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I braced myself for teeth.
I sucked in a breath to fight.
And that breath exploded with a grunt as Neri popped up beside me, eyelashes sparkling, pretty face dripping, moon-drenched hair plastered to her slender shoulders.
Fuck.
She looked absolutely stunning.
Stunning and hurt and young.
So, so young.
But...also not.
The way she watched me.
The way she held her shoulders back, fully ready to go to war, all while her lips turned downward with pain.
She burned with so many things, barely hidden in her churning stare.
The urge to protect her from all of it roared through me. Every drop of brotherly instinct kicked in, followed by the not-so-permitted rage of a man who didn’t think of this girl as his family.
Not at all.
She was my nemesis and saviour.
My dream and tormentor.
All the lies I told myself of feeling nothing for her went up in fucking flames because I’d never been more aware that she wasn’t Melike. She wasn’t my sister. She wasn’t the second chance at a family after losing mine.
Our eyes locked.
She opened her mouth to speak.
But I couldn’t do it.
I’d either strike her, kiss her, or try to drown her.
I was livid.
Irrationally ropable at her for putting herself in harm’s way.
“Don’t say a single word.” I snatched her wrist and jerked her toward the shore. “I thought you were a damn crocodile.”
She came without protest, wading beside me as the sea gradually grew shallower, allowing us to walk free without croc teeth or shark jaws killing us.
Something splashed between us as we walked the final few steps and sand welcomed us back to the world I preferred. Ripping my hand away from her, I swiped back saltwater dripping from my hair.
I couldn’t catch a proper breath.
I couldn’t see straight. Couldn’t stop the tattered hammering of my heart.
I braced myself for her excuses.
Turning slowly, I prepared to fight with her even though all I wanted to do was make sure she was alright.
What had possessed her to do something so dangerous?
Why had she kissed Joel?
What else had she done at school when she ought to be learning instead of flirting?
In the silver moonlight, Neri bent and plucked something from the lazy waves. Cradling it gently, she straightened and tipped her chin at me. “What’s this?”
I frowned. “No idea. Sea trash. Throw it back.”
“Throw it back?” Shaking her head, she cracked it open and gasped. “It didn’t come from the sea.” Her eyes shot to mine. “I think...I think it fell out of your pocket.”
“What?” Standing my ground, I trembled as she padded toward me and held out the blue velvet box I’d stuffed in my pocket before Rita and Molly had accosted me outside the tent.
Her lips dared raise in a tentative smile. “Is this...is this my birthday present?” Darkness clouded her face as she recoiled. “Wait...did you buy it for someone else?” Glancing past me, she flinched. “Is it for her?”
I groaned and pinched the bridge of my nose. “Kafami sikeyim.”
Her shoulders sagged. “It is, isn’t it? It’s for—”
“You’re going kill me. You saved my life only to make it a living hell.” Marching into her, I grabbed her rolled shoulders and shook her. Hard. “Ignore that. That’s not important. What is important is: what were you thinking? Running through a rainforest in the dead of night? Running into the sea where a million signs warn you about crocodiles and jellyfish?”
“I—” She struggled to get free, but I didn’t let her.
“Your father ordered me to keep you safe. How am I supposed to do that if you go running around letting any monster take a bite?”
“Any monster being...Joel?” She cocked her head, distracting me.
More temper flowed. “He definitely acts as one.”
“Does not. Joel’s nice.”
“Nice? He isn’t nice. He’s thinking with his cock and—”
“At least he’s willing to touch me! Unlike some.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“It means my father told you to enjoy yourself with me, yet I doubt that will ever happen.”
I blanched. So she’d heard the taboo invitation in Jack’s innocent remarks too. “He didn’t mean it like that, and you know it.”
“I know you look at me as if you want to.”
I reared back. “Like hell I do. You’re his daughter. You’re—”
“Right beneath your nose, and you’re too scared to do anything about it.”
“You’re fucking fifteen!”
“And you’re just some boy I plucked from the sea. I think you use my family as an excuse not to do what you want!”
“In case you forgot, I can’t do what I want. Any day, I might be found out and sent back home.”
“No one cares you live with us, Aslan. You’re free to do whatever you want with me. I would let you do whatever you wanted—”
“Fuck, Neri, I never thought you’d be so crude.”
“Well, being subtle hasn’t exactly gotten me very far, has it?”
“For the last time, Nerida—”
“If you say I’m fifteen again, I’m going to knee you in the balls.”
