Filed To Story: The Saltwater Curse Book PDF Free
“His name is Vasz,” the voice comes from behind me.
It—
Vasz
—lowers his ass to the rug, swishing his shark-shaped tail behind him, giving me what can only be described as a nod of confirmation.
I swing my gaze from the shark-dog to the tentacles feeling me up, then backward to the open suitcase on my bedroom floor. Laughter bubbles up my throat. This is actually happening. “Oh, God. I’ve gone insane. I have fully, completely, and utterly lost it.” Wave after wave of hysteria hits me.
“I do not understand.” I can hear his frown. “What is funny, Cindi?”
Oh my God, he speaks.
The tentacle monster thing fucking speaks.
And he knows my name.
Of course, he does. I obviously widely advertise it. The whole country definitely knows who I am. So why wouldn’t the ten-foot-tall, clawed, eight-tentacled monster with pointed ears know my name?
Laughter turns into heaving. Tremors rack my body. This is happening. It’s actually happening. My lungs scream with desperation as I try to suck in oxygen.
“She is not crazy,” the man-monster thing hisses. “She’s perfect.”
And he talks to himself too.
This is great. Amazing. Splendid.
“It’s okay.” The words come out gentle, like I’m a delicate thing he’s trying to appease. And the—the purr deepens.
The tentacles dip beneath my dress, winding around my legs, writhing in an almost…exploratory motion.
I shake my head.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening.
“Please don’t take me to them.
Please. I’ll give you whatever you want,” I beg.
I know what the Gallaghers are capable of—the level of hell they’d inflict on me. But maybe this monster will do me the kindness of killing me quickly.
My back snaps straight when his hand skims the line of my jaw. His scent changes from fresh sea breeze to the oaky cologne Tommy always wore. I suppress a whimper, stilling, because maybe then, he won’t feel as compelled to strike out. Maybe it’ll hurt less.
His purring grows louder as he turns me in his arms and tucks me against his chest, legs curled bridal style as he moves us to the door. “Once we bond to each other, there will be no more reason for you to feel fear.”
Bond to each other?
“The Goddess chose you for me. The Curse will finally be ended, and it will all be because of you. My family can rest in peace, and we can enjoy our time together. I will protect you as any mate should.”
He’s not making any sense. I can’t move, can’t run, can’t speak. I’m back there, in the cold mansion, sitting on the floor, huddled against the wall, hoping and praying he doesn’t break a bone and it’ll all be over quick.
Staying rigid in his hold, I choke back a sob. No one likes the sound of crying. It aggravates people.
Rain hails down on me and yanks me out of my frozen state. “No!” I cry, using every ounce of energy I have to break free. I squint against the pelting drops to make out the trees flying by.
My fist slams down onto his tentacle. Blinding agony ruptures through my wrist, and I cry out, cradling my hand to my chest as the pain radiates up my arm. I can hardly breathe from the agony of a thousand knives stabbing into my elbow down to the tips of my fingers. Tears stream from my eyes unbidden. I can’t stop them, no matter how hard I try.
“Do not cry, my little mate,” he purrs, squeezing me like he’s genuinely trying to comfort me. “All will be right soon.”
The smell of the sea grows stronger, the crashing waves louder. Panic claws through my throat. Where is he taking me? The road is in the other direction—the
Gallaghers are in the other direction.
“Please,” I beg. “Take me back.” Whimpers tear from me at the flash of pain. It worsens every time I move, a million pinpricks to my skin as the dagger pierces bone. “Please,” I moan, squeezing my eyes shut against the pain.
Kill me. Drown me. Throw me over a cliff. I don’t care right now. Make the pain stop.
“Do not worry, my Cindi. I’m here now.”
The suckers pucker hard against my skin, and the same ripple of fatigue wavers through my bones.
I can’t do more than squirm as the tears pour down my eyes. Each time I move to fight him off, it feels like my arm is getting torn off, and it’s now a limp hunk of flesh. I try to focus on anything else but the pain, telling myself it doesn’t exist. My arm is fine and it’s all in my head. I can just feel his hand against my skin, but it’s all dull against the mind-numbing pain rendering me paralyzed.
I’m vaguely aware we’ve reached the bank of the beach. The distance closes faster than I can process. Sprays of water splatter me, soaking my dress as he carries me further and further away from my house.
A wave crashes into my side, and I clamp my jaw against another sob. The cold bite of the sea sinks its teeth into my organs, and my teeth chatter despite the humidity.
“What are you doing?” I croak, screaming at myself to fight, to get over the pain and throw my weight so I can run.
But I can’t move.
Fuck you, Tommy.
Fuck you. I killed you, and you’re still controlling me from the grave.
Half my body submerges underwater. Panic slaps me into consciousness. I push the monster. Shove him. Elbow him. Anything I can do as he shifts me from his tentacles to his arms.
“I’ll drown.” I clamor up his body to keep from going under, squinting against the rain and the endless darkness ahead.
Finally, I look up and falter, momentarily disarmed by my first good look at him. Beneath the night sky, he doesn’t look so monstrous, more a fallen angel with shadows across his face and the faintest glow from the moonlight. He still has the same striking features of the heaven-made Adonis I stumbled into yesterday.
A sharp jaw, a strong nose, deep cheekbones, gills along his neck, raven hair that looks smoother than silk. Except, in this form, he has faint dots around his eyes and arms, threads of blue in his skin, and big ears shaped like a spiny dorsal.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.