Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

There you are, sitting on the plush seat of the small, open, sailboat you and your friends had rented for a fun summer outing. The large flapping sail glides the wooden ship effortlessly through the blue water. Looking out, you see the once-bright sun settling in beneath the endless expanse of clouds.

After a long, hot, day at the beach, what better way to spend a relaxing evening than on a boat!

There is ongoing and rowdy chatter while you and your three friends talk amongst yourselves. Gossiping here and there about work, college and life in general. Since it’s summer, you decided to plan a trip for your best friends who you haven’t seen in a while to catch up and just enjoy each other’s company. Sensing the idle conversation, one of your friends makes her way through with some card games.

“Why don’t we play some games in the meantime?” She asks whilst pulling out a conversational card game. Pushing up her glasses, she makes quick work of the rule explanation and dishes everyones cards out.

The rounds go by quickly as everyone learns the simple rules and, finally, it is your turn. You pull the prompt card and clear your throat to narrate.

“What’s a girl's best friend?” You inwardly wince a little after reading it, so far the game has had some pretty lame questions - answers too - but you chalk it up to the fact that it was probably made by people far too old to be making “cool” and “trendy” games. Caught up in your own thoughts, everyone has turned in their cards. You gather them, preparing to read outloud.

“Baby-shower meatballs.” It gets a dry chuckle out of you, but you know it won’t win. “Embezzlement,” you continue, “a cocaine addiction.” God the choices in this game are bad , you think to yourself. And finally, you call out “sexual tension”. You pause for a moment to take them all in.

For some reason, your mind keeps drawing to the last one. But whether that’s because it’s the best choice or just something your life is lacking lately is not mentioned.

It’s true though - between school, work, and friends, you don’t have time for any romantic or sexual developments in your life lately. You groan realizing that the last date you’ve been on was at least a year ago. Maybe next year I can try to put more focus on my love life…

After musing over the choices, you decide to just pick one, “Who had cocaine addiction?” You laugh at the option you picked.

“Oh! That was mine!” Your loudest and most flamboyant friend ceremoniously announces, hurriedly snatching the card out of your hand to claim her victory and start the next round.

Traveling farther from the sandy shore, you notice the water get deeper and darker, while the waves get harsher and stronger. The calm lull and then sudden violent snap of the waves makes you subconsciously a little anxious. There’s a menacing look to the water, seeming as if it could swallow you up whole without even leaving a trace… 

Shivering at the thought, you’re silently thankful you took swimming lessons that one year. To divert your attention you stare up into the night sky changing to a soft purple; there are no signs of stars as ominous gray clouds begin to populate the sky, worsening your nerves. A part of you wants to tell your friends it’s about time to go back, but you linger on the thought when you see them amusing themselves with dancing, singing, drinking and whatever else they can get into.

Well….when in Rome do as the Romans do, right?

So you proceed to get blackout drunk and dance your ass off, whilst completely ignoring the raging storm front forming. 

The sliver of your mind that still has its rationality notices that you are very far from where you started sailing - so far that you cannot make left from right and forward from behind. The shore is nowhere in sight as you fearfully whip your head around searching for the comforting lighthouse that was your landmark.

“Guys, I think we should start heading back,” your voice raspy as you glance at your phone that says eleven.

“Mmmm…It’ll be fineeee!” Murmurs your usually responsible friend who has already made herself quite comfortable on the floor by sprawling her limbs in all directions like a starfish.

You want to argue back and ask for someone - anyone - to be reasonable and agree with you, but it’s a lost cause as everyone around you is already asleep.

The exhaustion from the day has set in quickly, coaxing you to lie down - just for a little bit - of course. Justtt long enough to rest your eyes - and then you'll wake everyone else up and return to your hotel!

It would be smarter to sleep in the cabin with your other friends, but you’re not planning on really going to sleep. Although you know it’s a lie, you convince yourself nonetheless.

Feeling a singular wet drop splash your face, your heavy eyelids slowly shut. The dizziness in your head and the ringing in your ears pulls you further into disorientation and you only care about sleep in this moment. The sound of the light pitter-patter falling furthers your drowsiness and before long, your slumber has consumed you.

Minutes - no - hours pass by, but neither you nor your friends seem to notice. Though your setting provides little to no comfort nor warmth, sleep has taken over your brain - you are in too deep now.

You only wake in the midst of an ear-splitting lightning strike, a tiny yelp falls from your mouth at the blinding white flash and the rain pouring down on you like a bucket sends a freezing chill through you.

You don’t have time to complain, though, as there are more pressing matters at hand. 

Through the darkness, you see a large wave forming. You are obviously still very drunk, but you have enough sense to feel the paralyzing fear and debilitating panic crawl over your body. You hastily shuffle on all fours. Your muscles ache in spasms and the headache you have pierces through your skull like a searing knife. You desperately try to get up before the wave crashes into the ship.

Water rushes over the side of the boat and you’re caught in the flood, feeling weightless as the liquid lifts you up effortlessly. Urgently, you grab onto the siding with your hands and tighten your grip. Inhaling as much as you can, you hold your breath and clamp your eyes shut, bracing to be submerged. 

The salty water burns your nose while it travels up your nostrils, causing you to cough out dramatically once the wave subsides. The sailboat rocks and shakes erratically and you wonder just how much more this tiny, wooden vessel can take. 

You notice one of your friends attempting to steer the boat through the storm.

After catching your breath, you shout to her that you’ll look out from the cabin for land or another ship hopefully.

“Okay!! Can someone else come up here with me to steer, my glasses got washed away!” She yells back and you see everyone hesitate for a moment. Uncharacteristically, your most timid and passive friend decides to take the lead and joins her. Your heart is moved by the action, but you have no time to be sentimental as your lives are at stake.

Intensely, you scope the area, hoping to see land with the little light available.

Shittt… This is bad , you can’t help thinking, seeing nothing nearby. Not wanting to worry your friends, you sit in silence. Hoping, praying, begging that something - anything - will turn up soon.

The atmosphere is drowning in despair and uncertainty as you keep your fearful and anxious thoughts to yourself. Resignedly, you sigh hearing a roar of thunder for the nth time tonight. You don’t jump or tremble anymore - you’ve become numb. So as the lightning flashes in your face, you almost ignore the faint tufts of trees you see in the distance.

Wait - what ? Trees ??

Your eyes widen in shock as the image of a lonely island appears.

“Guys! Guys! Steer that way I see trees!” You all but burst your friends’ eardrums when you shout out excitedly over your discovery. Pointing them in the direction, you hear the sharp flap of the sails and the sudden, screeching turn of the metal wheel. In an instant, all hope has returned to your body.

It takes another thirty minutes to get to the rocky shore - though it feels like forever. Once you are close enough to see the sand, you let out a long sigh of relief. After this night, you don’t think you’ll ever go out on the ocean again. 

You hope this island is inhabited by someone, but honestly, you are too tired to care at this point. As soon as the boat starts scraping along the sands and rocks below, you and your friends jump out, wading your way through the bouncing waves of the water. Only to immediately collapse in the sand once you reach the shore.

Falling asleep for the second time tonight, only this time in a much safer environment than the boat - or so you think.

Chapter Text

Shifting left and right in the sand, the bright intrusive light from the sun shines through your eyelids. Sluggishly, you open your eyes and push yourself up to a sitting position, wiping the sand off your face. 

Taking in all of the tropical scenery, you look around. The palm trees behind you expand into an infinite jungle promising much more land than what meets the eye. Their fonds rustle in the calm breeze but the utter size of them serves as an intimidation factor that mentally bars you from entering. Though, you know eventually, you will have to enter the jungle for survival...

Pulling you back to the present, the salty sea air and the gentle waves lapping against the rocks works to soothe your nerves. Despite the fear of being stranded, you admire the beauty of this uncharted land that has now become your temporary home. It’s a total one-eighty compared to what you experienced last night.

“Finally up?” Calls one of your friends, slightly amused at how long you’ve slept in.

“Oh… Yeah. What have you guys been doing while I was asleep?” You ask softly, a little guilty that you haven’t been able to help them. It has to be at least a couple hours past noon now…

“Just setting up basic survival needs - shelter, food - that kind of stuff. We’re going to use the cabin on the boat for shelter, since that will be safest, plus all our food is in there. There’s also some radios and an emergency SOS signal - we’re not too sure how to work it, but we’ll...” You zone out as she continues to dish out the details. Her preparedness doesn’t surprise you - she’s the mom friend for a reason, of course she’d have the situation mediated in less than a day.

One thing does catch your attention though, “We need fresh water, for drinking and bathing,” you point out.

“Oh! Glad you brought that up, we actually found a stream earlier! It's about a two hour walk into the jungle though. We only have a couple clothes - mostly extra swimsuits - that didn’t get wet so we can use those tonight.”

After confirming your biggest priority, a bath, you decide to gather some clothes from the boat and prepare to head for the stream. All you can do is hold the clothes and radio in your hands as you walk towards the lush greenery spreading before you. Setting aside your nerves, you push through the small bushes whilst entering the jungle. The group decided that it would be safest to use a buddy system when traveling and, thankfully, that has calmed you a little.

You and your quiet friend were assigned to a pair. Although she keeps to herself, she can be caring in her own way and you know that she'll do her best to protect you and her. You don't want to let her down, so you mentally prepare for any creatures you may have to ward off.

As you walk further into the jungle, it is surprisingly open and you’re thankful that you don’t have to do a whole lot of swatting and chopping to the plants. 

Observing the way the plants grow, it’s almost like the island was made to be explored. The coiling vines keep the trees above confined to a canopy that provides ample room to move around and see. The luscious bushes at your feet bend to your every willing footstep. There are almost no bugs - how is that even possible? The forest is as unsettling as it is inviting. And it is oddly quiet.

Getting closer to the stream, you come across a huge lagoon. The beauty of it takes your breath away - a tiny oasis in this otherwise eerie land. The clear, blue water is so calm and enticing, it takes everything in you not to go jump in right this instance. 

Across the water, you can make out what looks to be a small cave made up entirely of rocks. You assume it must stretch down further underwater and, strangely, you feel called to explore it…

Nonetheless, you continue. And boy, do you continue. The walk is not hard to memorize, but hopefully you won't have to make this 2 hour trip many more times. But, eventually, you see the small creek with your own two eyes. It is a little shallow since it is made up of rain water and it's flow is not overpowering.

Eager to get clean, you and your friend waste no time stripping and jumping into the cold water. You thought it would give you a chill, but it is unexpectedly comfortable. It seems everything here is - it’s not too hot nor cold, not too humid nor dry, hell, there's even a lack of insects and wild animals. You feel it’s too good to be true. The island is so safe and comforting - too safe…

Once done, you gather your stuff and start to head back. Now somewhat used to the route, you are not as apprehensive as before.

You don’t notice until fifteen minutes later that you’ve left your radio behind.

Sighing at the stupid mistake, you tiredly tell your friend you’ll have to go back. Knowing she’s exhausted from the day and all the walking, you just tell her to go ahead. Naturally persuasive, you convince her that you'll be fine. You reassure her that you’ll catch up quickly and scream if anything happens - it’s only fifteen minutes, you’ll catch up to her in no time!

You quickly sprint back towards the stream to look for the radio. Coming close to the lagoon again, you swear you hear something, but you cannot quite make out what it is.

“Follow…” you hear something indistinctly whisper.

Surely I just imagined that , you reason, knowing that you should be alone on the island, aside from your friends. You keep walking ahead, focusing on the task at hand.

“Follow my voice…” There it is AGAIN!

This voice does not sound like any of your friends. It's gentle and hypnotic and so compelling... and definitely too deep for it to belong to any of them! Getting creeped out, you slowly turn to take another step and just as you do -

“I just want to helppp,” the voice somberly drawls out.

You quicken your pace, almost tripping in the process, and the voices amplifies, now loud and clear. “I can’t help you if you run away…” The voice speaks with such a solemn tone that it fills your entire body with guilt.

Well… maybe I should just go see who it is - what’s the worst that could happen? They might actually be able to help us get off this island… Turning on your heels you push through the gentle shrubs searching for the now quiet voice.

“Hello?” You try to summon the voice to return, but it is nowhere to be heard. You find yourself coming up at the edge of the lagoon, “Ugh! What’s your deal? Making such a big fuss for me to come over and now you won’t talk?!” You deliberately make your words harsh to mask your nervousness.

You stop as you come up to the rocky edge of the shore, dropping everything you held in your hands. You are in awe of the sight before you.

A man? Well not only that - a man with fins and a large bluish-gray tail adorned with shimmering fish scales. Never in all your life have you seen something like this.

Directing all his attention to your frozen stature, “Come closer,” the man melodically persuades you.

You hesitate for a moment before cautiously treading forward.

Noticing your resistance to come as close as he would like, he dramatically exclaims, “I haven’t seen a human in sooooo long! Indulge me a bit, would you?”

Okayyy, you mentally note that the sassy man apocalypse has affected even isolated mythical beings. Stifling a laugh, you walk closer - still far enough to keep a safe distance but now close enough to see his features in detail.

You’re taken aback by his beauty. He really is handsome - with his long, silver, flowing hair sticking to his bare, wet skin and his magnificent tail that splashes the water every so often. It’s hypnotizing. You want to get closer - to feel - to hold - to touch him. Huh? That’s not what you meant - you just want to get closer to talk! Yeah! That’s what you came here to do…

Snapping yourself out of whatever trance you were just in, you nervously ask “Sooo, what exactly are you? Are you a mermaid - well I mean merman ? Or-uh- maybe you prefer the term siren? Or I could just call you by name instead-”

He cuts you off quickly, rolling his eyes, “I don’t concern myself with the impudent terminology humans have created to try to explain my kind. My name is Vyn, and you can call me as such.” Hearing you ramble on has given him a headache he didn’t sign up for when he drew you out here. “Now, what is it that I shall call you?”

You tell him your name and you feel yourself slipping back into that trance as it rolls off his tongue. Moving closer, you finally reach a normal talking distance and you sit down - not caring that your beach skirt is now getting wet from the water. His golden eyes stare into you deeply as he rests his arms on the rock.

Leaning forward, Vyn reaches out to grab a lock of your hair and twirls it around his fingers. Your heart pumps with an excitement entirely new to you and you feel your face rising in temperature.

“I… I can’t stay too long.” You murmur, breaking the tension. “My friend is waiting for m-”

A webbed hand swiftly wraps itself around your neck and stops your words in your throat.

“You came here of your own volition. See what happens when you let curiosity get the better of you? …What’s the saying your people have? Something about curiosity and a cat?” He mockingly questions you with a slight smirk while effectively tightening his grip on you, making you widen your eyes and gasp in fear.

It’s not enough to seriously hurt you, but it’s threatening enough to give you a scare. More than just scared, you feel an all too familiar warm sensation growing in-between your legs. Cursing mentally at your body’s inopportune reaction, you struggle in his hold starting to feel lightheaded. 

You imagine he’s waiting to devour you, playing with his food before ripping it to shreds. He’ll stab your flesh with his sharp teeth and tear you limb from limb.

But, then you realize - he doesn’t have sharp teeth, he doesn’t stare at you with an animalistic hunger, and most importantly he hasn’t killed you yet. You start to doubt that he has any malicious intent when he adjusts his hold so that it doesn’t cut off your airflow.

Although it is in his nature as a siren to kill an overly trusting and naive human, for some reason Vyn doesn’t find it in himself to follow through.

Sigh “I hope I’ve taught you a lesson to not be so trusting of people and beings of whom you do not know. I’m having mercy on you, so go .” He removes his long fingers so slowly from your neck, it’s almost as if he doesn’t really want you to go…

Any sane person would get up and run away as far as possible, but you stay put. You don’t appreciate how he is toying with you and you decide to make it known.

“And what gives you the impression that you are in any position to teach me a lesson?” You snap back at him.

Raising his eyebrow, he shushes you by putting a finger to your lips. He watches you intently with a gaze much heavier than earlier. “You were lured to me so easily, why, I didn’t even have to use a lilt or anything at all other than my voice.” He states matter-of-factly, a little proud that it was so easy for him. You yank his hand down from your mouth, but instead of slapping it away you just hold on to it.

You blush a little, knowing that he is right. Avoiding his eyes, you look down and explore the rest of his body that you’ve so tragically neglected. Below his adam’s apple, you see he has a seashell necklace. It fits perfectly atop his broad collarbones, which leads your eyes to trail down his chest, seeing the perky pink nipples that lay above his toned abs. Well, an aquatic lifestyle would be very active , you think to yourself trying to reason why you are so intently eyeing him up. Finally, you follow his waist to where his torso meets his tail.

“Well if you want me to be honest, then yeah - I was curious” you say not taking your eyes off of him. “Can I-... Can I touch you?” The question feels a little formal considering you’ve already felt his hands around your neck threatening to strangle you just moments ago.

“Aren’t you already touching me?” He questions teasingly as he looks down to yours and his intertwined fingers. With your eyes giving him a quite unamused stare, Vyn agrees with little hesitation. “If that is what the lady wishes I shall oblige. You can see it as a little apology for my actions earlier,” he professes with a playful wink.

Granted permission, you try to hide the smile that’s forming on your face as you run your fingers along the silver strands of hair framing his face.

“You can touch me anywhere you’d like,” Vyn suggests while closing his eyes, letting himself feel your tentative exploration.

You move your hand to touch his ear fins. Rubbing the thin iridescent flesh between your fingers, you note the ridges and textures.

Sliding your hands down his face, you trace his features with your delicate fingers. Sliding your thumb against his plush, bottom lip, you see his cheeks flush a little this time with a faint pink tint. Though you notice the change, you don't put much thought into it as you continue to feel him up.

If he’s being honest with himself, all your poking and prodding is turning him on - but that’s not something he’s willingly admit right now.

“Surely, you’re curious about other places too,” he breathily utters.

You’ve avoided it for too long. You’re dying to touch his tail and that was your all clear sign.

Reaching forward, you have to stretch a while considering he is still perched on the rock and only half of his tail is out of the water.

Wanting to feel where the scales meet flesh, you rub your hands down his back to his waist and observe the change in textures of the soft pillowy skin to the thin hard scales. Moving down, you grab one of the fins protruding from the side of his tail.

“Ah-” A quiet moan slips past his lips. You look up to ask what’s wrong, but you see his face buried in his hands to stifle any more sounds from coming out. There is a light blush covering his face down to his neck.

You hadn’t considered that touching him in all these ways could make him feel like that. Trying to confirm your thoughts, you play with the fin and rub it between your fingers slowly. This time, a low guttural groan comes out, surprising you that his voice could go that low.

Vyn pushes himself up with a pout, gripping onto both of your thighs, “Stop. Teasing. Me.”

Cradling his face with both of your hands, his eyes are filled with such a needy want, that it makes your heart pump rapidly. 

When did he become so seductive?? 

You place a gentle kiss on his forehead, grinning when you hear a tiny whine come out of him as he obviously expected something more intimate.

You waste no time in grabbing him by the shoulders as you pull his lips to yours, savoring the way he gasps in shock. His eyes flutter shut and you relish in how he chases after your lips.

It doesn’t take long for him to take the lead as he deepens the kiss. You feel his tongue lick your bottom lip, a sign of asking for permission. As you moan into the kiss, his tongue slips between your parted lips, exploring all your wet mouth. The once chaste kiss has now turned into something much heavier and hotter that has you gasping for air.

Breaking away, he lovingly places open-mouthed kisses down your neck. You feel his hands on your hips as he drags you down slightly into the water, pinning you against himself and the rock.

Instinctively, you wrap your legs around his waist as he pushes your shoulders back so you lie flat on your back. The cold scales of his tail rest against the contrasting heat in your throbbing loins. It is not as rough as you expect, actually the scales are rather comfortable and surprisingly stimulating as you grind your wet crotch against them.

Vyn cautiously runs his hands up your stomach, stopping below your breasts. He carefully pulls the knot out of the string bikini, letting it slowly fall open. His hands fervently explore the newly exposed skin, trailing over the plush swells and massaging your nipples in gentle circles. The motion earns soft moans out of you.

You squirm at his touch as his hands travel south, playing with the edges of your beach skirt while he tantalizing rubs along your inner thigh.

Annoyed with his teasing, “Just touch me already!” You desperately whine out, moving your hips against him trying to get any friction possible.

Scoffing with a slight smirk, he delicately pulls your bikini bottoms aside with his fingers. He smooths his fingers along your warm slit, gathering your slick in his hands.

“Did you have your fun earlier?” he says while slowly pushing his fingertip in, moving it in and out at a treacherously slow pace. Seeing how pliant you are in his hands, he adds another digit, while his thumb plays with your clit.

Scissoring his fingers, he effectively stretches you out. The heat steadily builds in your core as he finger-fucks you with his long slender fingers that reach places your tiny hands could never even imagine. Back and forth and back and forth, his hand never falters.

You clench and throb around his fingers and it’s getting to be too much. Arching your back, you try to push his shoulders back to tell him to stop, but his pace is unrelenting as he curls his fingers inside. The pressure is overwhelming, if he doesn’t stop soon you think you’ll-

“ Oh!”

Your walls spasm around his hand as your legs tremble. Your legs tremble as you convulse and his fingers ride you through your orgasm. Vyn watches your reactions through his lidded eyes. As your head lolls back and you gasp, he doesn’t stop the stimulation to your clit. The overstimulation bringing tears to your eyes, but it feels too good to stop.

The feeling his actions send through you has you grinding yourself against his tail greedily. The scaly skin provides a sensation you have never experienced and it eggs you on further. You feel something poking against your bottom and you pause your movements, a little shocked.

“S-stop!” You exclaim and he abruptly stops all his ministrations. Seeing his confused face, you reassure him, “I want to make you feel good too! It’s not just about me…”

You’re not sure how you thought mermaid anatomy would work when it comes to genitalia in the past, but now you’ve found the answer.

His erection peaks out of the scales from where it was once hidden. The scales provide a nice contrast to the pale fleshy shaft. It’s actually rather pretty for a dick - longer than it is wide but not uncomfortably so. Your eyes are drawn to the flushed pink tip that is begging for attention. 

Actually seeing it for yourself awakens a hunger within you that you didn’t know you had and you clench just at the sight of it.

You wrap your tiny hand around his shaft, pumping up and down gauging his reactions. Seeing him bite back a moan you move your fingers to tease along his tip.

He whines out at the sensitive touch, “S-slow down! ” Positioning himself below your entrance, he rubs around your hole, gathering your arousal on himself.

Through your labored breathing, you try to push your hips against his, but Vyn holds you in place as he captures your lips in yet another kiss.

He eases himself inside of you as your mouths slot together in the heated exchange.

Bottoming out quickly, his dick reaches the deepest parts of your core, causing you to break the kiss. Your mouth falls open in a silent gasp as you adjust to the delicious stretch.

He slowly pulls back, dragging along your walls before shallowly thrusting back in. After a while of slow, languid thrusting, Vyn picks up the pace - losing himself in the feeling of your warm, aching hole.

The loud slapping of your skin is not muffled by the water at all and your whole body heats up thinking about how thoroughly he’s railing you against this rock.

You hold onto him as he buries his face in the crook of your neck and his hands rest on your waist. His long hair falls over your figure as his hips continue to pound into you. Feeling him everywhere at once is overwhelming and soon, you feel that hot, pulsing feeling from earlier return.

With his deep pounding and your sensitivity from earlier, you don’t know how you haven’t cum already. It’s taking everything in you to hold yourself back.

You can tell Vyn is close too by the way his cock is twitching inside you. Unintentionally you squeeze around him and he curses under his breath.

Your eyes roll to the back of your head as cunt flutters excitedly. Waves of electricity course through your entire body and you can’t even think straight anymore. Sucking him further into your warmth, you tighten your hands on him, almost hard enough to leave bruises on his pale skin.

Sigh, “I’m gonna-”

As you tighten and spasm around him, your walls clamping down on him sends him over the edge. You feel him twitch and throb in you before finally releasing his warmth inside your spent hole. It fills you up so good, and there's so much. So much that it’s leaking out of you and down your shaky thighs. Letting his head completely rest on your shoulder, he thrusts until his orgasm has subsided.

“Well,” Vyn tiredly breathes out, “I suppose, sometimes it’s beneficial to be curious.” Grabbing your hand, he nuzzles into you and you both just bask in the afterglow. You intertwine your fingers and give him a small peck on his cheek.

You only blush at the sentiment, registering what ACTUALLY just happened - not only did you meet a mythical creature, but he was hot too!

Fucking a mermaid is crazy - even for you.

Seeing an SOS signal go off high into the sky, you chuckle realizing that your friends only now figured out how to set it off. Speaking of your friends, you should probably get back.

“Ha, I guess that’s my cue to head back now…” you say a little half-heartedly. Turning away, you murmur to him, “You will let me go back now, right?” Even after all that just happened, you’re still a little wary of him.

Vyn laughs at your phrasing, “Yes dear, I don’t plan to hold you hostage - that’s not really something I take interest in.” Caressing your face with his palm, he lifts your chin to stare right into his honey eyes. When he speaks, his tone is now a little disquieting, “Besides, why would I need to keep you here when I know you’ll keep coming back.”