Page 48 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

Proteus walked ahead with Kipp once I let go of him, leaving me alone with Dionysus as we trailed behind. I wondered what they spoke about but couldn’t give it much thought as Dionysus broke the silence between us.

His shoulder nudged mine as we traveled the beaten path. “While I am sad to see you go so soon, I had the Dryad’s guide the rest of his crew to the ship when we came out here.” He winked at me. “Now that you have your powers and the ability to stay in this form as long as you want, you should come visit me sometime. It would be nice to get to know my cousin better.”

I shook my head at his suggestion. “We will have to keep our meetings to Proteus Island.” The thought of visiting Mount Olympus where Zeus was known to be worse than Poseidon, where Hera resided, who had placed the curse on my people, made me shudder. I wanted nothing to do with the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus.

We walked along the path through the forest toward the beach where Proteus and Kipp stood alongside the shores, waiting for us. Proteus patted me on the back as I came to a stop at his side, a mischievous glint in his gaze as he flicked a glance between Kipp and me. “Give them hell, my vicious little minnow.”

Kipp and I boarded the smaller boat, which had been carried back to us after his crew had boarded the ship by one of Proteus’ siren guests. I only hoped that those who had enjoyed Dionysus’ festivities last night would keep my presence here to themselves, but I couldn’t worry much about that as Kipp rowed the boat toward his ship.

The bulge of his arms as he cut a path through the tide had warmth pooling at my core as my mouth dried with want. I tore my gaze away from his rippling muscles and stared into the glittering waters instead. This pirate did things to me that I couldn’t explain, that I didn’t know if I wanted to, but Iknew I needed to fight it just the same. We couldn’t afford the distraction because, as we sailed closer and closer to his ship, a strange feeling washed over me.

Something big was coming. Something that would change everything. And I wasn’t sure if either of us were ready for it.

Chapter 29

The Crew Scrambled

The Pirate

As soon as I made it back to my ship, I felt better. Proteus and his island had left me feeling wary. Not just because all manner of gods and creatures had roamed it, but because the magic that had shrouded that island had influenced my darkness the entire time that I’d been ashore. My darkest desires, which I had done my damnedest to suppress all these years, had been unleashed, and I knew I had committed an act that I’d had no right to commit. One that would haunt me for the rest of my days, however long that ended up being.

I had taken a siren to bed.

I watched her now, as she leaned out over the front of the ship, watching the dolphins as they jumped and wove in and out of the waves my ship cut through. If she wasn’t below deck helping Barlow in the kitchens, or hiding in my private quarters, then she was at the bow of the ship, always eyeing the sea with the wind in her hair. She stared down at the dolphins playing, longing behind her gaze as if she wanted to join them.

She could if she wanted to. The binding between us allowed her some distance, and yet, she remained on the ship in her human form. In fact, it had been weeks since I’d seen her in her siren scales. Even last night, when I’d thought she’d meant to escape, she’d only let her tail show for a matter of minutes while she’d held her blade to my throat before she remained on the beach with just the waves tickling her skin. Gone were her lengthy swims beneath my boat. It was as if she feared being spotted with me, and I couldn’t blame her. I was just a selfish pirate.

Our evening together burned within my mind, a reminder of what we’d done, the way we’d done it, almost had me hardening just with the thought of it. The cold press of steel against my throat as our bodies had melded into one had awoken the darkest desires within me, desires I had long since thought I’d stamped down and put away for good. I’d never desired to mix blood with desire before, and I couldn’t help but wonder if that had been the darkness growing within me, or if I’d always been this twisted.

Talia’s arm stretched toward the sea as if she could reach out and touch the dolphins that broke the surface as they swam alongside the ship. Then her hand clenched, and she pulled it back, pressing her fisted hand into her chest with a long exhale.

I came to a stop next to her, Patton guiding the ship at my back as my crew busied themselves with the many tasks required to ready our ship for the travels ahead. “You can swim if you want,” I offered, keeping my voice kind, which was something I hadn’t cared to do in a long time. She was my captive, but I’d taken advantage of her too much already, had stolen too much from her for my own selfish needs.

She didn’t turn toward me, her gaze only watching the water frothing against my ship as the sails pushed us through the sea. Finally, after a long silence passed between us, she spoke, hervoice soft, broken. “It is best that I not until we have completed our mission.”

My heart skipped a beat at the sound of her longing, the sound of her voice cracking at the lost sea she was so close to yet couldn’t return to yet because of my choices. I swallowed back my disgust with myself, my jaw clenching as I squared my shoulders. “Speaking of which, we need to go discuss our plan.”

I wanted to place my hand on her shoulder but didn’t, careful with the affection I showed her in front of my crew. Despite everything she had done for them, for me, they still avoided her, spitting curses her way as she passed. She ignored them all without ever blinking, her chin held defiantly high no matter what any of us threw her way.

She turned then, giving me a nod. We moved together across the groaning planks of the ship as it listed slowly side-to-side. Her bare foot slipped on the wet boards, and she stumbled. My arms instinctively reached for her, catching her and letting her lean on me before quickly releasing her. We stood so closely to one another that I could smell the sea orchid and sea salt on her skin. I could hear her heartbeat speed up, and her breath hitch as she seemed just as affected by my closeness as I was by hers.

I felt the eyes of the crew on us and heard their whispered murmurs as we crossed the deck. Distancing myself from her, I left her to follow behind me, passing several of our newer members to our crew as I made my way to the doorway to the lower decks. Something thudded, like flesh hitting flesh, and then a sharp intake of breath had me spinning around on the heel of my boot as pain throbbed within my gut.

Talia was on her knees, her hands clenched around her middle as Barley, one of our newest crewmates, stood over her, his hand cradling his fist as if he’d just struck her. Pure fury ignited within me as I charged forward, my boots slamming into the planks as my fist shot out and wrapped around Barley’sthick neck. He stood taller than even me—he was rumored to be part giant—but my fingers clenched his windpipe until his eyes bulged, veins cording along his neck and temples, and his struggles ceased.

“She is MINE!” I growled, my voice trembling with rage as I lifted him off the ground and hurled him overboard without another thought. A thunderous splash echoed through the air, followed by frantic frothing of the water as the massive man fought to stay afloat. I turned my back on him, ready to leave him to the sharks.

“Captain,” Patton called out to me, “We cannot let him become shark food.”

“He struck her,” I seethed through gritted teeth, my molten gaze sweeping over my crew who had all stopped their work to stare in shock at what had just happened. I faced them all, my eyes locking onto each of theirs with a deadly glare. “If anyone so much as lays a finger on this woman, disrupts even a hair on her head, without my permission… I won’t hesitate to feed you to the sharks.”

Patton helped lift Talia from the deck, standing in front of me with worry creasing his brow. “Sir, he has a traumatic history with sirens. They took his entire family from him. I’m sure he has learned his lesson.”

Barley’s panicked cries for help filled the air, the water splashing as he fought to keep up with the movement of the ship.

I wrapped my arm around Talia’s waist, turning my back to the railing as I waved a dismissive hand over my shoulder. “Let him serve as a warning,” I declared, leading Talia away from the chaos. I knew it wouldn’t take long for the sharks to find the feast as I guided Talia below deck, my crew still silent at our backs.

As the distance grew between what had happened on deck and me, I chastised myself for my foolishness. I’d claimed this vicious creature as mine. A creature who would rip my heart outwithout a second thought. How had I let myself care this much for someone I was merely meant to use as a tool? A means to an end? It was the darkness within me, growing and churning, leading me down a path to my own destruction. And now, it would take my crew down with me.

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