Page 56 of Sworn to My Heart
Maybe drinking now isn’t such a bad idea. I sigh and sink backinto my thoughts.
“Drinking at this hour?” a tired voice asks behind us, and we all turn to look toward the staircase on the first floor.
“Just wrapping up some last things, did we wake you?” Mariano answers his wife, who is now standing in front of us in a loose t-shirt, rubbing her eyes tiredly and yawning.
She walks over to us and sits on Mariano’s lap. He welcomes her, enveloping her in his embrace, as she closes her eyes.
“No, I woke up and saw you were gone from the bed ... I was scared you went on another mission,” she replies sleepily, and he kisses her forehead and strokes her hair.
At least something made them stop with their tiring questions. Thank you, dear sister-in-law.
“Thank you for not punishing Alin for running off to you, Luca. I don’t know what happened there, but I’m glad you all came back safely,” she says, opening her eyes slightly and smiling at me, relief evident in her voice.
“She tried to help us and didn’t hinder our goal, so we have no reason to punish her,” I lie to her. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t kill her. How do you even kill a mermaid? What are her weaknesses? So many things I still don’t know.
A heavy sigh escapes me, and Mariano responds by lifting the half-asleep Cora in his arms and standing up. “We all need to rest,” he comments before disappearing with her up the stairs.
“No more questions tonight!” I wave my hand dismissively as I see Pedro about to open his mouth again. He takes another sip of his drink in clear reluctance.
I chuckle at the sulking child image he’s trying to portray. Pedro will always be Pedro, no matter what we go through or how old we get. I’m always so tough on him because it’s the only way to keep him from being eaten alive in the mafia, but no matter what, he always remains so energetic and full of humor.
I clink my glass against his in a gesture of reconciliation, and he raises it in acknowledgment, downing the entire contents in one gulp.
Just for today, I’d let Pedro be Pedro.
Tomorrow, the monster will return. It’s the only way I know to keep us safe, and it’s the only way I can function as the capo of New York.
I need to be cautious with Alin too. I can’t lose my head over a woman like Mariano has. I can’t afford to feel insecure about her life and true identity. I’ll give her what she needs, but nothing more. I can’t offer her a fairytale romance, whether it’s The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, or Sleeping Beauty.
Alin
I wake up in the morning, blinded by the bright sunlight streaming through my window. The curtain in my room is wide open. I blink several times, covering my face with my hands, and reach for the other side of the bed, recalling everything that happened yesterday and last night with Luca. A pang of disappointment hits me when I realize he isn’t in bed with me.
I stretch as I walk to the bathroom, butterflies fluttering in my chest as I remember his warm breath close to my lips. The cold water I splash on my face snaps me out of my thoughts as my tail appears again, replacing my legs as I sit on the bathroom floor. I run my hand over it calmly, relieved that I no longer need to hide it.
A sense of ease washes over me as I quickly return my legs and head downstairs to look for Luca. However, I’m disappointed to find the apartment empty, not even the cleaner is here.
I pick up my phone, searching for a message from Luca, but find none. The sunlight illuminates the entire apartment, streaming through the luxurious glass walls, and my eyes turn to the now-visible pool on the terrace. With no one around, it seems like the perfect day to soak up some sun and maybe even take a swim. Now that Luca knows my secret, I can fully enjoy the terrace.
I head back to my room, rummaging through a small drawer in the closet among my swimsuits, and pull out a tiny black bikini. I put it on in front of the mirror, surprised again at how little it covers my breasts, with the high-cut Brazilian bottoms fitting snugly between my cheeks. My perfectly round, peachy ass makes the bottoms look like a thong. If I wait for Luca like this on the terrace, will he like it? Maybe I’ll surprise him, I think, smiling mischievously to myself.
Satisfied with the sizzling figure I see in the mirror, I give myself another boost of confidence. I know that besides Luca and his brothers, no one enters the apartment without prior notice. I grab a towel and the tanning oil Cora left here last time and head to the pool with a light skip, wearing only the bikini on my body.
I spread the towel on the lounge chair just like Cora always does and slather myself with the addictive coconut-scented oil, savoring the morning sun’s rays on my skin. I unhook my bikini top, lie on my stomach, and close my eyes, letting my thoughts drift back to the ocean. I remember the first time my aunt Avi-El took me to the famous rocky ridge where the Hunters’ pod used to capture sailors and once sank entire ships. I would lie on the rocks, soaking up the warm sun and listening to her stories. “The Betrayers’ Pod,” she would call them...
“Alin!” A loud roar jolts me out of my thoughts. I jump up and see Luca with six other men standing at the edge of the pool, staring at me. The vein in Luca’s forehead looks like it’s about to burst, and I follow his gaze to understand what he’s looking at, realizing my bare chest is exposed.
All the men beside him are looking at me with sly grins, and I quickly pull the towel over myself to cover up. “Anyone who dares look at her, will get his dick cut off right here and now!” Luca shouts into the air, and I can almost see steam coming outof his ears.
The men immediately turn their heads in fear, and Luca strides toward me quickly, each step feeling like it’s about to break the floor.
I hug the towel around me, an apologetic look on my face. But then I shake off those thoughts. Why should I feel sorry? This is his fault; he told me to feel at home. Does he think I’m a toy that should always stand at attention?
I stand tall, dropping the towel before he reaches me, and slowly tie my bikini top back on, ignoring his presence. Deciding to be brave today and annoy him further, I calmly adjust my breasts in the bikini cups as if no one else is around.
Luca stops in front of me, his body almost pressed against mine, looking down at me and breathing heavily. “For the millionth time, your body is mine! No one else gets to see it. The lives of those people will be on your conscience if they do.” He declares ownership again, his eyes nearly bulging out. He reaches out and grabs my breasts roughly, pulling the bikini top tight. I gasp at the sharp pain, but as he moves closer to my lips, his scent filling my nostrils again, my body responds positively to him once more.
Alin, control yourself!my mind struggling to find the right response.
