“We need to hurry and get this home, put it in the freezer. Guess it’s like any fish, and it’ll start rotting soon.” He jumped down and guided me around to the passenger side, yanking the door open and then gestured at the seat. I pushed myself up into the truck before he closed the door again and went to his side.
We drove in silence, me staring out toward the ocean and the rolling waves. Something unfamiliar twisted inside me, and I thought about my brothers and father and Grandfather. How did they feel about me being gone? I missed them, no matter how much I’d wished to be on land. They loved me.
“We’re here,” Ethan announced, and I glanced through the glass at where he was talking about. It was a little house of some kind, made of wood that reminded me of the boats that had been shipwrecked underwater. While it looked worn down, it also looked… homey with some kind of chair out front on a little patio and a tiny garden at the steps. “It’s not much, but it’s by the ocean, and I spend a majority of my time on the boat anyway.”
I turned to look at him with a frown and then smiled and leaned forward. He froze, and so did I, my stomach twisting in concern. Now that he had a chance with his female, that was it for us? I wouldn’t let it be done. Joey was right. I’d killed for him.
To my relief, though, he captured my mouth in a rough kiss, and I groaned against his lips. He ate at me, and I let him, because it wasn’t just my stomach stirring now, but mycocktoo.
When he pulled back, it was too soon and I groaned. He smiled and winked, and said, “Come on, help me get the tail to the freezer.”
We moved the tail from the back of the truck to what he called a freezer, which was a long whitethingthat he opened the lid of and was so cold it made me shiver. Ice lined the insides. I’d never seen anything like it, and my confusion must have been evident because he laughed.
“If we don’t put it in here, the tail will rot and it’ll smell to high heaven, and I want to keep the proof.”
We settled the tail on the edge, and together we unwrapped the bedsheet before lowering it inside with what looked to be fish.
“There were scientists at the press conference who wanted to take the tail to test it, but I refused to let them,” he said when he’d lowered the lid. He turned to me, eyes blazing in a way that made my skin prickle with goose bumps. “This is my only proof that my father wasn’t crazy. I’m not letting them have it.”
I cocked my head at him and nodded. When he spoke like this, I never understood. His words were garbled and nonsense to me, but he could say anything and I’d believe him.
His gaze narrowed on me, and I wrung my hands together, chewing on my bottom lip.
“Youarepretty,” he whispered, and my cheeks grew hot. When he cupped my face, my eyes slipped closed automatically, and he brushed his mouth against mine again, but this time it wasn’t as hard or as rough, and he pulled away too quickly. “I have an idea. Go inside the cottage, wait in there until I get back.”
My eyes flashed open, but he was already walking to the front door and pushing some kind of key into a lock. I only knew what the key and lock were because I’d found some that were similar, and they were currently in my treasure box. Throwing open the door, he gestured inside.
“Go.” He gave my ass a slap on my way past him, and I watched him get back into the truck. I couldn’t do anything but stare at the back of Ethan’s vehicle as he drove away. Chewing on my lip, I walked inside the house like he’d told me to do and stopped as soon as I passed the door. Inside was as homey as the outside.
There was wood everywhere, even the furniture was made out of it. I wondered if that was a human thing or an Ethan thing. Photos hung on the walls, and as I stepped closer to them, a familiar face stared back out of one. Ethan’s dad, the same man I’d seen drown. He stood there with a smile, his arm wrapped around what looked to be the child version of Ethan. They both had smiles on their faces, and the way they stood so closely together reminded me of Dad and myself. That sick feeling started again and I rubbed my belly. There was no use being homesick now because this place with Ethan was mynewhome.
