“Tell me if I hurt you,” he growls through clenched jaws. I allow him to gingerly wrap my legs around his waist, but the motion hurts too much to remain there as he enters me. Instead, my heels drift upward to rest by his ears, with my rear cushioning his claim. With ourselves situated, he can lose himself in our reunion, and I can return to burning his every detail in my mind.
Avast ye! I love how his fingers rub my clit in fast circles, making sure I peak first. His thrusts intensify as my walls clench down on his cock. He claws the sand around me until he’s wrapped his arms around us. Blood drips from my wounds like an offering to the island. Pain mixes with pleasure until I’m swept away by my orgasm. My thighs threaten to strangle him as he roars his release against my neck. The party cheers back at us, informing us of the show we just performed, but I don’t care. Who needs modesty when you can have this?
I come down from my high to find my collarbone wet from his tears.
“I thought I lost you. I thought I lost you,” he sobs as his trauma reaches his heart. “You reached for me from the helm. I couldn’t catch you.”
“Shush, shush,” I say, holding him tighter. “The wreck was bigger than both of us. I didn’t blame you.”
“I felt like I failed you, Betts. I felt like you finally asked me to save you, and I failed to follow through.”
“There’s no way you could have found me—”
“I went back to the boat. I went to the helm. You weren’t there. I went through the kitchen and the Captain’s Quarters. You weren’t there. I looked for you. I swear, Betts, I would have looked for you forever.”
“And I was right here, waiting for you,” I reply with tears clogging my throat. “I would have waited forever, too. Without the soulbond, we wouldn’t—”
It’s his turn to shush me with his fingers over my lips.
“No, no. We found each other, Betts. Don’t you see, we did? Soulbeak exchange or not, we’re soulmates who will find each other across any continent and any ocean. You could launch yourself to the moon, and the stars would show me where you are.”
“You think so?”
Our eyes meet as he pulls back to rest on his elbows. His thrusts slow to gentle rocking. “You told me once you didn’t need to reverse the spell because you are whole on your own. I knew you were lying then, but I didn’t understand how. I thought maybe you wanted Chevelle to reverse the spell, so I could fill your belly with kids, but your stories of the orphanage proved you had other plans. Now I know, Bettina, you’re a liar.”
“I am whole on my own—injured, but in one piece.”
“You weren’t whole on your own, meaning in your skin. You were whole because you were in the same room as me. Weare two halves to one soul. I love you, Bettina. You are whole when you’re with me.”
“I love you, too.”
“Then you won’t mind if we stay here.”
“But we have no shelter, no money, no land,” I protest as he withdraws.
“I won’t be separated from you again.”
“We were on the same shipwreck. Becoming landlubbers doesn’t guarantee that a hurricane or fire won’t befall us here.”
“You don’t understand. Being with you doesn’t mean tying our ankles together or tethering our souls with a magical soulbond. I want to build something real with you…here. I want a house bursting with children who need parents. Us. They need us as much as we need them…to complete our family,” he pleads against my dairy. “Build a normal life with me here instead of chasing a pirate’s legend. I have no skills or house to offer you, but I’m asking anyway.”
“You found your way on a pirate ship, how will living on the island be any different?” I can’t believe I’m about to agree to this. Maybe it’s the post-love-making high, but I want to be his more than anything. I’ll give up the sweet trade to be his wife.
“Exactly,” he replies, kissing my nose. “I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you.”
“Even live in a hovel because we’re both rubbish at building things? It will be the opposite of the dusty wealth you had in Boston.”
“It will be the opposite…because our home will be full of love and laughter. I promise I will make you the happiest woman on earth.”
“You already have,” I say, pulling him into a tender kiss.
23 - Epilogue
Flint
2 Weeks Later
“What’s in it for us?” Asks Branko, sounding very much like a king. “We already gave you homes and land on our island. You still need to clean the ship halves out of our cove. If we personally marry you to your lady love, what do we get in return?”
