Page 77 of Gods of the Sea

He stood straight, looking down into my eyes. I could hardly breathe.

“What are you saying?” I asked, my mouth dry.

He laughed, looking at the floor for a brief moment before looking back up.

“Come on, princess,” he said. “You can’t sleep in a man’s bed and expect him to feel nothing.”

I looked away. Henrik had said the exact same thing, hadn’t he? He accused me of having a fling with Adrian, while Adrian was…

Oh no.

“I don’t know what I find more entertaining…the fact that those two brothers are fighting over you, or the fact that you don’t know why they’re doing it.”

That’s what Luc meant.

If I was a siren, then were Adrian and Henrikenchanted?

My thoughts were interrupted as Adrian’s lips brushed against mine. His feathery kiss grazed my lips, catching me completely off guard. He leaned back to look at me, his eyes warning that he would try it again. I pulled back, stepping away from the desk so he couldn’t trap me against it again.

“Adrian…” I started, voice shaking. “We can’t do this.”

He took a step toward me. “Why? Because of your fiancé? Or because of Henrik?”

“Not because of any of that. I—”

“Please don’t deny me, Esmeralda,” he whispered desperately, my name sounding incredibly sweet on his lips. “It’s already too difficult to live with this obsession.”

Obsession. That was the word Henrik had used as well. Right before Luc made him leave.

And if I was a siren, I could do the same thing.

And if I wasn’t, then I could prove it here and now.

“Stop, Adrian,” I said, raising the tone of my voice into something sweet.

He stopped despite the way that my voice shook as I spoke. But that didn’t prove anything. He could have done that just because he was confused. I tried to calm my nerves and speak again.

“Esmeralda…”

“Do you want…” I swallowed, readjusting my voice into a melody like Luc did. “Do you want me to be yours?”

He nodded, his eyes drifting up and down my body.

“Then you have to do something for me,” I said.

He nodded.

“I… I-I need you to dance.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Pardon?”

I cleared my throat. “If you want me, you should properly dance as good gentlemen do.”

He seemed to consider it for a moment, looking up at the ceiling. He took a step forward and then to the side, shaking his head as he narrowed his eyes in thought.

He was trying to do…a waltz?

I swallowed. This wasn’t true. It couldn’t be.

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