by Kaye Draper
“Mom!” Grey called after the siren as she slipped into the bar crowd, desperation driving him to call her by a name he had sworn he would never use.
Arianna stopped—probably as shocked as Grey—and returned to him, a swaying, gliding figure of womanhood that had every head in the place turning to follow her path.
“Mom?” Her voice was cold but puzzled. “Mother is not a term I am familiar with. The gods that spawn creatures like me take no heed of their offspring. They bring us into the world, then disappear from our lives, if we are lucky.”
She tossed her golden hair and looked at Grey out of the corner of her eyes. For a moment there, Grey thought he saw pain, or something like it. “I tried the human concept of mother once. But that was a different life.” Arianna's eyes flashed, swirled like the ocean. “It was restrictive and painful. Now I have a whole island to love me, to worship me.”
Grey felt the pull of her power. The male part of him ached with the need to make her happy. Another part of him, his human side, pitied this odd creature for her pain. And yet another part urged him to destroy her, rend her flesh, end her—his siren heritage, unable to tolerate this threat to his territory.
A pair of beautiful men detached themselves from the throng of people at the bar and made their way to her side. Seen side by side with a sense of detachment, Grey could see that they were twins. They had the same perfect features, the same broad-shouldered height—though one was a bit beefier, and golden as the sun, while the other was sharper, more slender and as cool and dark as shadows. Grey wondered how he had never noticed how strong the resemblance was.
Luca’s hand came to rest on the siren’s bare shoulder as Cameron slipped an arm around her waist. Their blue eyes were distant and glazed, and their pupils were huge. At least now Grey knew why he'd been stood up.
Grey let out an involuntary sound like a growl. “Leave them alone!” His voice sounded brittle in his own ears and he smelled the ocean.
Arianna only laughed, a high, terrible sound that chilled Grey like ice water
“Come on, guys,” Grey said firmly. “We’re leaving!”
The brothers didn’t respond. They continued to stare adoringly at the beautiful woman before them. She lifted a hand and drew her fingers across Luca’s lean jaw, her eyes still fixed on Grey in challenge. “So pretty,” she purred. “A matched set!”
Grey grabbed Luca’s arm and pulled. Luca shook him off like a leech, the vacant expression never wavering. The siren laughed again, amused at Grey's helplessness. She turned toward Cameron. “Be a dear and kiss your mistress’s feet.”
Grey clenched his fists as Cameron knelt at her feet and did exactly as instructed, right there in the middle of the bar, then sat back on his heels looking up at her expectantly, like a trained dog expecting a treat for good behavior. He didn’t even seem to notice the stares and laughter of the people around them.
Grey knew Arianna was only doing this out of petulance. Because Grey had taken Steffen away from her. She was a pouting child intent on stealing other people’s toys because she’d broken her own.
“There’s a good pet,” Arianna said, stroking Cam's golden hair. She tilted her head invitingly and Luca leaned close to drop an adoring kiss on her perfectly tanned throat. The gem was there, a rough piece of cut stone suspended from an antique silver chain, radiating power. Grey probably should have made a grab for it, but he couldn't think straight—not with this bitch touching Luca.
Grey snapped. Mine! his power roared inside him. The siren’s lips moved, but he couldn’t hear anything over the roaring of surf in his mind and the harsh call of the seagulls that were pelting the windows of the bar. “Luca!” His voice was his own. Not Grey, but Grace, and it dripped with power.
Luca’s head snapped up and he looked at Grey, shaking off the confusion.
Grey held out a hand. “Come here.”
Luca walked away from the siren without a backward glance. Grey linked his fingers firmly in Luca’s.
“Cameron,” Grey said, his voice commanding. But Grey was no match for her. He was connected to Luca with every fiber of his being. But he didn’t have the same connection to Cameron, and he wasn’t a full siren. Power lashed out, suffocating his own. Cam stood and followed Arianna into the crowd while Grey was rooted to the spot, unable to do much more than keep his own wits and a tight hold on Luca.
A moment later, the sensation of power drained away, and Grey became aware of his surroundings again. He and Luca stood holding hands in the middle of the dance floor. A few couples lazily swayed around them, and the laughter and chatter started back up at the bar as if nothing had happened.
“I have a headache.” Luca’s deep voice shook Grey to the core.
Grey whirled and tugged Luca out the exit. They stumbled out into the night and Grey drew the chilled air deep into his lungs, trying to clear his head. It was no use though. Luca had been stolen from him. No matter how briefly, it was intolerable. Luca was his. Only his. Always.
Before he knew it, Grey was pinning Luca to the rough brick wall. If Luca was surprised, he didn’t show it. He just obligingly tilted is head down to meet Grey’s hungry, biting kiss.
Luca buried his big hands in Grey’s hair as the kiss deepened. Grey’s cock throbbed with the need to possess him. Mine, his body insisted. Grey slipped a hand between them and grasped Luca through his pants, palming the evidence that Luca wanted Grey just as badly. The thought crossed Grey’s mind that he could have Luca on his knees in an instant, even here in the open. There are far better uses for a man than having him kiss your feet, he thought bitterly.
Grey lurched backward, gasping. The cold night air immediately doused the heat that had sprung up between them. He pressed the back of his hand to his swollen mouth, horrified at what he’d almost done. Luca leaned against the building breathing heavily, his eyes still hooded with passion. Seeing Grey’s panic, he stood up straighter and reached toward him, blue eyes sharpening in concern, his deep voice still husky. “Grey?”
Grey stumbled back another step. “No. I didn’t mean to. I just…I’m sorry!”
What had he almost become? He turned and ran down the sidewalk, horrified. He was no better than she was—a monster who preyed on men. God, had he been controlling Luca this whole time without knowing it?
Grey had almost reached the end of the block, where the town opened up to the sea, when a hand caught his wrist, and he was jerked to a halt. Luca gasped for air between words. “What is going on?” He demanded. “And where the hell are you going?’
He yanked Grey’s arm, pulling Grey stumbling into his embrace. “I don’t know what just scared you so badly, Grey, but don’t run! Please don’t leave me behind. Whatever it is, we’ll face it together. Okay?”
Grey couldn’t do anything but cling to Luca, pressing his face into the other man’s shirt, wishing he was just…normal. He’d never been anything special as a girl. But he’d go back to that again in a flash, if he could just erase everything that was going on inside him and be ignorant of the supernatural world again.
He had just thought of Luca as a tool. A belonging. A thing to be subjugated and used. Grey had worked so hard to start accepting himself. To start liking who he was. But at that moment, he had never felt such self-loathing. Luca would be better off without him, he knew that. But he just gripped his jacket tighter and refused to let go.
Chapter 69
At the news of Cameron’s kidnapping, Pontus went celestial and strode into the ocean, his long black beard streaming on the waves as he disappeared into the depths. He was convinced that the siren had taken his child below and turned him over to her relatives as some sort of prize. Apparently, when it involved one of his children, he was more than willing to break the rules and interfere with the sirens.
Luca and Grey had been left behind to scour the island, a task that was proving absolutely fruitless. They stopped their search to grab a quick lunch before heading out to the other side of the island. If
the siren was anywhere on this end, they would have felt her power by now.
They were both laughing weakly over a joke from the waiter when Luca’s phone rang. He picked it up with a half-smile still on his face. “Hey Mat, what’s up?” His smile turned to a frown. “Ethan? Where’s Matheus?”
Grey sat up, worried at the look on Luca’s face. “What do you mean? Okay. Calm down so I can understand you. Where?” He held up a hand to stall the questions Grey was about to ask. “Uh-huh. Okay. We’ll be there in a few minutes.”
Grey looked at him in confusion as Luca dropped a few bills on the table and grabbed Grey's wrist. “Come on.”
“What’s wrong? What happened?”
Luca shook his head and gave him an exasperated look. “Matheus and Ethan went hunting for Cameron.”
Grey’s blood froze in his veins. “Are they okay?”
Luca dragged him out of the restaurant and into his car. “For now.”
They sped along the one smooth strip of road that encircled the whole island. Grey wasn’t sure how Luca knew where to go, but apparently, he had no trouble following Ethan’s directions. They pulled up in front of a New England style home that sat perched on the edge of a little cliff overlooking the sea. The ocean below was stirred up, roiling.
“What did they do?” The hair on the back of Grey's neck stood on end when he stepped out of the car. “She’s in there. And she’s pissed.” He turned to Luca. “You can’t go in there. You shouldn’t even be this close; you have to go!”
Luca shook his head, seemingly unperturbed by the power Grey felt lapping at his skin. “They’ve gagged her. I’m safe for now.” He gave Grey an assessing look. “Besides, you can pull me back. You’ve already staked your claim on me.”
Grey closed his eyes, feeling like he’d just been slapped. But Luca wasn’t paying attention. His gaze was on the house. “Well, shall we go say hi to your mom?”
Grey clenched his teeth and headed up the walkway.
He walked up the quaint front steps with unease nagging at him. No matter what Luca said about her voice, it seemed sirens could still reach out with their minds, and Grey was afraid that he would be overcome by her power at any moment. He felt a reflexive response rising in him. Seagulls wheeled overhead, calling harshly. Luca’s eyes snapped to him and Grey shrugged. If he had power, he was going to use it. Grey felt it rising up inside him like a cool tide, but he didn't try to suppress it. He stared back at Luca. “You are mine,” Grey said firmly, in a voice he hardly recognized. It made him sick to think of manipulating Luca again, but better safe than sorry.
Luca’s gaze didn’t waver. “Always.”
Grey nodded and opened the door. It gave easily, and they stepped into the foyer. “In here!” Mat’s voice called to them from a room to the right. They made their way down a long, thick blue runner and into a sumptuous living room decorated in muted blues and greens.
Ethan was sprawled across a cream-colored sofa, holding an ice pack to his left eye. He gave them a feeble wave as they entered. Cameron lay still on a pile of pillows at Ethan’s feet, breathing slow and deep, as if asleep.
In the middle of the plush Berber carpet, the siren lay in an undignified heap. She glared daggers at Grey as he entered. He gave her a little wave and she snarled. Matheus stepped closer and nudged her with his toe, holding a chair leg like a weapon.
“Shut your trap!” Matheus sounded tired, and there was a gash just above his eyebrow that was clotting up nicely.
The siren’s arms were tied behind her with the fancy tie from the draperies. The tassel swung jauntily as she squirmed. A towel was wadded up and stuffed in her mouth, held in place with a silk scarf. Very bondage chic.
Grey raised an eyebrow at Matheus. “A little rough with the ladies, aren’t you?”
He frowned and shook his head. “Speak up, I can’t hear you.” His voice was overly loud.
Grey glanced at Ethan, seeing him wince at Mat’s tone. “Wax,” he explained tiredly. “He plugged his ears like the story.”
Luca and Grey shared a glance. “Odysseus?" Luca said in disbelief. "You thought some beeswax and a gag were going to save you?”
Ethan grinned. “Worked, didn’t it?”
Grey took a deep breath and tried not to feel sorry for the poor, beautiful woman who lay abused on the floor. Instead, he knelt beside Cameron, his hands searching for signs of damage. He seemed fine. No bruises or obvious injuries.
Matheus shouted at them again. “He’s fine. Just sleeping. Bitch here made him sleep.” He waved the table leg at Grey’s mother by way of explanation.
Grey took a deep breath and stood. “Mat,” he shouted. “Take that stuff out of your ears!” He was starting to worry about that scalp wound…what if the broody bassist had a head injury? He had lost all traces of his customary cool smoothness.
Grey had to clench his hands at his sides to keep from reaching for Matheus and pulling him into his arms so he could make sure he was okay. The rage simmering inside him insisted the bitch at his feet was going to suffer for touching what was his.
When Matheus gave him a blank stare, Grey strode over and stuck his finger in the bassist's ear. Mat squirmed away from him and gave his prisoner a weary look. But he finally relented and dug out his homemade earplugs.
Grey shook his head. “Now that we can all hear,” he said testily. “Did you have to bludgeon my mother?”
Matheus looked abashed at that, but he refused to look at the siren. Grey knew how he felt. She looked so sad. But he knew that was what she wanted them to think. Matheus finally dropped the makeshift weapon. “That wasn’t the plan. But she sent Ethan and Jock Boy at me and I had to defend myself. I sure as shit wasn’t going to hit them.” He grinned. “Even if Cameron usually deserves it.”
Grey ignored the ongoing hostility between Matheus and Cam and nodded. Arianna wouldn’t dirty her own hands when she could just command the others to do the work for her. “So you two came here…?” Grey stopped. He couldn’t even guess how this had all happened.
Ethan seemed proud of himself. He sat up taller, wincing slightly. “We talked and we agreed you guys shouldn’t have to deal with this stuff alone. So we went trolling. She picked me up at the bar and Mat followed us here.”
Matheus pushed a hand through his hair, making it stand up on end. “We figured if you didn’t have to worry about Cameron, you might be able to focus on whatever it is you two have been doing to reverse The Change.”
Ethan nodded. “And well, since it ended up this way, she won’t be able to interfere.”
Grey finally looked at his mother. “You hear that? No interference.” He put a hand on his hip and glanced down at her. “I suppose we could just kill you and be rid of this whole mess….”
Ethan sighed. “Don’t you feel sorry for her? She’s so lonely. She just wants to be loved….”
Grey’s eyes narrowed at his wistful tone. The tang of sea breeze hit him, and Grey jerked back. Damn it. Matheus had turned toward the siren as well, all tension gone from his posture as he went to reach for her bindings. “He’s right,” he whispered. “What have we done?”
Grey gritted his teeth. He pulled on whatever lived inside him, let it course over him like crashing waves. “No.” His hair ruffled in a wind that he couldn’t feel. “You don’t belong to her. Don’t fall for her lies.”
Ethan turned to him immediately. He stumbled a bit and landed on his knees. Grey froze as the drummer wrapped his arms around Grey’s hips and pressed his forehead to his stomach. “I’m sorry, Grey. I love you! Only you. Don’t be mad.”
Mat came to him with his head bowed. “I’m sorry Grey.” He took Grey's hand and brought it to his warm lips. His eyes, when they met Grey’s, were glazed. “I’m yours. Command me. Anything. Please.”
Grey jerked his gaze—and his hand—away from Matheus and looked to Luca in panic. Thank the gods, he at least seemed to be in possession of his own mind. “Did you do that on purpose?” Luca arched a d
ark eyebrow at Grey and glowered at their bandmates.
Grey shook Ethan off and took a step back. “Of course not!”
Matheus shook himself like a dog, his eyes going sharp again. He hurled himself to the other side of the room with a panicked sound, getting away from the two monsters.
Grey sighed, feeling like a dirty rag. It seemed like his only talent was warping minds and making people loathe him for making them love him. “Maybe we really should kill her.”
Arianna smirked back at him. She knew he wouldn’t do it.
“What do we do with her now?” Grey scrubbed a hand across his face and gestured at the ties holding her. “She’s going to get out of that eventually and send every man she can control after us to stop us breaking this curse.”
Luca crouched down by the siren, utterly unafraid. “I know a place,” he said softly. His voice was a deep, silky menace. “He was trying to stay out of it, but I’m sure Pontus will be glad to watch over her for us after what she’s done to Cam. It’s not really interfering if he just watches her, right? Unless she does something stupid. Then it’d just be self-defense if she ends up dead.”
The siren’s eyes widened, and she looked at Grey. He shrugged. He had no idea what the big deal was. Apparently, he needed to read up on Pontus when he got back home.
Luca’s father met them about twenty minutes later. He bustled up the steps and blustered into the house in a high fury. He inspected Cameron for a few seconds, then stormed over to the woman on the floor.
Grey felt steadier having the god in attendance. He crossed to Arianna and removed her gag. Grey helped her to sit up, then crouched down in front of her so that they were eye level. “There has got to be some way I can convince you to stop this nonsense and un-mojo the island. You’re killing off all the sea life.”