thought I might be in love.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
More than anything else in the world I needed to make a way for him to stay. This was my only mission. Tor and I were meant for each other, I was sure of it. Who else could I share this underworld experience with? Who else could know the pain of transforming a tail into legs?
Tor gently laid me down on the cot. I locked in on his emerald eyes, wondering if he was feeling the same thing. Did he love me, too?
Dex cleared his throat, fracturing the magic of the moment. Tor and I broke our gaze and turned to him. He raised a bushy eyebrow.
“I was right,” Tor said.
Dex got busy making tea while Tor brought me a pair of his sweatpants and t-shirt. They’d be baggy but I was thankful. He pointed to the bathroom.
It was a smaller cave-like room carved out in the back of the main cave. Inside was a camper toilet and sink with water that you pumped through the system with your foot. A mirror hung from the rock face.
I couldn’t help but deeply breathe in the scent of Tor as I pulled his shirt over my head. It covered my tattoos and my butt, but wasn’t long enough to be a t-shirt dress. I pulled on the sweats and rolled them up to mid calf.
Then I looked in the mirror and groaned. Not exactly drop-dead-gorgeous happening here.
There was a brush on the narrow counter and I borrowed it, wincing as I tugged through the tangles. I pulled the loose hair out of the brush and tossed it into the garbage can before leaving the brush on the counter and returning to Tor and Dex.
Uncle Dex set a cup of hot tea on the table in front of me and I drank it gratefully. Though I’d never once felt cold the whole time I was in the ocean, now I shivered. Tor left and came back with a hoodie. At this rate, the guy wouldn’t have anything left to wear himself.
Tor wanted answers. “What happened?”
“I was sailing. It’s what I like to do when I need to think. I had everything in control, just skimming along when I was hit.”
“You were hit?”
“Yeah, Crazy Jim, can you believe it? He’s on a quest to find a mermaid and he didn’t even see my boat! Or me for that matter when I called for help.”
“So, what happened?”
“My feet got tangled up in his fishing net and I got pulled under.”
“And…”
“I would’ve drowned, if I wasn’t…this.”
Tor’s eye’s narrowed and his face grew dark. “I’m so sorry, Dori.”
“Why? It’s not your fault.”
Dex cleared his throat. “Your, uh, Crazy Jim, is looking for us?”
“Yeah, but he’s crazy. No one believes his stories.”
“He believes them. Besides, we have a policy of clearing out of any area where humans have inadvertently spotted us. We’ve already broken the rule with the first sighting.”
No. I felt panic rising.
Tor and Dex stared at each other like they were talking without using words.
We can’t wait any longer. We have to leave now.
Yes, I know, you’re right. But what about her?
What about me? And why did I know what they’re thinking. “I can hear you,” I blurted. “I know you’re not talking but I hear you, and I’m coming.”
Dex sat back with wide eyes. “She really is one of us,”
“Dori,” Tor said, running his hands through his hair. “The best thing for you to do is to just go home. Be with your family.”
“But what if I don’t want to do the best thing. What if I want to be with you?”
A soft smile formed on Tor’s face. “Believe me, there’s nothing more I want right now than to be wherever you are, but things aren’t quite…settled at home.”
“Since when is it your decision?” I folded my arms stubbornly in front of my chest. I could feel my heart beating rapidly, my mind skipping back over the part where Tor just said he wanted to be with me more than anything.
The logical part of my brain was saying that Tor was right, I should stay. Think about my family.
But my heart was anything but logical right now.
Tor’s lips tugged
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
More than anything else in the world I needed to make a way for him to stay. This was my only mission. Tor and I were meant for each other, I was sure of it. Who else could I share this underworld experience with? Who else could know the pain of transforming a tail into legs?
Tor gently laid me down on the cot. I locked in on his emerald eyes, wondering if he was feeling the same thing. Did he love me, too?
Dex cleared his throat, fracturing the magic of the moment. Tor and I broke our gaze and turned to him. He raised a bushy eyebrow.
“I was right,” Tor said.
Dex got busy making tea while Tor brought me a pair of his sweatpants and t-shirt. They’d be baggy but I was thankful. He pointed to the bathroom.
It was a smaller cave-like room carved out in the back of the main cave. Inside was a camper toilet and sink with water that you pumped through the system with your foot. A mirror hung from the rock face.
I couldn’t help but deeply breathe in the scent of Tor as I pulled his shirt over my head. It covered my tattoos and my butt, but wasn’t long enough to be a t-shirt dress. I pulled on the sweats and rolled them up to mid calf.
Then I looked in the mirror and groaned. Not exactly drop-dead-gorgeous happening here.
There was a brush on the narrow counter and I borrowed it, wincing as I tugged through the tangles. I pulled the loose hair out of the brush and tossed it into the garbage can before leaving the brush on the counter and returning to Tor and Dex.
Uncle Dex set a cup of hot tea on the table in front of me and I drank it gratefully. Though I’d never once felt cold the whole time I was in the ocean, now I shivered. Tor left and came back with a hoodie. At this rate, the guy wouldn’t have anything left to wear himself.
Tor wanted answers. “What happened?”
“I was sailing. It’s what I like to do when I need to think. I had everything in control, just skimming along when I was hit.”
“You were hit?”
“Yeah, Crazy Jim, can you believe it? He’s on a quest to find a mermaid and he didn’t even see my boat! Or me for that matter when I called for help.”
“So, what happened?”
“My feet got tangled up in his fishing net and I got pulled under.”
“And…”
“I would’ve drowned, if I wasn’t…this.”
Tor’s eye’s narrowed and his face grew dark. “I’m so sorry, Dori.”
“Why? It’s not your fault.”
Dex cleared his throat. “Your, uh, Crazy Jim, is looking for us?”
“Yeah, but he’s crazy. No one believes his stories.”
“He believes them. Besides, we have a policy of clearing out of any area where humans have inadvertently spotted us. We’ve already broken the rule with the first sighting.”
No. I felt panic rising.
Tor and Dex stared at each other like they were talking without using words.
We can’t wait any longer. We have to leave now.
Yes, I know, you’re right. But what about her?
What about me? And why did I know what they’re thinking. “I can hear you,” I blurted. “I know you’re not talking but I hear you, and I’m coming.”
Dex sat back with wide eyes. “She really is one of us,”
“Dori,” Tor said, running his hands through his hair. “The best thing for you to do is to just go home. Be with your family.”
“But what if I don’t want to do the best thing. What if I want to be with you?”
A soft smile formed on Tor’s face. “Believe me, there’s nothing more I want right now than to be wherever you are, but things aren’t quite…settled at home.”
“Since when is it your decision?” I folded my arms stubbornly in front of my chest. I could feel my heart beating rapidly, my mind skipping back over the part where Tor just said he wanted to be with me more than anything.
The logical part of my brain was saying that Tor was right, I should stay. Think about my family.
But my heart was anything but logical right now.
Tor’s lips tugged
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