Page 55 of Cursed By a Siren's Kiss

I stopped, pressing my thighs together to quell my need as I shouted, “Nothing!” Then I lowered my voice, straightening. “Nothing, I was just complaining to myself.”

Before Kipp turned around, I caught that damn dimple winking from his cheek as he smirked knowingly. I wanted to groan, but I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction.

Soon, the thick trees gave way to a sandy beach with palm trees. Kipp stood there, still and rigid.

“What?” I asked, my brows furrowing as I tried to hide my unease at the sudden stillness of him. Did he know something that I didn’t? Before I could fully process it, he whipped around, catching me off guard.

He ran his hands through his dark hair, pulling the strands from his low ponytail as the wind caught them. “I don’t want to play this game…” His dark inky gaze burned with a heat thathad my breath catching. “I want you. I don’t care if we are only temporary allies, and I don’t know what my future is when we finish this, but I do know one thing. Out of all my years on this plane of existence of seeking power, love, and wealth…I have always been left wanting more, something different, something new. You’re different, though. You make me only want you more. It has been driving me crazy with need, and I’m tired of fighting it.”

He moved forward, his eyes locking onto mine as he watched me carefully. I gulped back the emotion building in my throat as I took a step back. My mind was in denial at his words, but my heart pounded within the cage of my ribs at the admission. He took another step forward, not letting me place any distance between us as his hand reached for me, pausing before he connected with my face. “This might be a mistake, but I want you,” he finished.

“It is a mistake,” I replied harshly, stepping back again.

His face flashed with pain before it hardened, his lips pressing together as he turned away from me. My mind reeled at his revelation. I didn’t know what to do with it. I simply knew that I couldn’t let myself be with him. It was impossible. I couldn’t give into the overwhelming human emotions that plagued me because that would mean giving up everything. I needed to end this game now, be cruel if I needed, whatever it took so that he would understand that this couldn’t happen. I had to think of what my people needed, and what they needed was me.

I stepped out onto the sandy beach, tugging off the oversized boots so that I could dig my toes into the warm sand. The frothing waves that kissed the shore was like music to my ears, and it sent a longing through me for a home I hadn’t seen for weeks that seemed to stretch out endlessly before me. I neededto be my siren self, cold and indifferent, not this weak human with weak human emotions.

As we made our way down the beach, I couldn’t help but feel a growing sense of unease. My heart raced with an intensity that was almost painful. My rejection had settled the matter, but inside, my stomach churned as if in protest of my choice. I clenched and unclenched my hands, feeling my claws break free as they sliced into my palms, my blood trickling along my palms as I hissed.

Kipp didn’t turn around or even ask if everything was okay. His frame was tense and his movements almost jerky. Just as my eyes traveled up his frame, taking in the wide set of his shoulders, his powerful arms, and the way his backside was defined… I wanted him, a fact that was made obvious by the throbbing desire building within my core.

You can’t give into these feelings, I reminded myself. You have a kingdom to win, and your people need you. A sensation akin to what I believed was hollowness consumed me. Is this truly what I wanted? I couldn’t help but question my own motives as the feelings within my heart clearly warred with those within my mind.

I’d hated it. All of it. I’d never wanted the responsibility of running the kingdom at such an early age. Even when my father had forced the kingdom into my hands as he’d had to travel the seas, I’d been annoyed with having everything left up to me. Proteus had asked me long ago what I’d really wanted, and I’d told him then that I’d wanted freedom, adventure, and love. Hadn’t I experienced almost all of those in these past few weeks?

I’d found a man who had loved me and stolen his heart to claim these powers, awakening my godly gifts and creating a storm I could barely contain. Kipp had forced me on this adventure where we’d traveled all across the ocean andexperienced insane feats I’d never forget. Freedom… well I supposed that was a work in progress.

And now there was Kipp, a man who’d declared he wanted me even though he knew I was a monster, a siren. If he hadn’t bound me to him, if my life hadn’t been tied to his, my siren self would have massacred his entire crew without blinking. I’d sunk an entire ship to steal the identity of a merchant’s daughter. There was no good within me. Even plagued as I was now with these human emotions, I was still a predator.

Yet, so was he. The darkness within him was what called to me. When our gazes locked together, it was as if his monster stared admiringly out at mine, liking what it saw.

I gave my head a shake, dispelling these weak thoughts. I needed to reclaim my throne and save the sirens. It was what my mother would have wanted. And to do that, I would need to be cunning, ruthless without mercy, and I couldn’t allow these soft feelings get in the way of my goals.

Kipp paused as I stepped beside him, studying the sound of waves as they ebbed closer and closer. The rocks along the beach were sharpened, stretching along where the water danced like shards of glass. I pulled my boots back on, realizing we’d found what we’d been looking for.

These rocks led to a cave along the edge of the island, a cave known to be one of Scylla’s haunts. With every step forward, we came closer to the end of this journey.

I pushed past Kipp, refusing to meet his gaze. My heart waged a war within itself, torn between the desires standing behind me and the duties that lay ahead. I felt his gaze on the back of my neck, his presence lingering closely behind as we moved closer to the danger, closer to everything we both wanted ahead.

So, why did it feel like I wanted to drag my feet, to make this take longer, to turn and run and say to hell with it all? Why wasn’t I ready for this to end yet?

Chapter 33

The Very Tip

The Pirate

Her rejection angered me more than I cared to admit. I’d contemplated it all in silence as we’d trekked through the thick forest of the island, wondering why the hell I felt this way. This need that seemed to incapacitate me at times drew me closer to her even when I sought to distance myself. I fought it. Gods, I fought it so damn hard, but it felt like a losing battle.

It was a conundrum. I’d spent so many years easily claiming anything and everything that I had wanted. I’d told her everything I’d felt, and she’d struck me down with her words as surely as if she’d held a knife. I’d clutched at my chest, feeling as if my very heart had been wounded, and yet my skin remained whole. Why could I want this creature so completely and yet have her deny my claim? That wasn’t how this curse worked. She’d sunk her teeth into my heart without ever having had to pull it from my chest.

She walked ahead of me, her hair streaming down her back in waves that shimmered in the dusk as the sun dipped lower in the horizon. I longed for her to look at me as if she wanted to devourme whole, the looks I’d gotten used to over these past few weeks and did not want to go without now that I’d bared my soul to her.

I wanted to reach out and grab hold of her, craving the feel of her skin against mine, the way she would grin at me with lust within the cool depths of her aquamarine gaze, the way that she made me feel alive for the first time in centuries.

Her actions had painted her as the enemy though. A siren, a creature of the sea, feared and revered. As a pirate, I’d had to face my share of sea fiends, and I’d know there’d always been something different about her. Just as I’d known that there had been something in her heart for me in return, but she wasn’t ready to admit it as I had. Instead, she despised herself for it.

We continued walking across the sharp stones along the beach, the pointed tips digging into the soles of my boots with every step. The ocean lashed at our feet as we pressed on, the wind whipping at my hair and tugging it free of the ribbon tied at the nape of my neck. Scylla’s cave lay just ahead, and as we steadily approached, I could sense her presence like darkness calling to darkness.

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