A Mermaid's Cry

Chapter 14-Challenge Accepted

Ares

Never in my life has a female slapped me. Never have I seen such hatred spark from their eyes. Until Corintha. A female I thought tame, until she pushed me down and ran away. How spirited she was to fling herself off a cliff, and swim through the water so graceful and sure.

It was only when I had her in my grasp, that she turned into a raging barracuda. Forcing me to chase her down till she reached her limit. Even then that spark of defiance simmered beneath her exterior of frailty. Especially when she relented to my request.

Like our kiss in the Elder's hut, it ignites an unquenchable thirst in my body and soul. Corintha goes limp in my grasp, becoming entranced with me as much as I do with her. The wild locks of her dark red hair, the speckled green and brown eyes of hers, and the softness of her body at odds with the rough calluses on her slender hands.

I explore her mouth with my lips. Reveling in every dip of the delicate plump flesh. If not for the need to keep her from strangling me, I'd have that towel, that barrier, thrown to the ground so I could see the work of art that she is.

"Corintha, I forgot I need to iron your hair!" Elder Dalara crows, ruining my moment of bliss.

I pull my head back, and smile at a now silent Corintha. Quiet, but furious and hungry. She pants and seethes, a flush working up her neck to color her delicate but fearsome face. "I believe that's my cue," I whisper, my voice low and husky.

As I step back, I release her wrists. Slowly but surely, my bare feet whisper across the wet jungle grass. She watches me, like a predator does their prey. Unblinking, unmoving, and ready to pounce at the slightest sign of weakness.

"Remember this treasure," I drawl, stopping on the edge of the jungle trees that with one step more, will hide me from view. "I will heed the words of Elder Isolde. It will always be your choice. Your choice to fight me, your choice to choose me. However, my patience is waning ever so slowly."

"I see," she replies, lowering fisted hands down to her sides. "But promise me that you will never look at me unclothed without my permission again. I'm not stupid to think that you just appeared out of thin air. Now I must go, enjoy the rest of your day Ares."

With that she turns on her heel, those slender legs of hers carrying her across the garden yard and into the hut with a decisive slam of the door. Hmm, she is indeed a smart female. A female it seems with no concern of her body, or for the ones who might chance on seeing her bare form. I smile, a leopard's smile as I disappear into the jungle brush.

Oh what a challenge she is. What a creature not to tame, but to craft into something far more deadly. I can't wait to see who will make the first move.