Page 74 of A Reckless Indulgence

Mollo toys with the shell around her neck. “You could never convince a siren to obey you…but you could force her.”

Lyx’s brows knit. That’s not right. That won’t get them out of here, but Mollo doesn’t look at her. She keeps her eyes on the captain.

“Free me.” Mollo jerks her chin toward Lyx. “And I’ll hand you her song. She’ll do whatever you demand. She’ll be trapped in your service forever.”

A sickening feeling branches through Lyx. Mollo is not bargaining for their escape; she’s bargaining for hers alone. Lyx lifts onto her knees and tugs at the netting. “She’s lying! That’s not possible! Release —”

But when she tries to use her song, there’s nothing. Any sound she makes is lost to the emptiness. She clamps a hand around her throat and feels the hollowness. Chaos pours into her like sand, filling her body until she can hardly move under the weight of it.

The captain’s eyes reflect the glow from Mollo’s shell. When he looks at Lyx, she swears his hunger could swallow her whole. “Looks like we have a deal.”

THIRTY

Cav

They take their time leaving the pool. Once the sun has set, Cav helps Lyx onto the sand. He sits behind her while she transforms, his chest pressed to her back. Her entire body tenses. If changing in front of him was difficult, he can only imagine what it’s like to have him this close during the transformation. She grits her teeth at the growing pains, but he stays with her, massaging the muscles in her newly-formed legs.

Her knees wobble when she dresses, so he loops an arm around her waist to support her back to the ship. Once they hear the buzz of activity on the docks, she slips out of his grip to walk on her own, but her pace is different. She idles closer than before, the backs of her knuckles brushing his wrist.

By the time they reach the Indulgence, the party is in full swing. It’s easy to slip into the crowd and weave toward the hatchway, but he senses a change in Lyx’s demeanor. She puts space between them. Her shoulders are tight, eyes darting toward everyone else onboard, like they might somehow see how exposed she’s been.

He’d like nothing more than to follow her, but the gravity of what they shared is not lost on him. She looks skittish and raw and desperate for breathing room. He slows his pace and catches her hand until she turns to face him. “I’ll see you tomorrow?” he asks.

Relief washes over her, followed by a mix of emotions that seem to confound her. She retreats below deck, but not before giving him a lingering look that leaves his entire body tingling.

With a dopey smile, he floats across the deck and into the hammock. He can’t be bothered to entertain tonight. The sounds of the ship fade into a hum that matches the honeysweet drizzle of his memories.

He never expected what happened today. At the beginning of this, his time with Lyx felt like a tug of war where he would gain ground just to lose it, but as the days pass, he thinks she’s starting to let him win. When he tugs her closer, she doesn’t pull as far away. When he asks for the truth, she is finally giving it to him. He gave her something real, too.

I’m in love with you.

Remembering it makes him flush, the weight of his words settling into him. He could pretend he said it to play along with her, to give her what she demanded, but that’s a lie. He is in love with her. He doesn’t remember what it’s like not to be. He doesn’t want to remember.

Sirens can’t fall in love, the voice of reason tries to remind him, but that voice has always been weak for him. Now, it can barely get a word out before his other thoughts come rushing in. When Cav confessed, Lyx didn’t run away. She didn’t toy with him. She asked questions. She was curious. When he described it, she looked him in the eyes and fell apart in his arms.

That feels like the furthest thing from impossible.

Cav falls asleep drunk on that hope, dreaming of Lyx’s siren form. He pricks his fingers on her fangs and watches her lick the blood away. He traces the ridge of her finned ears with his tongue. He drifts tangled in her tentacles until someone shakes him awake.

Cav can barely make out Colt rubbing his tired eyes. It’s not quite daylight, but he can see the tops of stone buildings beside the ship. Scowling, Cav tries to roll over back into his dreams, but Colt nudges him again and grumbles, “Restock.”

Cav exhales. Right. That’s what he gets for agreeing to help with early morning cargo. Reluctantly, he hoists himself out of the hammock and winces at the twinge in his shoulder. By the time he walks down the gangplank, Heathen and Cypher are bent over a piece of parchment, checking off inventory. Cav lifts one of the boxes and turns back to the ship, but Heathen picks up a barrel and falls into step beside him.

They move back and forth between the dock and the deck, working in silence. Well, Heathen works in silence, listening to any topic Cav meanders into. While his thoughts feel like a stream attached to his mouth, the act of speaking requires much more effort from Heathen. It’s a comfortable understanding between them.

After countless trips up and down the gangplank, Heathen leans against the ship’s railing to catch her breath. “You haven’t mentioned your experiment lately.”

Cav scrounges up two cups of water and hands one to her. Heathen tilts her mug back, and the two of them stay like that for a minute. “You’re right,” Cav pants. “I haven’t.”

He doesn’t know why he’s nervous, like he’s done something wrong. He knows Heathen will ask what they want to know, yet a flood of thoughts threaten to spill out of him. He forces his lips shut.

Heathen takes another drink. “Is it going well?”

Cav sets his cup aside. It would be easy to give a throwaway answer, but he’s anything but indifferent. There’s something inside him that he’s beginning to understand, pieces of a puzzle he didn’t realize he was putting together. “We have been experimenting,” he assures her. “We’ve tried new things. We’ve explored…desires we’ve never shared with anyone else.” He’s falling into distraction, but he can’t help it. With Lyx, he feels alive again, blazing trails he’s imagined for so long.

“And you’ve been safe?” Heathen continues.

Cav’s mouth twists. “I’ve taken more time preparing. I’ve slowed things down. It’s not perfect, but it’s better.”