Page 94 of Hollyhocks

He glances up at me through dark, wet lashes, the moment ruined when his sister’s ringtone blares from his phone.

“I’ll call her back.”

“Answer it,” I demand. “You never know if something happened.”

He digs his phone from his pocket and swipes the screen. “Hey, Sis. Oh, you guys are on your way? You’re almost here?”

Thunder booms followed by the heavy sheet of rain.

I don’t have to worry about morphing into that woman I killed. Not since they will get caught in the storm.

“See you soon, then.” Fitz hangs up the phone, takes my hand, and drags me upstairs.

“Going to bed already?”

“I need to feel you against me, Wildflower.”

“I’ll never say no to that.”

“Oh, and I’m going to plant hollyhocks in the front yard,” he says, opening the bedroom door.

“Why? Flowers die.” I scrunch my nose in distaste. I would rather him find me someone to kill. Maybe he will warm up to the thought of me killing one of his exes someday.

He wraps his arms around my waist and those dimples show when that charming smile is directed towards me. “They do die but eventually, when the season is perfect—” he twists a strand of my hair around his finger “They come back to life and bloom, just like you did. Just like you’d always do. For me.”

“I’d cross the pits of Hell and the unknown of Purgatory for you just to get a glimpse of your face if that’s all I was allowed.”

He gently closes the bedroom door, kissing me in slow tender motions.

“And then when I’m done with you, we are going to go swimming in the lake.”

“Why?” I pout.

“Because you need to start thinking about your siren. You have to take care of her needs. Your fins, your scales, they are dry. If I have to take care of you myself by holding you in the lake for your body to heal, then I will.”

I tease him. “Well, if you care so much, we should do that now.”

He tosses me on the bed and tugs his shirt over his head. “I’m a good man but I’m not that good of a man.”

This life with Fitz is all I have ever wanted.

But I wouldn’t have it any other way since life is how it is because of me. He is my second chance at life and if I somehow die again, I’ll escape Purgatory for a second time.

Nothing will stand between us. Not life. Not death.

And a love like that?

It’s wild.

The End.