Page 17 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

“Another gold chaser. He won’t fall for it. He didn’t fall for the last one…”

Swallowing the last bite of food, I searched the room for an escape. Perhaps my eyes were too big for my siren ability. I could capture the heart of someone less known. I was sure there would still be power to be had no matter the heart.

“You were hungry,” Marcus said as he approached me, his eyes on the empty plate still within my hold. He took the plate from me and set it down on the table as he passed me a crystal glass filled with bubbling yellow liquid. “Now that you have eaten something, you should try this. It’s from one of my oldest collections.”

He watched me over the rim of his own glass as I took a sip, the bubbles tickling my tongue as I swallowed. A heat warmed my throat and I smiled, moaning at the pleasant taste coating my mouth. “This is good. Thank you!”

Marcus brushed strands of my hair behind my ear as he gazed down at me. “Your smile… I’m sorry.” He took another sip from his glass. “That was rather forward of me.”

I felt my cheeks heat under his attention. I couldn’t hold his gaze, afraid he’d see the victory behind my eyes. Instead, I stared down at my feet, realizing how odd I must appear arriving barefooted to this grand party.

His fingers brushed beneath my chin as he tilted my gaze back up to meet his own. “I can see this was all too much for you. It was dumb of me to ask you to come here?—”

“—No,” I interrupted him, lifting my hand so that my fingers brushed lightly against the ones of his still supporting my chin. “I’m happy you brought me here, but it is an awful lot to take in. My thoughts are consumed with what happened to me though. I must admit that I am feeling overwhelmed.”

Marcus glanced around us and then nodded. He asked for my hand, and I gave it to him, closing my fingers around his hold and letting him lead me from the room. We made our way through the throng of people until we stepped through a large, sliding glass door and into the night.

The disapproving voices left behind, I felt myself straighten again. My demure much more likely to succeed out of the watchful stares of his friends, I looped my arm around his as he led me down a set of stone steps and into the gardens of his property.

“It is such a beautiful night,” I said, my gaze skyward.

“It certainly is,” Marcus replied, and when I glanced his way, I noticed he wasn’t looking at the night at all. His gaze was firmly rooted to me. “Come, we can sit by the fountain. The party will go on for several hours more, but we can pass the time out here instead.”

I laughed as we continued forward. “But won’t your guests think you rude?”

“The drink and food will be theirs whether I am there or not.” He shrugged, guiding me toward a beautiful fountain that sat in the center of the garden. “I dare say my company isn’t the main draw for many of them. It’s my fine taste in the finer things.”

As I sat on the stone bench, I stared up at the statue rising from the fountain. Water poured out of the lifted hands of a mermaid; her tail curved beneath her in stone scales that held amazing detail. Her breasts only hidden beneath a stereotypical bra made of shells. The constant sound of water running soothed my soul.

The evening passed with us staring into the rushing water of the fountain before us. Quiet conversation as the music sang quietly from the house, the party continuing even without its host as he kept me company instead. He played the same game of lust and love that I did. Both of us coyly trying to capture the other.

It was invigorating…

I just couldn’t forget that it was also dangerous.

Chapter 12

The Thoughts Within

The Pirate

We’d been out at sea for months, and even I looked forward to stepping back onto land. The shores of Whitecliff broke the horizon in the distance and my men moved around the deck of my ship as they readied to dock, some more eager than others. I knew some would not be returning when the time came to set sail again.

The sun burned brilliantly in the high sky, but by the time we reached the dock and tied the ship down, the cooler breath of night descended, much to my crew’s delight. I knew many of them would be heading to the local apothecary for relief, their skin blistered and burned from the unrelenting rays of the sun. These past days had been brutal for them. The curse gripping me by the soul was the only reason I remained unaffected.

Waiting for the crew to disembark, I waited along the railing near the bow of my ship, and when I knew I’d been left alone, my fingers dipped into the pocket of my trousers until they wrapped around the cool brass I never went without. With a sigh, I pulled it free, holding it within the palm of my fisted righthand for a moment, my attention watching the town nearby, lit only by flickering torches along every street. I clicked it open and dropped my gaze to the spinning dial of the compass, a slow grin lifting the corner of my lip as the arrow jerked to a stop. It now pointed somewhere on shore, to the town nearby, to the answers I’d never been this close to in all the years since this wretched curse gripped me in its clutches.

I snapped the compass closed, dropping it back into my pocket. Only one thought on my mind. It was time to go hunting.

I grabbed my jacket from my cabin and disembark the ship. A few people dotted the beach beneath the night sky, lying on spread blankets as they lost themselves in romance. With a shake of my head at their naivety, I made my way up the twisting path to the town, which, at this hour, still bustled with activity.

The compass led me to one of the market streets, most of the businesses in their final hour of operation before shutting down for the evening. A wicked grin spread across my face as I quickly picked her out in the crowd.

She exuded beauty, bred to lure in her prey like a predator that no one ever saw coming. Her short yet curvy form, pale skin that reminded me of cream, and long hair that glimmered bluish like midnight beneath the flickering torchlight.

I stood on the street corner, watching as she came out of one of the shops, flicking her hair over a shoulder as she laughed at something I couldn’t hear from here. She looked my way, her large turquoise eyes landing on me, and I could tell even from this distance that her pupils held the gold ring of royalty, a sight I hadn’t been expecting. I smirked as she turned her back to me, moving in the opposite direction.

There would be only one reason for her to be on land blending in with the humans. She hadn’t yet inherited her powers, but she’d come ashore to do so. It wouldn’t be long before some unfortunate soul lost more than just the affectionsof a young woman. Legend had it, a siren must claim the heart of a man who loves them in order to gain their full power. A moment I intended to take full advantage of.

---