”

He sighs and sits back on his knees, his chest glistening. “It’s our last night. Didn’t you want to spend it here?”

“I do, I really do. It’s just… I thought it would be nice to go on a date. A real date. Before we have to head back to reality.”

“I know what you mean,” he responds, wipes his face with a towel and sits beside me on the daybed. “But there’s a chance it could be—”

“Dangerous,” I interrupt. “You’re right.”

“I don’t want to upset you, Etta,” he says softly and my heart melts. “But your safety, your life, is mine to protect. And I don’t want to fail.”

“I know.” I take his hand and kiss his palm, then sit up in my seat to kiss him on the lips, too. He holds me against him, savoring the connection. He’s warm and salty andmine. As much as a real date would be wonderful, I don’t want to push him. Putting myself, and him, in harm’s way is the last thing I want to do.

“I’m starving. Did you want something?” I mumble against his lips.

“Just you.”

“You just had me,” I chuckle. My vagina is still sore from the pounding he gave me only an hour ago right here on the day beds.

“I will always be hungry for you.”

I kiss him, slow and sweet. “Ditto. But right now, I need chocolate.”

Odin chuckles.

I saunter off, my body so at peace, so deliciously happy that it’s like I’m living an alternate reality.

Inside, I scoff my face with a delicious mint chocolate bar. There are some sweets from last night left over, so I put them on a plate and turn on the coffee machine. Odin sneaks in at some point and grabs my hips,hugging me from behind. A small yelp pops out of my mouth, then it turns into a satisfied hum when his damp, hard chest presses to my spine.

“We can go.”

I turn my cheek. “Really?”

“Cerbera hasn’t contacted us once. My sources tell me he’s heeded my warning and decided to leave us alone, at least for now. I think a public show should be safe enough. There’s going to be too many people, too many eyes for him to bribe.”

“Are you sure?”

“As long as you stay by my side and never leave me. We should be okay.”

He presses his lips to my hot skin, and my stomach explodes into tiny butterflies. “I guess I’m going to have to get ready.”

“Do your makeup like you did on the plane to Africa. I want to watch it run down your face when we fuck later tonight.”

I can’t help biting my lip in delight. “Yes, sir.

The ferry to Delos is choppy. Sitting inside is making the nausea worse, so I vacate my seat in the cabin and head out the doors and onto the deck of the boat.

Odin is behind me instantly, caging my back as I cling to the white painted railing flaking away from rust. “I don’t normally get seasick,” I say as the wind whips my hair across my face so hard it actually stings.

My husband’s hands bracket mine on the railing, his frame a comforting blanket. “Just watch the horizon. We’ll be there soon.” I do as he says and keep my eyes glued on the strip of blue. The sea is a dark, scary color, with waves large enough to make the ferry tilt. I cringe with every spray ofwater that reaches my cheeks. Although not necessarily peak tourism in Greece, the boat is full of people. I’ve never been claustrophobic before, but I am now. My skin is hot, and my eyes are itchy. When my feet stumble from the sudden swell of the sea, I want to curl into a ball.

Odin does his best to soothe me, stroking my back and kissing my temples. He even rattles off facts about dinosaurs to distract me.

“The Stegosaurus was extinct for sixty-six million years before the Tyrannosaurus Rex walked the earth. It was also the dumbest animal with a brain the size of a walnut. The dinosaur with the longest name is Micropachycephalosaurus, which means ‘tiny thick-headed lizard’. Sometimes dinosaurs swallowed rocks to help them grind up their food. The Triceratops is my favorite because they lived together in herds. I like the idea of having a big family.”

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