To Seduce A Siren

by Cousins, Jane

  Chapter Nine

  Charisse splashed her face and cleaned the blood from her throat with cold water before studying her reflection. Now that she’d emptied the contents of her stomach she was beginning to feel half-way human again. Grabbing Nate’s toothpaste she used her finger to clean her teeth. Part of her was still kind of gob smacked at how casually she’d just ordered the destruction of another living being. Were vampires living beings? Or were they undead beings? If they couldn’t cross thresholds… what else was true about the legends?

  “Cyd?”

  She jerked around, by the dim hazy light of the only working bulb in the large, clean, but hopelessly ugly and out-dated bathroom, she eyed the door.

  “Cyd, you okay in there?” The polite knocking came again.

  Oh Goddess, what was she thinking hogging the bathroom like this? Poor Nate had just fought with six vampires, saved an innocent bystander, been chained to a floor and had two swords driven through his body and the foolish man was asking after her well-being?

  She threw open the door and strode out past Nate into the master bedroom, dimly lit by two battery operated lanterns. It was a huge room with high ceilings and large windows that looked out over the private cove to the sea beyond.

  Nate had stripped the room back to the basics, new floorboards had been laid but had yet to be stained or polished. Hideous flowery wallpaper, peeling in multiple places clung to the walls. There were four deep cracks in the ceiling and in several places the decorative picture rail had crumbled away. The only piece of furniture Nate had added was a large king-sized bed, covered with crisp dark grey sheets. So perfectly made, the bed looked as if no one had ever slept in it.

  Charisse paced the room, ignoring the harsh feel of the unpolished boards under her bare feet. On about her tenth pass across the room Nate intercepted her, leading her over to sit on the edge of the bed, pulling a dark wine coloured throw over her shoulders.

  “Cyd, talk to me. Are you okay?” He crouched down, assessing her for shock.

  She assessed him right back, wrinkling her nose at the vampire dust in his hair and the smears of blood and grime down his throat and chest, visible through the gaping tear in his shredded t-shirt. And worst of all, the two wide jagged tears in his flesh, where the swords had been thrust through his body, the material around the wounds heavily encrusted with blood.

  “Cyd…” Nate visibly swallowed hard, tamping down on the rest of what he’d been about to say.

  Charisse tensed, clutching the throw tighter. “What?”

  Nate shook his head, staring up at her. “Nothing… it can wait, you’re tired, cold… still in shock.”

  Charisse squared her shoulders. “I’m fine Nate… just tell me.”

  He stood up, moving back a few feet, eyeing her still with a wary careful look in his eyes. “You’re sure you’re fine?”

  Enough with the pussyfooting around already, she gave him a look with a little bit more heat behind it this time. What could he have to tell her that was worse than vampires and a mad Queen hunting him? Was someone dead? “Talk.”

  “Are you out of your ever loving mind?” He glared her way. “What could possibly have possessed you to sashay into a situation that you knew nothing about?” He threw up his hands and started pacing the room. It was either that or throttle her.

  “But…”

  “What we’re you thinking? Barefoot? Wearing a bikini? No weapons?” He laughed but it wasn’t in humour. “You didn’t have any idea of the kind of threat you’d be facing, how many there were or what weapons they might be carrying. Seriously, for fuck sake Cyd, what were you thinking?” He all but roared the last few words.

  Charisse shot to her feet, dropping the throw, hands coming to rest on her bare hips. “I kissed an insane vampire Queen for you! You ungrateful bastard!”

  “Don’t try to distract me by bringing that up.”

  “Distract you? What are you talking about?”

  “What possessed you to take such a stupid idiotic risk tonight?”

  Charisse grit her teeth together. Stupid? Idiotic? How dare he? “You have some nerve buster. If I’d known you were going to get this upset about me turning up to save your ass, I would never have bothered.”

  “I had everything under control.” Nate returned through gritted teeth of his own.

  “Oh sure, everyone could tell you had them on the ropes. I assume being chained up and pinned to the floor with two swords through the chest was all part of your clever plan to lull them into a false sense of security?”

  “I…”

  This time it was Charisse who wouldn’t let him get a word in edgewise. “You are being impossibly male. I am not having this conversation whilst you’re wounded, dirty and in pain. Have you seen the bruises on your face? Also, it might have escaped your notice, but with all your prancing about and ranting you’ve managed to reopen one of your shoulder wounds. And for Goddess sake, what is all that black goo splattered all over you?”

  Nate glanced down with surprise at the state he was in, he’d kind of forgotten about it in his concern… anger, regarding Charisse turning up and gleefully and without any forethought risking her life so fucking nonchalantly. “The black stuff is vampire blood.”

  “That’s it.” Charisse held up a hand. “I’m done talking to you until you clean up and let me take a look at those wounds.”

  “Then you’ll talk?” He pinned her with his hardest, most threatening look.

  “Maybe… if you stop ranting, raving and quit giving me that stupid macho look.”

  Nate scowled. “Look, just tell me…”

  “No.” Charisse mimed zipping her lips shut and throwing away the key.

  “Seriously? How old are you?” Nate muttered under his breath staring at her. Noting that her long hair was all but dried now and floating like a glossy cloud down her back, her green eyes were alert and flashing emerald fire his way and that skimpy bikini top of hers was working overtime to contain her heaving bosom.

  Okay, so maybe he was the one with maturity problems, now was not the time to get distracted by Cyd’s all too obvious charms. He needed to know what she was, and more importantly he needed her to understand how much danger she’d now placed herself in. “Cyd…”

  Charisse compressed her lips tighter together, looking him up and down before wrinkling her nose in distinct distaste.

  “Fine.” Nate conceded, perhaps a shower, preferably a cold one was exactly what he needed at the moment to get some perspective. “Do not move a muscle.” He turned and stomped off to the bathroom, yanking off his soiled and all but ripped to shreds already t-shirt as he went.

  * * *

  Phew, if she was going to have to work that hard to win an argument with Nate in the future then they’d never leave the bedroom. Okay, not quite the picture she’d intended to paint, since the thought didn’t upset at her at all. Instead a warm flush travelled down over her body to settle between her legs with laser point precision. The man was impossible… he was being ridiculously macho… and he was safe.

  Walking over to the bed Charisse took a seat, her legs suddenly feeling like they were made of rubber. Shaking with relief, she allowed her shoulders to drop, letting go of all the tension she’d been holding onto since the moment she’d glanced up at Kaleidoscope Folly from her seat in front of the cabin, where she’d been indulging in a third… possibly a fourth glass, of chilled white wine, to witness Nate sail through a first floor window to engage an unknown number of assailants waiting below.

  He’d asked her what she’d been thinking… well she hadn’t been. She’d just known he was in danger and outnumbered. Okay, so perhaps she’d overestimated her effect on Queen Destiny; that had probably been the alcohol still buzzing around her system. But still, thanks to her efforts, Nate was free and safe. She couldn’t quite work out why he was so upset with her.

  Of course she hadn’t known his assailants were blood vamps and nor had she known if her Siren powers would be e
ffective against them. But it had all worked out, hadn’t it? So what was Nate’s problem?

  She was just contemplating lying down for a small rest, suddenly weary to her very bones when the bathroom door opened and Nate emerged, wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his narrow waist. Charisse sat up bolt straight, no longer weary at all.

  Goddess the man was magnificent, all that golden skin and rippling muscle, his hair a wet dark blonde, slicked back from his face bringing to the fore his gorgeous whiskey coloured eyes, strong jaw and sensually wicked mouth.

  Damn, she stood up abruptly, unsure of what to do exactly but pretty sure that she should stop staring. “Um… I’ll get some towels and water for your wounds.” She hurried into the bathroom before she could do or say anything stupid. Rummaging around in there to give herself a few extra minutes to get her head straight she found a small first aid kit. Emerging she was pleased to see Nate had put on a pair of faded navy trousers in her absence and was now sitting on the edge of the bed waiting for her.

  “Okay so talk… start by telling me what you are?”

  “What I am?” She moved to sit next to him on the bed, focusing first on the wound in his left shoulder, the one still seeping blood both front and back.

  Nate scowled at her. “Well according to you we can rule out sea nymph, assuming you were telling the truth earlier. So that leaves… daughter of Aphrodite?”

  “You think I’m a descendent of the Goddess of Love?” She enquired neutrally, head bent; her focus on cleaning away a few small bits of debris clinging to the ragged edges of Nate’s wound.

  “The charm offensive. The lovesick men. It would explain a few things.”

  “So you think I’m some grand seductress, making men everywhere my willing slaves?”

  “Am I right?”

  “What about you?” Charisse picked up the small bottle of anti-bacterial and sprayed his wound both front and back along with the fast healing furrows on his chest and the bite on his forearm for good measure.

  “What about me?”

  “Are you under the sway of my… charm offensive?”

  “I’m immune.” Nate jumped, gritting his teeth as a soft cool breeze hit his shoulder wound. “What are you doing?”

  “Just drying it.” Charisse gave him an innocent look as she pursed her lips together again and blew softly across his skin.

  “Just slap a bandage on it already. It will be healed in an hour or so.”

  “So manly.” She laughed under her breath, slapping down hard the requested bandage before gathering the first aid kit to move to work on his other shoulder. Making sure she arched her back and gave him a good long look down her cleavage as she brushed past him. Daughter of Aphrodite… what a dolt.

  “Quit it.” He gritted out through clenched teeth, meeting her green eyed assessing gaze.

  “Quit what? You’re immune and I’m a descendant of a nymphomaniac… sounds like you have it all figured out.”

  “Fine, so you’re not a daughter of Aphrodite, what then? Selkie? Sprite?”

  “Why is it so important for you to know what I am? What my powers are?”

  “Why are you so determined not to tell me?”

  Charisse rolled her eyes; honestly the man was like a dog with a bone. She peeled off the backing of a large waterproof bandage and covered his second lot of wounds with rough carelessness.

  Nate appraised her haphazard work. “Well, I think we can rule out healer, can’t we?”

  She opened her mouth to tell him the truth but something prevented the words from coming out. It felt very similar to the magic that prevented her from talking to her female relatives about being a Siren. What was going on? It wasn’t a secret she was a Siren. Everyone at the Sanctuary knew what she was. They just weren’t privileged to what being a Siren actually involved. Something… or someone… maybe Bettina, didn’t want Nate to know she was a Siren.

  Misreading her silence as stubbornness, Nate issued a frustrated sigh. “Do you have any idea how much danger you are in?” Nate ran a hand through his damp hair. “As if I don’t have enough already to deal with. Look, if I have some idea of what you are, what you can do… maybe I could let you leave but as it stands… consider yourself under house arrest.”

  “Excuse me?” Charisse reared away from him.

  “You heard me Cyd, house arrest. You met the Queen of the lunatics and her merry band of misfit minions out there tonight, and what’s more you pissed her off. Do you really think she’s just going to forget about that? Forget about you?”

  “I am perfectly capable of looking after myself. I assume they can only come out at night. So I’ll just go about my usual routine but make sure I’m home before the sun sets.”

  “And when she lures you out dangling a puppy by its throat… or your next door neighbour, what then?”

  “I’ll sleep at Hadleigh’s place then. I’ve no doubt she’d love to introduce Vamperella to the edge of her favourite sword.”

  “You think between her enforcement duties for the Sanctuary and knocking boots together with Vaughn, every chance she gets, Hadleigh’s going to have time to babysit you?”

  Charisse glared green daggers his way. “Fine… so I’ll stay out on the rock until this all blows over. Can vampires swim?”

  “I have no idea but they’re perfectly capable of steering a boat or most likely they’d just fly.”

  Charisse swallowed hard. “Vampires can fly?”

  “Fly… glide… whatever, it means your rock isn’t going to be safe. Until I’ve dealt with Vampire Assassin Queen Barbie you’ll be spending your nights here.”

  The nerve of the man! If Bettina hadn’t depleted all her strength thanks to her earlier stunt of throwing Nate off the rock Charisse would have been very tempted to stop fighting the bond and just let Bettina zap her back to the rock. That would show the macho over-bearing jerk.

  Deep breaths Charisse, calm down. Stop letting Nate push all your buttons. Giving up even an inch of her tenacious hold on the bond she shared with the bitch-rock, just to prove a point to the elite warrior would not be prudent. Give Bettina any leeway and she might find herself stuck out on that rock for all eternity. No, be rational, be cool, be an adult.

  “So when you say house arrest, you mean that I just need to spend my nights here?” She could work with that, paint on the rock, come here, avoid Nate, sleep and repeat. It was doable.

  “No, I mean twenty-four seven here, where I can keep an eye on you. Vampires can’t go out during the day but it doesn’t mean Destiny doesn’t have daytime people doing her bidding. Also, we know from raiding her lair that she likes to set up surveillance, do you really want her knowing who your friends and family are? Where they live?”

  “When you put it like that… your request that I stay here almost sounds like a reasonable solution, but I’m sorry, I can’t spend my days here, I have to paint.”

  “No one’s stopping you from painting. Pick a room, there are enough of them.”

  Charisse shook her head, instinctively wrapping her arms around herself. “The only place I can paint is out on that rock.”

  “Well I’m afraid you’re going to have to make an exception this time.”

  Charisse wandered over to the window, staring out at the dark sea. The bond between her and Bettina might be muted at the moment, but eventually the bitch-rock would be back to full strength and pulling like crazy on that damn choke chain bond of theirs. Goddess, this was going to prove painful. “So this is the thanks I get for saving your ass tonight? House arrest and attitude?”

  “Attitude?” Nate gave her a long slow perusal from her scarlet tipped toenails to her loose long wavy dark auburn hair. “Pot… kettle. You sauntered up from the beach tonight wearing that bikini like it was your armour, batting your eyelashes and pouting up a storm. You’re just upset that I don’t bend over backwards like all those other sad sacks and let you get your way. Unless…” His whiskey coloured eyes flared with speculation.

/>   “Unless what?” She really didn’t like that look in his eyes or the full on sexy grin he was suddenly casting her way.

  “Unless the reason you arrived here tonight had absolutely nothing to do with the vamps.”

  “What are you talking about?” Charisse frowned, the man was making no sense and why, for Goddess sake, wouldn’t he put on a shirt?

  “Maybe it was me you came looking for, with your – excuse the expression – vamp mode on.”

  “You?”

  “It was an undeniably hot kiss we shared earlier and it did end a little abruptly…”

  “You…” Charisse was completely speechless. “You… think I followed you here tonight, to pick up where we left off?”

  He let his eyes travel once more slowly down her frame.

  Charisse had never felt more exposed… or more embarrassed. “You’re insane. I saw you were in trouble tonight and I came to help… you’re right, I am an idiot. Get out.” She pointed to the bedroom door.

  “Cyd…”

  “Out.” She insisted, waving her arms, making shooing gestures.

  Nate let her herd him out of the room and slam the door. Leaning back against it he considered for a moment what he’d just learnt. Whatever Cyd was, she’d been expecting to face multiple opponents when she’d turned up tonight and she’d whole heartedly believed that she would walk out the victor. Maat, what the hell was she?

  She’d had those minions under her control. Shit, she’d even convinced one of them to take a step over the threshold of the house even though it would mean ending its own existence. Was it her eyes? Mind control? Something to do with that hellish noise that kept coming and going? She’d been singing at one point hadn’t she? But it had been a Maat awful sound. More of a defensive, Harpy-like sound, to his ears at least. What could she be?

  Despite all Destiny’s bluster tonight, he was pretty sure for a minute or two she had been under Cyd’s spell just as much as her henchmen. So what in the hell was Cyd? And what did it have to do with whatever was all but engulfing her soul?