Moonlit Depths Ch. 05

Thanks to @kenjisato for editing. Still looking for a beta reader and as always, I am open to any feedback. Thanks!

As the hands of the clock proceeded to tick uninterrupted, Callisto continued to yearn for her. Memories of her and their time together began to flood his mind, and he questioned if she felt the same way. The way she screamed when she came continued to replay in his mind, driving him mad. If he had known that would have been their last time, he would have made sure to make love to her for hours like he wanted to. His nights and days were filled with mourning a love that always seemed to be slightly out of his reach. A fated love that felt like it was given to him as some type of divine retribution for evil acts he had orchestrated in his mortal life.

When they did see each other in town, there was a longing stare that seemed to interrupt the time that they were in; only broken when Marigold would break with what seemed like a small, regretful smile alluding to her knowledge of his unrequited love.

Marigold was trying her best to forget him, but the universe wanted to remind her of him at every opportunity. When she would lie on the couch, she could smell his cologne that remained on the cushions. When she closed her eyes, she could see his pointed, pearly smile that she loved. Everywhere she went, everywhere she looked, there was a reminder of him that tugged at her heart. She desperately wanted to forget him, but not as much as she wanted to love him with everything she had left to give. The promise to her clan and Cove continued to ground her thoughts and desires. Not everyone had a beautiful love story; maybe, Marigold could only be a spectator of unconditional love in this life.

Cove noticed that Marigold had been distant and distracted for the last few weeks. He figured that she was upset about how adamant he was about her not seeing the vampire. While Cove knew that Marigold was lonely, loneliness had caused her to make poor decisions all those years ago. Their clan was firm in their decision that if she were to endanger them again, then she would have to be killed. Marigold didn't know that piece of information, as it was decided before they devised the plan to save her. And the only reason she was saved was that her mother was the Matriarch, otherwise, she would have surely paid the ultimate price like other sisters before her had.

Marigold was working at the shop by herself, when she heard the bell by the door chime. She looked up to see a young man holding a large pot of ultramarine-colored orchids. 

"Is there a Marigold here?" The young man walked to the counter, and placed the vase down as he waited for her to respond.

"That's me." Marigold was awestruck at the beautiful arrangement as she walked towards the vase. The young man tipped his hat toward her, and promptly left the shop. Marigold was confused as to who would send her flowers; internally, she was hoping that Callisto would have sent the romantic gesture. She walked over to look at them. They were so beautiful, each stem perfectly poised, greeting her. The hue of each flower seemed to be slightly different than the one next to it, resembling the ocean. She couldn't believe that someone had sent her such a kind and extravagant gift. There was a small card attached to the side of the pot.

She opened and read, 'Cara Mia. I saw these orchids and was reminded of the vibrant hues of the memories we shared in our moments together. I hope this symbol of sincerity accompanies my heartfelt plea for your forgiveness and another chance. I was supposed to handle you with the care that you needed and deserved; only, I failed to do so. The time apart has made me realize that the connection we have transcends the reality that we are forced to live in. I am truly sorry and I hope these blooms convey the depth of my remorse. I would love to talk with you. Sweetly, Callisto.' 

She read the note a few times, before realizing that her breath was stuck in her throat. She closed her eyes and released a deep exhale. "He gave me his phone number." She stared at the numbers on the card, seeming to be confused about what to do with the information. 

"You should give him a call, Marigold."

She looked up to see Zora standing over her shoulder, silently reading the note. 

"If nothing else, then to say you got the flowers and to thank him. Men who apologize with flowers don't come along too often---I'll watch the shop." This was the small push that she needed toward him. Marigold realized that it would be rude to not call and at least express gratitude.

She walked outside with the card in her hand. The anxiety began to permeate the air around her, as she dialed his number, silently praying to Neptune that he wouldn't answer. 

"Hello," his voice was gentle and sweet, just like their last night together.

Heat began to rush to her cheeks, a nervous smile bloomed across her face. 

"Hi, it's me...I got the flowers, they are beautiful. Thank you." She held the phone close and felt her breaths getting caught in her throat.

"You're welcome, I'm glad you like them."

There was a sizable silence on the phone between them. Neither one wanted to disconnect the call.

"I truly am sorry, Marigold. I would love the opportunity to start over with you, if that would be okay?" 

She was taken aback by his offer but had to admit that she had missed him. She was confused about what this man saw in her that he wanted to continue chasing her. She considered herself to be a traumatized, emotional disaster; who was more trouble than she was worth. Yet here he was, asking her for another chance because he saw past her trauma for the person she was. He seemed to be truly sorrowful and regretful for how they had started.

Callisto noticed her hesitation and decided to push her just a bit to hopefully agree. "You have my word that things will be different," he said confidently.

There was another pause between them before he heard a small voice say. "Okay," before the line disconnected. 

A wide grin spread across each of their faces, as if they could see each other. Marigold put her phone away and headed back into the store. Callisto put his phone down and began to work on a date that would show her how serious he was about them.

As Marigold and Zora began to close the shop, she received a text message from Callisto.

'I have planned a romantic evening for us. Wear what you would like. I will be at your house at nine PM.'

She reread the text several times before recognizing that she was beginning to feel excitement for the first time in a long time. Marigold walked Zora to her car before walking the short walk to her house.

Judas peeked out from her bag."You seem chipper?" he attempted to probe.

She kept walking, failing to acknowledge the question, hoping that he would drop it. Judas caught the hint and sank back into the bag. They were finally home, Marigold set the bag on the floor and Judas headed straight to the kitchen for his dinner. She noticed Cove was in the kitchen, preparing his lunch before leaving for work.

"Plans for tonight, my love?" Cove asked, while he packed the rest of his lunch and placed kibble in Judas' bowl.

"No plans set in stone."

Merpeople couldn't lie, but what they could do was give such an obscure or vague answer that wasn't too far from one.

"Well, in a few days, I will be out of rotation for a week and would love to hang out. So make time for me, please!" he said in a playful tone, while walking towards the door. 

Marigold chuckled to herself and agreed. She watched him walk out of her driveway to his rideshare. 

She rushed up to the bathroom to get ready. As she started the water for a shower, she looked in the mirror at her dry and frizzy hair. "Maybe I should straighten it." she thought as she examined the frizzy patch of white hair. 

Freshly showered, and finished with her hair, and now for an outfit. She stared at her closet with a towel wrapped tightly around her curvaceous frame, wondering what she should wear. 'Wear what you would like' were his words. She knew that he would probably be dressed in an all-black, perfectly tailored outfit like he usually was. She decided on a black crop-top, that was low cut and showed off her bountiful cleavage and jeans. As she turned to grab a sweater, she heard her phone chime indicating that she received a text. 

'10 minutes away,' she read while feeling like she could feel her heartbeat in her throat. She turned to head downstairs to wait for him, and found Judas sleeping on the couch. She didn't have the heart to wake up and ask him to make himself scarce. She also was hoping that as long as he was around, everyone's clothes would stay on. She then heard a quiet knock at her door. She peeked out the window to see his black SUV parked in her driveway. She was beginning to fidget with her hands anxiously before taking a deep breath to open the door.

There he was, standing across the threshold with a basket in one hand and a bouquet of red roses in the other. His face appeared from behind the bouquet. "Hi Bella."

Marigold's mind went blank when she took him in from head to toe. He looked like a page out of GQ magazine. His dark, tousled hair sat at his shoulders with a few curls framing his face. His facial expression was playful yet charming, while displaying a wide, boyish grin. He was dressed in a loose, black v-neck that fully showcased the tattoo on his neck. She glanced down to see black jeans that hugged his muscular thighs.

"Can I come in?"

The question made her focus come back. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she felt exposed for watching him so intently.

"Uhh yes, of course," she stammered, as she moved from the doorway. 

As he passed her, she could smell notes of sandalwood and pepper wafting behind him. Just the smell alone of this man was enough to make her growl with lust.

"These are for you." His large hand was outstretched toward her.

"They're beautiful, thank you. I'm gonna go put these in water."

She closed the door behind him and headed into the kitchen. He followed her to place the basket on her kitchen table. He turned to find her struggling to reach a vase in the pantry. He walked over until his strong back came in brief contact with her supple behind. Both of them could feel the tension, but neither one of wanted to be the first to succumb to their primal urge.

"Here you are." He placed the vase next to her on the counter, and walked away before he could lift Marigold on the counter and had his way with her.

She stood there, taking slow shallow breaths, trying to calm herself down from envisioning her perched on the counter while his hands roamed her body. "Thanks," she muttered. while trying to concentrate on putting the flowers in water. 

Callisto took in his beauty's appearance. She was dressed in a low-cut sleeveless crop-top that allowed him a view of her cleavage. Her soft stomach was slightly visible and he saw a faint scar that peeked out from her under her jeans. And those jeans...they were tight in all the places that he wanted to touch. Perfectly showcasing her figure and how petite all her features were compared to him. His gaze ended on her dainty feet. He normally wasn't into feet, but Marigold's feet were so pretty and perfect. She couldn't be bigger than a size six and her toes were painted a bright red that contrasted perfectly with her skin. He knew he needed to redirect his attention away from her before she could see how excited he was to be near her again. 

He cleared his throat. "I made a picnic basket for us this evening. I was thinking we could go to the beach?" He asked with an inflection in his voice, checking to make sure that she approved.

She turned around with a smile."That sounds lovely. Let me grab a sweater."

They made their way down to her intimate private beach, where Callisto set up a large blanket, a lantern with several candles, and a selection of fresh seafood, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

"Thank you for planning this, it looks great." Her eyes began to devour the assortment of fish and shrimp before them. A timid smile spread across her lips as she turned to him and drank in his side profile. His face reminded her of a mountain, full of sharp and precise inclines that created a breathtaking landscape.

He smiled towards her, showing his canines that she loved to see. They spent the night laughing and talking like that night in the diner. She noticed that Callisto never ate much, but always brought over large amounts of food for them to share. 

"You don't eat a lot, do you?" she questioned aloud, while popping another shrimp into her mouth. 

"No, we don't need to eat a lot. But I wasn't sure what you wanted, so I got a bit of everything."

"Tell me more about you. You always ask about me." She smiled playfully in his direction. 

"Well, I was born in a small Italian town in 1913. I have five siblings and Noir is the only girl. Noir and I are the closest, I don't speak or see the rest of them. Everyone in my family is a vampire; my father was the first, then my mother and then us children. We moved to America in 1950, right after I turned." He drank from his wine glass while looking out towards the water. 

"Do you like it? Being a vampire, I mean." She noticed that he put his wine glass down and looked down before answering. 

"I don't have a choice, now do I?" His voice was just as deep as his whiskey-colored eyes

"I understand that a little too well," she sighed, turning back towards the ocean.

Both of them sat there in silence, while they enjoyed the sound of the waves. Marigold's silvery voice broke the moment between them.

"What's the worst thing that has ever happened to you?" He sat there thinking, reviewing the last century of his life.

"You always ask me the hard-hitting questions. No time to warm up with you, huh?"

"I'm an intense person, I guess. Noah use to tell me that it feels like my mind swims to the deepest parts of the ocean. Just like I use to."

Marigold always found a way to challenge him, even without intentionally doing so. She could only be described as beautiful, ethereal even. But the way her thoughts could contrast so deeply from her outwardly cherubic appearance, would forever pull him in deeper like a rogue tide. He had suffered great loss and tragedy that seemed to swim alongside hers. Two fated lovers that found one another hiding in the shadows of life.

"I have two. Being turned and watching someone die. I loved her and there was nothing I could do; it feels like those two things always haunt me." Flashbacks of his previous life began to replay in his mind. Cecilia. He imagined the smell of her floral perfume wafting across his nose as the wind gently blew past him. Cecilia was a woman who was difficult to forget, much like Marigold.

"What about you?"

There was a long silence between them, as Marigold tried to hold her jealousy at bay. Who was this woman and why is she only hearing about her now.

"I was pregnant and Noah's father and brother, they...they...attacked me" She couldn't get the words out. It was like her body refused to say it aloud. Callisto was the first person, outside of Cove, who she had told this to.

"You were pregnant?" Callisto imagined what she would have looked like with a pregnant belly, what kind of mother she would be. He knew she would be a loving, kind, and attentive mother, everything that he pictured for his future mate.

"Yeah, I was. When I was with Noah, I buried a lot more things in that garden than just plants." She remembered the day so vividly, the day when another part of her had died.

She woke up one morning in excruciating pain, her side of the bed soaked in fresh blood. Fear set in, as she began to shake Noah awake violently. He immediately sprang into action, carrying her into the bathroom and placing her in the empty tub while he called a local doctor to come and assess her. All she remembered before she passed out was Noah having a death grip on her hand, tears spilling from his eyes as he begged her to stay with him.

Callisto watched as she quietly spoke, letting her poetic words settle into his heart. He wanted to say something to her, but what could he possibly say? What could he tell this woman who survived so much loss, death, and betrayal? Nothing. Her grief and pain didn't need any words or rebuttals. It needed space to be felt by any and everyone who heard it.

"Life goes on, yeah? Whether we want it to or not, and I needed it to." Marigold cleared her throat before reaching for a handful of blueberries. She threw the handful in her mouth before she wrinkled her nose and thinned her lips in disgust.

"They're squishy. Like trying to chew on a jellyfish." She took a large swallow, not even attempting to chew the rest of them.

Callisto watched her expression and released a hearty laugh.

"You've never had blueberries before?"

"First and last time. They're not even sweet like the red ones!" she said, as she pointed towards the raspberries that were sitting next to the blueberries.

He picked up a strawberry in his large hand and extended it towards her. Marigold innocently smiled before closing her eyes and opening her mouth, inviting him to feed her. Callisto gently placed the fruit in her mouth, but before he could pull his hand away, her warm mouth closed around his fingers. She ran her warm tongue across his fingers and the fruit, while she moaned in satisfaction. Callisto felt his manhood stir as he watched her enjoy his fingers and the fruit.

She softly removed his fingers from her mouth before speaking. "Those are good! Much better than the blue ones." Marigold looked into his then-dark and sensual gaze with curiosity.

Callisto felt like he was short-circuiting; his mouth moved, but the only thing that came from his throat was a husky growl.

"Are you okay?" Her brow furrowed in concern.

Callisto continued to hold her gaze and returned a small smile toward her before running his thumb across her full lips. Marigold slowly returned the smile before reaching for more shrimp, scattered on a cutting board. Something was nagging at Callisto, and Marigold had been dancing around it since they began talking about it.

"Marigold, Noah is dead, right? What about his father and brother?" He hoped his voice still sounded cool and even because, internally, he was scorching like the sun, itself. A picture of Marigold struggling and crying underneath faceless men was something more than a nightmare to him. He hadn't killed a man in many years, but he would love the opportunity to watch those men suffer while he slowly drank them dry.

"They told me Noah was killed, but his father and brother are still alive. Still hunting my sisters, I'm sure."

"Would you know them if you saw them again?"

A few waves broke on the shore before she answered him. Her response was so small it was almost swallowed by the next wave crashing against the beach.

Marigold nodded her head, as he watched her stare into the blue-black oblivion.

"Did you choose to turn?" She turned toward him, as she rested her chin on her knees waiting for his answer.

The night was going smoother than he ever expected. It was leading him straight to the conversation that neither of them was prepared for. Was tonight the night?

"No. I didn't."

Marigold looked over at him with a questioning gaze, giving him room to continue before she turned her attention back to the seascape.

"When I was human, I was involved in organized crime back in Italy. I got into some trouble that was hard to get out of. They were kind enough to give me two options--kill Noir and me, or I could let them turn me and continue to work for them for one hundred years." Before he continued to speak, he took a generous swig from his wine glass, finishing it off.