"I can't. Yet I can't be sated without you."
Luciano knew all about the merpeople of the deep sea who seduced their prey and collected their bones as trophies.
Afonso had been very honest from the beginning. As a merman, he didn't feel love, only lust and yet Luciano dared to touched him and every visit could be the last before Afonso added his bone to his collection.
Yet, everytime, Afonso left him with bite marks and bruises from kisses, but otherwise unharmed.
"Afonso, what do you want from me? You can't love."
"I can't. Yet I can't be sated without you," he answered, reaching for Luciano and pulling him into a kiss.
"I need more than lust," Luciano answered but giving in into the kiss.
The words stuck with Afonsk though and the next full moon, he brought a necklace he made of sea shells and pearls. Gifts were a sign of love, weren't it?
But when he emerged at the surface, he didn't see Luciano at the usual spot. Instead, he saw lights at the beach. There were people dancing around bonfires talking, singing and dancing. That's when he saw Luciano, dancing with another young msn, their hands intertwined. Laughing. Kissing.
He dropped the necklace and dove back into the dark waters, as far way as he could.