Page 88 of Of the Stars and Sea

“You must know that I have searched the heavens and earth for you and now that you’re here in my arms”—he snakes his other arm around my waist—“I’m . . . afraid.”

My breath hitches on his final word.

Afraid.

But Grayson Tyde isn’t afraid of anything. He is ruthless and cunning. Ready to do what must be done. But never . . .afraid.

“Grayson,” I breathe, and he places his thumb over my bottom lip, running it along the edge.

“Please,” he begs. “Just let me say this and then I promise I will hear whatever you need me to hear.”

I take in a breath and stay silent—allowing him this moment.

“I have never allowed myself to care about anything or anyone beyond the simplest notion of what is right. I have tried to do my part to extinguish the evil in this world and I’ve been far from perfect in my attempts. But even as I gazed upon our victories to see the wicked destroyed, there has been a piece missing. A piece that I have searched for for far too long.”

The flecks of stardust in his eyes glimmers so stunningly I forget that I am not looking at heaven itself.

“Then there you were. The brightest light amongst the darkness. The most beautiful creature I’d ever seen, baring your teeth in the face of grave danger, and I knew you were mine—even if I couldn’t be yours. I said I would be your villain, Little Pearl, because I would rather you hate me and at least feelsomethingfor me than nothing at all.”

There it is. His proclamation laid bare before me with nothing more to hide behind. No mask. No sneering remark to win the game we’ve always played. Nothing but him. In all his dark and broken glory.

Reaching up, I thread my fingers through his ebony locks and pull him down to me. Then I kiss him like he is the answer to every prayer I have whispered to the stars.

A deep vibration rumbles in his chest as he brings me closer, pressing his open palm into the small of my back. His lips are soft against mine and he takes his time exploring, as if we aren’tbeing chased to the ends of the earth. As if there is no one else who exists in this world.

With every brush of his lips against mine, I feel the significance of those long years while he waited for me. The loneliness . . . and the hope that it might all be washed away the moment he saw me at the docks.

Opening for him, he deepens the kiss and the first stroke of his tongue against mine sends a cascade of shivers down my spine, electrifying every inch of my body.

Grayson Tyde is not the villain in my story.

He is myawakening.

A whimper crawls up my throat as he breaks away to look at me. Those oceanic eyes drink me in like I am the storm to replenish their depths.

“Beautiful,” he whispers.

A blush crawls up my neck and into my cheeks.

“Grayson, I?—”

Looking away, I clamp my mouth shut, as too many thoughts whirl through my mind.

That familiar touch lands beneath my chin as he pulls my face back to look at him. “Tell me,” he commands.

I sigh, unsure of the words that are about to leave my lips. “You said there are to be no more half-truths between us.”

He nods once as his eyes search mine for the words I can’t seem to say.

Another moment passes and I finally gain the courage to speak my truth. “There is a part of me that was angered by your omission. You made a vow and then broke it.” He flinches, but I grasp his hand and squeeze it. “But there’s another part of me that feels . . . thankful . . . for your protection.”

Peering down at the floor beneath us, I try my best to gather my thoughts. When I meet his gaze again, I feel the weight on my soul wash away, because there’s no judgment in his eyes. There’snothing but patience and . . . perhaps somethingmorethat I can’t quite put my finger on.

“I am thankful because the belief that my father might have made a mistake made the burden of my own mistakes not feel as insurmountable. I’d always placed my father on a pedestal. He was the light in my life and I loved him so very much.” Tears fill my eyes. “And when I first discovered that he had dealings with Red Beard, I initially thought that my anger for him would last forever. But it didn’t. It made me realize that he was still the person I always thought he was, but he’d made a mistake. And that meant that I could live with all the mistakes I’d made myself, because he wasn’t perfect, either.”

“But now . . .” Grayson strokes my cheek with his thumb. “Now you’re not sure if everything you based yourself and your decision making on was real.”

Those tears creep to the corners of my eyes and my lips tremble as I nod. Splaying his palm over the back of my hair, Grayson brings me to his chest. Curling my hands into the fabric of his tunic, I let the slow, steady beat of his heart ground me as a sob catches in the back of my throat.

---