Page 33 of Hot in Witch City
She stared at me. “Huh. That’s odd.”
“Why?”
“I don’t see why you wouldn’t be able to.”
I squirmed. Nothing like being made to feel inadequate—especially from your mother.
That was likely my perception rather than her intention. I was aware of my issues—many stemming from this stranger leaving me.
“What about, you know—well, sex?” I didn’t know how to broach it without saying it straight out. Sirens were said to have healthy libidos. Mine had been roaring as soon as my hormones kicked in, which I attributed to my siren blood. Was there any truth to it?
She brought her fingers together on the tabletop. “That part, fortunately, is true.” She grinned. “We’re sensual creatures. And sexuality generates its own kind of magic when done right. We’re in touch with that side of ourselves, while so many humans are repressed, just going through the motions. That’s why we’re typically energized by sex.” She motioned at me. “Have you discovered that?”
Although I’d never been embarrassed to talk about sex, doing so with my mother did make me squirm. She was my mother, after all—the last person that I wanted to talk to about my sex life—except maybe my father.
“Yes, I’ve had quite the healthy appetite,” I replied. “That's one of the things that Dad and I have clashed about over the years.”
My father was so worried I’d end up being like my mother that he tried to keep me home under his watch. As I became a teen, his overbearing ways backfired since I rebelled against his strict rules, sneaking out of the house to see whomever I want. Many arguments with him and my stepmother over my social life led to my decision to move out as soon as I graduated.
“Oh, your father can be so sexually experimental in some ways and then so repressed in others,” she scoffed. “When we first got together, he liked to—”
“La la la,” I cut her off and plugged my fingers into my ears. “Nobody wants to hear about their parents’ sex lives.”
She didn’t seem the least bit affected by my mortification. “All right.”
“What about relationships?” I asked. “Are you with anyone?”
“For the moment.” She rolled one shoulder. “I don’t like to stick with anyone for too long.”
Somehow, I kept from barking out, “Like my father.” She was sharing information, and I didn’t want to shut it down because of a sullen, defensive attitude.
“A shifter thought I was his mate,” I confessed. “Do you think that has anything to do with me being part siren?”
“The poor fool,” she replied. “Let’s say it wouldn't be the first time a man has fallen for a siren, thinking they’d be together forever.”
“Like my father?” I spat. Ah damn, I guess I couldn’t hold it in forever.
She exhaled. “Yes, your father thought he was in love with me. He thought that by having a child together, we would stay together. I told him it couldn’t be, but he wouldn’t listen. He was convinced that once I had you, everything would change. We’d be able to live as a happy family.”
“Clearly that didn't happen,” I drawled with bitterness.
“I know it's not what you want to hear. Sure, I enjoyed his company and the time we spent together, but it wasn’t enough to keep us together. I could never love him the way he wanted.”
I ached for my poor, broken-hearted father.
I didn’t want to do the same to Sebastian. He was an exceptional lover—giving and insatiable. Some woman would be incredibly lucky to be in a relationship with him. An unfamiliar twist of jealously coiled inside. I would not be that woman. Icouldnot be. If anything, I’d end up hurting him.
I couldn’t do that to him. It wasn’t fair. He was kind, and I could only bring him pain.
"I know you don’t understand it,” she replied. "That’s the human side of you. If you’d been born a full siren, you wouldn’t feel bound to stay where you are with those you are with. You’d explore at will. You might decide to leave your pod and join another.”
I had the wanderlust bug when I was younger, before I’d established roots. "But I wasn't, and I'm not. Didn’t you have any feelings of attachment toward me?"
“Of course, I cared about you.”
Although I wanted to believe it, her tone sounded flat—or maybe it was my perception once more.
“Ha,” I snorted. “You had a funny way of showing it after not being around—ever.”
