by Kaye Draper
Grey lifted his own book up to hide his red face and forced himself to focus on words about space travel and navigation systems. He was not allowed to want to fuck the weird, scary-assed monster that might also be his however-many-times-removed ancestor. Get a grip, Grey .
The deep laugh that shivered in the air between them nearly made him moan. George needed to hurry the fuck up and leave already. How long could planning one little concert tour take? His phone chimed and he reached for it, happy for the distraction.
Abbie.
So...can you hold your breath for a long time? Or do you just breathe underwater?
Grey rolled his eyes. Abbie had been texting him random questions for the last two days. Apparently, her shock had finally worn off. Which could be cool, because that might mean Grey could tell her about the gender swapping thing without all the anger and fainting that had accompanied their last little talk. But then again...it might not be a good thing, because then he was going to have to field a million stupid, invasive questions about that .
Grey sighed and typed out both.
He set the phone aside and picked up his book, only to put it down again when another text came in. Do you grow a tail when you swim? Like the little mermaid? Can I see it? I want to see your tail!
Levi burst out laughing, startling Grey so bad he jumped. “What the fuck is so funny?”
Galaxy eyes regarded him, the corners crinkling with humor as Levi waved his smut book at Grey. “The human body does not work this way. Even I know that, and I’m not remotely human.”
Grey took a deep breath and tried to tell himself everything was fine. This was perfectly normal. “It’s just for amusement purposes. Fiction. Fantasy.”
Levi smirked. “So humans fantasize about putting—”
Grey slapped a hand over that wicked mouth before he could say another word. “No. Nope. Keep it to yourself.” He had a marvelous idea. Pulling his hand away from all that smooth, silver-marked violet skin, he said, “You know what? Why don’t you ask Matheus about it next time you see him? He loves to talk about sex.”
Levi tilted his head, his strange eyes full of mischief. “You want me to talk to your bedmate about sex? What a marvelous idea.”
Oh, no. Grey opened his mouth to try to fix the horrible thing he was pretty sure he’d just done, but the damned phone pinged again, and letting Abbie come up with answers to her own questions was even more dangerous than setting a man-eating sea monster loose on his future bedmate...uh, his band mate.
I don’t have a tail.
Hardly a second passed before the phone was pinging again. Gotta go get ready for a date.
The number of heart emojis, eggplants, and obscene faces that followed that was sickening. Especially since Grey was pretty sure she knew who Abbie was going out with tonight. He did not want to imagine Abbie and Cam getting all steamy.
He glanced at Leviathan. “Can you tell if George is still here?”
The irritating snake didn’t look up from his enthralling book. “Yes. Still here.”
Grey picked up his book, re-read the last paragraph for the fifth time, then settled in to read. His phone chimed.
“So help me, Abbie,” he muttered. “I’m going to call Cameron and tell him you don’t like guys to make a move until the tenth date, if you don’t stop texting me stupid shit.”
Levi read over Grey’s shoulder and raised an eyebrow at him. “You don’t want her to see your tail? I thought she was your best friend. Mortals are so confusing.”
Grey shoved him in the shoulder for being nosy, and for being a jackass. “Oh, go back to your porn.”
That got him a smirk as Levi licked his lips, his forked tongue flicking out to taste the air. “Yes, master.”
Grey’s phone went off repeatedly, blowing up with Abbie’s impatient bullshit. Grey ignored it for a good twenty minutes. Finally, he glanced at his phone just to check the time. He frowned at the messages that had come in one right after another.
Are you busy?
I don’t feel so great.
I think I need help. Please?
That wasn’t Abbie.
“The woman is gone. New human incoming,” Levi said in a bored voice, like a receptionist.
Grey was about to ask what he meant and how he could sense people like that, when he heard raised voices coming from downstairs. “What the hell?”
He unlocked his bedroom door and crept down the stairs, flattening himself to the wall and peeking around the corner so he could see the foyer. “Ah, shit,” he whispered.
Steffen was at the front door, arms crossed over his chest, eyes hidden behind a huge pair of dark sunglasses while he engaged in some sort of argument with the rest of the band. George, thankfully, seemed to have left.
“Not now, Steffen,” Luca was saying, barring entry to the house.
Steff put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her aside as he stepped into the foyer.
“Just fucking go home , Steff!” Mat said, stepping in front of the blond and flinging out an arm to block the hallway.
Steff halted, head tilted back like he’d been slapped, his chiseled lip twisting into something nasty. “Seriously, Mat? You’re going to just go right back to this bullshit? After last night?”
Grey felt his eyes go wide as a really weird, really painful suspicion lodged itself in her chest. Mat had been off since he ran out to see Steffen last night. He’d looked guilty this morning. And he’d seemed so tired and messed up.
“Not now, Steff.” Mat’s voice sounded hollowed out, exhausted. “Just...Grey’s sick. She’s sleeping. We’ll tell her you stopped by.”
Steffen ran a hand through his long golden hair, a tremor lifting through his tall frame. “Look. I know you guys don’t want me here, okay? I get it. I’m scum.” He lifted his head and squared his shoulders like it was taking every bit of strength he had. “But Grey said I could be here. I need to talk to her , not you assholes. If she tells me to leave, I will. I just—” His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. “I need Grey. Please?” For fuck’s sake, he sounded like he was about to cry.
Grey took in a deep breath and let it out, then stepped out from his hiding place. “Just let him in.”
Ethan closed the front door as Steffen whipped off his sunglasses and gaped at Grey. Grey shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweats and rocked up onto the balls of his feet. “Yo. Come on in. Sorry. I only just saw your texts.” He turned and headed back toward his bedroom, feeling a whole bunch of curious eyes on him.
Steffen followed him to his room and Grey once again shut himself inside. Gods, he hoped he wasn’t going to be trapped in here the entire time he was a dude. He looked up at Steffen, who was still staring. Dark circles painted inky smudges under the guy’s brown eyes. His hand shook as he tucked his sunglasses over the collar of his V-necked sweater. He looked like absolute shit.
“Are you okay?” Grey said, finally pushing away from the door. “I really didn’t see your texts until you were at the door. But I probably would have told you to come over anyway.”
Steffen swallowed hard. “Uh. Yeah. No...no, I’m not.” He fisted his hands in his hair and sank down to sit on the edge of Grey’s bed. “I couldn’t sleep the last couple nights. I keep feeling this...pull.” He rubbed the center of his chest. “And I feel all restless. I want.... I think.... It’s like I can hear her voice in my head, but I don’t know what she’s saying.”
Grey narrowed his eyes. “Arianna?”
At Steff’s nod, Grey crossed the room and dropped to his knees in front of the guy. “Hey. Look at me, Steff.”
Haunted brown eyes met his. “I don’t want to go back to her. I don’t want to be her slave. I don’t want to lose control of my own fucking mind .” He was talking faster and faster, gulping in short gasps of air as he panicked.
Grey reached out and slid his hand through that silky gold hair, gripping the back of Steff’s neck. “Shh...” he whispered. “It’s okay now. Breathe. I’
ve got you.”
Steff’s whole body trembled. “I...I know. That scares me too. But I trust you, Grey. For some reason, I just do.” He pressed his forehead to Grey’s. “Mat says you’re a good person. That you would never do what she did. And I believe him.”
Grey tried not to tense up. Oh, he just bet Mat had told Steff all kinds of things to comfort him. Probably while they were both still naked.
He tamped down his jealousy. Now wasn’t the time. It didn’t matter what went on between the two idiots, Grey wasn’t going to let Steffen suffer because of what his own damned mother had done to the guy. No one deserved that.
Looking into Steff’s eyes, feeling the trust the poor guy was putting in him, Grey began to hum, then he sang, a soft, silly children’s lullaby that let him weave his power into the air, let him push it into Steff and make him his.
He nearly fell on his ass when the beautiful blond surged forward and kissed him, his perfect lips hungry and desperate.
Pulling back, easing up on the magic and the flow of energy between them, Grey steadied himself with a hand on Steff’s broad shoulders and opened his eyes.
The ex-singer was staring at him in shock. “I’m...oh, fuck, I’m sorry, Grey. I don’t know what came over me. I...shit. Please don’t be mad.” He reached out a big hand to grip Grey’s shoulder, then snatched it away. “Shit.”
Grey sighed, letting go of Steff and standing as he withdrew his power the best he knew how. “Did it do anything? Did it help?”
He felt so stupid. The only time he’d ever purposefully used his power like that had been when he snatched Steff away from Arianna the first time—and it had ended up with the guy forming some weird attachment to him. “I’m sorry, Steff. But enchanting you like that is the only way I know how to interfere with her pull.” He waved a hand at the guy. “Don’t worry about the whole...kiss...thing. I know it was just the magic. You can’t help it.”
Grey could certainly fucking help it, and he hadn’t exactly hated it. Fuck everything .
Steff gave a shaky laugh. “Oh. Yeah. You’re probably right.” He grinned up at Grey. “But whatever you did, I think it worked. I already feel...more secure? Is that a thing? Sounds stupid, but that’s how it feels. Like I’m not about to get yanked away by some invisible hand.”
Grey nodded, frowning. “But it seemed to be getting worse, right? Why would that happen? Shouldn’t you be getting better the longer you’re away from her?”
He shook his head. “I have no idea, but yeah, it has definitely been getting worse the last few days. It hasn’t been that bad since I started therapy.”
That wasn’t comforting. What the fuck was going on here?
The door opened and Mat peeked in, his hazel eyes full of concern. “You guys okay?”
Grey narrowed his eyes at the bassist. “Fine.”
Mat opened his mouth to say something, looking like a kicked puppy, but he was interrupted by Levi, who just shoved the door open, brushed up against the tall, wiry bassist, and waltzed right in. He glanced between Grey and Steff. “Are you done re-enforcing your link to the vain one?”
Grey arched a brow at him, and he shrugged. “I felt the echo of your magic.”
“Do you know why—” Grey was interrupted by Luca bursting in. He threw his hands up in the air, just about fucking done with everything.
“Your mom’s here to visit,” Luca said from the hallway, her face deadpan. “She’s in the living room.”
Chapter 20
Steffen shot to his feet and lurched toward Grey. Levi grabbed the guy by the wrist and yanked him back against his own broad chest, wrapping an arm around the taller guy’s trim waist to hold him in place. “Calm yourself.”
Steffen slumped in his arms, out like a light.
“Hey!” Mat rushed over, his eyes snapping with fury as he reached toward the unconscious model.
Grey stepped in his way, crossing his arms over his chest and arching a brow. “You’re always bitching about the asshole, but now you’re suddenly so concerned?”
Mat clenched his fists at his sides but didn’t meet Grey’s eyes. “Is he okay?” He glanced at Levi. “What did you do to him?”
Grey sighed. “He’s fine. But he really doesn’t need to see Arianna right now, or even fucking know she’s anywhere near him.” She turned toward Levi. “You can put him on the bed.”
Once Levi got Steff settled—surprisingly gentle the whole time, given his usual disdain for the gorgeous blond—he stood and bowed his head toward Grey. “Shall I accompany you? Meeting one’s parents is significant, is it not?” The sparkle in his eyes said he knew exactly how stupid he was being right now, but he made sure to glance at Grey’s abandoned romance novel just for good measure. Grey rolled his eyes and ignored it.
“Luca and Levi are coming with me. Mat, you stay here with your boyfriend and let us know if anything happens.”
“Grey, it’s not like that.” Matheus’s usually snarky voice was downright haggard. But Grey couldn’t take time to give a fuck.
“Where’s Ethan?” Grey glanced around the room. “You left him with her?”
Luca and Levi hounded Grey’s steps as he dashed downstairs and into the living room. Arianna sat in the middle of the sectional sipping a soda and smiling at something Ethan had said like a normal human woman. You know, if “normal” meant beautiful, voluptuous, and ageless. Even the sound of her laughter was laced with magic.
Grey narrowed his eyes at the woman before glancing at Ethan. He looked okay...sitting on the edge of a footstool with his own soda, his posture relaxed and a small smile on his easygoing face, like he really was just chatting up his new girlfriend’s mom or something.
“Grace,” his mother said, standing and holding out her arms like she expected a hug. “I see you’re enjoying my gift! That was a strange bit of magic. I don’t think I could repeat it if I tried.” She huffed. “I swear it took years off my life. I almost feel mortal.”
Grey glared. “I’d enjoy it a lot more if I knew how to fucking change back.”
Arianna threw back her head and laughed, the sound rippling over the room like ocean waves. It pissed Grey off. Something inside him said this was Grey’s territory, and the bitch needed to leave—even if she wasn’t currently doing anything but being mildly annoying.
When she finally got control of herself, the siren gave Grey a sly look. “If you want to change back, you just have to want it bad enough, darling.”
Grey rolled his eyes. “Right. Like I wanted to turn into a guy. Like I don’t want to be female right now!”
Levi touched Grey’s shoulder, leaning down to whisper in his ear, sending a full-body shudder through him. “Perhaps it’s a subconscious desire.”
Desire. That was another fucking word going on the list of things Levi was not allowed to say in that deep, sexy-as-fuck voice. Grey shook himself.
When he looked back at Arianna, her face was blank and calm, but Grey knew her just well enough to see the hunger in her eyes when she looked at Levi. “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your new friend, honey?” she purred.
Grey scoffed. “Oh, fuck you and the horse you rode in on, hag.”
He expected fury. It was shocking when Arianna just laughed again. “You really must work on being able to accept gifts with more... grace , Grace,” she admonished.
Grey bared his teeth. “You didn’t give me anything but a headache.”
Her smile this time was more like what Grey was used to. It said she knew something no one else knew. That she considered herself better than everyone else around her. “I gave you the ability to be whoever you wanted to be.” She shrugged. “I gave you the kleidí. Even though I made you work for it a little, it can only be freely given, remember?” Her green eyes lit on the necklace that Grey still wore, followed it down to the bump in his t-shirt where the kleidí hung under his clothes.
“Well, no take-backs,” Grey ground out. “It’s mine now, so you don’t get to suddenly realize
you fucked up.”
Arianna lifted one perfect blond brow. “Oh?”
Grey planted his feet and got in touch with his magic, preparing for a showdown. “I know what this about, and you can’t fucking have him. Levi is mine.”
A cool, strong hand touched the small of Grey’s back and Levi’s magic swirled through him, bolstering, strengthening, connecting them. Grey suddenly felt powerful and alive ...and able to squash a full-blooded siren like a fucking bug. Let her try to take Levi. He wasn’t going back into the dark, and he wasn’t going to belong to someone who would use him for personal gain.
Arianna’s eyes widened, and her smile deepened. “Oh, this is even better than I had hoped.” She clapped her hands together. “The gods are going to shit their soggy old diapers!”
Grey deflated a bit, confused. “Wait...you...?”
Arianna sank back down onto the couch and picked up her soda. “Knew that thing was more than a pretty rock with an island tied to it? Not at first. But when the gods started bugging me for it, I thought maybe I should get rid of it.”
Grey gaped at her. “So you gave it to me ?”
She lifted one shoulder in a graceful half shrug. “Well, I didn’t want to get caught up in something dangerous. ”
So, she’d passed the danger on to her unsuspecting daughter. Grey rubbed his forehead. “You’re such an asshole.”
Arianna looked unfazed. “I’m alive, aren’t I? I haven’t stayed that way— and stayed free from all their rules—by being stupid.”
“So...you’re not here to try to take the leviathan from me?” Grey said slowly. “Then why the fuck are you here?”
Arianna smiled and relaxed back against the couch like she visited her daughter every day and was right at home. “Well, I wanted to see you, darling.”
Grey snorted, right at the same time that Luca muttered, “Not fucking likely.”
Arianna cast an unamused look at the sea sprite cross. “People can change.” She rubbed her chest as if she had heartburn. “I keep getting this feeling...like...indigestion? I think it might be... emotions. It’s like I forgot something here. Like I left the stove on or something. For some reason I just needed to come back. And then I needed to see you.” She frowned. “The ache is still there, but it’s much more tolerable now. I think I can go back to ignoring it.”