Page 44 of Rise of the Siren Queen
Maybe it wasn’t just a dream, but a memory.
What happened to you?
I caught myself thinking and saw her gaze darken for a second before returning to that regal and collected one as if I had made the question out loud.
We were standing too close. I was too close, so close I saw the golden freckles in her hypnotic emerald eyes, the thick black eyelashes, her perked nose, and felt her body pressed against mine.
My gaze flickered lower. She was wearing a white see-through gown that clung to her like liquid stardust, sparkling as if alive with moonlight. It was nearly transparent, revealing enough to leave the rest to the imagination, her every movement sending soft ripples of light through the delicate fabric. I forced my eyes away, but the heat building inside me made it impossible to ignore the way her body pressed against mine.
The way it glinted, the soft glow that outlined every curve, had my heart beating faster. I shouldn’t be thinking like this, shouldn’t let my gaze linger on how the fabric flowed over her skin, accentuating every inch of her, desiring it was my hands instead.
Her scent filled my lungs—salt like an ocean breeze, sweet like jasmine, something uniquelyher—and it sent a sharp hunger tearing through me. I commit to memory. Until this moment I hadn’t a favorite anything and now I had two favorites, her scent and the flower. She was freedom, home and everything in between.
My pulse thundered, drowning out reason, drowning out everything except the unbearable heat between us. The warmth of her body seeped through the delicate fabric of her gown, teasing, taunting. An electric charge coiled tight in my gut.
I clenched my jaw, fingers flexing on her waist, feeling the softness beneath them.Too close. Not close enough.A war raged inside me, a primal, insatiable craving battling against the last fraying strands of restraint. My breath came shallow, ragged, every nerve raw and burning.
I knew better.
But I didn’t care.
My gaze roamed her face, tracing every detail, the way her lips parted on a breath, the flush dusting her cheeks, the slow drag of her teeth over her lower lip, tempting, taunting. My eyes drifted lower, to the delicate column of her throat, the way it bobbed as she swallowed, and something dark in me thrilled at the sight.
Then I saw the knife.
I tore it from her skin in one swift movement, casting it aside before I replaced with my hand. She stiffened, not in fear, but in something dangerously close to anticipation. My fingers curled against her throat, feeling the rapid beat of her pulse beneath my palm. She was ice and defiance all at once, but beneath it, I felt the same hunger as before, that same raw, aching need.
Gods, I wanted to kiss her.I neededto kiss her.
The desire wasn’t gentle. It was vicious, desperate, clawing at my insides, demanding I claim her, consume her, ruin her in the best waypossible. My control was slipping, unraveling with every passing second, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to stop it anymore.
My gaze never left hers as I dipped my head lower, slow, deliberate, giving her just enough time to stop me, but she didn’t. Her breath hitched, her chest rising and falling in quick, shallow movements. My thumb traced the curve of her jaw, tilting her face up, and I felt her shudder beneath my touch.
Then, finally, I took what I wanted.
My lips crashed against hers, and she melted, soft and trembling, her body yielding as I devoured her. She tasted of salt and chaos, wild and untamable as the ocean itself. A tempest in my mouth. A powerful siren luring me to the depths of my desire. And gods, I crave this drowning.
Intoxicating.
This is all it took. Just one kiss and now she has the power to ruin me and worst, I wouldlether.
My tongue swept against hers, deepening the kiss, claiming it, savoring the way she responded, hesitant at first, then desperate. A muffled sigh escaped her, and the sound sent a wild, raw need tearing through me.
I pressed closer, trapping her against the wall, feeling every soft curve of her against the hard planes of my body. My hands gripped her waist, pulling her tighter, as if I could mold her against me, as if it would never be close enough. My leg slid between hers, and she gasped against my mouth, her fingers digging into my back, her nails dragging against my skin through my shirt. The sting only made me hungrier.
The kiss turned rougher, all restraint unraveling, spiraling into reckless consuming lust. My fingers traced the delicate line of her throat, feeling the frantic rhythm of her heartbeat beneath my palm. She clung to me, breathless, her body moving against mine in a silentplea for more. My lips left hers, trailing down her jaw, finding the sensitive spot beneath her ear. I bit down just enough to make her moan, and the sound nearly undid me.
I needed more.Gods, I needed all of her.
But then reality slammed into me like a blade to the ribs.Who she was. Who I was.
I wrenched myself back, breath ragged, every muscle locked tight to keep from reaching for her again. The space between us felt unbearable, like tearing something vital away from myself. I shouldn’t have kissed her.
But I didn’t regret it.
The silence stretched between us, thick with something neither of us wanted to name. I let it linger, watching the rise and fall of her chest, the way she steadied herself, as if she hadn’t just been pressed against me, melting like she belonged there.
I smirked. “Why are you here?” My voice came out rough, thick with the remnants of what we’d just done. I cleared my throat, forcing indifference into my tone. “I thought you’d send another one of your crones to deal with me. Keep me caged and clueless until the week’s end.” I leaned back, arms folding across my chest, the mockery deliberate.
