A Pirate's Life For Me

Chapter 25 - Tomorrow

OLIVIA

The room is warm, but I can't seem to stop shivering.

I stand in front of the fire in Robin's t shirt, wrapped in a blanket, but my skin still feels damp and cold. I wait for him to come back inside, trying to stay standing. I know that if I sit down, I'll fall asleep. Robin warned me against doing that when he dressed the wound on my head.

I bit my lip, unable to summon the energy for pacing. I told Robin what I saw. Now he's checking it out himself. What if The Encantador is already close enough? What if this is my chance to save them? What if this all goes horribly wrong?

I hear a sigh behind me. "They won't be close enough until tomorrow."

I turn around, wincing at the sudden motion. Robin is toweling himself off, kicking the door shut behind him. "We can't wait another day," I snap. "We need to go."

He sighs, stepping closer to me. "Don't worry. They're going to be fine." Robin wraps his arms around me, his body warming my frozen skin. I feel like I'm melting against him. Resting my arms on his shoulders, I close my eyes and bury my face in his chest.

He sighs again, pulling back from me. I don't want to, but I let go of him.

"You look tired," He says.

"Yeah, but I can't go to sleep, can I?"

Robin takes my hands and sits me down on his bed. "That's true."

For a moment, we don't speak. There are so many things I want to tell him, but I don't say a word. How will he react, I wonder, when he finds out what I'm planning to do? I'm hoping he will understand. That he won't try to stop me. But Robin is Robin, and you can never expect him to step back and let others get hurt. That's just not him.

I watch him as he breaks the stillness of the moment. He leans down until our foreheads are touching. Letting his hands fall on the bed on either side of my legs, he closes his eyes and does the most terrible thing he could do to himself.

Doesn't he know that loving me will only mean his own destruction? Doesn't he know that he needs to get out while he can?

No, he doesn't. Either that, or he's willing to risk it.

His kiss is gentle for a man so strong. Sweet a pure, a beautiful picture being painted between the two of us. I lean in, letting him take me back to our first kiss, back to he and I looking at each other in awe, a ribbon of the future unfurling in front of us, seeming endless.

This isn't right, though. I know it. Leading him into this trap only to hurt him later is not what I want to do. I pull away. "Robin," I murmur with my eyes still closed -- I don't want to lose the beautiful moment he gave me.

"What's wrong?" He asks. His face reflects so many things that I am feeling myself: confusion, bitterness, sadness, desire, hope. Love.

"I'm sorry." I run my fingers through his dark hair. I can feel his pain piercing through me. "But I can't do this to you."

He closes his eyes. "What are you talking about, Livi?"

"I don't know how to say this..." I sigh, letting my hands fall to my side. Is there really any acceptable way to say this? I don't think so.

"It's okay, Mi Amora, you can tell me."

Mi Amora, My Love. I don't deserve this man.

"Look," I say, my voice colder than I intend it to come out. "I already know how I'm going to get them back. And you can't stop me."

Robin raises an eyebrow, trailing his hand along my back. It sends shivers down my spine, all the way down to my toes. "Livi, if you're planning to give yourself up, I'm not going to let you do that." He frowns at me. "So don't even think about it."

"It was a ransom call, Robin!" I stand up, pushing him away from me. "He said they'll let Peter and Brett go free if I surrender myself and the Fina to the Captain."

He stares at me with a look of utter disbelief. "You don't seriously believe that, do you? Captain Araya isn't honorable at all, you know that. How do you know he won't just take you and kill the other two?"

"There's no other way out of this. Even with this crew, there's no way we can beat The Encantador."

"Please, Livi," He begs. "We'll find another way out of this. You don't need to hand yourself over." Oh how I wish I could believe that.

"I--" I begin to object, but he cuts me off with another kiss.

I forget what I was going to say. His hands slip down to my waist, moving along my hips and trailing along my stomach. His touch is intoxicating, sending vibrant shivers through my body. His fingers move up my arms, caressing the back of my neck. I don't stop him.

He walks me into the bed again, hands entangled in my hair. I let him take control of me. He lays me down, planting soft kisses on my neck. I no longer feel cold. There is a warm feeling in the pit of my stomach that seems to expand through my entire body.

I feel his lips pause just below my ear. I hold my breath as he whispers the words that would ruin us both: "I love you."