Page 31 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

“You know, you have an awful lot of questions for someone who is supposed to be ruthless…”

“Curiosity is a dangerous thing,” I answered, “But ignorance is worse.” I leaned back in the chair, putting some distance between us despite the desire to do the exact opposite.

Kipp smiled, pulling his hand from my knee and leaving an icy void in its place. The darkness dimmed within his gaze as he chuckled.

“It seems like we both have something to gain from this arrangement,” I said, forcing my voice steady despite the hunger clawing at me from within. “I will help you find the sea witch if you promise to help me release my people from their curse.”

His gaze lingered on me, softened with desire as he answered, “It’s a deal.”

The tension in the room was heated, and I wasn’t sure if it was entirely due to the lust of my power or if there was something else between us. Was this a result of him bindingme to him? Did his curse given darkness call to mine? My gaze lingered on Kipp’s lips, the memory of them at my ear fresh in my mind, heating my blood, my desire.

I knew better than to give in to these desires. Love was a weakness, a vulnerability that I couldn’t afford. I had a kingdom to claim and a legacy to uphold. Sacrificing my heart, the potential for any kind of love, seemed like a fair trade. It had been love that had ruined my mother’s life. I wouldn’t make the same mistakes as she, even if that meant denying what I craved most.

“What’s the matter, Talia? Are you afraid of what might happen if you get too close?” he asked, his gaze glittering with amusement as he watched me.

“It is you who should be afraid, pirate,” I replied with a shake of my head.

“Oh, my dear vicious siren,” he said, his fingers dragging through his dark hair as he laughed. “You have quite the effect on me.” He reached for me, his hand hanging in the air between us but not actually connecting as he paused his movements. He licked his lips, admiring me. “I can almost taste the power flowing through your veins.”

I stood, putting more space between us. I turned, my entire body tensing, an unseen battle warring within me as I fought against my nature, the pull of him, and everything in between. We had a task to focus on, nothing else mattered. He had bound me against my will. This pirate had bound me to him against my will.

This alliance would give us both everything we needed, everything we wanted possibly, but it would be the hardest thing I had ever done, and it just may be the ruin of me instead.

Chapter 20

The Tantalizing Effect

The Siren

My fingers gripped the railing at the bow of the ship, the salty air hitting me fresh in the face and blowing my hair in dark ribbons behind me. It was almost the same feeling as when I propelled myself through the sea. Almost. I dropped my attention to the magnificently carved woman who decorated the front of the ship and cut through the sea. I longed to dive into the water, but I tightened my hold on the railing instead.

There were indents in the wood, scars that showed the long life of this ship, but the boards, the sails, the ropes, everything, it all was in pristine condition. His men maneuvered about the ship like experts, and I couldn’t help but feel a sense of admiration for Kipp and his crew. The storm between warring gods had been known to be strong enough to tear a ship in half, yet they’d navigated through it expertly.

The wind tore through my hair, and the sea darkened ahead as another storm brewed. It painted the sky with shades of deep purple that swirled deep within black clouds. It was angry and powerful and beautiful. It was like a physical representation ofthe war within me between my lust and hatred, threatening to swallow me whole in the same way it threatened to swallow this ship.

Hair like my mother’s drifted around my face, its dark hues glittering almost blue in the light of the sun. I combed my fingers through it, pulling the silky strands away from my face as my thoughts wandered back to Kipp. For so long, I’d thought of nothing else but the desire to make my mother proud. Claim my siren powers and claim the throne that was rightfully mine.

But days spent within the clutches of this cursed pirate seemed to have awakened something long since dormant within me. Something I didn’t think I’d ever feel again since Poseidon had stolen my choices from me. A burning of lust and want, like I had been caught up within the call of a siren, guiding me toward danger and pleasure at his rough hands.

It had been hard, keeping my distance from him these past days, but I had done everything in my power to do just that. I spent hours following beneath the ship, cutting my own path through the water with the invisible leash ensuring I didn’t stray too far from the pirate who held the other end of that chain. The nights, well they had become an awkward dance of playful banter as we both fought the urges growing between us, trapped in the captain’s cabin, the largest room on the ship but still not large enough to contain our lust and desire.

I watched the approaching storm, the sound of his men scurrying about the deck as they readied us for another battering at my back. I knew the danger Kipp posed, I could see it reflecting back at me from his inky dark gaze whenever he dragged them across my skin. It was like an obsession neither of us could escape.

I turned, facing the rest of his crew. They didn’t bother with me at all except to shoot looks of disgust and distrust my way. Saving their captain hadn’t gained me much favor at all, and Iwasn’t sure if I cared about that or not. At this point, they were just lucky I didn’t take my wrath out on their hearts; after all, I wasn’t bound to any of them.

Lighting cracked through the clouds above, breaking open the sky as rain pelted the sea and ship. I tilted my chin skyward, feeling the wetness hit my skin in massive wet droplets as I reached for my powers. I was more than just a mere siren after all; I was the daughter of the god Poseidon himself. One of the three most powerful gods in all of Olympus. Power hummed beneath my skin, a steady thrum I’d felt just below the surface since I’d consumed Marcus’ heart.

The sea called to me, and it was more than just a longing to be home again. I didn’t know what to do with any of this. I’d had no one to teach me what to expect, isolated and alone as I’d been kept all these years.

“Secure the rigging!” Kipp barked out orders, his hands gripping the helm as he steered us through the brewing storm.

I rolled my eyes at his command. The sky angry as it was, the waters coiling as they were… It didn’t matter how tightly he secured those ropes, the sea looked ready to swallow us whole. For a moment, I debated jumping into the sea to leave them to their fate, but…

“Something on your mind, princess?” Kipp drawled, wiping away the rain that had dampened his face as his fisted hold turned white on the wheel of the ship.

“Nothing that concerns you,” I snapped, realizing I couldn’t just let the sea swallow this ship. If he died, I died. He’d proven that much with his last adventure into the sea.

“Seems like everything concerns me now,” he replied as his first mate took the helm from him, freeing him to join me at the bow of the ship.

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