Page 33 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

The storm worsened, the wind howling like a banshee as it tore at our sails, threatening to capsize the ship completely. I watched the crew as they worked, as they steered the ship onward even as skies ahead continued to darken. The men scurried about the ship, exhausted, their strength spent. Kipp’s hands wrapped around one of the ropes that had just tore through his crew, shoving men aside who just barely managed to stay aboard. I rushed toward him without even thinking, my hands gripping the rope with him, our bodies brushing together as we struggled to secure the rigging.

Every touch sent a jolt of electricity through me, heightening my need for him. The thought plagued me as the rope cut my skin while the wind tried to tear it from our grasp. I held on, giving Kipp time to secure it. He stood, his dark inky gaze flashing with desire that he fought while he growled, “Keep yourhands to yourself, siren.” His hands clenched at his sides as he took a step backward, betraying the effort it took for him to restrain himself.

“Believe me, pirate,” I spat back, my heart pounding inside my chest. “The feeling is mutual.”

The storm his ship fought against was a perfect reflection of the tempest inside us both—a maelstrom of lust, anger, and frustration. It made me wonder… but I dismissed the idea as soon as it had come. That couldn’t be it…

I stalked past him, heading to the cabin. I pushed him away when he tried to help me, he didn’t want to accept my help when I offered; I didn’t want to accept his either. What were we even trying to do here? We both needed each other to accomplish our goals, but neither of us wanted to accept the other.

The door slammed behind me, my anger palpable in the cabin as I tore the stupid ribbon holding my hair from my face free. I didn’t know who I was angrier at. The pirate who shunned me when I’d helped him, or myself, for feeling this way in the first place.

“Listen,” Kipp said at my back, his fingers wrapping around the door as he stood in its frame. “Slamming doors is childish.”

I turned, the ribbon falling from my fingers to the floor as I stared at the frustrating smirk of his, dimpling his cheek as he closed the door with a soft click. My anger burned within me, my heart fluttering in the cage of my ribs as it took every ounce of my strength to remain where I stood. My body thrummed, it trembled with a need I refused to give it, but his dark eyes glittered, his head tilting with his amusement, and his words hit home.

“You think me childish?” I replied, my voice lilting with the power of a siren, the call, the seduction. My clothing clung to my body, my curves, as I sauntered across the cabin and came to a stop in front of him.

It was me who smirked as his breath halted. Bringing my face toward him, the skin of my cheek brushed his as I brought my lips toward his ear. My voice barely a whisper, I said, “That’s not how you look at me.”

I ran my hands down the sides of his face, down his neck, down the front of his shirt that hung open. I let my fingertips trace lines of definition as I pulled my lips from his ear, meeting his dark gaze with the power of lust within my own.

His eyes narrowed, but there was a flicker of amusement hidden beneath the layers of mistrust. He pushed past me, dropping into the chair as he worked to remove his boots. “Don’t push your luck, siren.”

The sexual tension between us was intense, thickening the air until it became almost suffocating. I crossed the room, lowering myself to my knees in front of him as I folded my hands together over his damp knee. “Luck?” I arched a brow, my voice dripping with honeyed sarcasm. “Darling, luck has nothing to do with it. It’s all skill and vicious charm.” I bared my teeth, running my tongue across their sharpened tips as I let a bit of my siren form to show itself.

“Remember, vicious creature. If you kill me, you kill yourself.” There was no real threat in his words though. His dark, inky eyes glittered with challenge. The only question was the kind of challenge he begged for.

I didn’t move as he lifted the wet shirt from his torso, letting my gaze eat up the muscular chest hardened from the tough work of his sailor life, tanned darkly from the brutal rays of the sun, and deliciously inviting. I smirked, an unwavering determination igniting me from within as I replied, “Perhaps, but even pawns bound to another life can create chaos.”

He didn’t push me away as he dropped his shirt to the floor. He simply gave his head a shake. “You are stubborn as a mule.”

“Mule? What is that?” I asked, feeling my brow scrunch as I stared into his dark brown gaze.

He chuckled with a shake of his head. “It’s uh… it’s a type of animal. A donkey mixed with a horse. They’re known to be stubborn as hell with a mean kick when angry.”

Dragging my fingers along the damp fabric lining his thigh, I blinked up at him through my long, dark lashes. “I prefer to think of myself as determined.” I lifted myself up, my body pressing into his as I brought my lips within a breath of his own. “And right now, my determination lies in finding that sea witch and breaking this curse.”

His breath hitched as our lips nearly brushed against each other. His entire body tensed as I climbed atop his waist, hooking my arms around his neck as I looked down into the depths of his dark eyes. My dark hair hung around our faces, creating our own intimate privacy curtain as I brushed the tip of my nose to his.

“Besides,” I said, feeling him stir beneath me. “I think you would enjoy my chaos.”

Just as he lifted his hand to cup my cheek, I pulled away. I swung my back to him, crossed the room, and climbed into the bed with my back still to him. His disbelieving laughter fell into the air, filling the room as his weight pressed into the mattress behind me. He lay down next to me, keeping several inches of space between us as he mumbled through a smile, “This journey is going to be my undoing.”

I didn’t turn, I just smiled. The overwhelming lust that had been eating me alive had dimmed, if only just slightly, and I realized that all I had to do was play the game of lust to quiet the need. I only hoped I’d be strong enough to remain in control. Otherwise, I could lose myself in the heart of this pirate.

Chapter 22

The Silver Blade

The Pirate

Sleep eluded me most of the night as my body was devastatingly aware of the creature sleeping next to me. Every content breath that lifted her chest and fell from her slightly parted lips called out to me. I found myself counting them in hopes that they would lead me into slumber, but hours passed, and nothing happened aside from the fact that I was acutely aware of the tightness in my pants. I shifted my hips again to no avail. Her little dance earlier played on repeat at the back of my mind.

Somewhere through the night, she had curled in toward me again. Her arm heated my chest as her fingertips gripped unknowingly at my shoulder, her breath hot at my neck as she breathed in my scent. Gently, I disentangled myself from her hold, careful not to wake the sleeping beauty. For if I did, I knew I wouldn’t have the strength to withstand her charms.

Moonlight filtered in through the window. I stood mesmerized by the sight of my siren, her skin practically glittering within the silver light. It accentuated the gentle curveof her hip, the slight hollowness of her cheek, the softness of her lips… My fingers fisted in my hair as I turned from her, the wooden floor creaking beneath my steps as I crossed the small room. With a final glance back at my little seductress, I made my way above deck.

The night sky stretched endlessly overhead with an expanse of twinkling stars mirrored within the dark waters of the sea. I leaned against the railing of the ship, feeling the cool night breeze tousle through the strands of my hair as the salty sea sprayed my face. The distant sound of the waves lapping against the hull provided a soothing backdrop to my turbulent thoughts. The moon hung like an ethereal, glowing lantern, leaving the night under an almost magical light as my mind became the storm that we’d only just freed our ship from.

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