Disaster in the making

Arei glanced up at Jos as he poured them each another glass of wine. She'd barely touched her dinner and was still sliding the food around with her fork, a perplexed expression plastered to her face. He relaxed against the sofa and swirled his wine in its glass, his focus still trained on her. The corner of his lips curved. "Shall we do it here or move to the bedroom first?" He chuckled as she jerked upright.

"D…do it?!"

A smirk spread across his lips. "Well yes… you still want to, don't you?"

Her perplexity grew as she stared dumbfoundedly back at him. "I…"

He hid his grin behind the glass as he took a long drink. "What is it, kitten?"

Jos could feel her cheeks heat as she averted her eyes to avoid his heated gaze.

He narrowed his eyes, the smirk returning to his lips as he sat forward and set his glass back on the table. He lifted from the sofa and walked over to where she sat, still doing her best to avoid making eye contact with him. He took the glass from her hands and set it on the table before leaning over the armchair and bracing his wait on both arms. He waited until her wide eyes finally met his. Their slow assent up his body causing it to go rigid beneath his clothes. He released one of the chair arms and cupped her chin. His voice was velvety soft with a husky undertone as he whispered. "You misunderstand my question… but seeing you react so adorably makes me crave that which you are thinking of now…" He lowered his lips to hers, brushing them across hers teasingly. "Though your reactions of late have made me afraid to pursue it…"

Jos couldn't help but push forward, craving his touch. "Afraid…"

"Um, yes…" His hand slid into her hair as his eyes roamed over her face. He pressed his lips firmly against hers, then nipped her bottom lip. "Afraid you'll become upset and run away yet again. "Being with you is emotional terrorism at its best, but I can't help wanting more… needing more." With those words he captured her lips roughly. He took advantage of her gasp and slid his tongue inside.

She planted her hands against his thick thighs for support. "Arei…" She murmured his name between passionate kisses.

He leaned forward more, releasing his grip on the back of her head and scooped her into his arms. "Bed or couch?" He whispered huskily against her lips.

"Bed." She panted, leaning her head back as his lips found her throat.

He carried her down the hall and kicked the bedroom door open with his foot. He continued kissing her neck and lips until he reached the bed. He set her in the middle of the bed and braced himself over top her. He stared down into her lust-clouded eyes. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

His words surprised her. "I… I…" Her cheeks heated as realization dawned… "I don't know…"

Instead of getting mad, he nodded. "I assumed as much…" He rolled onto the mattress beside her and pulled her into his arms. He placed a kiss on the top of her head but didn't move his mouth after. "I believe it would be best to wait until you can answer that question with more certainty… Don't you?"

Jos could feel her cheeks heat again. She felt as if she was back to being the young, naive girl who'd met him all those years ago… and as always, he was scolding her… She pushed away from him and rolled onto her back with a heavy sigh. "It seems like we're trapped in a never-ending cycle…"

He chuckled as he rolled onto his side. "As long as I'm trapped in it with you." He traced the features of her face with the back of his index finger. "I'm well aware of all the obstacles remaining in the way of our relationship… I am… agree with uncle… We should get married as soon as possible." His serious expression shifted to sadness. "Once everything passes and you're no longer in danger… and you decide you no longer want to be with me… then… we could… di-ah… separate…"

Jos shook her head as she reached out to cup his jaw. "I don't want to marry you for security alone. I do love you and want to be with you… I just want to do it in my own time… on my own terms…" She turned to face him. "I feel like our entire relationship so far has been out of our control… hell, nearly my entire life has been… I'm tired of it. I want to finally do something because it's what I wanted to do at that moment." She searched his eyes. "Isn't that what you want? I'm sure another hundred years down the road you don't want to still be waiting for the other foot to drop… worried that I may want to end some forced arrangement…"

Arei drew in a deep breath, then blew it out slowly. "You're right… but in truth, none of it would matter… not really… You are the only one I will ever love… ever want to be with… Whether we are together or apart, married in name only… I don't care as long as I don't lose you entirely."

It was Jos's turn to frown. "Do you not hear yourself right now? It's hard to believe you're not also affected by my curse… Those are things only someone being held under the curse's influence would say… would want."

He took her hand and lifted it to his lips, placing a kiss to the back of it. "I'm not under the effects of your curse. These are simply the feelings of a man who has been in love with the same woman for over half a millennia."

She let her hands fall away from his face and rolled back onto her back. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. "I really wish you'd stop saying things like that… Hearing you talk about how loyal and singular your love has been over all this time only ever makes me feel guilty for my own infidelities…"

He caught her chin and turned her face to meet his. "You've done nothing wrong. We were separated. There's no rule that says you should have stayed single…" He held her troubled gaze. "There are no rules that state you have to love me back at all… though I hope that you do."

Jos could feel the tears burn her eyes as she tried to hold them back. "But I do love you. I never stopped either… I just… I… never thought I'd see you again, and once we did meet again all the hurt and pain from losing you came rushing back." She sniffled back a sob. "Even without understanding or remembering the full extent of what I'd lost, the pain was still there… I didn't want to… still don't want to go through that hurt again… but I do… each and every time we fight it's the same loss the same hurt all over again." The tears ran freely down her face now. "You're right… maybe I did overreact over the baby thing… but… I was in pain… hurting once again… and I know it wasn't your fault exactly, but you were still the cause of it…" Her lips trembled as she continued. "I need time… we need time… to figure all this out… to get to know each other now and not just base everything off the people we used to be."

Arei wiped away her tears. "I agree with you… but unfortunately, time may not be something we have a lot of. That is why I gave you my journals, why I've tried my best to get to know you and those you're closest with… why I've been trying to share my family's history with you…"

Jos blew out a sigh as she nodded. "Then continue telling me… tell me everything there is to know about you and your family. I don't want to read it… though I have every word… some more than once…"

Arei arched a brow as he sent her a cocky grin. "Well, that had been the plan before you seduced me with your misunderstanding earlier…"

Jos's hand quickly moved to her mouth. "Oh! That's what you were talking about! You were asking whether I wanted you to finish the story on the couch or here… I see…" Her face became flushed, burning all the way up to her ears.

Arei laughed. "Yes… but your mix-up was too cute not to tease you about first…"

Jos narrowed her eyes and gave his chest a smack. "Jerk…"

He chuckled as he held her hand against his chest. "Maybe… but I'm your jerk…"

She rolled her eyes as she shook her head. "You're too much, you know that?"

"So, I've been told. Now… are you ready for the rest of the tale or should I go get the rest of the wine first?"

"That bad?"

"Yep…"

She bit her bottom lip as she considered it for a few seconds. "Wine first…"

***

Oceanus's Palace

Ursula chewed her fingernails as she swam back and forth in a panic. She muttered to herself as she debated her options.

"Sh…shouldn't we tell Triton?" Sabastian asked with a nervous stutter.

Ursula turned frantic eyes to him. "Do you want to be the one to tell him his only remaining daughter has taken off to the human world and is currently being used against us?"

Sabastian turned his eyes down to his hands that he was nervously ringing. "Well, no… but he should be told in any case…"

Memories of Triton's anger from a few years back flashed through her mind and caused her to shake her head rapidly in disagreement. "You've obviously never had to face his hostility… It is a frightening thing to behold to be sure…"

"Th…then at least Mrs. Yuri… or… or… Possibly Poseidon… He would help bring back his granddaughter… right?"

Ursula thought through the possibility for a few minutes before shaking her head again. "No… I will go talk to her first. I will try to bring her back… it is our best option… after all, it was I who gave her the idea."

then?"

Ursula swallowed involuntarily. "Then… and only then we go to Triton." She swam around her room gathering items she would need. Just as she was about to leave, she turned back to face Sabastian. Her nervous eyes held his as she swam over and took his hands. "Promise me… If I do not return in three days… Promise me, you will go to Triton yourself."

Sabastian swallowed past the lump in his throat but still couldn't force the words out. He nodded rapidly, his eyes burning from the building emotions.

Ursula pulled him into a tight hug. "Thank you… and… take care." She pulled away and gave his cheek a light pat before she turned and left the room. She didn't look back as she swam from the palace. She followed the landmarks leading to the human palace where she would find her dear niece.

She shuttered against the cool night breeze as she stepped out of the ocean and made her way across the beach. She set down the bag that she'd brought with her and pulled out a plain black dress she'd brought with her. A frown pulled down the corners of her lips as another shiver crawled up her back from the wet garment. She blew out an exasperated sigh as she continued rummaging through the bag and realized she'd forgotten shoes. Straightening she muttered. "This will have to do…"

Her eyes moved around the dark beach. If I'm in the right place the path should be over that way… but… hum…" She rubbed her chin as she walked toward the tall grass-covered dunes. Just as she stepped past the first one, she noticed a well-worn path. "This must be it…"

The bright lights of a grand palace lit the last several feet of the path drawing her attention upward. "Hum… not bad…" The sound of music flowed beautifully from the open window of the back of the palace. She followed it to a grand backyard decorated to the T and packed with people. She set her bag near the wide, elegantly decorated gates as she walked through.

"Ha! It looks like one of the guests has decided to take an early dip." A man standing by the back gates took Ursula in, admiration lighting his features as he did. "And it looks as if you didn't bother undressing first…" A mischievous smile curved his lips. "Had I known, I would have been more than willing to accompany you, lovely."

Ursula forced her displeasure down as she turned her focus to the young man. Though her French was rusty, she sent him a warm smile and closed the distance between them. "I was bored." She replied simply. "Do you know where the prince may be?"

The man gave a snorted laugh. "Your guess is as good as any of ours…" He gave a shrug. "Can you believe the crazy bastard plans to prove the existence of ocean people here tonight? As if this new crazy rant will earn him any respect. Hahaha." He stepped closer to her and slid his hand across her lower back. "What do you say the two of us… amuse ourselves?"

Ursula masked her shock and nodded. "Perhaps somewhere more… private?" She sent an eager glance toward the palace and forced herself to smile back at him.

"A wonderful idea to be sure!" He applied gentle pressure to the small of her back. "Follow me, my dear."

Ursula was silent as she let him lead her through the open doors of the rare palace. He guided her down the brightly lit corridors. Her eyes scanned each room as they made their way deeper inside. Her breath caught when the stepped in front of a room that had been decorated to resemble a coral reef. Her eyes locked on a large tank of water in the center of the room. Her hand flew to her mouth to subdue the gasp that escaped her lips as she put together the prince's places for the night. {The prince is going to force her to transform and put her on display for all here to see tonight! I have to stop this!!}