Lorelei

by Melody Calder

“It must just be the painting. I would know if I were a mermaid, right?” She laughed and quickly added, “Don’t answer that.”

  I wished so much that I could just tell her everything. I wanted more than anything for her to remember me and love me as much as I loved her. “I don’t know, Lorelei. I think you would make a very sexy mermaid.” I lightly ran my finger between her breasts. “I wouldn’t complain about you not wearing a top all the time.”

  “But a tail? How would we even have sex?” she laughed, making me happy that I managed to get her mind off the questions she had.

  “I supposed that would be an inconvenience. I would really miss your pretty pussy,” my voice husky, as I dipped my hand down to the apex of her thighs to make my point. “I guess I’ll just have to settle with a new rule of no top when you’re in my room.”

  “Only if you don’t wear any pants or boxers. I want to see your big cock hanging out for me to touch whenever I want,” she said and winked at me.

  “How about both of us stay naked when we are alone together?” I offered.

  “It’s a deal.”

  We remained in a comfortable silence as I rubbed circles on her skin. It was nice to just be together and have no need to fill the silence with incessant chatter. But something was bothering me. “How did you get this scar on your chest?” I asked before adding quickly, “Not that it bothers me, I just want to know everything about you.”

  “I really don’t know,” she said. “I’ve just always had it. I asked my parents once and they said I was born with it. The doctor that delivered me was just as mystified. It’s not a birthmark and no one really knows.”

  “You sure are a mystery, Lorelei,” I responded. “I love that about you.”

  She didn’t respond like I thought she would, “Oh, you love me?” she teased.

  “I think I do,” I said honestly. “You have stolen my heart with your intelligence, grace, and beauty. The mystery just adds more.”

  Snuggling up into her spot, the one that she fit perfectly, on my chest, as if she were made for it, she replied, “I think that I’m falling for you too, Klaus.”

  Those simple words made me feel like she had hung the moon for me. I knew from the way her memories were coming back that she was falling in love with me, yet the words spoken out loud made me want to shout it from the rooftops. “You have no idea how happy that makes me,” I told her before kissing the top of her head.

  Our conversation halted for a bit and I thought she had fallen asleep until she whispered, “I’m just scared that you’re going to go back to Paris. That this job isn’t going to be satisfying enough. I don’t know if I could take a lower position and be happy.”

  “Oh, Lorelei, you have no idea how easy it was for me to do this. I want nothing more than to be here, to be with you. I never liked the spotlight. I only took the position to continue my family legacy. Then I found Nixie and it was all I wanted to work on. I don’t care about what job I have as long as I can work on the painting.”

  “That’s a relief. I really do hope that we can unravel the mystery together. But part of me doesn’t want to because I want to be selfish and keep you.” I could feel her smile against my skin. She had no idea yet of the lengths I would go to in order to keep her in my life. Soon, she would find out.

  “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere as long as you’ll have me in your life. I should be the one that’s worried that some handsome young stud is going to come and sweep you off your feet and you’ll leave me,” I teased, knowing that once she remembered her heart would belong to only me. I was worried about her pending death once her memories came back. We would have such a short time to be together and I was determined to find a way to stop that from happening.

  .

  It was an amazing weekend, but I couldn’t shake the feeling like something was really off. The strange dreams continued to haunt me, and I didn’t know what to make of them. I tried to brush them off as stress and Nixie, yet they felt so real. I had another one of an old man with a long white beard and long white hair. Despite the age his hair showed, he was youthful in his face and his body. He held a trident and had a fishtail as if he were a merman. He also had a crown upon his head, and he called me his daughter. It wasn’t as vivid as the rest of my dreams, almost as if he were a ghost in the way his being was faded.

  On top of that, he berated me about my love for a farm boy, a human, not befitting for a princess. I felt so angry towards him, even though I didn’t know who this person was that I loved. It seemed to be right on the edge of my subconsciousness that I knew who he was talking about but the conscious me didn’t know. I felt as though I was going crazy.

  We were back at work and I decided not to tell Klaus about the dream I had. I really didn’t want to chase him away by sounding like a lunatic. I kept it to myself as we worked on the painting. Klaus hadn’t been able to secure a copy of the letter he told me about, so we had Herr Wilhelm working with the director of the Louvre. There was so much red tape to go through that I knew it would be a while before I was able to see it.

  Klaus remembered parts of it, but said he didn’t want to tell me just those parts. He assured me that it would make much more sense to have the entire letter. He didn’t want to give me a partial story that would take my focus away from all the data we had in front of us already. I let Klaus read the information to me as I studied the painting itself.

  “These brushstrokes are magnificent,” I said, as I used my magnifier to look deeper. “This artist really does seem to be someone who was trained. And the pooling on the corners is something that we typically only see when the artist is sure it will be framed. I just can’t figure out why he or she used such rudimentary materials for most of it.”

  “Yes, it certainly is a mystery. Would you like to know my theory?” Klaus asked.

  “Of course,” I replied, as I looked up to see his grey eyes staring at me through his lenses. I loved that he didn’t shave in the morning, giving him a sexy five o’clock shadow that I thought would feel amazing on my skin. Heat pooled between my legs at the thought, as images flashed through my mind of how good his tongue felt. I was so caught up in my sexual fantasy that I missed that he had started speaking.

  “With the obvious care he took for this model, he may have wanted it to be a gift or something he was to hold onto with pride in his own home. That would make sense as to why no one has come across another painting from this artist,” he explained, smirking as if he knew my thoughts. “Did you get all of that or were you too busy fantasizing about me?”

  “I heard you,” I grumbled, slightly embarrassed that I was caught. “I think that could very well be true. I just wonder what happened to the rest of the art. It’s not like this mysterious artist just picked up a brush and made only one painting. I also want to know why it’s in such a perfect condition. That’s the part that makes me question the date.”

  “Nixie certainly is a wonder,” he mused. “I thought the same thing, but the letter was dated, and I am positive it goes with this painting. The testing on the materials used to attach it confirmed the time frame.”

  I mumbled an assent as I went back to studying the painting. I was still amazed at how much she looked like me. It was like looking in the mirror. I leaned down to look closer at her face when I was hit with a strange sensation. The room started to spin, and I stepped back to lean against a desk behind me, gripping the edges to hold myself upright. I barely heard Klaus ask if I were okay before I fell into a dream.

  I sat on the rock, the same one I recognized from the painting, combing my hair as I waited for the ship in the distance to come closer. A blonde woman popped out of the water “Lorelei, Father sent me to check on you and help you with the next ship. He says there is a large crew on it and a bounty of treasure for us.”

  I knew she was familiar, but I couldn’t recall her name. She was obviously my sister by what she said. I patted the rock beside me and watched as she flipped her tail in the water befor
e pulling herself onto the island I was sitting on. Warm light covered her tail as she rose from the water and when it receded, a gorgeous pair of legs were left in place.

  She sat next to me and I handed her my comb. She took it and started singing a hauntingly beautiful song as she combed her long blonde hair. I joined along with her, our voices carrying out to the waters. We continued to sing the same music as the ship came closer. Once it approached, we changed our tune, one that called to the sailors aboard, and to the captain to steer the ship towards the hidden rocks that jutted out of the riverbed close to the island.

  I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness as I watched the ship scrape against the rocks and heard the wood tearing from the bottom. My sister giggled next to me, “I love this part.” She sang to the sailors, commanding them to come to her.

  When I didn’t join in, she glared at me and poked me in the ribs, never once losing the place in her song as the men started to jump from the ship, many landing on the rocks below and never surfacing. The few, that did manage to avoid the immediate death, were swimming towards us quickly. The distance was so great that I knew they would tire before ever reaching us and drown as all the others had.

  The ship was sinking quickly, the rip in the hull so great that it filled with water and sunk to the bottom of the river. I knew that others of our kind would be taking the treasures back to our underwater city. One by one, the last remaining crewmen lost their ability to go any further, our song still beckoning them forward.

  The last one sunk under the water and my sister stopped her song and turned to me. “What was that Lorelei? Why would you stop singing?”

  “I’m sorry, I was too entertained by the men falling to their deaths that I forgot for a moment,” I lied. I knew that I would be in deep trouble if my father knew the truth, that I no longer wanted to bring men to their deaths. I no longer wanted to be a Nixie.

  She rolled her eyes at me. “I don’t know what is going on with you, but you’ve changed. Father is concerned about you disappearing and you seem to not be wanting to take your place here anymore.” She didn’t wait for my response, instead jumping back in the river without another word.

  I sat there for a while longer and a man entered my mind. I thought about Klaus and the way he looked at me with such admiration. It wasn’t the dazed look that the men I sang to had, that false love they felt because of my songs. No, Klaus’ feelings for me were real and true. He didn’t care for my beauty and I had never sung to him, even though he asked. He showed me how wonderful humans could be and I wanted nothing more than to leave this life and be with him. My father would never allow it and fear like I’ve never known before washed through me. If Father was getting suspicious, I needed to be even more careful, even if it meant that I wouldn’t be able to see Klaus as often.

  “Lorelei,” I heard Klaus’ voice as I came back to. He was cradling me to him, and we were sitting on the floor of the workroom. “You had me worried.”

  “I don’t know what happened. I got a little bit woozy. I must have forgotten to eat,” I brushed it off, not sharing my dream with him. It seemed so real, and I felt like I might need to see a doctor soon if this kept up.

  He handed me a bottle of water from the desk and I drank it down gratefully. My throat felt dry and rough as if I really had been singing and not just dreaming it. “As soon as I know you are okay to be left alone, I’ll go get us some food. It’s close to lunch time anyway.”

  “Thank you. I seem to be ending up like this a lot lately. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I should probably make a doctor’s appointment.” I gave him a weak smile.

  “I don’t mind you ending up in my arms like this,” he said softly, as he brushed his lips against my cheek. “The only thing that would make it better would be if you were naked.”

  I managed a weak laugh, still very out of sorts from whatever just happened. I didn’t understand how I could have not only these vivid dreams, but also have the taste of river water in my mouth when I woke up. I also smelled the mildew scent that I normally placed with flowing waters. It was so strange, and I hoped that I wasn’t losing my mind. I needed to call my mother and ask if I had ever had any issues like this when I was a child or if mental health problems ran in our family.

  The worst part of all this is that I finally met a wonderful man that I could see myself spending the rest of my life with and now I was showing problems. Why couldn’t it have happened earlier if I were to be cursed with whatever this problem was?

  I drank the rest of the water and sat up slowly. Klaus helped me to my feet, the searing touch of his hands on my hips sending desire straight to my core. “I’m alright,” I assured him. “I don’t feel dizzy at all.”

  “Well that’s too bad because I really like the excuse to touch you while we’re at work.” He waggled his eyebrows at me making me giggle.

  “Oh, you can certainly have your hands in much better places as soon as we leave this place. You make it very difficult to concentrate looking all sexy with those glasses on.” Today was the first time he had worn them around me, and the thick black frames made him look even sexier than his usual self. He looked a little nerdy and it made me have fantasies of fucking him right on the desk.

  “Maybe if you’re good I’ll wear them for you later,” his voice was low and husky. “Is there anything else my lady desires?”

  I bit my lip and moaned, pressing my thighs together. “Oh, Klaus, I desire so very much from you.” I leaned closer and almost kissed him right there before realizing that it would not be a good idea to do so at work. No one was in our workshop but that didn’t mean that no one would stop by.

  He cleared his throat and stepped back. “I’ll go get us some food as soon as my big guy lets the blood come back to my head.” I looked down and saw his cock straining against his pants, the outline clear.

  “Women are lucky,” I teased. “We just have wet panties that no one can see.”

  Klaus leaned in and whispered in my ear, his hot breath causing me to shiver, “Ah, but I can smell your arousal.”

  He left me speechless as he walked out the door, off to get us some lunch. As soon as he was out of sight, I collapsed in the chair and fanned myself. Between the strange hallucinations and the man that made me think of nothing but sex, I was overwhelmed with emotions. And of course, Herr Wilhelm chose that moment to come in.

  “Dr. Nixen, I have good news. I was able to talk the director of the Louvre into getting you a copy of that document right away. They will be sending it next week,” his voice was filled with excitement at the prospect of having such an important piece to have with Nixie. We hadn’t decided yet when we would put her up in the museum, but I knew he wanted it to be soon. Having a copy would be enough to put her on display.

  “That’s wonderful news!” I exclaimed. “It will be so helpful to solve this mystery. I assume you’ll want to plan an unveiling soon, or will you wait until they release the original?”

  “That depends on you and Dr. Hoffman. I’d love to have a report on what you know about the piece to put it in the press release. Also, the brochures. You’ll update me?” He arched his brow and I found it quite comical for some reason.

  “Of course, Herr Wilhelm. When Dr. Hoffman gets back from picking up our lunch, we will start on the report. I’ll get that to you by the end of the week, if that’s okay.”

  “Good, good. Are you feeling alright, Dr. Nixen? You look a little flushed,” he observed.

  “I’m okay. I just forgot to eat this morning. I’ll be fine once I have lunch.” I tried to cover up my body’s reaction to Klaus. It would be no good for our boss to find out about our blooming relationship. To my relief, he believed me and gave me instructions to take care of myself and not to work too hard. As soon as he left, my head fell against the desk. The cool feeling of the wood felt wonderful against my hot face. It probably wasn’t the best idea since that only made me think about the cold tiles against my back when Klaus and I had the mos
t amazing shower sex. I had gone so long without it and suddenly turned into a harlot, craving his touch at every waking moment. I needed to get a handle on this fast.

  .

  I hated to leave Lorelei, but I needed to go look at an apartment. I almost asked her to go with me, but decided not to at the last minute. We had spent so much time together and she was having a really tough time, so I felt it was best for her to have some space. I knew she was having flashbacks, but I didn’t know why she didn’t tell me about the one at work.

  She tried to blow it off as not eating and I knew that wasn’t the truth. I didn’t dare say anything since I didn’t know how it would affect the curse. Everything was so different this time that I was out of my league. I needed to find the coven of witches again and try to find answers. I just wasn’t ready to make that journey because I didn’t want to leave my love for that long.

  Work was just another complication, one that I wasn’t sure how to handle. I hoped that the letter would take much longer to come. The contents were very damning for me, and I had expected that she would have her memories back fully before it came. I admit, I got a little panicked when she informed me that Herr Wilhelm had pulled strings to get it here by next week.

  I suppose that was the other reason why I needed to look at this apartment alone. I wanted the time to figure out how I would handle the letter’s arrival. I would have a lot of explaining to do and I didn’t think it would go over very well in her current state. It was hard to walk away when she tried to hide her disappointment in me not asking her to accompany me to the showing.

  The cab pulled up to an old brick building, the one I recognized immediately. Even though the outside bricks were different, and the windows were no longer the dingy old ones, I would know this building anywhere. No matter how many centuries had passed, I would never forget the first home that I shared with my wife. The place where we had dreamt about having children and what their names would be. The home where I had shed so many tears after I lost her. The home that I fled from when I couldn’t take the smell of hers that lingered in the air long after she had passed away.