Love Is In the Air Volume 1

by Susan Stoker

  Her little pink tongue peeked at me as she wet her lower lip, her heart rate singing an escalated tune to my sensitive ears. That’s right, darling siren. You’re trapped now.

  She swallowed and moved deeper into the reasonably sized bedroom. More windows overlooking the heavily polluted human city blinked back at us, their lights blinding and obnoxious compared to my sea realm. But they didn’t seem to bother Kailiani. Her arms shook as she climbed up onto the four-poster bed, her trembles causing my lips to curl in triumph.

  Until she lay on her back and did exactly as I told her to.

  This was why I’d selected her all those years ago to be my queen.

  She played me at every turn, always doing what I least expected.

  Such as spreading her legs to give me a glorious view of her inviting center.

  I loosened my tie as I stepped forward, her seductive heat beckoning me forward. Tossing my jacket to the side chair, I removed my cuff links and rolled the suffocating fabric of my dress shirt to my elbows. Then knelt on the mattress between her splayed thighs.

  Fuck…

  She wasn’t just wet; she was drenched.

  How is this possible?

  Sirens were alluring by nature, but they couldn’t force mutual attraction.

  Which could only mean one thing—Kailiani wanted this. Was it our old bond she sensed? The power rippling through my veins? The idea of hurting me again?

  I didn’t know.

  But I had to taste to her.

  Her gaze flickered down to mine as I bent my head between her shapely legs to lick her slick folds. She clutched the comforter on either side of her hips, a sweet little moan sliding from her lips.

  “Siren,” I accused, sliding my tongue along her wet seam again. “You all make the sweetest little noises when you come. Shall I make you sing for me, Kailiani? Tantalize me with your screams?”

  Her hips bucked in response, her rosy nipples turning rock hard above. It was a clear invitation to take this further, one I happily accepted with my mouth against her clit. She practically vibrated beneath my lips, her needy little bud pulsing and begging for the release only I could give her.

  Oh, it was tempting to bring her to the precipice and engage in a game of denial. But I wanted to see what she would do, how she looked, how she sounded when she gave in to oblivion.

  I slid a finger inside her, growling when I found her tight and soaked. Fuck, my dick would barely fit, but it would feel so damn good.

  Where I belong…

  No, I needed to see her climax first. Then she could orgasm again around my shaft, while I made her regret ever turning her back on me.

  Her thighs quivered around me, her inner walls clamping down around my finger. I’d barely begun my assault and already she was falling apart.

  “Nero,” she whispered, her back bowing off the bed on a wave of pleasure that had my balls throbbing. Her moans were soft, sweet, and far too quiet for my liking.

  How strange. That wasn’t very siren-like at all.

  If I couldn’t sense the water spirit residing within her, I’d almost call her human. Alas, I knew better. This was all part of her ploy.

  I just needed to up my game.

  “Next time, you don’t come until I give you permission.” I nipped her clit in reprimand, earning me a beautiful shriek in response.

  There. That was more accurate.

  She shuddered as I went to my knees, her luscious body shimmering with sweat. The droplets called to my powers, urging me to indulge my darker side, to truly make her pay. Sirens required water to thrive. If I removed the majority from her system, she’d wither and suffocate, but not necessarily die.

  Oh, I could kill her. Immortality only meant she lived forever if a stronger being didn’t destroy her. And I was by far her superior.

  “I want you on your hands and knees,” I told her, my voice a low growl. Part of me wanted to rip her apart, but the more sensual side desired to take what she offered, to finally claim my bride.

  There were no vows here.

  No future for us.

  Only the now.

  But I would revel in the beauty of owning her body and soul, the memory one I knew would entertain me for centuries to come.

  The day I finally won in this dangerous dance between us, for she was the only siren I ever desired. I still did, a fact that grated my nerves, but I’d just have to fuck it out of my system for good.

  “Now,” I commanded when she didn’t immediately move.

  She scurried upward, balancing on her hands and knees, her dark hair a curtain around her face. That wouldn’t do at all. I wanted to see her eyes when I took her.

  Standing, I removed my shirt, thankful to be rid of the claustrophobic fabric. My shoes, socks, and pants were next. No undergarments. Why humans fancied them, I’d never understand.

  Crawling back up onto the bed, I positioned myself behind her and traced the curve of her spine with my index finger.

  “Do you regret it, Kailiani?” I wondered. “What you’ve done?”

  She shivered beneath my touch, her thighs visibly flexing. “N-no,” she whispered.

  “Mmm,” I murmured, not surprised at all by her response. “I didn’t think so.” Which made this all the easier to do. I gathered her lush hair into my fist, fastening a makeshift harness.

  She yelped as I tugged her head back, exposing her neck.

  I leaned down to nip her thundering pulse. “You may change your mind, little siren.”

  Her responding whimper made me smile.

  “Are you still wet for me?” I asked, reaching around to cup her breast—a perfect fit for my palm.

  Because she was made for me.

  That thought stoked the anger simmering through my veins, tightening my grip on her silky strands.

  “Yes,” she groaned. “Very wet.”

  Her words surprised me. My palm glided away from her chest to her abdomen and lower.

  And shit, she was right.

  “You’re soaked,” I marveled, gliding a finger through her core and sliding it inside her. She clenched around me, her needy little sex practically begging me to fuck her. “You want this.”

  “I do,” she admitted, her voice a throaty purr that lit my blood on fire.

  Impossible.

  But the evidence of the truth saturated my finger.

  Whatever it was that had her aroused, I didn’t care. I wanted her with a ferocity I couldn’t deny. It was as if her deception had heightened my desire for her. A weakness I needed to kill. Soon. However, not yet.

  Tonight, I would indulge it.

  I would indulge her.

  “This won’t be slow or painless,” I warned her. Why I bothered was beyond me. Maybe because I yearned for her to fear me. Except all she did was tremble and press her ass up higher as if inviting me to enter her.

  Topping from the bottom.

  I’d allow it.

  Only because I longed for the same outcome.

  I slid my finger out of her and lifted it to her mouth. “Suck. Taste how badly you want me, Kailiani.”

  She parted her beautiful lips and took me deep, her little tongue stroking over my skin and giving me a brilliant idea of what it would be like to fuck her mouth.

  One night won’t be enough.

  Good thing I had time to spare.

  She swirled her tongue around the tip as I withdrew.

  “So obedient,” I praised, pleasantly surprised. “What do you want, Kailiani? Do you want me to fuck you?”

  “Yes.” It came out soft. Too soft.

  “Tell me to fuck you, little siren.” I pressed my length against her backside so she could feel my need for her. “Beg me for it.”

  She pressed into me, her neck arching beautifully as she looked over her shoulder at me. “Fuck me, Nero. Please.”

  The words went straight to my gut, but it was her eyes that did me in. Two pools of dark chocolate imploring me to finish this—to own her.

&nbs
p; I knew it was the siren calling to me.

  Could feel her natural gift stroking my innate control over water.

  But I ignored the knowledge and followed my instincts.

  I wrapped my hand around the base of my cock and lined it up with her entrance. “Last chance, darling girl.”

  She wiggled enticingly, her gaze heated. “Fuck me,” she repeated, the desire coating that command snapping my resolve.

  I slammed into her with the force of the waves behind me, claiming her in the way she was meant to be claimed all those moons ago. And she screamed in response, her little body shaking beneath mine.

  Not in a pleasurable way, but one filled with agony.

  It was the sound I’d yearned for from her lips for so, so long, the same tormented cry that had left my own mouth the night she disappeared. Yet, rather than celebrate in her misery, I felt a tinge of remorse.

  And so I stilled above her.

  Waiting.

  She hadn’t fallen to the bed, her knees and hands still keeping her upright, but her head had lowered despite my grasp on her hair. I wrapped my other arm around her middle, holding her as she shook violently.

  Yes, I’d entered her hard. But she should have been able to handle it. She was fucking created to handle it.

  “Talk to me, Kailiani,” I said, hating the sound of concern in my voice. Why did I suddenly care? I wanted to destroy her. Not comfort her.

  This is all probably a trick… Another fucking game.

  “I’m okay.” She didn’t sound okay. “Just… shocked me.”

  Shocked her? How is—

  She shifted, her walls clenching around me in a hypnotic way that drew a groan from my throat. “Fuck…” That felt too good. If she did that again, I wouldn’t be able to just sit here. I’d have to finish it. I’d have to—

  Another movement, this one purposeful, her backside brushing my groin with the temptation of her hips.

  “Kailiani,” I warned.

  “Take me,” she whispered. “Oh, God, I need you to move.”

  God, I thought, smiling. Her armor was cracking. She’d just addressed me by name.

  “All right, little siren.” Now we were back on the right sides of the court. My court. I slid out of her and thrust back in—hard—and she cried out in passion this time, not pain.

  “Again,” she begged, almost shocking me.

  But I saw through her now.

  Her siren call no longer applied.

  I was in charge now.

  And I demonstrated that by dominating her in the fiercest way I knew how, by driving into her little body with the force of all my power. I lowered myself over her back and used my fist in her hair to force her head to the side so I could take her mouth. The angle wasn’t the best for her, but this was no longer about her pleasure. It was about mine.

  I kissed her with the same harshness that I took her body, my tongue an impenetrable force against her own. She mewled against me, whether in protest or ecstasy, I couldn’t tell. It all blended together as the god within me captured the reins.

  Her pussy clamped down around me, hugging me with addictive little spasms that indicated her pending release. But she never let go, her body a tight bow of energy beneath me, waiting to be unleashed.

  Because I’d told her not to come again without my permission.

  How was it possible for her to be so fucking perfect? While also being the bane of my existence?

  “Fuck, Kailiani…” I never expected this attraction or for it to feel so damn right between us. “I need you to come,” I realized out loud, unable to keep the words to myself. “Come for me, darling vixen.”

  And she did.

  She came apart on a moan directly into my mouth, my name a prayer from her tongue that sent me cascading over the falls into oblivion with her.

  I erupted inside her, the force of it flooring me and causing me to see stars.

  It’d never been like this, so intense, so overwhelming, so mindless. Violent quakes rocked around us, through us, binding our souls in a way it shouldn’t.

  And fulfilling the vows in a way that wasn’t supposed to be possible.

  Not on Earth.

  Not with her.

  How?

  I collapsed beside her, my cock still fully erect and ready for another round while my mind rebelled.

  Kailiani shook, still on her hands and knees, obeying me to the very end.

  “Relax,” I demanded, and she practically fell face-first into the mattress.

  That was when I sensed the tears, my affinity for water calling on me to absorb them.

  But that wasn’t all I noticed.

  Blood.

  She’d bled on my dick.

  My brow furrowed. What did that even mean? And why the hell was it red? Siren blood was blue.

  I wrapped my palm around the back of her neck to force her to face me, and what I saw in her eyes tore a hole right through my soul.

  Pain.

  Distress.

  Fear.

  The very expression that I’d hoped to find the second she saw me tonight, but now found myself hating.

  “Have I hurt you?” I heard myself asking, confused out of my mind.

  She swallowed and started to shake her head, then nodded, then shook her head again. “It’s… not you.”

  “What is it?” I asked.

  She tried to turn away, but I held her in place. “I just… I never expected… That is, I mean, I never anticipated my first time being… like that.”

  First time? Impossible. Kailiani wasn’t a virgin. Sirens couldn’t survive without sex.

  “And now I’m embarrassed,” she continued, attempting to hide again.

  “Stop trying to look away,” I commanded, needing to see her expression, her eyes, her soul.

  Something wasn’t right.

  I sensed her—my Kailiani—she bore the same name and traits as my betrothed. But… “You bled on me.”

  “Oh, God…” Her cheeks turned bright red, the look on her actually quite adorable—and completely irrelevant. Because she’d just addressed me by name again.

  “You know who I am,” I said. Not a question, but a statement.

  “Yes. Nero.”

  “My real name, Kailiani.”

  Wrinkles appeared on her forehead. “You told me your name is Nero. I… I don’t know you by another name.”

  Had she meant the deity on Earth? One born of religious texts? Times had changed in the Human Realm since my last visit. I was no longer the one worshiped and feared, merely joked about in entertainment venues.

  What if… what if this isn’t a charade? I wondered, watching her closely for any hint of betrayal.

  No sign of treachery.

  Of course, I’d not noticed one all those years ago, either. But now I knew to look, and still, I saw nothing.

  Had something happened to disrupt her memories? To put her soul in what appeared to be a human body?

  But she’d not broken from the force of my thrusts.

  So, what are you, my darling Kailiani?

  My wrist buzzed with a warning of our ending session, causing me to wonder where the time had escaped to.

  The vows, I realized. The force of our bonding—the mating—had surpassed time and space. Impossibly so, but I’d felt it.

  We were connected now in the most intimate of ways. An act that should not have been possible.

  I needed to confer with some of the others to determine what the fuck had just occurred. And more importantly, to figure out why Kailiani appeared to be human without any memory of the past.

  “I’ll be in touch,” I said, releasing her. “Don’t commit to anyone else.” I’d feel it if she did, and a mortal male did not want to be on the receiving end of my possessive rage.

  She remained silent while I washed up and dressed, her naked body lying splendidly across the mattress. It urged me to return to her, to take her all over again, but I couldn’t. Not until I understood what in Hades�
�s name was going on here.

  But I did lean over to kiss her soundly once more, needing to brand her mouth with mine. “I mean it, Kailiani. No other commitments. I don’t share.” I nipped her lower lip hard enough to mark her, then laved the wound with my tongue, tasting her distinctly human blood. “See you soon, darling siren.”

  3

  Liani

  Corban sat behind his big, oak desk, green eyes glimmering. “What did you do, Liani? Rob a bank?”

  “No.” I refused to tell him how I’d acquired the money, mostly because I still couldn’t believe it myself.

  Three days, and I still felt Nero between my thighs.

  Not least of all because he’d taken me without protection—a fact that had me terrified. JBI had required a medical screening during my interview, and implanted an IUD as well, but that wouldn’t protect me from contracting something from a client who refused to use a condom.

  “Liani,” Corban snapped, pulling my focus back to him. My gaze had drifted out the window, to the Hudson beyond.

  “Yes?”

  “Tell me where the money came from.”

  I cleared my throat and sat up a little straighter. “Why does it matter? You have what you need—a down payment in good faith. I’ll continue working until I earn the rest.” Assuming JBI contacts me. It’d been several days since my audition and no word from JBI or Mister “I don’t share.” Not that I really expected to hear from either. They’d confiscated my cuff and sent me home directly after I exited the bedroom, stating I was too disheveled to continue working.

  Which meant I was short the one grand I should have earned at the end of the night.

  But Nero’s ninety-minute session payment made up for the difference, and then some.

  Corban rubbed the blond scruff dotting his square jaw, his pupils little pinpoints of displeasure. “Your mother kept secrets from me. Look where that got you.”

  I bristled at the mention of the reason I’d landed in this mess. “Well, unlike her, I won’t be running.”

  “No, you won’t,” he agreed. “Because I’ll find you, Liani. And you won’t like what happens when I do.”

  “You asked for a show of good faith and you have one. I’ll get the rest of your money; I just need time.”