Page 49 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

“I didn’t need your help!” she exclaimed, shrugging out of my hold as the door closed at our backs. Her lips twisted into a sneer as she rubbed the bruise I knew to be forming on her abdomen, right along where one grew upon mine.

“I’m aware,” I replied dryly. “You could have ripped his heart out if you wanted, but that won’t gain you any allies on this ship.”

We walked the rest of the way to my cabin in silence, but I felt her eyes on me, felt the pull of her dangerous allure. My body was torn between wanting to fight for this woman at my side and pulling away, distancing myself from this dangerous creature. My mind raced with conflicting thoughts as I imagined holding her lower lip between my teeth. I cursed under my breath as my body betrayed me, responding eagerly to the thrilling danger before me as my cock hardened at the thought of her seductive nature.

Talia crossed my private quarters, her eyes widening as she stared down at the map spread across my desk, her fingers trailing across the aged parchment as she turned to me, asking, “Are we really heading toward Scylla?”

My hands closed around the edge of my desk, needing to hold onto something solid so I wouldn’t reach out and move her hair aside. I wanted nothing more than to lay my eyes on the gentle curve along her neck.

“Yeah. Why?” I said, my voice low.

She straightened, her hands twisting as she held them together in front of her. “We are right here.” She pointed at a spot within the Mediterranean Sea where I’d placed a rockmarker, and then she slid her finger to a new spot. “And that is where the Kraken is.”

I shook my head, trying to swallow down my own fear. “No. He’s farther north, in the cold sea.”

Talia’s face paled. “He used to be…” She let her words trail off, her knuckles turning white beneath her grip as she held her fingers so tightly that her blood stopped pumping into her hands. “But Poseidon called him back here,” she said, tapping the spot again. “He hasn’t returned to the cold sea yet.”

My brow lifted as I sucked in a breath. “How do you know this?”

Her expression turned serious. “I saw him destroy a ship as I was searching for a place to gain my powers.”

“You mean, a place to find a victim,” I corrected her.

She shrugged nonchalantly, unashamed of her intentions. “Either way, we need to go this way.” She pushed the rock marker aside on the map, determined to continue our journey toward Scylla despite the potential danger of encountering the Kraken.

“That will put us miles off course and make our trip a half day longer,” I said, my hands tugging at my hair as I stared down at the map.

She laughed. “It’s better than getting your ship ripped apart and your crew consumed by one of the deadliest creatures in the ocean.”

I couldn’t ague with her. Instead, I shook my head, my hands pulling my hair back into the ribbon it had come loose from. I snatched up my discarded hat and moved to inform the crew to change course.

“You better hurry,” she said, turning as she rested her perfect behind on the edge of my desk as her soft voice lilted after me. “He’s getting closer. I can feel it.”

I stopped in my tracks, turning to face her as I felt the desire and danger dripping from her sing-song voice like a newly sharpened blade. “Never use your siren magic on me,” I growled out at her, my teeth grating as my jaw tightened.

She threw her head back and laughed, the sound both alluring and ominous. “Oh, darling, that wasn’t my siren song. That was just me feeling comfortable in my own skin.” Her gaze hardened as she batted her lashes at me, her lips curving into a dangerous grin. “Trust me, if I wanted to command you, you’d be like putty in my hands. And I could think of much more pleasurable things to do with you than just commanding you.”

I raised a brow, smirking. “In that case, go ahead and sing away.”

Her glare intensified, angered by my challenge. She crossed her arms and bared her teeth, the sharpened edges snapping at the air between us. Yet, I couldn’t help but feel turned on by her fiery spirit, her defiance, her viciousness. For some reason, every time she looked at me like that, I wanted her to devour me, and I felt the urge to show her just how much more delicious it would be if we simply devoured each other.

My arousal throbbed within the confines of my pants as I turned from her, focusing on the task at hand as I casually adjusted myself. My beautiful seductive siren was going to be the death of me…in the most pleasurable way possible. Yet, I couldn’t allow that. The conflict of what I wanted and what we both needed a constant war within me as I tried to remain steadfast on the curse breaking quest that we both desired.

I left her in my quarters as I went above deck. “Patton, adjust course immediately!” I called across the way as I stormed toward the mast.

“Where to, Captain?” he asked without batting an eye, his fingers already fisting around the helm as he waited for my command.

“East for now,” I answered, my hands pulling at ropes as I shifted the sails, my men instinctively working around me as I watched the ocean around us. It appeared calm, but like Talia had said, there was something out there watching and waiting. I could feel it too. “Quickly,” I said as a sense of dread hit me.

The water in front of us seemed to move abnormally, as if something big moved within the water. Something large, something dark moved at an alarming pace toward the surface.

“Open the sails! Turn the ship! Everyone on deck now!” I hollered as loud as I could.

Talia raced out onto the deck, her feet slamming into the boards as she tore her clothing from her body. Then, she dove over the railing and into the churning waters. Fear ignited within me for the briefest of moments as I realized she was sacrificing herself to the creature to save us.

Instead of the expected chaos and destruction, the ocean lay still and empty. No sign of Talia or the Kraken as I raced to the railing in her wake, scanning the depths for any sign of movement. The ship had fallen silent at my back as everyone waited, the sea quiet around us as if even it held its breath. My heart thudded in my chest as I reached for the bond, trying to feel anything from her but feeling nothing.

The eerie calm was shattered by a sudden, harrowing sight as a massive tentacle emerged from the water, clutching Talia, my beautiful vicious siren, in its clawed grasp.

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