by J. E. Taylor
There were dozens of things he could do to help me get my mind off the coming days, but every one of them would end up killing this quiet friendship we shared.
I shook my head. “I’m going on a business trip that isn’t going to be all that pleasant. If you could keep an eye on my place while I’m gone, that would be helpful.”
His smile returned, and he gave me a nod. “My pleasure, senorita.”
I leaned into his shoulder, gently bumping it with mine. He bumped me back. After he finished off his wine, he stretched out on the sand, just staring up at the cosmos. When his gaze turned to mine, the trace of a smile disappeared.
“Do you think we will ever be more than this?” His deep voice sounded soft and unsure, but the fire in his eyes was as clear as the constellations in the sky above us.
“Do you value our friendship?” I asked, because I could only forecast heartbreak for both of us.
He would age.
I would not.
His body would fail.
Mine would not.
I had tried this before, and all I encountered was devastation. My heart was guarded from that kind of hurt because it would spawn my voice and send me on a direct path back to hell.
That wasn’t to say I didn’t screw around when the itch presented itself; I just didn’t make it about feelings.
He stared up at the sky, still contemplating my question. His rugged, dark features always made me wonder what his ex-wife was thinking when she left him. He had the same complexion the Aztecs had and the physique that would make a goddess drool.
“Yes, I value our friendship, but why is it so bad to want more?” he asked.
I cringed at the question and how to explain it to him. “I like living here and make it a rule not to get involved with the neighbors.” I couldn’t help my frown. My rule was solid, but it conflicted with my wants.
He sat up, and as I turned my attention back to the water, his finger hooked under my chin, pulling my gaze back to him. His deep brown eyes searched mine, and just the physical touch sent my heart thundering in my chest. Heat filled my cheeks.
“So... no attraction?” The hopefulness in the arch of his eyebrows belied the light tone in his voice, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Hurt bloomed in his eyes, and the trace of his smile disappeared.
“It’s not that,” I quickly replied. “You are stunningly attractive, and sweet, and...” I sighed as his hand cupped my cheek. Despite being ancient, I always seemed to get flustered in these types of situations. Especially when I was attracted to a man who could greatly complicate my life.
“Alex...” I started but his lips crushed my response. Whatever protest I had been planning to launch died in the tangling of our tongues.
The way he kissed was decadent. He pushed me back onto the sand, sending tendrils of heat through my form. His hand slid from my cheek, down the side of my neck. The slow progression of his touch locked my breath in my chest as his fingers gently caressed the side of my breast.
The logical part of my brain told me to stop him, but the tramp in me wanted his hand to keep going, to find the spot that drove me to release my voice, to capture his soul the only way a siren could. I moaned as his hand traveled lower.
Alex broke the kiss and stared down into my eyes as his hand found its mark, settling between my legs. He stilled and cocked his head.
“Do you want to continue this inside?” His gaze flicked to our houses and back, and his lips curved into that sexy smile I had seen a couple times during the past few years. It was a smile that immediately made me damp.
I lay on the sand fighting just about every emotion until he applied pressure with his fingers, rubbing in a way that nearly unleashed the siren song from my throat.
“Alejandro.” His full name rolled off my tongue in a soft whisper.
He returned his mouth to mine. His fingers worked the button on my jeans, and I gasped when he slipped his hand underneath the hem of my underwear. Still, I didn’t stop him. Instead, my arms wrapped around his neck, deepening the kiss as his fingers slid inside my wet core.
He groaned in my mouth like a man who had been underwater too long and had found a pocket of air.
He pulled away from me. “Your place or mine?” he asked with a voice full of the same need throbbing in my veins. He climbed to his feet and helped me up off the sand, but before I could say which direction, he had me in his arms, and his lips crushed mine.
I didn’t even remember the walk back or the sliders opening to my living room. It wasn’t until he stripped my shirt that I became aware of my surroundings. There was something desperate and possessive about his lips as they moved from mine down to the curve of my neck. My bra released, and I tossed it to the side before I tore his shirt off. His chiseled abs tightened under my fingertips. I clamped my mouth shut at the vibration in my throat.
The soft cushions of the couch met my back as he gently pushed me down. His mouth moved over every inch of my exposed skin while he worked on stripping my jeans and underwear. I reached down and grabbed his wrists.
He lifted his lips from my stomach, and his mouth formed a surprised o.
“I can’t. As much as I want to, I can’t right now.” The wild child inside me screamed her discontent, but I had to be logical and rational, and honestly, I needed something to come back to.
“Kylee,” he whispered, pleading with his gaze.
“We can revisit this when I get back,” I said and grabbed my shirt.
He dropped his forehead onto my thigh.
“I’m not rejecting you.”
He glanced up at me. “It sure feels like it.”
“Look, this job...” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “What I’m going up against...” I opened my eyes. “If I’m not fully committed to it, I could die.”
His eyebrows knit together.
“And if I know I’m coming home to this...” Heat filled my cheeks, and I glanced at the floor. “Well, let’s just say it’s a guarantee that I’ll come home.” I forced myself to meet his gaze.
His head cocked to the side, reminding me of an adorable puppy. “What exactly is your job?”
I sighed. “I run a paranormal investigation agency,” I said, opting for the cover story rather than the truth.
He climbed to his feet and crossed his arms. “And you expect me to believe that?”
We had never once spoken about what I did. Our conversations were more existential and less vocational. The skepticism on his face irritated me. I slipped my arms in the shirt and stood, staring him down as I buttoned up. He raised an eyebrow as I plucked the mace off my charm bracelet.
“Hoc maior gratia,” I said, and the charm grew in my hand.
His eyes widened. I dropped the charm on my coffee table. The weight of the mace buckled the wood, and one of the spikes pierced it.
His ever-widening gaze bounced between mine and the ancient weapon. When he licked his lips and shifted his weight like he was going to flee, I crossed my arms. The motion seemed to snap him out of the shock.
“I’m going with you.”
I uttered a laugh. “Fac minorem,” I said, and the mace shrunk back to the size of the charm. I plucked it off the table and put it back on my bracelet.
He stepped closer and reached out, running his index finger over the different charms attached to my bracelet. “I am going with you,” he said again and met my gaze. “That way I can ensure you come back.”
It was my turn to arch my eyebrows. “Excuse me?”
He closed the distance and pulled me into his arms. “I am not willing to lose whatever has started here. I’m going so I can keep you safe.”
The absolute irony in his statement made me burst out laughing. He wasn’t a god, or an immortal like me. He was a fragile human who had no business tagging along on a hunting trip like this.
“No. You are not coming with me. I’d be so worried about keeping you alive that I’d end up screwing up and killing both of us. I’m not
putting that on my shoulders.”
He pointed at the coffee table. “If you have to use that on whatever you’re chasing, I’m coming.”
“That won’t kill what I’m going up against.” I met his gaze. “That was just to show you I wasn’t kidding about my job.”
He held me close. “Are you a... witch?”
“No. I just happen to know a few spells that make it easier to transport what I need for the job.”
“And how long have you been doing this?”
I stared at him, contemplating how to answer that. “All my life,” I said, opting for more subterfuge.
He pressed his lips together. “And you’ve never gotten hurt?”
I rolled my eyes and tried to pull out of his grip. His arms tightened, holding me in place. He cocked his head, waiting for an answer. I was not going to give him a history of close calls, not with that overprotective glare now present in his eyes.
“Alejandro, let me go.” I squirmed in his grasp.
“Look. I finally got the courage to make a move, and you seem to be on the same page, despite your earlier protest. And if there is a hair’s breadth of a chance that you could get hurt...”
I stilled. “It’s too dangerous for you to come.”
“You realize saying that only makes me more set on protecting you.”
“I don’t need your protection. I need something special to come home to.”
His grip loosened. “I need to make sure you’re safe,” he said softly.
The impasse seemed impossible to fix. I sighed. “I will be fine. Besides, you wouldn’t be able to afford the trip.”
His head cocked. “Where are you going?”
“Greece. Crete, to be exact.”
He glanced at the suitcase, and his brow furrowed before he looked back at me. “Does it have anything to do with that cruise ship?”
The massacre on the ship made international news, and the fact that he jumped right to it made me stiffen in his arms. I opened my mouth to answer but thought better of it, clamping down on any response. Instead, I lifted a shoulder.
“Kylee, they don’t know what killed those people. It could be some sort of virus for all we know.”
“I know what killed them, and it wasn’t a virus. That’s why I have to go take care of it so it doesn’t happen again.” I pulled out of his arms. “Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get a decent night’s sleep before I catch my flight.”
He shoved his hands in his pockets and gave me a slight nod. He didn’t say anything more, just turned and headed out of my house.
Chapter 3
Morning came faster than I wanted, given I had tossed and turned all night. By the time I arrived at the airport, the caffeine had finally kick-started my brain. I made it through the metal detectors without issue. As I sat waiting for the airport staff to start seating the plane, I clipped the bracelet around my wrist and leaned back, closing my eyes.
The last thing I wanted to do was alienate Alex. The bitter taste of regret filled my mouth and I swallowed, reaching for the bottle of water I bought at the newsstand on the way through the terminal. I washed down the sourness and popped a piece of peppermint gum in my mouth, ignoring those around me.
I didn’t have to wait long before the boarding call began. I got my carry-on bag, found my row near the back of the plane, stowed my bag in the overhead bin, and collapsed into the window seat. I glanced out the window and started mentally charting my approach to my brother. I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn’t bother turning when someone settled into the seat next to me.
A waft of aftershave caught my attention, and I twisted to see who it belonged to. The physique of the man sitting next to me was as familiar as the aftershave. I met his dark gaze, and he offered me a nervous smile.
“What the actual fuck?” I asked before I could stop the words.
“I’ve always wanted to see Greece,” Alex said and shrugged.
I closed my eyes and lay my head against the headrest. Whatever plans I had started to formulate all went out the window.
“Do you have any idea...” I opted to glance back out the window before I said anything that ears around me could pick up on and misconstrue. “I can’t believe you did this,” I muttered under my breath and sent a glare in his direction.
As the plane started to taxi down the runway, his hand covered mine on the armrest. I glanced at his death grip then looked up at him. He uttered a nervous laugh. “I’m a little... anxious about flying,” he admitted as the plane started to accelerate for takeoff.
I raised an eyebrow. “This is the safest part of this trip.”
He gave my hand a squeeze but didn’t say anything. Instead, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes as the plane left the safety of the ground. He paled a fraction and kept sucking air in through his nose and blowing it out between his lips until we leveled off.
His anxiety amused me and left me a bit humbled. I couldn’t remember the last time anyone suffered through their own fear for my well-being. When his hand released mine, my stomach fell in disappointment. I glanced at him, sending him a slight smile before looking back out the window as we flew east over the vastly changing scenery of the United States.
“I have no idea what I’m going to do with you when we land,” I said after passing over the Midwestern plains.
“I can think of a few things,” he whispered. A dimple appeared in his reddening cheek, but he didn’t look at me.
“Did you get a hotel room?” I asked. That dimple disappeared. He looked down at his hands and shook his head. “I was hoping you’d take pity on me,” he said and gave me a hopeful sideways glance.
I sent a full glare at him. I didn’t book a hotel room. I rented a boat for the week. There was no way I could have him with me. Not with what I was hunting. It was bad enough having a captain on board. One siren-psychotic man I could handle. Two would be difficult, if not impossible, especially when I had feelings for one of them.
“Alex...” The exasperation in my voice rang clear.
“I’m sorry, Kylee, but I couldn’t let you do this alone,” he said.
“I’m equipped for this. You aren’t. Besides, I didn’t book a hotel room. I rented a boat. And I cannot have you on board.”
“I will be just fine. Besides, I do have a boating license,” he said, sending me an endearing grin.
He did not understand, and I couldn’t exactly enlighten him on a plane with strangers within ear shot. Instead, I glared.
“I’m not leaving your side,” he said and stretched out in the seat.
Chivalry wasn’t dead, but oh, how I wished it was. “I might just lock you in a trunk somewhere,” I muttered under my breath.
He patted my knee and leaned over, planting a gentle kiss on my cheek. “I’m sorry if I have aggravated you,” he whispered and then leaned back in his seat.
I sighed and glanced around. “While I adore your intent, I really can’t have you on the boat with me. You are at more of a risk than I am.” I met his gaze. “I know what did this. I also know what this thing can do to...” I bit my tongue before the word humans spilled out. “... to men.”
A crease appeared between his eyebrows. “What is it?” he whispered.
“A siren.” I figured if he knew what they did, he might back off.
The crease deepened, and his forehead wrinkled with confusion. Then his skin smoothed out, and humor filled his eyes. “A mermaid?”
I nodded and he actually laughed. He had obviously watched The Little Mermaid with his kids way too many times.
“You’re kidding, right?” he said through his laughter.
I narrowed my eyes and pressed my lips together as the temptation to show him just how toxic a siren’s song actually was to humans. But if I did that, I’m sure the plane would fall out of the sky and kill everyone on board, and I’d be the devil’s plaything again.
“Sirens are deadly to humans. They poison mankind’s minds, turning them into mons
ters. What happened on that boat was nothing more than a murderous rampage caused by the siren song.” I chose my words carefully, hoping he would equate it to men, not all humans. I needed him to think I was safe on some level, and this ruse was the only way to do it.
His laughter faded as he studied me. “Will it affect you?”
I shook my head, opting for the silent response so he could draw his own conclusion.
“But it will affect me if I hear it?”
“Bingo.” I pointed my finger at him. “Thus my insistence that you not come on the boat with me. It would be a shame if I had to kill you.”
“How do you know all this?”
I glanced out the window, trying to formulate an answer that would hold water. “Because I have run across these things before. And I’m afraid the one causing this havoc was one I let go a long time ago. So, this is on me.”
“You can’t blame yourself,” he said.
It was my turn to laugh. “Why don’t you get some sleep. It’s a long damn flight.” I put the seat back and closed my eyes, avoiding any further conversation for the moment.
He squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. Under all my angst, I was glad to have someone with me. Someone who could help pick up the pieces when all this was done.
Chapter 4
I dozed, but every time I wandered into dreamland, I shot upright in the seat with my heart pounding without recollection of the dream that caused such visceral fear. Luckily, my restless sleep didn’t interrupt Alex. He remained softly snoring in the seat next to me.
I stretched, giving up on the idea of sleep for the time being. My shifting stirred him, and he opened his dark eyes, sliding his gaze in my direction with a sheepish smile.
“Where are we?” he asked.
His voice turned deep and scratchy with sleep. It was the sexiest thing I had heard in a long time. I took a breath before glancing out the window. The vast blue of the ocean met my gaze.
“Over the Atlantic.”
He glanced at his watch and then bit his lip with a raised eyebrow. “How much longer?”