We come together, my body resisting the impulse to moan louder; we’ve gotten ourselves into plenty of trouble the last few months when I don’t. When I come and cry out my pleasure, waves crash against the boat and a torrent of pressure rises in the depths of the sea.
We’ve found it’s best to come in measured bursts, otherwise, the boat gets thrashed.
We catch our breath, incredulous at the beautiful life we’ve somehow found.
Beauty in the wreckage.
Kai walks on deck, an iced-coffee for me, in hand, and I smile at him. He knows what we’ve just been up to because he also hands me a bottle of water.
“You need to hydrate more if you’re gonna start and end your day with those workouts, love.”
We laugh, and I roll my eyes, as I also guzzle the water he proffered.
“This boat is seriously ridiculous, you know that, right?” I say looking out at the gleaming wood of the high-end sailboat that cost nearly a million dollars.
Kai shrugs and then offers me a smooth morning kiss. He’s chiseled and so well defined, and when he leans against me in the middle of the night, his desire sinks against me, bringing me to orgasm so damn fast. I feel my core tense at the idea.
“I know, it’s insane,” Kai says. “Who knew my old man would be so into making deals.”
West laughs, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I lean into his chest, relishing his clean morning smell of soap and peppermint. “Uh, isn’t he a high-end lawyer in Boston?” West asks. “Wheeling and dealing seem like it comes with the gig.”
“Fair enough,” Kai says. “Still, it’s more perfect than I imagined.”
“What are we talking about?” Crew asks, pulling up to the deck with a yawn, arms stretched over his head. He just woke up, tousled hair and wearing nothing but low-slung sweats. I’m wearing a nightie, but one look at him and I want to be stripped to nothing.
“We’re talking about how Kai’s dad hooked us up,” West tells him.
I twist my lips. “Well, Kai isn’t getting off the hook. There was a catch to the deal. He’s certainly going to pay for this boat with his time next year.”
I reach for Kai’s hand, pulling him to me. We couldn’t be on this adventure without his sacrifice.
“Thank you,” I tell him again. For the thousandth time. My lips press against his, as I drag him closer still. I feel his hardness against me as he leans nearer, hands on either side of my body, pinning me in.
“It will be good to go to law school,” he reminds me. “We can’t live on love alone.” He runs a hand over my belly, the bump showing much more than we expected so early on.
West smirks. “True, this little one is going to need a roof over its head.”
“We’re lazy fuckers, West,” Crew jokes. “We need to get jobs.”
“Well, I need you both to watch the baby while Kai’s in school all day and I’m in the ocean. Being the Siren is a bigger job than we expected.”
“True enough,” West says. “But you’re so good at it, babe.”
I sigh, and Kai rolls off me, the four of us all finding places on the cushions. Over the last few months, my world has exploded. Apparently, when Poseidon ruled-- even if he was a terrible father--he did a lot to make sure the ocean was at bay. He minimized floods and hurricanes and that meant he spent most of his time taming the sea.
Now that I’ve bound Poseidon, I’ve come to realize his duty now rests on my shoulders.
And my shoulders alone.
I haven’t seen or felt Gaia once since the day Eric died.
And I long for her presence to return. To guide me, us, in some way.
“You’re in your head, Harlow,” West says, playing with a strand of my hair. “You okay?”
I take their hands and place them on my belly, knowing that the child growing inside of me is no normal child. It moves already, kicks and twists. We stopped in Los Angeles a few weeks ago, so I could go to a doctor, and had an ultrasound--I was so convinced there was more than one baby inside me.
But there wasn’t.
There was just one boy-- one very big boy. One boy with a five-chambered heart.
And I know why his heart has five chambers.
The doctor wanted to run more tests, to find a conclusion that merged science with the lab results, but I refused.
I have no need for medicine. I am growing a child more powerful than even I am.
This boy has a five-chambered heart because it is splintered off for the five people who gave him life.
Me. West. Crew. Kai.
Eric.
Some people may think it is crazy to believe in such a notion. But I know it in the same way I know I can harness the power of the ocean in my hand. The same way I can summon the sea.