“Nah.” Declan didn’t even bother to acknowledge the girls. “They’re probably just checking out the house. It’s prime real estate around here.”
“Cyd around?”
“In the house.” Declan turned, cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled. “Charisse… Visitor!” He turned to give Nate another friendly smile. “She should be out in a moment.”
“Er… thanks.” Yeah, the guy was definitely fucking with him. He was thinking night ambush, Drum for back up, a baseball bat and a solid follow through swing or two… happy thoughts.
Then Cyd emerged from the house, carrying a cardboard box. She looked great, better than great, she looked edible. Red shorts showcasing those drool worthy legs of hers, white sneakers on her feet and a snug navy tank top that clung lovingly to her lush breasts. Maat, he’d missed those breasts, missed her. With her auburn hair flowing loose and a light smile on her full lips, Cyd looked relaxed and happy.
Maat, with over a century of chatting, flirting and worshipping women, he should be able to come up with the perfect combo of greeting, slash, wicked open-invitation to defile his body. “Hi.”
Charisse fought hard not to roll her eyes at Nate. That was the best he could come up with? Hi! After all they’d been through together? She swept past him, smoothing out the frown that had settled momentarily over her features. What had happened to the man who said he cared for her? The one who’d treated her like a woman in the bedroom and not a pedestal princess? “Hi… I didn’t expect to see you today.”
Nate scowled as Charisse skipped past him, headed all too eagerly in the direction of the shirtless wonder. “Obviously.”
“Hey Charisse.” Declan leant down to scoop the box out of her arms, flexing all the muscles in his upper body as he did so. “The truck’s pretty much full. This box will have to be the last for this load.”
Charisse smiled up at Declan, grateful that for just three seconds she had her back to Nate as relief flooded through every atom of her being… he was safe, thank Goddess. On autopilot she stepped back out of the way as Declan proceeded to lock and secure the truck.
“I’ll be back in a flash.” He promised her.
“Thanks Sweetie.”
Declan sent Nate another smile. “Later Nate.”
Sweetie my ass, Nate was forced to lock every muscle he had so he wouldn’t launch himself at the himbo and rip every tooth from that smug dimpled smile.
Charisse gave Declan one last wave as he pulled the truck out of the driveway before shifting her attention to Nate. “You’re alright?”
“Yes… good. You? I mean, you look good.”
“Thanks.” Charisse swept her hair back over her shoulder.
“And the house?” Nate looked around and frowned for a moment. “It looks great.”
It had been pretty dark and he’d been kind of distracted the other night but he could have sworn there’d been quite a bit of external damage to the house in their attempts to keep vamp Queen D contained.
Charisse just smiled and shrugged. “Would you like to come in and have a drink? Personally, I could use a bit of a break.” Absently she rubbed the small of her back as she entered the house and wandered down the hallway.
Nate trailed close on her heels, his head swivelling every which way; taking in the pristine floorboards, the large light filled living room, looking incredibly spacious given it was barren of furniture.
“You’ve re-decorated?”
Charisse headed through to the kitchen and the fridge. “Thanks to your head start it made things kind of easy, the family worked hard to get it back into shape.”
“Umm.” Nate watched as she bent over to fetch the drinks, best view in the house. “Yeah, sorry about that… the mess… and leaving like that. So you’re moving?”
“Yes.” She turned and bobbed her head but made no effort to elaborate.
“And Declan’s helping you?”
“Like I said, the family have been great.” Charisse found a tray to put the cold cans on then began rooting through a nearby box in search of glasses.
“Isn’t he an enforcer or something? Shouldn’t he be out there… enforcing?”
“It’s his day off.” She found two glasses and added them to the tray.
“Well, he should at least wear a shirt when he’s here.” Nate all but growled.
Charisse bit the inside of her cheek to keep from howling with laughter, recalling the number of times she’d thought the same thing about Nate’s propensity of running around half dressed. “I’ll remind him about sun exposure dangers when he comes back.”
“There was a wall here before, wasn’t there?” Nate found himself scowling at the open air between the kitchen and living room.
“It was Locke’s idea to open up the space. Not that Dave and the boys had to do much demolition-wise; you’d pretty much decimated that section of wall with something anyway.”
Nate frowned. “Destiny’s face if I recall correctly. Surly Dave and his boys helped out too?”
“Said it was no trouble, and Dave and Serena got on like a house on fire. I think he’s going to help her plan and build her plant nursery.”
Nate found himself prowling around the bare room. “Furniture gone already?”
Charisse bit back another laugh. “Gone to the Goddess would be a more accurate description. What wasn’t in pieces was pretty much ruined beyond even Serena’s amazing stain removal powers.” Charisse picked up the tray. “Let’s head outside to the deck, it should be cooler out there.”
“This is all new, isn’t it?” Stepping outside Nate admired the small deck overlooking Cyd’s back garden and the beach beyond. The small oval outdoor table, matching chairs and large gold coloured canvas umbrella, completed the alfresco picture.
“The deck was Serena’s idea but it was Locke who suggested making the entire back wall of the house glass. Kind of makes me sad I won’t get a chance to enjoy it.” Charisse opened her soda, pouring half the contents into her glass before taking a big sip, cold and refreshing, just what she needed.
Nate followed her example. Wow, the stress drained out of his shoulders as he sat back, his eyes drifting over the deep blue horizon, seagulls gliding overhead on thermals, colourful sails of several catamarans dipping and twirling off in the distance whilst a group of kids laughed and played just down the beach.
“Better?” Charisse questioned.
“Yes.” He smiled tiredly.
“Want to tell me about it?”
“They were there alright, holed up in the most secure wing of the complex, lots of hostages, lots of civilians in the mix. We did the whole Mexican stand-off thing for a day and half before we managed to breach the section they were in. It was a set-up; they had the placed rigged to blow.”
Charisse drew in a sharp breath of surprise. “Is everyone alright? Hadleigh?”
“Cuts, bruises… everyone’s fine. Though as you can imagine, Drum is beyond pissed. He really wanted to be the one to blow that cement shit-house sky high. We got the hostages to safety but in the confusion Sek and Mot managed one last burst of power and transported themselves out of there… it seems Destiny was right about one thing, those boys are practically tapped out power wise.”
“Do you know where they went?”
Nate shook his head. “No, we did manage to grab some reports they’d been studying on our way out the building. That’s what we’ve been doing the last day or so, deciphering the information. The Chaos dweebs are frantic to find a long lost relative. We don’t know what they did to Xander when he was alive, fed off him or something but it seems with Daddy Apep mummified and Xander dead, their circling the drain.”
“That’s good right?” Charisse enquired, wondering why Nate wasn’t more psyched by the news.
“No, that means they’re desperate and we think they have a lead on a descendent, Marcus and his hackers are running with it right now. If they get to them first and power up… well, it’s not just about the blood anymo
re and stopping the ritual of waking their father.” Absently Nate ran a hand over the three days of stubble clinging to his chin… damn, he’d forgotten to shave. “So you and Bettina still haven’t made up yet?” His gaze flicked down to her core where Bettina nested invisibly, all but encompassing Cyd’s psyche. The nest writhing restlessly, small tentacles creeping out to tentatively pet Cyd’s arm and hug her around the waist.
Charisse absently wrapped her arms around her middle. “I keep forgetting you can see the bond. Isn’t that creepy for you?”
Nate shrugged. “I’m over a century old, I’ve seen a lot of strange things in my time… this doesn’t even rank in the top one thousand.”
Charisse smiled, relaxing back in her chair slightly. “She’s been acting strangely ever since you left your calling card crowbar out there… subdued, fussy and sulking. I’ve been ultra-busy getting the house back in order and then with moving, so I must admit I haven’t been paying a lot of attention to her. I dropped by yesterday for a cursory feeding and then sped back here, she’s been remarkably quiet.”
Nate shifted in his seat… a guilty expression on his face. “Before that final show down with Destiny here the other night, I had a visit from Maat. She dropped a few clues about what’s going on between you and the rock.”
“Maat knows I exist?” Charisse shook her head. “That’s not good is it? Having a Goddess take an interest in me?”
Nate waved off her concerns with a casual shrug. “You’ll get used to it.”
“Um, okay, so what did Maat say?”
“I think it’s better if I show you.” Nate reached over and captured one of her hands. “Can you take us out there?”
Charisse frowned, looking down the beach at her paddleboard.
“No, just open yourself to the bond and take us there.”
“But…?” Giving Bettina that kind of power?
“Trust me.”
Damn him for looking so sincere, so appealing… so hot. Goddess, she’d missed him these last few days. Reluctantly she cracked open the barrier she’d mentally put in place since she was fifteen and had reinforced on a daily basis ever since.
Goddess, she hoped Nate knew what he was doing, Bettina here we come.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Why are you taking your boots off?” Charisse had finished opening up the cabin and now took a seat in the deck chair beside Nate under the shade of the canvas veranda.
Nate rolled up his trousers and flexed his bare feet, grimacing slightly. “I discovered something the other night when we were out here with Destiny and not-Gustave.”
“Not-Gustave?”
“Not important.” Nate settled back deeper into his chair. “I discovered that I can sense what Bettina’s feeling.”
Charisse’s mouth dropped open. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. I’m not sure if I was always able to feel her or if maybe things changed, when you and I…”
“Did the dirty deed?” Charisse grinned.
“I was looking for a descriptor that was neither too flowery nor too crude. The deed will cover it for now. All I know is, the other night when my bare skin came into contact with Bettina, I could sense her.”
Charisse looked down at his bare feet. “And can you still?”
Nate nodded.
“So you’re going to help me cut ties with her once and for all?”
Both Nate and Charisse winced as beneath them Bettina roiled with anguish, hurt and a myriad of dark edged emotions.
“Not exactly. You two need to come to a better understanding.”
Charisse rolled her eyes. “Seriously, this is why you dragged me out here… couple’s counselling?” Charisse eyed the calm ocean, nice afternoon for a swim; she could be back at her place in less than fifteen minutes if she left now.
“Cyd, I don’t think you realise how important you are to Bettina.”
Charisse shook her head in bemusement. “Oh I have a vague clue… remember, I’m the straw, without me she’d starve.”
“Actually, you’re her mother.”
“Excuse me? I’m pretty sure I’d recall birthing a humongous rock.”
Nate raked his hair out of his eyes. “Look every myth… every legend about Sirens says the same thing…”
Charisse heaved a sigh. “Nasty big rock, beautiful woman luring in lovesick happy meals on legs, blah, blah… old news.”
Nate chuckled. “Well as long as you’re not defensive or anything, Cyd.”
“Sorry.” She smiled. “It’s just I’ve been dealing with this for fifteen years, trying to keep she-bitch here from taking the last piece of my soul in her desperate bid to subjugate me to her will-power.”
“Actually she’s clinging to you like any scared child clings when they fear losing a parent. No.” He held up a hand to forestall Cyd from interrupting him. “Me first, just listen. Think about it. Before you came into your powers, was there a rock out here?”
“I can’t remember.”
“You don’t remember? A great big rock, a few miles off-shore? Every teenager and his date would have been out here sunning themselves. Bettina came into being when you came into your powers. You created her… or called her here, perhaps that’s part of the lure of being a Siren. She’s scared… alone, except for the fact she can sense you. So she pulls you here and you hit your Siren high note ‘so to speak’ and you bond. Wa-lah, she’s not alone any more. Instantly you became her whole world, so naturally, she wants to make you happy.”
“By imprisoning me out here? Forcing me to lure men?”
“Remember, she’s just a baby, new to the world and not human. She loves you, so the harder you struggle, the tighter she clings. What if you leave? Never come back? So she tried to make you happy.”
“How has she been trying to make me happy? Clawing at the bond night and day?”
“She’s been trying to find you a man.”
Charisse’s eyes went wide in shock. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
“No… that’s ridiculous. She needs men here to feed upon. It’s got nothing to do with me.”
“Then why does she drain them of emotion, make them forget you? If she was just a feeding machine then why wouldn’t she make them slaves to you, bringing them back constantly so she can top herself up?”
“Ummm…” Okay, that was a good question; she never saw the same dickhead twice. “Hold on a second, so what’s up with her hunger and why once she feeds does she radiate a smug satisfaction?”
“I have a feeling you’ve misinterpreted her hunger. I think it’s her longing to be with you that you feel. She desperately wants you, Mummy - for want of a better word - to be happy and stay around. She’s primitive, an infant but she understands male and female attraction. But you keep insisting upon only luring in dickheads and what emotion do you feel when one of those bozos turns up on your rock? I’m betting it’s distaste. So Bettina zaps them, thinking she’s making you happy or that perhaps it’s a game you’re playing.”
“A game?” Charisse stared in horror at the rock under her feet. What Nate was saying couldn’t be right. Bettina wasn’t an infant, was she? “She did get really, really, excited the day I named her. So what about you? Why did she take an instant dislike to you?”
Nate sent her a sexy knowing grin. “Because from the very first you were attracted to me and it was a game changer for Bettina. In theory, every child wants their single parent to be happy but the reality, especially when you’re an over possessive sentient rock-being, is kind of a kick in the teeth. I’m guessing she was jealous and a little afraid so she acted out.”
Charisse lapsed into silence, thinking back over the past fifteen years… Goddess, if what Nate said were true, then her entire approach to managing Bettina had been wrong. She cringed at all the verbal abuse she’d heaped on her over the years. “Oh Goddess, I don’t think I’ve been a very good mother.”
“You’ll learn.”
Charisse sent hi
m a hard scowl. “You need to remove that crowbar right now.”
“I can see who’s going to be the soft touch and whose going to be the disciplinarian when it comes to our kids.”
“Hold on… what kids?”
“Our kids.”
“I haven’t agreed to raise a rock with you yet and you’re adding imaginary children to the fold.”
“Just promise me when you’re singing to them, you’ll give me a heads up so I can put some ear plugs in.”
Charisse’s mouth opened in shock for a moment. She couldn’t sit still for another second, jumping to her feet and striding back and forth in front of the cabin. She was upset with herself, for not knowing… realising, what Bettina really was, what her actions meant. Worse, it was all kinds of annoying to have Nate come in and be so darn right about everything.
And that bought her to Nate. She sent him another narrow eyed glare. How dare he turn up after three days away, acting all casual and friendly. Okay, so she didn’t want to be mindlessly worshipped or smothered relentlessly with compliments or endearments but still the man hadn’t even tried to kiss her hello. And now he was babbling on about kids and earplugs. “Okay, now not only have you jumped the shark but you are beginning to piss me off. I think the best place for me right at this moment is away from you.” She looked back towards the main beach and her little house. “I need to finish clearing out my house and you…” She gave Nate another glare. “I was serious about you removing that crowbar.”
Nate picked up his boots and got to his feet. “The crowbar stays.”
“The crowbar goes.”
Nate grinned. “We shouldn’t be fighting in front of the children you know.”
Charisse tight lipped began to hum.
“No fair and no way.” Nate grimaced before striding over to stop just inches away from her. “That crowbar is staying, trust me, when Bettina enters her difficult teenage years, you’re going to want that there as a reminder of consequences.”
To Seduce A Siren Page 22
