A Siren’s Song (Sisterhood of Jade Book 13)

by Billi Jean

  Even as he thought it, a cold dread built in his chest, warning him of things he didn’t want to contemplate. But he had to. She’d been scared that first night. It was true, even if he stubbornly didn’t want to accept it. She didn’t speak because she feared men would be drawn to her. She’d been scared again yesterday when he’d been tricked by the woman in the mirror. Scared he’d rape her. The way she’d admitted he’d frightened her…her pale face, the tremble in her body…she’d hyperventilated.

  ‘Now we have to leave before the men wake and you didn’t even get breakfast.’

  His muscles tightened for battle. The mere idea of anyone raping her had adrenaline flooding him. No one would ever touch her that way. Not when I am here. He stopped halfway over a crumbled down part of the road. Crouched there, he saw her already stomping up the street without a backward glance. And when I’m not here?

  ‘You’ll break my heart.’

  He rose to his feet. There was little he could do to erase her past. If such things happened to her, she didn’t seem to feel fear toward him. I can help her. The thought loosened the cold tension in his shoulders. Get her back to her brother. Show her what two people are supposed to show each other. The plan solidified, became clearer and his remaining worries floated away. Bed her, get her back to her brother and head home to my life. And if I can’t walk away from her?

  Another crash sounded, nearer. He focused on that and not his confusion. If they were going to make it out of this town they needed to go north, not south. She was going the wrong direction.

  “Maeve, hold up. We can’t run off whenever we get all honest with each other!” His teasing got her to stop, but she stumbled, caught herself quickly then gave him a wicked glare.

  “Go away.”

  “I can’t actually go away.” He jumped down from the fallen pillar. She knew he couldn’t leave her. She took off again in a huff. Obviously, she didn’t care.

  He would have to address this anger, but until he knew the source, hanging back a little might be wiser. She kept going, ducking under a broken archway he couldn’t fit under then continued not waiting for him. He didn’t know if laughing in a situation like this would win him any points, but he wanted to. His experiences with women, and the millions of articles full of expert advice he’d read about women in magazines, all pointed to him not finding it humorous she was in a sulk with him for not taking her pain serious. If he wanted to bed her, he had to start being suave.

  Still, when her gown stuck and had to tug it repeatedly—and only when it ripped got it free—he had to say something. He heaved himself up and over the massive rock pile she’d gone under and landed on the far side, only a few feet from her.

  She startled, then gave him another evil glare.

  “I have to rescue you, remember?”

  Her eyes widened and an unbearable sadness entered them before she flung her head, making her hair fan out like a bird’s wing and marched on.

  “You aren’t a hero, remember?”

  He knew she’d throw that back at him. But she thinks I am.

  “And I can save myself. I saved you. Soon, all of these people will break free.” She held up her hand, now real flesh once more. “I don’t think we should be here.” Not waiting she took off again.

  “Ah, yes, again, a good idea.” He caught up to her but didn’t help her over a break in the stone paving stones. He wasn’t that stupid. Women were tricky, this one much more so than he’d imagined. “You did the right thing. I should have listened to you, but you didn’t really give me half a second to wrap my head around it.”

  She paused and gave him a surprised glance, then walked away without a word.

  Well, for apologies I think mine was good. Her acceptance sucks though.

  “We need to go that way, not this way.” He tipped his chin toward the northern road, not the direction she was going.

  She met his eyes, steadily but without the glare.

  “If you want to meet up with your brother.”

  “You can’t tell them I can speak.” Her chin went up.

  “They don’t need to know. It can be our secret.”

  She didn’t like that, not one bit if he read her deepening frown. “I won’t bed you.”

  He held in his grin by sheer willpower that should have earned him an Academy Award. Impossible little liar.

  “I will not—”

  “Ah, now, angel, can’t we see what happens?” Her expression turned to panic. “After last night?”

  “Last night was a gift.”

  It was his turn to blink. “Last night was perfection, except”—he tapped her nose—“you didn’t let me return the favor.” Her eyes widened adorably. He’d never fallen asleep on a woman in his life. But he’d never met Maeve before either. He couldn’t remember ever sleeping so soundly before. He wanted to sleep with her again and this time, instead of worrying over what she meant to him, he wanted to hold her close. “Tonight—”

  “Nothing will happen tonight. Last night…you were…you needed—”

  “I like to give.” He took her hand and tried to bring her closer.

  She twisted free and crossed her arms. “No. I don’t want to bed you.” The little liar! “I never have. Not even that first time I met you. I won’t change my mind. I can’t.” The color in her eyes glowed beautifully in the early morning light. But her cheeks grew pinker the longer he watched. The stubborn little liar!

  He lifted his eyebrows and crossed his arms over his chest. He was willing to battle this out here and now, but doubted they had the time. Her blush deepened and the pulse at her neck quickened. She’s saying this for a reason. Why?

  “Mae.” He didn’t want her embarrassed. Not the time. Later we can do this. He dropped his arms and stepped toward her. She stepped back. Go slow. Tease the little liar. “Me thinks the lady doth protest too much.”

  Her hazel eyes chilled, but they reminded him of a nice, frosty glass of ale.

  “Are you mocking me?”

  He winced. “I would never mock you.” He kept every ounce of humor out of his voice. Teasing Maeve was a tightrope act—sometimes she liked it, sometimes, she seemed ready to knee him again. Obviously, he’d have to throw all those magazines away when he returned home. Maeve needed a whole new book! “I can see you’re serious about this. I don’t know what it must be like, to not be able to talk, to be a Siren, but you can trust me. You saved my life back there. I saved yours.”

  “You did not save—”

  “You were hyperventilating,” he reminded her, but went on quickly when he pink lips parted. “The stone stopped at your elbow when I arrived.”

  She stubbornly kept her frown in place. He reached out and brushed his thumb over her cheek. It was silky soft. She tossed her head. His lips tickled, but he didn’t grin. Her blush was a steady warmth under her natural coloring, giving him heart that he wasn’t misreading her.

  “That means something, Maeve. We’re companions now. And we will be for the next few days. When we find your brother, and free him and my friends, then we can see if you still feel the same.” Although before would be better…less of an audience. A shiver echoed up his spine at the memory of how loudly he’d shouted last night. It’d been freeing, wild. Why am I always silent, then?

  She still looked ready to argue. “I will—”

  “I know that from this point on, it will be together we get out of this realm. Let’s not forget that means finding our friends, freeing them from the Dark Faye, possibly, and making it to a gate only you and your brother can open.” He blew out a breath and anchored his hands on his hips. Damn she’s hard to read.

  She stared stonily at him, colder than the marble she’d freed from her arm.

  “I think all those obstacles are easy compared to winning another kiss—so we’ll let this be the way it is. When you want me, I’m going to be here.” He touched his chest. “Ready and waiting. I promise you one thing, Mae, when you do open those arms for me, I’m going to s
how you such pleasure you’re never going to want me to stop. Until then…” He reached out and tapped her nose again to make her blink. “We agree on this, eh?”

  She swatted his hand away. He let her and waited. He was hearing more evidence of people around them. A shout echoed far off. When he didn’t say more, she didn’t seem to know what to do with him and tried to walk on, but he stopped her.

  “Maeve.”

  “I…I don’t wish to discuss this. People are going to find us!”

  He didn’t let her go. Frowning fiercely, she finally nodded, only once and only because he didn’t release her.

  “I know you have questions about sex—” She opened her mouth and spluttered something, but he went on louder, “So you can ask away. But until you want to give it a try I want you to agree to wait and not shut the idea down.”

  “I…I have no questions!”

  He snorted. “Liar.”

  Her eyes widened, but a loud crash near them had her letting out a startled cry and clinging to him breathlessly. As soon as she realized it, she scurried backward. He kept hold of her hand.

  “Say it. ‘I agree to wait before I make a decision on bedding Stephano’.”

  She yanked on her hand. “Stephano!”

  Man, he liked the sound of that, a combination of female outrage and frustration that carried through every syllable. “Say it.”

  It took her several seconds, plus a closer yell for her to finally whisper, “I’ll wait.”

  It wasn’t the full sentence, but he smiled graciously and gestured her along the correct road feeling as if something had opened a wellspring of warmth in his chest.

  “Then let me show you the way.” He settled his hand on her lower back right above her lush bottom. She jerked away but not before he heard her soft gasp. His body responded. He consoled himself that soon he’d be sinking into a hot, willing woman. Until then… I’m once again walking with a hard-on.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Hours later, Maeve stumbled over another uneven patch in the road. She was tired, but she didn’t complain. With each step they were leaving the eerie town behind.

  So far, they’d been lucky. There was no one on this ancient, overgrown road. Soon they’d be out of this canyon and she could determine how much longer they had until they could reach the outpost.

  “Why do you think the Dark Faye have my brother and your companions?” She’d wanted to ask him that for a while, but kept getting distracted.

  “We found the slavers, sloppy idiots we dispatched in less than five minutes.” He snorted. She believed him. He wasn’t boasting. That knife throw… He’d managed to draw it and turn, then throw it before she even knew what he was doing. Such skill was from years and years of combat. “We knew almost immediately that they weren’t what warned us.”

  “Warned you?”

  He cast her a glance she couldn’t decipher. “A warning. It’s like a shiver down your back, or a tightness between your shoulder blades.” Her shoulders prickled to awareness in response. She shivered. “After centuries, you learn to listen.”

  A memory of his chest and back, the scars there, came to her. She swallowed, thinking of all the pain he must have known in his life. It explained a lot about him, she supposed. Why hold on to anything if nothing remained? His friends, yes, but any more than that? She wasn’t certain. “You’ve served Ares all this time?”

  “Oh yes, Ares, the God of War, has always been our master.” He said it with a laugh in his tone, as if he thought little of his god.

  “You…don’t like him?”

  “Like? Ares doesn’t ask for us to like him. I doubt he cares. At one time, he might have wanted our companionship, the rush of battle you get from being with your comrades.” He shrugged. “But that was ages ago.” His voice drifted off, as if he were remembering.

  “What was it like? When you served with him?”

  “Glorious.” He snorted. “Until I died, then it wasn’t so glorious.”

  “What? Died?” She caught his arm and he paused. His body was warm, solid and strong under her fingers. Stephano dead? She couldn’t imagine such a thing. Her breath felt trapped in her throat. “How can you have died? I thought… You’ve lived centuries.” He shrugged, his expression puzzled. “Can you die?”

  “It’s harder to kill me, pet, don’t worry.” He patted her hand.

  She jerked it away, wondering why she ever bothered with the arrogant man. As soon as she started walking again, he was next to her, shortening his stride to match hers.

  “But yeah, sure, we die.”

  She peered at his profile. He seemed irritated again, as if her questions made him think about something he didn’t like.

  “Ares is possessive so we don’t stay down long. Ajax has been killed six times. I’ve only died twice. Let’s see…some of my companions, other Spartans”—he glanced at her and she ducked her head, suddenly shy at getting caught staring at him—“they’ve gone down only once.” He pulled at his ear and gave her a half-smile. “But that first time for me…it was a magnificent battle.”

  She gave him a disgusted shake of her head that was wasted because he was clearly remembering something from his past.

  “Ah, would you look at that.” He gestured off to her right. “Perfection.”

  She squinted off into the trees and stared, stunned to see someone’s home.

  “A cottage. Deserted by the look of it.”

  “But.” She caught his wrist. “What if it’s not? What if it’s—?”

  “You stay here, sit down and eat some of that jerky, and I’ll go investigate.”

  She automatically took the satchel he unhooked from his shoulder but shook her head at the large knife. “But what if—?”

  “Trust me, I know what I’m doing.” He guided her to a rock and sat her down, resting the knife on her knees. When he squatted in front of her, his eyes were level with hers. She still got goosebumps over how handsome he was, but the knowledge of him as a man was clearer to her now, too, so she ended up staring at him, feeling a blush warm her cheeks.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “I can’t be near people, Stephano.”

  “I get that.” He tapped the side of his head. “Now. It looks long deserted, maybe since the town was frozen.” He chuckled to himself, oddly at that, then went on. “You really need to come to my realm. You miss half my jokes.”

  I do?

  “So, maybe they were in that town or left when it was spelled. People leave things behind, either way. Maybe there’s something we can use.” He squinted at the silent cottage, then focused back on her. “It’s getting time to rest for the night anyway.”

  She blinked, not believing he was serious, then knew immediately by his easy expression he was completely serious. “But, but…we will stay there? What of meeting Garret?”

  “We’ll find him, but you’ve been walking all day and doing fine.” He made that sound as if that weren’t true. She straightened her posture. She’d kept up and not complained. “Now we need to rest. This is perfect, if it’s not full of rodents.” He stood and gestured to the knife. “That’s to remain with you. All you do is pull it and use it if someone attacks you. Scream, too.”

  She wasn’t about to do either. But she didn’t say so. She watched him turn and saunter off, clearly not tired.

  Her feet ached and the last upward climb of the road had been so disappointing, she’d thought they were heading down finally, that she’d slowed to a crawl. Still, she’d walked all day and not complained. It was clear that Stephano was used to going farther, and longer.

  The cottage was enchanting, half-hidden under the pine boughs and an immense oak. It reminded her of her own home. Small, snug and clearly well made. It even had a blue and gray stone chimney on the side like hers.

  Stephano walked up and pushed a shoulder against the door to open it. He stood there for a moment, no longer, with his head barely inside then shoved the door wide and disappeared. She hear
d him moving through the house. It must have had wooden floors, she thought with a smile. She hugged the satchel closer to her chest.

  A muffled thud reached her. Silence followed. She clutched the knife in both hands and stood. The satchel fell to the ground. Stephano appeared out the back of the cottage, waving at her to join him.

  “Come on, it’s safe.”

  She caught her breath. He is so reckless. What if someone had been inside, quietly waiting? He’d know. Her legs were shaky from the fright and he was smiling, waiting for her.

  Suddenly, the implications of stopping for the night became horrifying clear. Can he show me what it’s supposed to be between two people? She drew in a deep breath. No, he doesn’t love me. Brennan says only with love will it be different. When I have someone who loves me, then I will see…

  Until then, she’d wait. Stephano didn’t understand. Even if he gave her pleasure, he’d be like all those other men. And worse, she’d be like them too. I can’t disregard Ellaine’s warning. Or Brennan’s. Not even for a chance at learning what it would be like to be with Stephano that way.

  Chapter Twenty

  Stephano jumped out of the way as a beam dropped crossways from the ceiling. Dust and something else, heavy and metal banged on the floor at his feet. Behind him, Maeve gave a startled yelp.

  He grinned at her over his shoulder. “A tub. Pretty good find, I’d say.”

  So were the preserved fruits and vegetables. She’d assured him they were still good. Of course she’d also gone out back of the cottage and exclaimed over fresh vegetables. He couldn’t make out anything growing back there except weeds. The long grass choking the small plot puzzled him. She was positive it had once been a garden. She’d pulled out onions, potatoes, and something she claimed was delicious simmered with the potatoes, then he believed her. She’d given him the same nose-in-the-air look she’d given him back at the town.