Page 138 of Sea's Secret

“Will you stay with me forever?” I wished I could say that I was not afraid of her answer, but I was. With one word, she could break me. With one word, she could send me into endless torment. One word, and I was going to be either the happiest I had ever been in my entire life or begging Sands to tie an anchor to my boots and send me to the locker’s depths.

“Yes–” she said with a nod, her eyes locked onto mine.

I grinned. My confidence grew as I realized what that word meant.

“Will you stay with me forever?” she asked.

“Yes, always,” I said back with a side smile I knew she liked because of the way her eyes looked at my mouth. “How could you ever doubt it?”

“There are many things we have not said, Dominick.”

“I know, and I wish to say them now. You have been so patient with me,” I said. I moved closer. “Listen to all I have to say, for I am not sure I can say it a second time,” I began while caressing my lips softly against her mouth, teasing her.

She whined.

“Kiss me,” she pouted, and I gave her one gentle peck and stepped back.

“I must say this,” I said, putting my hands up.

She laughed and nodded, waiting.

“I love you, Meria.”

“Dominick!” she cried out, reaching for me, caressing my face, with tears dripping down her cheeks. “I love you, Dominick, so incredibly much,” she whispered. I wiped away her tears and smiled.

“I am not one to make long poetic verses. I am a pirate, and all I can say to express how I feel is that I am so deeply in love with you; my heart is yours. I will go with you to the fathoms and let you rip my heart from my chest, because it belongs to you.”

“I am no siren! I would never drown you in the sea! That is a bit offensive,” she said, placing her hands on her hips.

I chuckled.

“But I will say,” she added. “I wish to never leave you as long as I live.”

“The point is that I would let you–if that was what you wanted. I would still love you even if you were a siren. Is that not romantic?” I asked, turning my head to the side.

“You would let me drown you if I wanted to?” she questioned.

“Yes–that's how much I trust you–love you,” I said with a chuckle. It was not working, not going as I had expected. I should have never asked for advice.

“You know, that sounds like something Sands coached you to say. I want to hear what you want to say,” she said, pursing her lips and raising a brow.

Blast, it was advice from Sands. I had asked him just that morning how to confess my feelings. I should have known not to ask him. So much for him once winning the heart of a princess.

“Okay, maybe I did get some pointers from Sands, but he says women want long declarations.”

“Not this mermaid; I just want whatever you wish to tell me, right now,” she said, walking closer to me, touching my chest, her beautiful light blue eyes holding me captive.

“You are it, Meria.” I said, stroking her cheek. She leaned into my touch, and I smiled. “When I went into the Mirror Sea, I was given the choice of my desire, and I realized then, under those waters, that what I desired the most was you–making you happy. I do not know why you left it behind–left behind the star that could save your people–”

“Because I took a different star–one that was one of your deepest desires,” she whispered.

“What was it?” I asked gently. But she ignored my question.

“That was much better than what Sands told you to say,” she giggled. That had been a new thing for her since being in Walden–her giggles. I loved them as well as the brightness in her eyes whenever she discovered something new in the human world. I liked hearing that girlish giggle; it was as if I had earned the right to hear such a vulnerable sound from her.

“Yeah?” I asked, caressing my lips against her jaw.

“Yes–you have a way with words that he does not.”