Filed To Story: The Saltwater Curse Book PDF Free
And I let him.
I don’t know why I let him.
I can’t even begin to explain why I lean into his touch, why my eyes drift shut to focus on the feel of his warm skin against mine. The tips of his claws scrape the edge of my jaw. A shiver goes down my spine, and not an unpleasant one.
Maybe it’s the effects of dehydration. Maybe it’s the weight of history.
He’s a beast of a man. I’ve watched him kill three people in under a minute. He crushed their skulls, ripped apart their limbs, made them bleed for what they did to me.
I still remember the cold panic on his face when he noticed the few cuts on my feet. The manic rage when someone hurt me. The unbridled jealousy when a guy approached me at the bar.
I’m not afraid of him. He won’t intentionally harm me.
His expression is bewildering. I can’t pinpoint it. It borders on awe and betrayal and something else entirely. Unease churns in me. My breath catches, waiting for him to make the first move. What if he decides to drag me back to the island? What if he thinks I’ve consumed enough, and he’ll be giving me the bare minimum for survival from here on out?
Ordus never indicated he would do it, but it’s not like I haven’t missed signs before.
He breathes hard through his nose. “Are you mated already?”
A tremor works down my spine. “What?” How does he know about Tommy? Apart from the pictures of me and Dad, there shouldn’t be anything in this house pointing to that demon.
His nostrils flare and his eyes darken. “A male was here.”
A ma—? Fear sinks from my stomach down to my feet, twisting and churning. The food and drinks turn into bile.
“H-how do you know?” Dread seeps into my bloodstream like poison.
“I smell him.”
No, no, no.
“Let go of me,” I rasp.
Ordus hesitates. He must sense my panic, because he quickly releases me.
I scramble for my workroom in search of my laptop. It isn’t here. Fuck. Where did I put it? I tip the laundry off the couch, then try my bedside tables before moving to my go bags.
It’s not there. Neither are my passports.
He’s found me. Tommy’s found me.
Fuck.
I rip open the curtains. Where the hell is the car?
My feet thud against the tile as I scramble outside. Why are the wheels missing from my bike?
My phone. I need to check my phone.
I tear the house apart, emptying out my bags, turning over furniture, checking pockets.
Where the fuck is my phone?
My eyes dart up to the cameras hidden around the room. Undisturbed. Without my phone or laptop, I have no way of knowing who broke in—but they would’ve been scrubbed the second the timer went off, and I didn’t type in the disarm code.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
What should I do?
Was the door’s alarm beeping before we got here, or did it only start when Ordus tried it?
What if it was Tommy’s brother, John? He’s the worst of the two. I’ve never seen a genuine smile on his wife. She always wore long sleeves to hide the bruises that would peek through if she raised her arms.
I don’t know any of the pirates by name, but I’ve seen faces. What if it’s one of them? I mean, if it were, they wouldn’t be fucking with my head by only taking two items. My house would be empty or destroyed.
It wouldn’t have been some random person either—who came for my tires and personal electronics, but left the TV and wallet sitting on my bedside table?
I tip over the mattress. Nothing. It’s a small place. There’s nowhere else it could be. I scrub a hand down my face, ignoring Ordus’ calls, the wedge driving deeper into my soul as I feel the phantom pains from the horrors the Gallaghers would rain down on me.
But right now, there’s only one thing standing between me, the Gallaghers, and freedom.
I zero in on the gun lying on the floor. I could shoot Ordus and get out of here, finally be free of him and this whole mate bullshit.
But I hesitate.
I stare at the weapon, imagining its weight in my hands as I aim for his head. I feel my finger press against the trigger, the recoil rippling up my arms.
I can’t do it.
Why can’t I do it?
I can’t bring myself to grab the gun and put a bullet through the monster’s skull. The thought alone makes my chest constrict.
A cry tears when I’m swept off my feet and spun to face a hard, bare chest. And it’s like a dam burst. I couldn’t stop myself even if I tried. I kick and shriek, sink my nails into anything I can reach. He keeps saying my name. The wrong one. Or is it the right one?
Cindi.
Every time I blink, there’s a different person holding me.
Tommy.
Ordus.
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.