The Kiss That Saved Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 2) (3 page)

“You’re right… and I said that you were my boyfriend which implies you’re a boy. Not an old man.” I quip back at him and he splashes me with faux offence plastered over his porcelain features. “Seriously Orion, you didn’t have to do this.” I look at the beach behind us, it isn’t miles long but it’s still pretty big and I wonder… exactly how much money did Atlas leave his son?

“Nonsense, this is a good investment, and we can’t put a price on discretion when it comes to our comings and goings at odd hours.” What he says makes sense and I roll my eyes.

“True. I hate it when you make your extravagant spending seem logical.”

“I know.” He pokes his tongue out at me and he’s almost carefree.

“So there’s somewhere for us to hang our hats around here right?” I ask, turning back from the beach to look out at the horizon.

“Of course. Turn around.” I turn as Orion commands and I notice that perched on a climbing outcrop of the rising cliffs that cup the beach into a beautiful semi-circle is a lone house. My mouth pops open in awe. Okay… so house is underselling it.

Orion’s gift to me, is more decadent than any Cartier watch or Gucci handbag. Nuzzled on a low hanging clifftop, among beachy flora and under the cries of departing gulls, it sits. As we embrace the change together and emerge from the water, once again human, I can’t help but be distracted from my nakedness.

“Come.” Orion beckons to me and up the shore in a wicker basket are two large white fluffy robes. I pull one over my shoulders and wrap it around myself.

“Always prepared,” I mutter and Orion smiles to himself.

“Thank Georgia, she moved in all the furniture and drove your car up here. It’s in the driveway.”

“Good ol’ Georgia,” I mumble to myself, not allowing my hostility against the image of her mentally undressing Orion to ruin my mood. At least we have robes and I don’t have worry about being arrested for indecency. Though with the lusting part of being a mermaid, I’d probably have the cops drooling over their shoes, giving me a chance to bang them over the head with something.

Orion and I creep once more, as is becoming habit to us, over the sand of a beach semi clad and dripping wet. I kind of understand why Orion didn’t bother coming ashore so much before I existed for him, seeing as even with someone like Georgia to organise everything it can be a pain.
He came ashore to have sex with other women though,
my subconscious snarls at me. I banish this thought from my mind once more as we begin to climb the sand dunes that lead to the incline of the cliff which holds the house. Twilight opens above us, weeping vanilla, lavender and periwinkle down as a birth of new stars hang dimly in the dying light. The house stands, modern in its design, a single story.

“It looks so cosy,” I comment as Orion and I climb across the sand and up towards where the cliff begins to climb horizontal to the sea.

“I’m almost wounded you would use the word cosy to describe this place.” He looks at me seriously.

“Why?”

“This house is far more than it seems.” He gesticulates downward.

“You mean it goes into the cliff?” I look at him incredulously.

“Yes. This isn’t just any house, Callie.”

“Meaning?” I feel excitement rise within me as he smiles.

“I designed it,” he acknowledges.

“You did?” He nods vigorously, his tousled locks glowing slightly auburn in the warm dying light of the sun just below the horizon.

“Of course. I’m not just going to buy us any old place. If I wanted to do that I’d have bought one of the houses on the beach where we first met.” He looks at me with a gaze full of soft sentimentality.

“Well, can we go inside?” I beg him, unable to keep the joy out of my words at the extravagance of the gift.

“After you, Princess.” He whispers his pet name and I feel myself choke up a little, it’s a word I haven’t heard in a while, something he’s refrained from using ever since it had become a real possibility that we would rule. I run up the remainder of the cliff, my feet pounding against the ebbing heat of the concrete as the cliff rises away from sea level and then twists into a jutting edge on which the house is perched. The moon is rising right before my eyes, enormous and magnificent, kissing the sea with its glowing curves. The house on closer inspection is clearly brand new, untouched. The cliff opens up into the platform which forms the houses foundation and a white picket fence separates the front garden.

“A white picket fence?” I query aloud.

“What can I say, I’m a traditionalist.” Orion catches my sentiment as it is swept up in the cool salty breeze and I turn to him.

“I love it.” I kiss him on the cheek, his rough stubble tickling my lips.

“You haven’t even stepped inside the fence yet!” He exclaims.

“What can I say, I’m easy to please.” I shrug and he ushers me forward. I move toward the fence and open the matching gate, it swings forward with a creak of new wood and unused hinges. I feel Orion at my back and step into the front garden, which reminds me of a Zen Garden from Japan. There are tiny water fountains, and fairy lights hang, dangled from something invisible to the eye, twinkling intermittently. The floor is covered in smooth pebbles that roughly caress my bare feet. Potted palm trees tower in each corner of the fence perimeter, swaying slightly. I step along the pebble clad path, taking in the neutral beiges and greys that calm me. Orion overtakes me, taking a gold key out of the pocket of his robe and moving toward the glass panelled white French doors. The glass has a pattern scored into it that I recognise.

“Hey that’s my tattoo!” I comment and he nods smiling.

“I want this house to reflect us, and I love that tattoo.” He winks at me cheekily.

“You’re impossible.” I breathe and he grabs my hands
,
pulls me into his arms and carries me through the door.

The inner space I’m carried forward into is unbelievable. The whole space is stark white and onyx black. The floor is white tile, but the individual tiles have fibre optic lights that glimmer intermittently, making the floor look like an alabaster milky-way. The walls are white too, with similar fibre optics but these are coloured and move progressively around the outside of the walls, swirling and curling repeatedly in a wave like pattern. The ceiling is black and shiny, reflecting the light specks back at me.

“Holy crap,” is all I can manage as Orion places me down on my feet.

“You like?” Orion asks me, his lips are quirked, pleased with himself.

“Orion… it’s…” I begin but he runs across my sentiment with his own excitable babble.

“There’s more.” He slides his fingers through mine and pulls me out of the hall and forward into the living area. This space really is cosy, despite the extravagances within the walls and floors. The centre of the room is home to four ice blue corner sofa’s, each upholstered in fleece and scattered with aqua throw pillows. They look luxuriously soft and I can’t help but skip forward on the balls of my feet and jump onto the closest sofa, laughing as I fall backward, hair splayed out in a halo of curls against the softness that surrounds me. I curl onto my side and look at the colour. It reminds me of Orion’s eyes. I close my own and bury myself into the depths of the seat, letting the fleecy embrace hold me. I hear Orion move around to sit next to me. I sit up, snapping my eyes open as he places an arm around my shoulders.
 

“Let me show you something.” He smiles at me, pulling a small black remote out from his robe pocket.

“That robe is like Mary Poppins’ handbag. Seriously… you’ll pull out a flat screen next.” I joust him and his forehead divot appears.

“Mary who…?” He asks… Damn I seriously need to get him some lessons in movies.

“Pop culture thing…” I mumble and he smiles again calmly. I wonder if he thinks I’m crazy. Well, I suppose if he does it just proves how well he knows me.

“I don’t have a flat screen in my pocket… but,” he clicks a button and part of the wall panel opposite the sofas slides away. A seventy-five inch, flat screen is revealed.
 

“You like TV?” I ask him with a smile.

“No… But you do,” he returns and I nod slightly.

“Maybe we can watch some movies together?” I suggest and he kisses me on the forehead.

“Whatever you want,” he whispers.

“So that’s the TV remote?” I ask him and he shakes his head.

“No. This is the house remote. I have one for you too.” He hands me one out of the mystical pocket of his robe. I take it in my palm, power ebbing through me at the possession of so many buttons.

“FP?” I ask looking at a big red button at the top of the rectangular plastic console.

“Press it,” he commands and so I do. Much to my astonishment, the ceiling falls down soundlessly, bringing with it a square fire pit.

“A fire place in the ceiling?” I ask him and he smiles.

“I’ve always wanted to make love in front of a fire place. Something about heat on my bare back.” He gives me a hungry stare and I look down at the remote again, trying to distract myself.

“What’s this one?” I look at him again, pointing to the lilac, blue, green, and red options underneath the FP button.

“Press them. It’s more fun getting to see the surprised look on your face.” I indulge him and press the lilac option down. The fireplace erupts into hearty flame, but this flame burns with a beautiful purple haze.

“Purple fire?” I ask him and he nods with a smile on his face. “You want me to get some money so we can use it for kindling, or is there a button for that too?” I tease him and he pouts.

“If I’m building a house and going to the trouble of buying the land, getting damn human planning permission, and hiring a team of construction workers, I’ll have whatever colour fire I damn well please,” he growls in an authorative tone. He claims he doesn’t have the capacity for leadership, but with every stroke of his dextrous hands, every step of his purposeful stride, and every order barked from his lips, I know he is wrong.

“So where’s the kitchen?” I query, changing the subject.

“Turn around.” I notice now that the great room is an L-Shape and as I look back over my shoulder I notice an expansive kitchen. I rise from the couch and pad over to behind the square kitchen island. Everything in this culinary oasis is black chrome and stark white granite which is speckled with silver flecks. The double doors of the fridge are cold as I pull them open and find the fridge full of food.

“Wow. There’s so much junk food in here.” I say to him with a concerned look.

“Don’t look so worried, it’s not like we can get fat. We only eat three nights a month… why not eat something that doesn’t taste like processed grass.” Orion smiles.

“You like junk food?” I ask him feeling surprised.

“When I was a human, all I had to eat was olives, salad, fish, and this oatmeal grain crap. The way I see it the Goddess blessed me with a long life so I could experience the Twinkie.” As this sentence hits the air a bubble of high pitched laughter escapes my lips.

“You like Twinkies? You just wait until I order you Dominos. Or even better, In-N-Out burger.” I say to him and he raises his eyebrows.

“Dominoes? Like the game?” As I stand in the state of art kitchen I see a certain naivety rise in him and I love him just a little bit more.

“No… it’s pizza,” I explain and he smiles.

“I like pizza,” he reveals. I am reminded in this simple admittance that even after four months there’s still a lot I don’t know about him.

“Me too. My favourite is pepperoni feast.”

“That sounds good.”
 

“You’re not the only one who’s a traditionalist.” I shut the fridge door.

“Do you want to see the rest of the house?” He inquires, holding a hand out to me. I skip to him, slip my palm into his, and smile.

“Yes… Where’s the bedroom?” I inquire as innocently as I can but as the final word falls between Orion and me, something within him switches on and a sense of urgency visibly clutches him.

“Come.” He commands the one word. Leaving no room for argument.

CALLIE

In the bowels of the house I expect the décor to become less staggering. However, i’m completely off base. A transparent spiral staircase leads down into the lower levels, which have been carved out of the supposedly immovable rock.