After their meal, she laid her head on his heaving chest, not wanting to move.
“What do you want to do today?” he asked lazily.
The sudden realization that it wasn’t exactly her choice what she did today dawned on her. The thought enveloped her like a black cloak and she began to feel sick again.
“I’m supposed to be a Siren,” she murmured at last, slowly sitting up.
Eban giggled. “A what?”
“A Siren. I’m twenty-one now, it’s my new role,” she said, taking deep breaths to abate the sickness welling in her stomach.
Eban sat up with a puzzled grin.
“When a woman reaches twenty-one she has to become a Siren,” Amaranda tried to explain. “I’m supposed to, you know, get the sailors to crash into the rocks so that we can take their cargo.”
Amaranda suddenly felt truly ashamed. She had always accepted that this was what she would do when she reached this age, the same as every other woman on the island did—this was their role. No one ever questioned it. Until now!
Eban faced her with an incredulous expression.
“You do what?”
She could not bear to look at his face, and tried to turn away, but he took her chin in his strong hand and tilted her face up toward him.
“I’ve never done it before. It’s what we have to do when we reach twenty-one,” she cried, trembling with shame and fear. He must hate me now!
“Is this what you want to do?” he asked quietly.
Amaranda thought about it for the first time in her life. She had never been given a choice before, as that was not how things worked on the island. The thought of what she was supposed to do filled her with fear and dread. Although she had been very turned on yesterday by the sight of the Sirens seducing the sailors, the visions of them tearing their bodies to shreds afterward had made her feel ill. I could never do that!
“No,” she said, staring straight into his deep blue eyes. “No, I don’t want to.”
Eban sighed with relief, “Good.”
“But what else can I do?” She shook her head. “I don’t have a choice!”
A cloud of despair enveloped her as she burst into tears.
Eban put his muscular arms around her shoulders and held her close to him, stroking her back gently.
“Shh, it’s all right,” he soothed, “we’ll find a way out of this.”
The feel of his strength surrounding her offered some comfort, but she couldn’t see how they could possibly escape from this. A million scenarios ran through her head, and she felt dizzy again.
”I don’t think there is a way,” she said, sniffing miserably. “We have to abide by the rules of the island. There is no other way.”
“So what happens if you don’t comply with their rules?” he asked.
“No one ever disobeys, it’s just not allowed,” she said. “The elders tell you what to do and you do it. They know best because they are so old. Hermandine is in overall charge, so if anyone is unhappy about anything, they take it to her and, if she upholds the complaint, she and the elders decide what to do, though her word is final. No one ever goes to those lengths though. If Poseidon ever heard of a Siren complaining, he would be very angry. When my mother died, he was so furious he caused a great storm to cover the island for several days. The waves drowned all the flowers and some of the houses got ruined. The elders had to go and plead with him to stop before he destroyed the whole island!”
Amaranda sobbed loudly into Eban’s shoulder. The situation was hopeless!
“Poseidon? He actually exists?” he asked incredulously.
Amaranda nodded.
“Was he a friend of your mother?” he enquired softly when she finally stopped crying.
“She–she…” began the young girl, when a sound made them both jump.
They stared wide-eyed at each other as the sound of talking could be heard getting closer to the cave. Eban put his finger to his mouth to silence her, though it was unnecessary, as she was completely dumbstruck. She sat back against the fern pillow as Eban silently rose and stealthily made his way to the mouth of the cave.
* * * *
Peering around the rock that jutted out just in front of the entrance, he could see a crowd of beautiful women walking from the causeway toward the front of the island. The Sirens!
His heart raced as he realized that they were coming to work, and would be expecting Amaranda to join them. He wasn’t altogether sure of what they did to entice sailors to crash their ships into the rocks, as he had never heard mention of them on Westland, but he had an inkling that something was very wrong. And there was no way Amaranda was going to be involved in it!
“We will hide in here until they leave,” he whispered to the frightened girl. “We have enough food for now and we need to keep cool as the sun is nearly at its highest. They will have no reason to come here.”
He slowly crept back over to where she sat on the makeshift bed and held her gently in his strong arms. He could feel her shaking, whether from crying or fear he wasn’t sure. Probably both!
Eban felt his heart melt as he sat holding the gorgeous waif. She seemed so desperately unhappy. He just wanted to remove all her worries and fears. She had lived such a dreadful life, and it seemed there was no way of changing it. The island where she lived had its own archaic laws, and there seemed no way of escaping them. Escaping, of course!
Chapter 4
“We need to find a way off the island. How do your elders get to the mainland to go trading?” he whispered closely into her ear.
Amaranda’s brown eyes opened wide as she turned to stare at him.
“You’re thinking of escaping?”
“We’re going to escape,” he stated firmly. “There has to be a way back onto the mainland. Once we get there we can go anywhere we like. I need to get word back to my folks to let them know I’m still alive, they will be worried sick. I’d love to take you back home with me, but it means getting over to Westland, which will be a bit more difficult from here, but we’ll find a way if that’s what you want, too?”
She gaped, meeting his piercing blue eyes. He was obviously determined.
“I’ve never thought about it,” she replied. “I mean, when I was young I used to dream of getting away from here, to getting to the outside world, but I’ve never really thought about it.”
Eban smiled at the innocent girl.
“You’d better start thinking about it now, then, sweetheart, because that’s exactly what we’re going to do.”
Amaranda’s head was in a whirl. Could we really do this?
“There is a boat,” she murmured slowly. “It’s kept around the far side of the main island. I don’t know how to sail it though. Hermandine won’t let anyone control it but her.”
Eban smiled. “Don’t worry about that, I’m sure I can handle it,” he reassured her.
Amaranda looked up at him in awe. He was very handsome, stocky, and strong, with tanned skin and a cheeky, wide smile. Eban’s confidence added to his appeal, and she noticed his determined chin, which jutted out from his gorgeous, squared jaw.
“We’ll have to wait until it gets dark,” she whispered, excitement gathering in her belly, “then I can show you where it’s moored. It’s really noisy, though. When it starts up we can hear it all over the island!”
Eban smiled down at her, obviously noticing her worried expression. “Leave that to me,” he assured her, “I can push the boat out of the harbor and start the engine once we’re out to sea.”
“You can do that?” Her big, brown eyes gazed up at him in wonder.
He held her close again and stroked her cheek with his thumb, “I’m a sailor, remember?”
Then he chuckled. “I’ve got my father to thank for that, as I always wanted to be a fisherman!”
She smiled. Her stomach did a flip as it slowly dawned on her that maybe, just maybe, this could actually be possible.
A loud shout shattered their peace, and the S
irens’ chorus filled the air. They sang beautifully, a haunting melody, which caused Eban to rush to the mouth of the cave and look over toward them.
Amaranda’s heart sank as she realized that he was going to be inclined to join them—no man could ever resist their song! Legend had it that if a man ever managed to pass them by, the Sirens would throw themselves into the sea and drown, much the same as her mother had done, but for a different reason.
“That’s beautiful,” Eban enthused, then turned back to her.
He stepped back toward her, horror in his eyes, as though realizing that something was very wrong.
“What is it, sweetheart?”
He cupped her face and gazed into her dark eyes.
“You want to go to them, don’t you?” she whispered sadly.
“No.”
The word was out of his mouth before he even thought about it. Amaranda looked up at him in amazement, seeing the truth in his eyes, though she was struggling to believe it through her own insecurity.
“Why would I want to go to them when I’ve got you?” he murmured, and leaned forward to kiss her sumptuous bottom lip.
He continued to lick and tease her mouth from corner to corner, and softly pressed her lips open with his warm, wet tongue. The young girl reached up and put her arms around him, toying with the curls at the nape of his neck as their tongues danced tentatively in her hot mouth. She gasped, never having felt anything like this before, and could feel a slow burn start in her stomach. She could feel his tender hands run up and down her spine, and then one rested on her hip.
As the serenade continued outside, he gently laid her back on the bed of leaves, and stretched out beside her, kicking off his boots.
Amaranda was suddenly aware that her voluptuous body bulged around her little bikini, unlike most of the other girls, who had slender, even bony frames. She tried to cover her breasts with one hand, while the other went to her soft, round stomach.
Eban chuckled into her mouth, obviously realizing what she was trying to do, and he pulled her arms back. Holding both of her hands in one of his, he raised them above her head without breaking their kiss. He used his other hand to trace a line from her jaw down her neck and over her collarbone.
There was a loud crash outside as a ship hit the rocks, but the couple was too caught up in their own moment to pay it much heed.
Amaranda felt a hot wave flow down her insides as his fingers lightly danced over her body. She gasped into his mouth, and felt him shudder slightly. Feeling open and suddenly vulnerable, she began to panic, pushing against his hand to try to free herself.
“Shh, sweetheart, it’s all right,” he soothed, finally lifting his mouth from hers.
She looked up into his big blue eyes, which were gazing softly into hers. He didn’t look at all scary, he looked beautiful! His mouth was smiling, and he suddenly winked at her, which made her giggle.
“That’s better,” he said, obviously feeling her relax beneath him. “Are you OK?”
She smiled back up at him. His gorgeous blond waves were hanging down over his tanned face, and he wore an impish grin. The burning sensation was returning to her insides, this time going right down between her legs.
“I’m fine,” she said, feeling her arms go floppy again. She enjoyed the feel of his strong hands holding hers.
“Good,” he said, and ran his finger down the side of her face again.
This time he didn’t stop at her collarbone, but drew a line down over the top of her left breast. She could feel her areole tighten through the fabric of her bikini, and the cheeky glint in his eyes told her that he could feel it, too. He rubbed his thumb over her nipple, gazing into her eyes as he did so.
Amaranda could feel herself tense at his touch, and her breathing became heavier. She silently willed him to go further, and he seemed to understand, as he carefully pulled down the fabric covering her aching breast. She could feel his finger and thumb worrying her rock-hard nipple, and a groan escaped from deep inside her throat.
“Is that good?” he whispered closely into her ear, and she groaned again.
He continued his loving onslaught over both of her breasts, and she felt her back arch beneath her as she thrust her voluptuous bosom into his hands, craving more attention. With one hand he pulled his shirt over his head, and she saw the golden hairs of his chest which glinted in the limited sunshine which filtered into the cave. As he leaned over her she felt his hairs stroke against her highly sensitized breasts, and she moaned loudly, feeling her aching pussy become wetter.
“Shh,” he urged her gently, reminding her that there were people outside who might hear. In truth, the Sirens were far too busy seducing the unsuspecting sailors to hear them, and none had given Amaranda’s absence a thought.
She started momentarily as the outside world threatened to invade theirs, but Eban wasn’t about to let that happen.
He ran a soft finger down over her hip and pulled at the ties on one side of her bikini.
Realizing what he was doing, Amaranda gasped, but couldn’t bring herself to stop him. This feels too good! As he freed her hands to enable him to release the ties on the other side of her bikini and remove her top completely, she reached up and clung to his broad shoulders. His tight muscles felt heavenly under her soft fingers, and she stroked his bronzed skin. She saw him looking down at her body as she lay naked on the leaves. She had never been with a man before, and felt a little shy—although, she was so aroused she didn’t want to stop him.
“You’re so beautiful,” he murmured, then stroked her breast with one hand as the other trailed down between her legs and cupped her soaked pussy.
Amaranda felt fire shoot through her whole body and she put her hand over her mouth to stifle a scream. She felt his fingers stroke gently at her perineum and then a probing finger found its way inside her slit and rose up to her throbbing clit. Biting down on her hand, she grabbed at his bicep, and watched his face, wide-eyed, as he continued to rub up and down. She could see his eyes reading her reactions as he caressed her gently, lovingly running his other hand over her breast and teasing her nipple.
She felt almost bereft when one of his hands left her to reach down to his trousers, which were becoming very tight around his engorged cock, and he pulled them off with a satisfied flourish. Amaranda had never been this close to a cock before, although she had seen pictures of them in class, and saw a few from a distance yesterday. She wasn’t at all prepared for the exquisiteness of his massive manhood as it hung pendulously over her shivering body.
“Touch it,” he urged her, his voice rasping with arousal.
Staring into his eyes, she reached up and curled her comely fingers around his velvety member. It felt hard, but smooth and wet, and she couldn’t resist running her hand up and down its long shaft.
“Look at it,” he commanded softly, his husky voice echoing around the cave.
Amaranda’s eyes shot to the magnificent splendor in her hand. As she rubbed over it, she could feel the veins, which she could now see protruding down the shaft. The top of it was purple and bulbous, with a slit leading to a tiny hole at the top. Fluid was leaking from the hole, and she used this to lubricate her hand as she slid it up and down. She felt her insides continue to burn as he stroked her inner thighs and her throbbing pussy. His finger delved into her vagina and she bucked in surprise. She was so wet it didn’t hurt, so he tried two fingers, then three. Oh God! It felt fantastic! But…
“I’ve never…um…that is…I’m…” she stuttered as a sudden panic threatened to take hold of her.
“It’s OK, sweetheart, I know,” he said softly, one hand now stroking her cheek. How does he know?
Relief washed over her. The women groaning outside were obviously very experienced at all this, and Amaranda had suddenly feared that Eban would expect her to be, too. I could never do it as they do! She relaxed as he continued his ministrations, feeling as if she were floating on a cloud of ecstasy. She looked up at his gorgeous face, wh
ile continuing to rub his cock up and down, feeling it get even bigger—as if that were possible! He looked confident, as if he knew exactly what to do. She felt safe. He would look after her.
“Don’t look so worried, I don’t want to hurt you,” he said, smiling as he caught her eye. “You’ve never done this before, have you?”
His other hand was still stroking her pussy, which was now drenched. He carefully avoided her engorged clit, much to her dismay. His eyes were kind. His face looked caring.
“No,” she admitted, not sure if that was good or bad.
“It’s OK,” he soothed, “I’ll be gentle.”
His words and the look on his face aroused her even more. The heat was raging through her body and she felt like she was going to burst into flames! He must have read her thoughts.
“Oh God!” she gasped, as he suddenly rubbed his thumb over her aching clit.
The heat and an ocean of cum seared through her vagina and she bit hard on his shoulder to stop herself from screaming. He tasted of fresh sea salt. She grabbed his arms and held on tight. Amaranda had made herself come on several occasions, but it had never felt like this! Her heart was pounding and she was panting hard. She didn’t have time to come down from her high before he shifted his position until he was directly over the top of her, taking his weight on his forearms on either side of her head.
“Do you want me?” he whispered huskily, staring into her massive eyes.
“Yes, I think so,” she whimpered, not quite sure what to expect.
“I want in, but only if you’re sure?”
She realized then that it all rested on her. This was the biggest decision of her life so far, and there was no question about what she wanted to do.
“I’m sure,” she said firmly, staring back into the deep blue pools of his eyes.
They were totally oblivious to the carnage on the beach outside. Neither heard the hysterical screeches of the bird-like women as they dismembered and drowned their prey. In that moment nothing else existed to the young couple.
She felt him place the large head of his cock at the mouth of her dripping vagina. He never took his eyes from hers. Feeling its massive girth stretch into her tight body, she took a deep breath and squeezed her eyes shut. This is going to hurt!
Last of the Sirens [Sirens and Sailors] (Siren Publishing Allure) Page 3