Page 29 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

Pulling Kipp’s limp form toward his ship, toward the board, I flung his body onto the platform and jumped atop him, my fingers wrapping around the ropes as my tail clung to the edge to keep us from slipping back into the ocean as his men worked to hoist our weight back onto the deck of the ship.

His men tipped the platform, and our bodies clattered to the deck, my siren form already transforming back into my legs and smooth skin. The force knocking more water from his lungs until he coughed out the remainder, my hands splayed against the boards of his ship on either side of his head as I straddled him. His black eyes glittered up at me, and for the first time, I noticed a hint of brown peeking from beneath his darkness. A slow smile spread across his face, sending heat down my spine as his crew stood by watching us.

“If drowning is all that I have to do to get you naked on top of me…” he said, his eyes practically twinkling, “…well then I should hope to do that more often.”

I realized then that I’d shucked off my clothing in a mad attempt to transform into my siren form so that I could breathe, discovering too late that it was the sea in his lungs stealing my breath. Now, I straddled the pirate beneath me completely naked, and his crew stood watching us both. Heat flushed my skin, burning my neck and cheeks as I froze.

A blanket fell over my shoulders, and I looked over in time to watch one of his crew members scurrying backward, all of them still keeping their distance of me. “Thank you for saving ourcaptain,” he said weakly, bowing his head as he pressed his lips tightly together.

Scrambling off their captain, I peered around the ship. His crew, both men and women, had looked at me with nothing but hatred and disgust since I’d been brought aboard. Now, though, some of that dislike had melted away. They still didn’t get too close to me, and they still held fear in their postures, but the pure hatred had been dimmed, if only a little.

I wondered if they’d feel the same if they knew I’d only done what I’d done to save my own skin. I wouldn’t have even bothered if I hadn’t begun spewing the sea from my lungs. I certainly hadn’t saved him because of the amusing banter we’d established between us. It hadn’t been because of how he looked without a shirt, or how warm his heart had beat beneath my cheek this morning.

There was a strange look behind Kipp’s eye, but he blinked it away, standing and lifting his hands into the air as his crew clapped him on the back. As soon as he had cut that rope, he’d saved the sails from the worst of the storm, and his crew had secured everything while we’d been fighting for our lives within the violent clutches of the sea. Kipp’s devious smirk returned as his gaze flicked to the freshly tied ropes as the worst of the storm seemed to have passed us by.

“Good to see you back, Captain Black-Eyes!” a man exclaimed as he patted Kipp on the back.

I pulled the corners of the blanket tighter around myself as that name he used wriggled in the back of my mind. The sky lightened around us, and the waters calmed, the disagreement between the gods calming for whatever reason as my mind turned that name over and over until it clicked.

Stories of the oldest, most feared pirate of the seas, claiming the title for centuries. A vile pirate who took what he wanted no matter the cost. Ships sunk at his hand, islands burned on hiscommand, shells of women left in his wake. Captain Black-Eyes. And now he had added a siren princess to his collection.

I bared my teeth, my anger erupting inside of me like a real and physical thing between us as he faced his crew and continued giving orders as the waves died down. My fingers clenched into tight fists, my claws cutting into my palms as the blanket hung over my dripping form loosely. I wanted to sink my teeth into his flesh, but I knew I couldn’t, knew I would only be sinking my teeth into my own flesh.

“You’re Captain Black-Eyes?” I demanded, the crew falling silent at my words.

He turned toward me, that cocky grin in place as he lifted his chin. “So, you have heard of me after all.”

Then he turned from me again, dismissing me without word or thanks for saving his sorry ass. He addressed the man that hadn’t been far from his side this entire time, a man with a deep scar along the side of his face. “Take her back to the cabin and send someone to fix the window in there,” he ordered, and the man looked at me as Kipp peered over his shoulder at me. “My crew will not be harmed, do you understand me?”

My mouth gaped open, and I closed it before I said anything that I would regret. His gaze darkened, turning deadly and losing all aspects of the playfulness I’d become accustomed to over the past day. Instead, Captain Black-Eyes stood before me, and he was more dangerous than the hydra. I tightened my lips and nodded, turning before his crewmate even stepped my way, and stalked toward the cabin myself.

As soon as I crossed the threshold of the cabin, I slammed the door shut behind me, not even giving Kipp’s lackey a chance to enter as I crossed the room. Kipp’s muffled laughter reached me as I stood in front of the open window, and I heard him accuse me of being an immature siren as the door clicked back open behind me. I didn’t even look behind me as the young manentered at my back. I simply dropped the blanket, baring my naked flesh to the man before leaping through the window to the sea below.

Leashed as I was, I swam beneath the ship for hours. I wanted to murder the captain above me. I wanted to bloody his entire crew for being part of his mission. I’d been chained to him, forced to save him, and he’d looked at me like a damn conquest. I swam until my limbs tired, until day turned to night, and then later still.

Chapter 19

The Perfect Curse

The Siren

“Have a good swim, beautiful?”

I stopped in the doorway, my fingers wringing out my wet hair as my skin glistened with droplets of the sea. Kipp’s hungry eyes traveled up and down my body as he leaned back, his booted feet resting upon the corner of his desk as he watched me.

“Have you enjoyed the view?” I asked, marching forward to pick up my discarded blanket and wrapping it around myself.

I hadn’t wanted to be spotted by anyone who could report back to Poseidon when I’d first been captured by this man before me, but that violent display between the gods earlier this morning meant he already knew. Hell, he had probably paid the Fates to orchestrate all of this just to see me fail. It didn’t matter what he had done, who he had paid off to see me fail. It only made my determination that much stronger.

Kipp gestured toward a newly acquired seat, a small pile of folded clothing sitting on its cushioned seat. I quirked an eyebrow. “I thought you liked me naked and vulnerable,” I said.

He smirked, that infuriating dimple showing itself and drawing my eye. “I do indeed,” he replied, his gaze turning molten. “But when that happens, I’d rather you want me to want you naked and vulnerable… beneath me.” He gestured to the clothing again, closing his eyes. “Besides,” he added, that smirk still firmly in place, “you look ridiculous in that blanket.”

Dropping the blanket, I grabbed the clothing from the chair, dressing quickly as I said between clenched teeth, “I didn’t say beneath you.”

“No, I’d like to believe you thought it.”

I tied the pants at my waist, the material thin and soft against my flesh. The shirt hung loosely over my form, so I knotted it again at my hip so that I didn’t swim within the clothing. Kipp’s eyes were still closed while I fisted the oversized fabric to my nose, breathing in the obvious scent of him. Salty sea, spice, and a hint of… I believe Marcus called it whiskey.

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