Page 21 of Seducing Scylla
She cocks her eyebrow at me over her shoulder. “I am your mate.”
I groan and shake my head, rolling my eyes. “Go on.”
20
Morgan
Ifollow Scylla into her cave. It’s dark; the fire pit doused before we left earlier. Scylla moves around her home, checking nooks and crannies, but the place is empty.
“No one’s here,” I say, my voice returning to its normal volume.
Scylla hums, turning to the fire pit and lighting it. Warmth and light floods her home. I didn’t get to take a proper look at my surroundings before, but now that I am not disorientated, I can truly appreciate how homey this cave is.
The fire illuminates the singular cavern. It’s tall enough for Scylla to stand at her full height, which must be a dizzying seven feet, and wide enough to encompass a sleeping space, what I assume is a prep area for cooking—a stone slab placed near the fire with some sharpened rock blades that look as if they act as knives—and a deep pool along one side that acts as a direct entrance to the sea for Scylla.
A pool currently occupied by two of her pet sharks. They circle the water, almost as if they’re agitated. Not like the lazy swimming they did when I first laid frightened eyes on them. I am not as frightened now, but I still won’t be getting in there any time soon.
“Scylla, are they okay?” I get her attention, pointing to shark one and shark two.
She turns to her pets, cocking her head before moving to the pool. Tentacle by tentacle she slips over the edge and into the water so silently and with barely a ripple, and then she’s completely submerged for all of two minutes before her head pops back up from beneath the water.
“They say someone was here. But they are gone now.”
“You can speak to the sharks?”
“Yes?”
“O-kay. Did they say who? Was it one of the women?”
“That is the problem.”
“What do you mean?”
“They did say it was a human.”
“That’s good news.” I clap my hands together, but Scylla shakes her head.
“A human male.”
Scylla’s head bobs above the pool, water dripping from her hair and down her face, the warm light of the fire reflecting on her glistening skin.
“What does this mean?”
I gnaw at my lip, fingers anxiously untangling the strands of my hair as I pace back and forth.
“There were no men in the container, I’m sure of it. There were definitely no men when I checked the containers on the beach. But there are other containers out there. Maybe the other containers have people in them too.”
I pull at my hair, stopping to stare at Scylla, eyes wide.
“I will check them.” Scylla disappears again.
“Wait!” I call to her, unsure if she can hear me under the water. Unsure how fast she is and if she has already gone.
Her head appears again, eyes questioning. It may have only been a short time that I’ve been on this island, and an even shorter time knowing Scylla, but fear courses through me at her putting herself in a potentially dangerous situation. She’s kept me safe and now I want to do the same for her, but how can I when I’m just a human?I think of the next best thing. I rush to the edge of the pool, hard stone crunching beneath my knees as I drop down and reach for her. She leans toward me, allowing me to place a hand on each side of her slick, silky skin. I search her inky eyes, the dancing fire behind me reflected in their depths. I’m silently asking for permission, considering if I’ll be pushed away, rejected. She stares at me as if I am her entire world and, in this moment, I feel truly seen. Our mouths meet, the kiss is chaste and over much too soon. The fire between us ignites briefly in a spark of lust before I pull away.
I rest my forehead against hers. “Please be careful,” I whisper.
Fingers come up to touch her lips, shock and wonder in her eyes. Without saying anything, she nods and sinks beneath the surface once more. I sit back on my bum, arms wrapped around my knees, and try to process what I just did. I kissed her. I kissed Scylla. And I don’t regret it.
