Page 21 of Cerban
She drew in a sharp breath but didn’t pull back. Her gaze dropped to my mouth, lingered there, then flicked up again.
The world narrowed to this – her lips, parted slightly, the faint tremor of her breath, the pounding of her heart so loud I could almost hear it.
I bent lower, close enough that the heat of her breath mingled with mine. Her eyes fluttered shut–
“Careful, brother,” Rainse’s voice drawled from the doorway.
Maelis jerked back, cheeks flushing crimson. My hand dropped to my side, my claws flexing in frustration.
Rainse pointed at the trolley. "Some human staff is on the way here, they want to clean the room. Maelis, you better get back."
She nodded quickly, though her wide eyes flicked to mine before she moved. I caught the tremor in her hands as she tugged the blanket pile aside and climbed back into the trolley.
I wanted to stop her. To pull her back, finish what had been interrupted. To hear the sound of her saying my name when our mouths finally met.
But Rainse was right. If anyone else saw her here, it wouldn’t just be trouble, it would be disaster.
She settled into the hollow, pulling a corner of blanket over her face. Only her eyes showed, glinting in the dim light. “Don’t… don’t forget what we talked about,” she whispered.
My heart slammed once, twice. “I won’t.”
Rainse snapped the trolley’s cover into place and shoved it toward the door. “I’ll get her back without anyone noticing. Try not to do anything stupid while I’m gone, brother.”
“Too late for that,” I muttered.
Maelis’s gaze met mine one last time before the blankets hid her from sight. Then Rainse wheeled her out, whistling as though he really was only carting laundry.
The door closed, and I stood in the silence, claws flexing uselessly, breath still uneven. The ghost of her warmth lingered on my fingers, her scent in my lungs, the almost-kiss hanging between us like the pull of a current too strong to fight.
No matter what Pam or Paul decreed, no matter the threat of chains and exile. I would not let them keep her from me.
13
Maelis
It was good to be back in my own apartment. Tyrone had scheduled a follow-up appointment for tomorrow, but for now, I was free to do whatever I pleased. Paul had explicitly forbidden me from working for the rest of the week. Enjoy the island, he’d said. But what I really wanted was to dive below the island once again.
The thought made my stomach twist. Every time I closed my eyes, I could still feel the crush of the cave walls, the rasp of stone against my tank, the hiss of dwindling air. Panic crept in like cold water seeping through a crack.
And yet, stronger than fear, was curiosity. Those bubbles. The rhythm. The pattern that refused to leave me alone. I’d seen plenty of strange things under the sea – schools of fish forming spirals, coral shifting with the current, even volcanic vents releasing bursts of steam – but nothing that precise.
I stretched out on the bed, staring at the ceiling fan as it lazily turned. The room smelled of salt and sun-baked wood. My wetsuit and fins leaned against the wall where I’d dropped them in a heap. For the first time in days, the space felt… mine. Safe.
But it was an illusion. Because somewhere across the resort, Cerban was locked away, punished for saving me. The memory of his hand brushing my cheek, the heat of his breath against mine – too close, too dangerous – burned fresh across my skin.
I pressed my palms to my face and groaned. What was I doing? He was an alien warrior. A guest, not a staff member. Someone I wasn’t supposed to look at for more than a few seconds, let alone…
Yet I couldn’t stop thinking about him. About the way his eyes had looked in the dimness, fierce and unyielding, but soft when they rested on me. About how my body had leaned toward his as if pulled by the tide itself.
I rolled onto my side, glaring at the crumpled camera housing on the nightstand. “Damn bubbles,” I muttered.
Because the mystery of the cave was the only excuse I had left. If I could focus on that, if I could convince myself this pull toward Cerban was about science, discovery, purpose – then maybe I could ignore the truth humming in my chest whenever I thought of him.
Maybe.
I pushed myself upright, restless energy prickling through me. I’d promised Tyrone and Paul I’d rest, but lying here only made me more aware of what I wasn’t doing. The cave was out there, waiting. The bubbles were out there.
And I wasn’t the type to sit around and wait for answers to fall into my lap.
