The Kiss That Killed Me (The Tidal Kiss Trilogy Book 1)

by Kristy Nicolle

  “We’re going to a club?” I guess, raising my eyebrows and Orion spreads his lips in a boyish grin.

  “Yup, I thought I would take a walk in your world.” He smiles and I exhale with harsh conviction at the thought of him trying to pick up a girl at a bar. They’d probably have to call security to control the riot of women that ensued.

  “Well, I’ve never been to a club … I’m not exactly old enough.” I say, trying to appear grateful to the idea, but still putting a dampener on his plans. He nods and forages in the satchel that lies at his feet in the passenger seat, as I pull forward keeping one eye on the road, he delves deeper into its contents.

  “I mean technically, I’m plenty old enough for both of us, but for the purposes of tonight, you are now 21.” He smiles and pulls out two fake ID. I smile at him, mischievous in my intent and wonder how he really does think of everything.

  “How?” I query, exasperated, taking the ID in my hand as we pull to a stop at a crossroads in the centre of four of the tallest buildings in the city.

  “Georgia, of course, that woman never ceases to amaze me.” He replies and I feel like I should have guessed. I scowl to myself, the thought of her handling personal details to do with our date makes me possessive. For all I know, she’s the one picking out my lingerie. Orion senses my hostility and places a hand on my knee, tickling the inside of my thigh. We pass the rest of the journey in comfortable silence, neither feeling the need to ruin the mood with unnecessary questions or yet another argument as his touch placates my temper. I sit, anticipation of the night ahead stirring in my groin, animalistic and hungry for him, heating my blood against the cool air.

  We finally pull to a stop under the star studded sky, the moon hovers about three quarters of the way to the peak above us so I estimate the time to be about 10pm and breathe, realizing we have plenty of time left. As I pull on the parking brake, Orion gets out of the car and runs unnaturally quickly around to my side, opening my door before I can reach the handle.

  “That is quite unnecessary you know.” I castigate him, feeling a little insulted that he doesn’t think I can open my own door.

  “I’m courting, indulge me please.” He begs and with a smile of surrender I take the hand he has held out to me and he helps me from the white leather of my little red vintage. He lays a kiss upon the flesh of the back of my hand and I feel waves of ecstasy roll up my arm.

  “You know you don’t have to do all this. You already have me and I’m not going anywhere.” I say, worried that he doesn’t know the depth of my devotion.

  “I know, but you deserve no less than any other beautiful, intelligent woman of your age. To be treated and courted and doted upon.” He says and I cringe inside. He is so sweet to me, too sweet almost; I know he would never allow me to treat him this way. I just want to take him right here in the street as I blush, smitten. Instead, I take a deep breath and as we begin walking towards the club that is emitting a vibrating pulse of sound through the concrete pavement, I roll my eyes.

  “You really have been away from the world for too long if you think that’s how women are treated these days.” I snort, thinking about the strings of loser boyfriends my friends had in the time that I knew them, the floods of tears and the longing for the other person to understand.

  “I don’t want to be in any world where I can’t adore you.” He says and in an instant I’m irrationally angry, how can I ever be as romantic as him? He has had years to plan this. How will he ever know I feel the same with all this grandeur?

  “You’re so old worldly gentleman sometimes. You know that?” I say kindly trying to extinguish the flame of anger in my chest. I look at him with heavy hooded eyes.

  “Yes Ma’am. Would you prefer something different? Pain and misery perhaps?” he rolls his eyes and looks exasperated.

  “I was thinking maybe we could go for extremely raw and unquenchable physical passion.” I take my ID from his pocket smoothly and make sure I squeeze just the right part of his groin before strutting up to the front of club ‘Inferno’ and flashing it at the balding bouncer. I flounce forward in my heels, shaking my hips and flipping my hair over my left shoulder. I catch Orion’s slightly bewildered, turned on look out of the corner of my eye. I grin to myself, a Cheshire cat playing hide and go seek in the crowd of dancers, I slink, seductively vanishing at certain points, reappearing at others within the thrumming mass of bodies. My hooded lids promise him something darker than what we’re used to, but that’s okay. I want him to shudder and fall to his knees. I’m going to make him want me, and then when I’ve got him begging, I’ll be able to show him exactly how I feel.

  The inside of ‘Inferno’ is positively the most sticky and claustrophobic place I’ve ever been. The air is a mildew of sweat and lust. Mirrors on the walls and ceiling trap the multi-coloured disco lighting, bouncing them from one surface to the next frantically. Smoke machines are fitted in the floor, along with vents that shoot out hot air and the DJ is up on a pedestal shaped like a volcano, with fire around the decks. The thing that makes this place feel claustrophobic isn’t that it’s particularly small, but that so many people are packed, grinding and drinking, into the space that I can barely breathe for the closeness of so many strangers. Orion moves quickly through the crowd after me and grabs my wrist, giving me a confused look after my quick flee into the club. I don’t look at him, afraid if I catch his gaze I’ll lose my nerve, but instead lead him down the stairs from the platform on which we are standing, into the den of ‘Inferno’ and onto the dance floor.

  The music is hypnotic and as I see Orion’s body through his shirt and jeans, I salivate as I begin to move my arms and hips in time to the music, bending my legs and partaking in a dance so provocatively erotic I would have never thought myself capable of it a week ago. I look up through my long, thick lashes and shoot him a glance of foreboding as I grab the fabric of his shirt and pull him towards me, popping off three of the buttons. He looks at me, loving the challenge, his eyes smouldering. The pulsating of ‘Speed of Love’ by Owl City takes over my body and as I continue to grind against Orion, I stare up into those icy blue eyes wilfully and finally he gets it. He lets go and joins me in movement to the pounding baseline, wrapping his arms around my waist and bending my torso backward, kissing my bare exposed neck and making my eyes roll back into my head as I groan into the din. I am tilted back upright and I turn, pressing my back into his body as he grabs my hips and pulls my behind so it’s in line with his crotch. I part my lips, singing carelessly to the lyrics and releasing the tension that has been slowly mounting ever since we had driven into La Mesa. We grind like this for a while, his hands creeping up and down my waist slowly and tentatively until he leans forward and kisses behind my ear, leaving a tingle to skate down my spine with his lips and fingertips in quick succession. I turn on my heel feeling full of a desire, dark and sensuous, that tempts me, that I begin to look around, trying to find distraction from the sexy thrall of my soul mate before I burst.

  The night’s sexual energy has reached a fever pitch and I feel like I should’ve known this kind of build-up was inevitable. It’s then that I notice that we have space around us, and in a club of this size and capacity there must be a reason behind it. The crowd of people that enclosed us now surround us, a ring of space clear around us. The people don’t dance but instead watch. The men, their eyes on me, looking at me like I am a piece of meat, the girls focused on Orion and his stunning physique, I swear some of them are drooling. I am unnerved.

  “Orion?!” I yell out into the cacophony of sound, looking around at him before observing the change in his expression; he has noticed too. “What’s going on?” I ask nervously, feeling as though perhaps I am imagining this.

  “It’s us … we’re making them lust.” He whispers through gritted teeth, he grasps my hand tightly and the hairs on my back stand erect all at once.

  “Lust?” I bite out the word like it is dangerous, but before he can give me an explanation, I am b
eing yanked towards the exit. I hear it as we reach the door, the crowd disperses and as I look back, I see that some have returned to their drinking and grinding, but others are moving swiftly through the crowd in pursuit of us. Orion and I make a quick exit out onto the street, past the bouncers and run, feet slamming the concrete hard, back to the safety of my little red vintage.

  “What the hell was that?” I exclaim, out of breath from the cold night air that is being pulled into my lungs at the fear of being pursued.

  “Not now! Just drive!” He orders and I oblige without question. As I pull away from the curb, I look in my rear view mirror and see a crowd of maybe ten men sprinting towards us, I catch a view of a few straggling women, but they are either too slow or too intoxicated to keep the pace. I slam down on the accelerator as we speed away, gradually losing the brutish looking pursuers.

  “Okay, I think they’ve gone.” I state, checking the rear-view mirror every few seconds out of paranoia and brushing errant curls from across my eyes. It is then that I think about what could have happened if they had caught up with us. Wouldn’t Orion have just beaten the crap out of them anyway? I wonder about his strength in a fight against humans and ask the question that’s hot and heavy like molten lead in my throat.

  “What the hell was that about, Orion?” I snap, feeling the fear still icy in my chest. Orion looks at me and begins to answer; I glare back and forth between his thoughtful blue eyes and the road.

  “There have always been tales of mermaids attracting sailors with just their looks … but it is something deeper than that; a part of our magic that we barely understand. It is never usually much of a problem, as we spend our time surrounded by those of our own kind. But we cause humans to lust. They become fixated with us if you like, hypnotised by their own desires, we become a kind of mystical platform. It’s like they can sense and covet the connections we have with our soul mates. The strongest connections are formed when they hear us sing.” He elaborates and I begin to wonder, does this explain the reaction to Orion from the multitude of females I have witnessed in the past few hours? Georgia and the waitress certainly seemed fixated, but wasn’t I too?

  “Oh, okay so they’re attracted to us in a crazy psychotic kind of way? I was singing in the club … I guess that’s what set them off.” I raise my eyebrows in disbelief and he nods shrugging.

  “It’s something we’ve never understood, and continue to wonder about, though we believe it is some kind of mechanism put in place to make humans complacent about mating with mer. It is, however, dangerous especially for females. You saw how aggressive those men looked back there.” Orion pauses and as though the image of them catching up to us also enters his mind as it has mine, something primal and dark passes beneath the surface of his eyes. I shudder at the thought of what he is imagining. I can’t help but wonder about the relationship between my mom and dad too, was that the result of this lusting? He played her until he got bored maybe? I vanquish the thoughts from my mind, vowing to revisit it later, letting my heartbeat slow.

  “Yeah, I wouldn’t want to be in the middle of all that.” I confess, glad of the cool air hitting my skin as we speed away from the city once again.

  “Okay, so clubbing wasn’t a great idea, I kind of forgot about the whole lust thing. Sorry. I was going to explain about it at dinner, but it kind of slipped my mind when you got angry at me.” He apologises and I breathe a sigh of relief and smile. “Why are you smiling? I could have gotten you killed … or worse.” He acknowledges and I gulp slightly at the thought, before continuing to grin to myself.

  “You screwed up!” I inform him and feel my heart get a little lighter, a smile spreading across my cheeks.

  “You’re happy about this?” Orion asks, looking a little shocked, his sculptured rose petal lips parted in disbelief and his icy blue eyes sparkling under the grey light of the moon above. “You weren’t so happy when I screwed up in the restaurant.”

  “Yes! Oh my God, Orion, do you know how hard it is to be with somebody as perfect as you? It’s so intimidating!” I confess, feeling good at the honesty of my words.

  “Oh. Well …” He shrugs and pouts, looking robbed of my approval.

  “I don’t need all this courting stuff, the life we have is magical enough. I just want to chill! You know … put on some sweatpants and slob out!” He reacts to my words looking mystified.

  “Sweatpants coming right up!” he teases and I laugh a huge guffawing laugh that stems right from my belly. We turn onto a road that I am familiar with; it runs right past my old school.

  “Look, I fell for you, just you. Don’t get me wrong, this romance is any girls dream. But … it’s a lot, and it’s all at once! I feel totally inept at this; I’ve never even had a boyfriend before!” I glance at him out of the corner of my eye and begin to form an idea. We move down the road and I pull over a short stint away from my old school, with its pale-bricked walls and wrought iron gates, you would think the students were convicts.

  “See that building in there?” I point and Orion nods.

  “That’s where I used to go to school.” I say and think back to laughing in homeroom with Molly, Manda, and Chloe, just doing normal girls stuff.

  “It’s very … nice.” Orion smiles at me; clearly indulging what he thinks is some form of nostalgia.

  “No, it isn’t nice. High school is horrible, Orion. You have to sit and learn things you don’t really care about. Things you will never use, all in order to be tested to be able move on with your life; there are groups of kids that think they’re better than you. Boys who just want to get into your pants, and in general, you are lucky to get through it all without being involved in some kind of food fight.” I say and he frowns looking even more confused, his eyebrows are pinched in the centre of his forehead and his chiselled jaw is hard set.

  “Okay … your point?” He smiles gently, encouragingly, and I wonder how anyone can be this patient.

  “My point being … my idea of romance, is sharing a hot dog with someone.” I laugh and Orion looks even more bewildered.

  “I hate sharing food.” He shrugs and I giggle to myself a little more, realizing how different we are.

  “Look, all I’m saying is, you really don’t have to do all this to impress me, Orion. We’re from different worlds. Why don’t you let me impress you for once?” I ask, longing for control, to be impressive.

  “You do impress me. This isn’t how this is supposed to be. I’m supposed to be your protector.” He claims and then I really do throwback my head right there and let out a hysterical laugh.

  “Fat chance!” I say and start the engine again.

  “I suppose this self-sufficient attitude you’ve got going will mean you won’t want the picnic I have in the trunk?” My ears prick up at the mention of food. “It’s a shame as Georgia is a fantastic cook.” He lets his voice trail and I turn and grin a little. Despite the fact I ate dinner not two hours ago, the dancing and my adrenaline fuelled escape had driven me to burn through what I’d consumed at the restaurant.

  “I suppose that wouldn’t be terrible.” I reason, biting my lip.

  “Oh, in the mood for romance now, are we?” Orion teases and I turn and reply quickly and simply.

  “I’m hungry.” I respond and wink at him before turning back to the road and pushing the accelerator downwards. “Where to then?” I ask once again and he smiles at me crookedly, like a playful thought is dancing behind his eyes.

  “I thought we might revisit the beach where we met. But then again, I didn’t realise you were so opposed to romantic gestures.”

  “Explain to me how the location where I was stabbed in your arms is romantic again?” I tease him, but there is a real knot in my stomach at the thought of returning to the place where I passed from this world.

  “It’s the place I first laid eyes on you. It’s the place where I watched you sleep. It’s the place where we became us.” He utters the words, breathing evenly with wide eyes, gauging my react
ion carefully as his tongue slides over his bottom lip. Will I respond with cynicism or will I melt into his tender gaze?

  “Well argued councillor.” I blush. The night air cools my skin, the breeze diffusing a salty taste over me. Gulls cry overhead as I turn a corner and we head into the darkness, back to the place where it happened. Back to the origin. The origin of the kiss that killed me.

  When we reach the beach, I pull onto the tarmac that leads to the dunes at the edge of the sand. I turn off my engine and put on the parking break before getting out and slamming the door of my little red vintage behind me.

  “Is this going to be okay here? Should I park it somewhere more discreet?” I ask not wanting anyone, least of all my friends or the police, to spot the vehicle.

  “I’ll call Georgia.” Orion nods as I throw him my keys.

  “I won’t need these. She has a copy.” He enlightens me and I don’t know what to say to this.

  “She has a key to my car?”

  “And the beach house.”

  “How?” I ask him looking suspicious.

  “You left your keys in the glove box of your car. She retrieved them and had them copied.” He states bluntly.

  “But …”

  “I have to say leaving your keys in a convertible with the top down is bad security Callie.” He has a cocky semi-serious smile still and I roll my eyes.

  “Oh shut up.” I say. My mom had said the very same thing, but I hadn’t ever really thought about it.

  “Do you not think that Georgia maybe has something better to do at this time of night?” I ask and his lip upturns, he looks mischievous and at the same time guilty.

  “No. Not where I’m concerned.” He runs his hand through his hair with a cocky smirk. Getting out of the car and moving around to the trunk.