Page 168 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile

Whirling around, Lessia smashed the mirror so hard against the railing that its pieces rained down on the floor beneath, and she was glad this part of the ship was empty as she dropped the rest to the ground, winding her fingers around the wooden handrail and forcing air down into her lungs.

Steps rang behind her, and Merrick’s voice was a mixture of fear and anger when he asked, “What happened?”

She only shook her head, struggling for breath to keep herself upright, and Merrick seemed to understand as he picked up a piece of the broken mirror off the floor.

Wrapping his arms around her, his chest began guiding her own breathing, his voice in her ear, whispering “I’m here. I’m here,” calming her erratic pulse.

Still, pain nearly had her double over.

Pain because days like today were numbered, if not over.

Pain because tomorrow there would be so much hurt and death and fear.

Pain because she might never again see the smiles she had today, the ones that had given her hope that maybe… in some faraway future, it would all be all right.

A sob cracked through her chest when she had enough air for it, and Merrick held on to her as she began shaking.

He didn’t ask again if she was all right or what had happened; he only kept her upright, kept her together, made sure the pieces he’d tried to build up didn’t shatter like the mirror beneath them.

Lessia shut her eyes, trying to find a place for all that hurt within her.

But it didn’t want to be locked down.

It needed to be seen, to be heard, to be felt.

A low wail built within her, starting in her chest, then whistling through her throat, and when it finally wouldn’t be held back from leaving her lips, she spun into Merrick’s chest, muffling the sound by letting it seep into his leather tunic so the people still dancing on the deck below wouldn’t hear.

“Give it to me,” Merrick said hoarsely. “Give it all to me.”

She continued, her fingers digging into his clothing, holding on as she let the fear and pain and worry and distress leave her with that horrible sound while Merrick continued whispering, “Give it to me, Lessia. I can take it.”

She didn’t know how much time had passed when her throat began aching, when her fingers went stiff, when her eyes dried, but when she began to come to, the people beneath them were still drinking and dancing as she threw a peek their way.

Swallowing the last of the cry, she looked up at the Death Whisperer, wishing that the sense of falling she got every time she looked into his eyes was real—that she could fall right into him and never come back out.

Her eyes drowned in Merrick’s dark ones as she whispered, “I don’t want to do this, Merrick.”

He was the only one she could tell. Because she knew hecouldtake it, that his whispered words weren’t empty ones. Still, there was no hiding the brokenness in his voice as he responded, “I know. I know, my little fighter.”

She didn’t have tears left, but her vision was still muddled as she looked up at him, letting her eyes tell him everything she couldn’t.

That she didn’t want to do this. That she didn’t want to die. That she wished for all the futures and dreams she had carved into Merrick’s skin, and those he’d dared speak only into the night.

She didn’t even blink as she let his night-sky gaze envelop her, and she tried to stay in the consuming sensation, allowing it to respond to everything she didn’t say with its own wishes and dreams.

The longer she stared into his eyes, the more frantic a frenzy welled within her veins, and it was as if Merrick read her mind because he reached for her at the same time as she jumped up on him.

The kiss wasn’t tender, nor did it feel like they had time.

It was agony and despair, and she needed more of it.

Merrick wrapped her hair in his fist, tugging at it so he could kiss her harder, and she didn’t care about anything other than having his skilled tongue play with hers.

When he sat her down on the railing, she didn’t give one shit whether anyone could see or hear them, and she tugged on his trousers until they slipped down his legs and his hard cock sprang free.

As she whimpered “Please,” Merrick growled softly, and he relieved her of her own trousers, forcing them over her boots to gain access faster.

Pulling her undergarments aside, his fingers whispered over her already drenched pussy before he roughly pulled her towardhim and thrust into her so hard he sank in to the hilt with one drive.