Page 19 of The Sea Witch’s Son (The Villains of Wolf Hollow #1)

Chapter 1 8

MELODY

Sebastian immediately takes the lead.

“He loves to show off those dives.” Tahira shakes her head with a sigh, “That ass is something else.”

Calista nods in agreement, “The man’s got a dump truck.”

I’m too focused on the race to join in on their conversation. Every spectator in attendance is whistling and cheering madly, shouting names and encouragement that the swimmers cannot hear.

“It’s tied.” I say it quietly, watching the swimmers hit the wall with a flip turn.

“Marlin’s just having fun with them.”

Hard bodies break through the surface just before the 15m cut-off. Dolphin kick transitions into flutter as powerful shoulders slice through the water .

“Maybe he’s having a bad day.” Tahira muses, “He’s usually winning by now.”

Calista shakes her head, “He’s doing it on purpose.”

I tear my eyes away from the race to look at her, “How do you know?”

“Because.” Her lips split into a wide smile, “He’s still breathing.”

The statement has my stomach dropping. Gus starts hollering behind us, adding his own excitement to the crowd. The swimmers hit the 25m mark on the long course, and that’s when it happens.

Marlin stops breathing.

“Oh my God.”

I can barely breathe as I watch him pull away from the other swimmers. With every stroke he increases the distance until he’s almost an entire body-length ahead. While all the other swimmers breathe every other stroke, Marlin’s head doesn’t move.

It stays securely under the surface.

“Fuck, that’s hot.”

The girl in front of us flaps her hands like it might cool her down. I bite my tongue to stop myself from agreeing with her.

Marlin hits the wall seconds ahead of the other guys. By the time the rest of them join him, his cap and goggles are already pulled off and he’s studying the scoreboard displaying their times. The black guy in the lane over says something to him and Marlin nods in agreement .

The next event starts and the guys haul themselves out of the water. The slicked back hair should not be a good look on anybody, but of course, almost every guy on the team manages to pull it off.

The same routine happens again, the rookies take up the slow heats and gradually we make it back to the faster heats. Calista was right, butterfly is a lot more exciting to watch, but when you don’t know the swimmers competing, it becomes dull very quickly.

Pulling up the team roster, I do a quick search to find out what events all the guys are competing in. I take note of Finley’s next few events, and when he finally steps up to the blocks, I’m ready.

“You got this, Finley!”

He glances towards the bleachers and I give him a wave.

“That’s not going to go down well.”

I frown, turning to face Tahira, “Am I not allowed to cheer before the race?”

"Oh, you are.” A gleam hits her eyes, “I was talking about the other man vying for your attention.”

Gulping down a breath, I turn my attention to the pool deck. Marlin is standing off to the side, wearing nothing but a pair of sweatpants over his racing suit. He’s talking to Sebastian but his eyes are focused on me.

My body buzzes with awareness as I stare back at him, trying not to let my gaze drop onto the rippling muscle below.

“Go, Finley, go! ”

Despite chanting his name the entire race, I couldn’t say whether he won the heat or not. My attention was wholly fixated on the man watching me.

“She likes to poke the bear, doesn’t she?” Tahira chuckles, leaning over to rest her head on Calista’s shoulder, “Reminds me of someone else I know.”

“Mm, she is delightful.”

There’s a purr to Calista’s voice and I do my best not to make eye contact.

As much as I hate to admit it, Marlin is the most interesting to watch. He dominates the pool in a way the other swimmers don’t, his effortless strokes and meticulous breathing techniques securing him a win in every race.

The humid air presses down on the thick cotton of my blouse, and by the time the next event rolls around, there’s sweat sticking to the back of my neck.

“How much is left?” I tug uncomfortably at my shirt, “I can’t believe everyone stayed this long.”

“Like I said, the naked bodies pull quite the crowd.” Calista smirks, “Just one last event and then you can find a tall drink of water.”

The salacious tone has me narrowing my eyes. Tahira snickers, her eyes flicking over the men already initiating cool down.

“Marlin doesn’t compete in this event. Feel free to go quench your thirst.”

I grit my teeth and stay seated .

“That’s odd.” Calista suddenly leans forward, “The timers are being called in for a meeting.”

We watch as the first heat gets pulled down from the blocks. Finley is among them, his playful smile nowhere to be seen as he joins the discussion.

“Samson is being bumped to a faster heat. Strange since he doesn’t have a seed time.”

“Why would they move him?”

Calista shrugs, “To make room for another swimmer. Must be a last-minute addition.”

Seedlings of dread bloom in my belly. Finley, who was in the fastest lane, gets bumped to the one beside it, leaving room for the newcomer.

Tahira starts to laugh, “He is a tenacious bastard, you have to give him that.”

We watch Marlin step up to the empty block.

“This can’t be allowed. He’s way faster than all those guys out there.” My voice is an octave too high, my palms a touch too sweaty.

Calista grins, “He doesn’t normally compete in this event, so he doesn’t have a seed time.”

“Oh God.”

The guilt-ridden words slip past my lips just as Marlin blows me a kiss from atop the block.

Calista claps in delight, “Now, this is going to be fun. ”

My nails dig into the bleachers as the swimmers take their marks. Anger and unwanted lust ripple through my body as I watch Marlin dive into the water.

Unlike the other races, he doesn’t start off slow. He takes the lead the moment his body hits the water and gains distance with every turn. There’s half a length between him and Finley by the time he hits the final wall.

A stunned silence falls among the spectators as we stare at the man who destroyed an event that wasn’t his to compete in.

“That might have been a new school record.” Tahira squints at the board, “Or close to it.”

Calista throws her head back and cackles, “It seems as though your prince has been slain, Melody.”

I clench my jaw hard enough to break molars. Finley finally finishes the race, coming in second for the heat, but miles away from Marlin’s time.

I glare at him, burning a hole through that infuriating face and that devastating body. The white hair is slicked back from his face, those violet eyes scanning the crowd until they find mine.

Marlin stares at me from his throne, taunting me from across the arena. It’s all a game to him, the power plays, the notes he leaves in my bedroom, the sensual marks he puts on my body.

It’s all a game and I am nothing but a pawn.

Stuck in a game I don’t want to play.