Page 51 of Sworn to My Heart
“I’ll have to explain everything to Pedro and Mariano too. Let’s go back to the apartment, and I’ll tell you everything.” Luca nods in agreement, and we walk hand in hand back to the car.
As we leave the gravel path, I hear a car approaching. I look ahead and see Mariano in the driver’s seat and Pedro next to him. They roll down the window and shout at us, “Done? Our princess is hungry,” pointing to Violeta and laughing.
I smile broadly at them, pull Luca’s hand, and we run to the car.
I’m staying.
Luca
In my wildest imagination, I never could have guessed that this would be her secret. Now everything makes sense—what happened with the Russians, how she managed to injure them, and why Stas was so curious about her. I don’t know if I’m just too exhausted from all the events of today, or if I’ve already died and I’m in the afterlife, but an inexplicable calm washes over me. I don’t know or understand the world she comes from, but at least I know she isn’t the danger I thought she was.
I glance at her; she’s sitting next to me, laughing with Violeta in the back seat. I look again at the side of her face where there had been a few scales when she transformed and let my gaze fall to her neck, where gills had appeared. I still can’t digest the fact that the girl sitting in front of me is a mermaid. Not a fairy tale, not alcohol or drugs—an actual, living, breathing mermaid is next to me in the car, and she’s the woman I’ve claimed as mine. I really am a magnet for trouble.
Mariano and Pedro sit quietly in the front, seemingly waiting for someone to break the silence and start giving them answers. I have no idea how I am going to begin explaining this to them, and I don’t even know how I’m supposed to move forward with this information. The girl in front of me is the Alin I know, and that’s what I need to remember to keep my sanity right now.
Suddenly, I feel a hand holding mine, pulling me out of my thoughts. Apparently, I’m not hiding the storm going on in my head very well, and Alin is trying to comfort me, to reassure me that everything is okay. Her jewel-like eyes meet mine, and only now do I understand why they’re so special—they truly aren’t of this world. But I can’t help but drown in them, as if she has put a spell on me. Maybe she really has bewitched me. Maybe that’s why she’s stuck in my head all day long. I laugh to myself, but then a wave of anxiety washes over me, and I lean in close to her ear.
“You didn’t bewitch me to be stuck in my head like this, did you?” I ask, my whisper coming out more worried than I intended. Her sudden burst of laughter breaks the silence that had filled the car, and Pedro and Mariano turns to look at her as well. Great, now she’s laughing at me too. I’ve never felt so small facing a new world that’s just been revealed to me. I don’t like this feeling of uncertainty.
“Eyes back on the road, Mariano,” I bark the order, and he immediately complies. He seems lost in his own thoughts, unable to come up with one of his usual sarcastic responses. Pedro looks over at me, clearly about to ask what’s on his mind, but I stop him with a wave of my hand, and he reluctantly goes back to staring at his phone.
“Don’t worry, I don’t have those kinds of powers yet,” she whispers back, still giggling to herself. I relax at her reassurance, but before I can respond, she adds, “But you never know,” and winks at me. I really am going to lose my mind with this girl.
“We’re here,” Mariano suddenly announces after a long drive during which he hadn’t said a word. Before they have a chance to ask anything, the back door of the car opens on Violeta’s side, and Anita, the bartender from Q’s strip club, pokes her head inside, introducing herself to Violeta and helping her out of thecar.
It seems Violeta doesn’t understand a word of English, but Alin translates Anita’s words into Russian and smiles reassuringly at Violeta, who turns to us with a worried look.
“Where are you taking her?” Alin asks once the door closes and it’s just the four of us in the car, with Mariano now driving us back to our building.
“She’ll be fine,” I respond dismissively, avoiding her eyes and not giving her more information to prevent her from jumping out of the car and causing unnecessary drama. I’ll wait for an update from Anita first, so I know where she’s placed Violeta before Alin spits fire at me in anger.
Alin nods but clearly isn’t satisfied with my answer. I can read her expressions too well now; she’ll cope. She has no other choice—the girl can’t go anywhere else. The rest of the ride is silent, with Alin staring out the window, avoiding looking at me. She’s causing drama even without opening her mouth. Great.
I reach out, placing my hand under her chin, and turn her face to look at mine. Her eyes meet mine with curiosity. I quickly kiss her lips, and she smiles mischievously as I wince at the taste of dried sea salt that has seeped into my mouth. “Now I disgust you too, Mr. Luca?” she says with mock protest, raising an eyebrow with a sly glance.
There she is, back to herself. I smile in relief and pull her close. “Even with all this saltiness, you’re still delicious to me. Deal with it,” I whisper close to her mouth and gently bite her lips.
“After this crazy day, you expect me to deal with your sappiness too? I’m heading upstairs,” Pedro suddenly announces with a sigh, opening the car door right after Mariano parks in our building parking lot, not even waiting for the engine to be turned off.
I ignore his words and step out from the back of the car afterMariano shuts off the engine and follow Pedro without a word. I extend my hand to Alin, helping her down from the high seat. She wraps her arms around my neck and locks her legs around my waist in response.
“Are you teasing me now, Ms. Alin? That could be dangerous,” I warn in a whisper, our faces close feeling her breath on my nose. I close the car door behind us, carrying her toward the elevator.
“I saved your life, took the girl from the Russians, and destroyed their entire shipment, and you think you can threaten me?” she teases close to my mouth, and I can’t hold back anymore. I grip her ass firmly, and she squeals with laughter. No matter what she is, Alin is Alin, and she drives every part of me crazy. I lean in toward her lips, but she presses her finger against them, stopping me from making the next move.
“I know I might be tasty even when I’m salty,” she smiles expectantly, “but let me shower first, and then we’ll deal with Mariano and Pedro. I don’t want them to be afraid of me, and it’s time to give you all some explanations.” She declares, I’m reminded of her sitting on the edge of the dock, her tail out of the water.Explanations are a good idea. I definitely need explanations.
She kisses my cheek teasingly as the elevator opens and jumps down to the floor, releasing her hold on me. We walk into the apartment together, and she immediately runs upstairs to the shower while I head to my office where Pedro and Mariano are already waiting.
“I could barely hold it in the car, you’ve get to tell me what the hell that was. Did you know about this? Who is she? Or more accurately, what is she?” Pedro immediately bombards me with questions. Just as I expected.
“You’ll get all your answers when she comes downstairs. It’s better you hear it from her because you wouldn’t believe meeven if I told you.” For the first time, I don’t shut down Pedro’s barrage of questions and answer them honestly. She really is making me too soft.
“She threw Stas into the air like he was a feather. Did you all see that or did I hallucinate the whole thing? I can’t believe it happened,” Pedro continues, and I shoot him a reproachful look this time. “Pedro, you’ll get all your answers when Alin finishes her shower, calm down,” I say, and Mariano places a hand on his shoulder, sitting him down in the chair next to him without saying a word.
I try to figure out what’s going through Mariano’s mind right now. He may not be spouting nonsense like Pedro, but he hasn’t said anything, not even a sarcastic comment.
It seems he understands what I’m thinking, as if he’s reading my mind.
