Chapter 135: Chapter One Hundred-Thirty-Five: Salt Air

//CLARA//

The three days at sea were a fever dream of sun and salt. The endless roll of the sea and a freedom that felt almost illegal.

Three days of Casimir in nothing but rolled-up shirtsleeves and trousers slung low on his hips, looking like a pirate.

I sunbathed on the hood of the yacht in a ridiculous silk nightshift. I would have killed for a bikini. A one-piece. Hell, even a pair of shorts and a bra. But the nightshift would have to suffice.

Casimir’s eyes kept wandering.

Every time I shifted, every time the breeze caught the silk and lifted it higher on my thighs, his gaze would snap to me like a compass finding north.

He wasn’t subtle. He wasn’t trying to be.

"You’re going to burn."

I cracked one eye open and found him standing over me, blocking the sun.

"I’m tanning."

"You’re turning into a lobster."

"You like lobster."

His lips twitched, but he didn’t move.

"Are you going to stand there and block my light, or are you going to join me?"

"I was fishing."

"How’s that going?"

He glanced back at Gary, who was currently wrestling with his line, which had somehow tangled itself into a knot.

"Poorly."

I laughed. Gary started to turn his head and Casimir moved like a snake striking, positioning himself directly between us.

"Eyes into the water," he barked.

Gary sighed heavily. "Dude. I’m literally just trying to fish. I’m not looking at her."

"You were."

"Chill, bro." Gary shook his head, reeling in his line. "All of that is yours. Seriously. Whatever possessive caveman thought you’re having? Not gonna happen."

Casimir’s jaw tightened. "Bro?"

"It’s... a term of endearment."

"It sounds ridiculous."

"Everything sounds ridiculous to you."

I laughed again. "He wasn’t even looking at me."

"I looked at you once," Gary muttered to the sea. "By accident. And I thought he was going to throw me overboard."

"I considered it."

"See? This is what I’m talking about."

When the sun hit its peak, the heat became unbearable. Casimir didn’t ask. He just dropped his rod, walked over to where I was lounging, and scooped me up into his arms. I shrieked as he marched to the edge of the deck.

"Casimir, wait—no!"

It was too late, the next second we were airborne.

The water was cold, shockingly so, and I gasped as we surfaced, my arms wrapped around his neck, my legs around his waist. His hair was plastered to his forehead, water streaming down his face, and he was laughing. A sound so rare and so beautiful that I forgot to breathe.

"You could have warned me!" I sputtered, shoving him on the shoulder.

"And miss the look on your face?"

"You’re insane," I said.

"You love it."

He kissed me, tasting the salt on his lips, sun on his skin.

Gary cannonballed into the water beside us, splashing us both.

"Elias!"

Casimir’s glare returned. "I’m going to feed him to the sharks."

"There aren’t any sharks."

"I’ll find some."

By nightfall, we were all drunk and sprawled across the hood of the yacht, a makeshift table between us laden with the remnants of dinner. The stars had emerged, scattered across the sky like spilled salt.

The men were drinking whiskey. Gary’s words had started to slurry, and I was nursing my one-too-many glass of champagne.

"Thish ish the life," Gary said, gesturing vaguely at the sky. "No—" He hiccupped. "No nothing."

I popped a grape into my mouth. "You’re drunk."

"Maybe." He squinted at me. "You’re not?"

"I’m working on it."

Casimir leaned back, his eyes unreadable in the lamplight. He looked at Gary, then at me.

"You and Elias," he said, gesturing with his glass toward Gary. "You speak the same way."

The air on the deck suddenly felt very thin. Gary’s glass stopped halfway to his mouth. He looked at me, a flash of sober panic crossing his face.

"The same way?" I asked, keeping my voice light.

"The same cadence. The same turns of phrase." Casimir’s gaze moved between us, dissecting. "It’s unusual."

I could feel Gary sweating from across the table. I forced myself to stay calm and untroubled.

"We grew up together," I said. "His family moved away about a decade ago. We haven’t seen each other since."

Casimir’s eyes narrowed. "And you recognized him immediately? When you found him on the street?"

Gary jumped in recklessly.

"I’ve got a memorable face! Man, this whiskey is... it’s a lot. I think I’m gonna... I’m gonna hit the bunk." He stood up too fast, swaying. "Goodnight. Lovely evening. Lovely... water."

Casimir watched him stumble away. I reached for a grape and popped it into my mouth, trying to look nonchalant.

"He’s hiding something."

"Everyone’s hiding something, Casimir."

His gaze snapped to me.

"Yes," he said slowly. "I suppose they are."

The silence stretched between us. Casimir stood up. He lifted the small table between us and set it aside, the remaining dishes clattering against the wood.

I didn’t have time to react. One moment I was chewing a grape, the next his hand was fisted in my robe, yanking me toward him, his mouth crashing into mine.

The grape was still in my mouth. He bit into it, his teeth catching mine, the juice sweet and sticky on our tongues. I moaned and he swallowed the sound, his hand sliding into my hair, tilting my head back.

Between rough, biting kisses, he pulled back just far enough to speak.

"You’re lying to me, little bird." His voice was the kind of quiet that preceded a storm.

"And God forgive me," he murmured, his thumb pressing against my lower lip, "it bothers me how much I don’t care, as long as I have you."

My stomach plummeted. The champagne buzz evaporated.

But then his hand was on my thigh, pushing the silk of my nightshift up, and his mouth was on my throat, and the foreboding dissolved into something else entirely.

He pushed me onto my back, the deck hard against my spine, the stars wheeling above us. His hands spreading my thighs, exposing me to the night air.

"Casimir—"

"Wider."

I did. Wider than I thought possible. He settled between them, his shoulders pushing my thighs apart, and then his mouth was on me.

Not gentle. Not teasing. He sucked my clit into his mouth like he was starving, like he’d been thinking about this all day. I screamed, my hands fisting in his hair, trying to pull him closer, trying to push him away, I didn’t know which.

He sucked hard. The pressure was blinding and I felt my orgasm building with terrifying speed.

"Not yet," he growled against me.

He pulled back just enough to look up at me, his chin wet. Then he bit down on the inside of my thigh that made me gasp before soothing the mark with his tongue.

Then he was sucking my clit again, harder than before, his fingers shoving inside me, three of them, stretching me, curling against that spot that made my vision white out.

And his mouth... biting down just shy of too much, then laving the sting away. I was babbling. Words I didn’t recognize. His name, over and over. Pleading. Begging him to stop as I can’t take it anymore.

He didn’t stop.

He held my knees pinned to the deck, my legs spread so wide I felt the strain in my hips. He licked me thoroughly, drawing out every shudder until I was boneless.

Then, he crawled up my body, his mouth finding my nipple, pulling the peak deep into his mouth, his teeth scraping, his tongue flicking.

"Casimir—"

"Pinch it," he ordered, releasing my nipple with a wet pop. "Your other one."

My hand moved without permission. I pinched my own nipple, rolling it between my thumb and forefinger.

"Good girl."

The pleasure-pain blurred together as he suddenly flipped me over. His hand came down on my ass into a stinging slap without a warning. Then another. Then another.

"Count."

"One—two—three—"

He spanked me harder, his handprint blooming hot on my skin. I was wet again, embarrassingly wet, my hips rocking back toward him. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

"You like that," he said. It wasn’t a question.

"Yes."

"Keep going."

"Five—six—seven—"

He stopped when I lost count, when the numbers blurred into moans. His hands gripped my hips, pulling me back onto my knees, and he entered me from behind in one brutal thrust.

"Fuck—"

"This is what you wanted, right?" His hips slamming into me. "To be ruined by me."

"Yes."

He reached around and pinched my nipple again twisting it hard and I sobbed, my orgasm crashing over me.

Casimir followed moments later, burying himself deep, his release spilling into me as he bit hard into my shoulder.

For a long moment, neither of us moved. His head nestled at the crook of my neck.

"Little bird." He pulled out, slowly, almost reluctantly.

"Hmm?"

He cradled me flushed into his chest.

"Whatever it is. Whenever you’re ready to tell me." His arm tightened around me. "I’ll be here."