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  “Bram is a good man, Arianna. One day you’ll look back and see that I was only watching out for you and you’ll thank me for this choice. My choosing Bram for you has nothing to do with my duties as a ruler. I truly believe that he can make you happy.”

  “Thanks, Dad,” I said as I hugged him back.

  Throughout that entire time I was just going through the motions. I said goodnight to my father and followed Bram as we went to our new ‘home’. Neither of us said a word as we swam in that direction. I could tell Bram was nervous though. He kept glancing back at me as if he wasn’t sure what to say or do.

  I had never been in Bram’s home before. He actually had one of the larger homes, with more than one room. Once we were inside, I took a look around and noticed that all he had were weapons used to catch fish and other sea creatures. The rest was all empty space. Bram approached me and brushed my cheek with his hand. I froze. I didn’t know what to do.

  “You look beautiful,” he said. “You know, I’ve wanted to kiss you for so long, I could barely even believe when your father granted permission for us to get married.”

  “Yeah, I could barely believe it either,” I said in a sarcastic tone that he didn’t catch.

  His hand moved down, brushing against my arm and moving to my back. He pulled me closer and I tensed thinking that he was going to kiss me, but instead, he pulled me into a hug and whispered in my ear.

  “Arianna, I know you don’t feel the same about me as I do about you. I can tell by the way you move, by the tone in your voice, I know you so much better than you think I do. You are all I’ve ever wanted and you can have as much time as you need.”

  He pulled away and opened his eyes. It was as if he had to avoid looking at me while he said all of that.

  “What do you mean?”

  He moved his hand to mine, holding it softly as he looked at my ring. The ring that once belonged to my mother was silver with a pearl attached to it, and to me, the ring alone was a sign of bad luck. “What I mean is that we don’t have to do anything until you are ready. You don’t have to so much as kiss me until you know that you love me, and I know one day you will, because I will do everything in my power to make that happen.”

  I watched him carefully as he spoke. There was so much meaning and emotions behind his every word. I took him in, his brown eyes, his – as Lyra pointed out – perfect abs. He was absolutely perfect in every way and I couldn’t understand at the time why that wasn’t enough for me. I wondered if maybe I wasn’t making this out to be a bigger deal than it actually was. Maybe I should let go of my stupid dreams and move on with my reality.

  I leaned closer to him, wrapping my arms around his neck and leaned enough to where my lips were close to his. He inched forward and his lips were on mine. His lips were so soft and that kiss was just as soft. He held and kissed me as if I was breakable.

  I could see his smile as he pulled away. I just stared at him knowing that this was my first kiss with someone who should have been the perfect guy, but I felt absolutely nothing.

  His smile faded. “You are not ready, are you?”

  I shook my head. “I’m so sorry, Bram. I really wish I was. I know you deserve to be happy and this is not fair to you.”

  “Arianna, this is more than I could have dreamt of at this point. You need time and you have it. I’ll be here waiting for you for as long as it takes.”

  I nodded.

  “Look, you can have our room. I’ll sleep here.”

  I nodded and went to the room.

  Sometime during the ceremony, all of my things had already been moved. It was as if I was in my own room… my old room.

  I swam toward my dresser and stared at the hairbrushes and mirror, and wondered what kind of life the human who these belong to had. Those were the types of thoughts that distracted me from the sadness of my own reality.

  I swam to the window and looked at the other homes, the colorful coral that surrounded us, and at the dolphins that I loved watching. I felt so horrible for having to put Bram through this. He didn’t deserve it. I didn’t deserve it. I literally felt as if I would have a panic attack.

  I swam out the window and up. I wasn’t even sure if I swam past anyone I knew. I moved as fast as I could toward the rocks where I had seen Blake sitting just the night before. I moved up and sat on the rocks, staring at the house on the island and I cried and cried and cried. I remembered the first time I saw him. I was sure I’d never get to find out why he was so sad and I would never get the chance to make his sadness go away, or mine for that matter.

  I jumped when I heard the sound of someone clearing his throat. I quickly looked to my side.

  Standing there and looking amused, stood a man who looked to be about my age. He was human, with dark hair and even darker eyes. Something about him looked familiar, but I couldn’t place it, likely because he was human. I remember thinking that maybe I was delirious. He wore a suit but there was no drop of water on it. I frantically looked around. There was no boat or anything.

  I jumped down in the water. “How did you get here? Who are you?”

  “I mean you no harm. No need to be frightened.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Just a bored guy on his way back to the city. I don’t often see you merfolk so close to land.”

  “You know about us?”

  “Of course! You know, a pretty young woman like you shouldn’t be crying like this and you should definitely not be alone.”

  I felt cold just by listening to his tone and moved inches away.

  He stared at my ring and grinned. “I’m just making an assumption here, but would I be wrong to assume that you are missing something in your life?”

  I involuntarily shook my head.

  “What if I could make your dreams come true? Give you the purpose that you look for?”

  “You can’t. No one can,” I said.

  He looked from me to the island. “What’s the one thing that you wish for the most?”

  I looked away wondering why I felt so compelled to tell this to someone who I didn’t even know.

  “To have legs,” I said.

  He grinned. “That’s an interesting wish. What if I can make that happen? What would you be willing to do to make that happen?”

  I laughed and rolled my eyes. “I’d do anything, but it doesn’t matter. No one can make that happen, and I’m leaving.”

  I turned around and almost instantly, I went underwater, but I couldn’t move my tail. I felt as if I was suffocating and was struggling to stay above water, and then, the man reached in the water and pulled me up on the rock.

  I stared in utter awe at my legs. I was too shocked to do anything but stare at them.

  The man broke my trance like state. “As much as I enjoy the view, I assume you probably want to cover yourself up.”

  I just then realized that I was half naked. I tried to get up to jump back in the water, but not used to having legs, I fell and scraped the side of my right leg. The man shook his head and handed me clothing, a pair of shorts that for the first time I noticed in his hand. That was when I knew that somehow, he had planned all of this – right down to the minor details. I still wore my bathing suit top from the wedding, for which I was glad. The man threw the shorts at me and without trying to get up; I put the shorts on as fast as I could possibly do, but I couldn’t get it buttoned. I hated the fact that he watched me. It was strange… even though it felt as if it wasn’t my body, I still felt ashamed.

  “Do you need help with that?” he asked.

  He grinned, which made me more and more nervous.

  “No! Stay away from me,” I warned him. I stared at my legs. “How did you do this?”

  “Why? Do you want me to change you back?”

  I didn’t know what to say. I wished for this my entire life and now all I wanted was to change back, yet… I couldn’t say the words.

  “That’s what I thought,” he said as he grinned.

  He s
at next to me and put his hand on my knee. I flinched at his cold touch and pulled away.

  His grin grew wider.

  “Now remember, you agreed to do anything for those sexy legs of yours.”

  “I didn’t mean it!”

  He laughed. “Relax, sweetheart. At least hear me out before you decide to say no, in which case, I’ll return you to what you were.”

  “What do you want?” I asked, afraid of his answer.

  “You see, I’m a very successful man and I got some of the things that I have by making certain deals. I’m what we call a trader. I trade souls for wealth. The more powerful they are, the more powerful I become.”

  I was horrified.

  “You want me to kill someone?”

  He laughed. “Of course not! I merely need you to fulfill your cravings. That’s all. When I’m satisfied, you’ll be free from our deal and you can keep your legs if you wish.”

  “What will I crave?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “Love, human contact, nothing too terrible.”

  “And how will that give you a soul?”

  “You ask a lot of questions. I’ve given you all the information that you need to know. More than what you need, in fact.”

  “What if I want to go back to my life right now?”

  He shrugged. “Go ahead, but you will never know what could have been.”

  I didn’t know what I was thinking, but I agreed to take his deal.

  “Don’t worry,” he said. “The craving is natural human behavior. It’ll be as if you are living a normal life.”

  He approached me and I tried to get up but fell again. This time, he caught me, with one hand around my waist and another on the back of my neck. Making sure I couldn’t move, he kissed me, forcing his tongue in my mouth as I fought him and tried to push him away.

  Chapter Four

  That was the last thing I remembered before I woke up on the island, laying on sand. I opened my eyes to find the man of my dreams staring down at me. Blake was on his knees right next to where I was laying. He was wearing jeans and a black shirt. His hair was messy as if he had just woken up, and his eyes showed me how concerned he was.

  “Are you okay?” he asked.

  I tried to sit up, but felt dizzy and laid back down. “I’m not so sure. What happened?”

  “I was hoping you could tell me. This is a private island. I see no boats so I’m not even sure how you ended up here. I was just walking out of the house and spotted you.”

  I gave him a lost look. I didn’t know how to explain how I got there or anything else for that matter.

  “I’m not sure how I got here.”

  “You didn’t hit your head, did you? Do you know who you are? What’s your name?”

  “Arianna.”

  “Good. Can you sit up?”

  I moved slowly, but managed to sit up.

  “Come on,” he said as he stood up. “Let’s go inside. When everyone else comes back from the city, I’ll take the boat and take you back.”

  “Back where?” I asked confused.

  He gave me a confused look in return. “To the city. That’s the closest place to here, so I just assumed—”

  “I can’t go back to where I came from,” I told him.

  “Well, you can’t stay here.”

  I bit my lip and attempted not to cry.

  “I have no one and nothing to go back to.”

  He sighed and ran his fingers through his messy hair. “Look, you should at least be seen by a doctor. I’ll take you to the city and we’ll figure it out then.”

  This entire time he seemed annoyed, like I was wasting his time.

  “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m fine. I’ll just stay here.”

  He shook his head and put his hands up. “Okay, well I guess—hopefully someone will come for you.”

  He started to walk away, but looked back. “Look, I’m sorry. I know I sound rude but I’ve been having a hell of a time since this morning. Please, come inside. Let me at least make you something to eat.”

  He gave me an attempt of a smile and I almost agreed, but I ended up changing my mind in the last second.

  “It’s okay. I can wait here until you can take me to the city.” I had no idea what I would do once I got there, but he was right. I couldn’t just stay here. He didn’t know me, and it made no sense at all. I just needed to find a way to contact that guy so I could go back to my home.

  He sighed. “I’ll be in the house if you need anything.”

  I watched him walk away and into the house, looking at me once more before he disappeared inside.

  I stayed liked I was, mostly staring at my legs. Here it was… the moment I dreamt of my entire life and it was not what expected. Neither was my first kiss, or second for that matter. I hoped I could go back home before morning, before Bram and my father realized that I was missing. Otherwise, I’d have destroyed my entire life for nothing.

  I hugged my knees and tried not to think about it. I glanced back at the house and the man, who hadn’t even bothered to introduce himself, looked out the window, watching me. Once he noticed that I caught him looking, he turned away, and I went back to watching the sea and hoping that I would find that man in the suit somewhere in the city.

  I suddenly felt a change in the weather. The wind started to pick up and at a moments notice, it started pouring down; yet, that was where I stayed. Soon I started to shiver but I had no desire to move. For one thing, I would probably fall on my face if I tried to walk.

  The rain picked up and I didn’t even see him coming. “For God sake’s woman, come inside the house,” he said in an annoyed tone.

  I turned around surprised to see him out in the rain, still fully dressed. I was in the worst situation I could’ve been in and all I could think about was how hot he looked right now, with the water dripping from his hair.

  He extended his hand to help me get up. My hand touched his and he slowly pulled me up. So, I was wrong… I didn’t fall on my face, but I did lose my balance and ended up falling forward, but he caught me.

  “I guess you’re not as okay as you thought,” he said.

  He moved his arm, swinging me up and cradling me in his arms. I was still wearing the same shorts and bathing suit top and no matter how cold the rain felt, his hands against my skin felt warm. Any hurry to go back to my world vanished in those seconds while he ran toward the house with me in his arms.

  He had left the front door open and carried me in.

  Once inside, he put me down and I instantly felt the cold air hit me and I shivered.

  “Are you okay to walk from here?” he asked.

  I nodded, but stood where I was.

  He stood there, watching me…. And I felt uncomfortable, not knowing what to do.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, “I guess I haven’t introduced myself yet. I’m Blake Crawford.”

  I smiled at him, but I was so cold that I couldn’t stop shaking.

  “You should probably dry off. There are some clothes that should fit you in the room down the hallway and to the left. My brother’s ex-girlfriend left them here and, well, I doubt she’ll be coming back. I can throw your clothes in the dryer for you when you are done.

  “Thank you,” I said.

  “No problem. I’m going to make sure all the windows are closed. The storm is getting worse and I doubt the others will even come back from the city with this weather.”

  I waited until he walked away before I took my first few steps. I probably looked like someone who had way too much to drink. After those few steps, everything started to feel a little more normal.

  I made my way into the room, closed the door, and for the first time since he carried me in the house, I felt as if I could breathe. That was, until I had a panic attack while I started to think about what I was going to do.

  When I finally looked around, I realized how big the room was. The large windows allowed me to look straight at the sea. It was still pouring outside
. I walked closer to the window and froze when I saw the size of the waves. That told me that they knew I was gone. I had only seen this happen once before, but I knew that my father’s anger was definitely the cause for the angry sea. I had to go back. I had to let him know that I didn’t just leave. I had to tell him that I was okay and that I would fix this.

  I awkwardly ran out of the room and stormed out of the house, attempting to run toward the sea.

  “What the hell are you doing?” I heard Blake yell.

  Of course, because I wasn’t used to having legs, he was much faster than me. Before I could reach the sea, he grabbed my arm and turned me around. I lost balance and when he tried to catch me, we both fell on the wet sand, with him leaning on top of me.

  “You were crying,” he said. “What were you trying to do?”

  “Nothing. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”

  He brushed a string of hair off my face.

  “Let’s go back inside, okay?”

  I nodded.

  He helped me get up and before I turned toward the house, I glanced at the rocks where I used to watch the house from and there was Bram. He wasn’t close enough for me to see his expression but I knew he had to be in pain, pain that must have turned into anger. That was what I figured once a wave like I had never see before started to come up. Blake tried to get me to move, but I couldn’t. I was in shock. Right before the wave crashed, he picked me up and ran.

  Back in the house, he put me down. I was shivering, but I couldn’t move or talk.

  “Did you see something back there?” he asked. “You look terrified.”

  I didn’t move at all. I couldn’t speak.

  He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around me, but that didn’t help. I kept shivering as I stared outside. I could still see Bram hiding behind the rock and looking toward the house. Blake tried to look where I was looking but he didn’t say anything, so I assumed he couldn’t see anything.

  “Arianna?” he said.

  My eyes were still locked outside. He grabbed his phone and cussed, “Damn it. Still no signal.”

  He sighed. “I’ll be right back.”

  He came back holding something. I didn’t look to see what it was. My gaze was locked on the sea and I literally could not move.