Page 63 of Siren in Love
It brought Corvin down, panting, into the sand.The rough, near strangled scream that broke the morning stillness a second later was unnatural, wild—rage cast into a sound.Corvin coughed and tasted blood.He turned to the left, where the sound was coming from.
Peter was covering his ears, and Mike…Mike looked more fury than siren.
Mike!He’s okay!
Corvin swallowed blood.He couldn’t see right.He had water in his eyes and blinking it out of the way wasn’t easy.He had to concentrate to do it.
He looked around to see where the necromancer had gone.Dominic was walking into the waves.He was already thigh deep and only getting deeper.Far out, a gray arm poked out of the water that glowed in pale orange pre-dawn light.The zombies were beckoning their master toward them.
No, that’s not it.Corvin looked at Mike.Dark bruises ringed his throat, and he looked about as shitty as Corvin felt; pale, wet, cold.Peter had taken his hands off his ears, and Corvin realized that while he could hear Mike’s call, it wasn’t eardrum shattering.No, the siren song was similar to Mike’s humming.Something so subtle you’d never know it was there until the power had you.
Dominic.He’s controlling Dominic.He must’ve lost his earplugs.Or did he think Mike was dead?
Another minute longer and the necromancer’s head ducked under a wave.Another minute after that, the noise fell away to nothing.Mike looked over at Corvin.Sand stuck to both their clothes, to Peter’s as well.The vampire’s nice shirt and pants were utterly ruined.
It didn’t matter.Nothing mattered after Mike pulled Corvin into his arms.
“Ouch,” Corvin said.
“What?”Mike eased Corvin back, his hands roaming over him, checking for injuries.
“He got me in the ribs.”
“Fucker,” Mike said.
“W-what I said.”
Peter helped both of them to their feet.“We should get back to the resort promptly.I’ll call a cleanup crew.”He looked at both of them.“And maybe someone with a medical background for a little checkup.You both look like you need a checkup.”
“You try drowning and see how you hold up,” Corvin said.
Peter shrugged.“I can handle a drowning just fine, thank you very much.I may have tried it during that time when hunting witches was popular.It was even more fun fucking with the inquisitors before I ate them.Still, this was a lot of involuntary bathing.Might I request you get married somewhere far removed from the ocean?”
Mike nodded.“I like that plan.”His voice came out gruffer than Corvin had ever heard it.
“Mike, is your throat okay?”
“I’m fine, hon.Don’t worry about me.”
With sand in their hair and salt water dripping off their noses, Mike kissed Corvin.He’s warm and alive, my humming pineapple siren.
At least for the moment, that was everything Corvin could’ve wished for.
29
Corvin
~Corvin
“Oh, look, they left scratch marks on the door.”Corvin pointed when Peter got them back to the honeymoon suite.He and Mike were holding Corvin up between them, which was good.Everything hurt.
“We’ll pay for that,” Peter said, then closed the door behind them.He stopped, looking at the table in the center of the sitting room.“You didn’t drink the champagne?”
“Ugh, couch.”Corvin pointed.
“Of course, hon.Come on.Let’s get you settled.”
“Michael, the champagne.I requested an excellent bottle so you’d be able to celebrate.”
