Blood Rogue, #1
Page 25
This isn’t right. I review my list of otherworldlings with the ability to disguise themselves as human and dismiss each species that doesn’t match—no fangs, no fur, no tail. Tall, but not giant height. Two stunning gold eyes. I narrow the possibilities to a few choices. Shapeshifter, Nephilim, or incubus. Bad, worse, or worst.
I can’t deal with this tonight. If I sing my siren song, even the saintliest among beings would murder for me, but after a verse, they become sleepy and unaware that their organs are dissolving. If I hit the chorus, there’s not enough of them left to order around anymore. But releasing my power hurts even if the creature’s evil. They scream in agony, and I have guilt-laced nightmares for months.
No, thank you.
This one tried to help me though and doesn’t appear to be a danger to humans. I pivot, and the sidewalk leads me from the friendly enough bad guy.
“Hey, hold up,” Alex calls.
“Go away.” I break into a tiptoe run.
“Hey, wait.” A hand snatches my forearm within a second, and Alex spins me. I slap at him, but he snags my wrist in mid-air and plants my hand against his chest, ducking his head, face level with mine. “I won’t harm you.”
“That’s what incubi say before they suck out someone’s life force.”
The ancient song etched in my DNA spills from my lips in a rush of power. It’s a cadence from celestial tongues, except the heavenly notes bring death.
Alex’s eyes widen. Under my palm, his heart thuds a peaceful rhythm.
My voice carries with more strength, pulling deep from my soul. Releasing it makes my body hum, but my thoughts seize up as I wait for the disaster to come. When I get to the chorus, he bites his smiling lip, and the song dies in my throat.
“Beautiful. You’re a siren.”
He knows what I am, and he’s still standing. How in the hell is he still standing? His face isn’t showing pain. He’s grinning like the guy at the restaurant did at his companion.
Oh, shit. Not good.
Fear sends tendrils of tightness to every muscle in my body. Black spots threaten my vision as my overwhelmed mind merry-go-rounds, and the ground sways. Alex moves in, supporting me with a strong arm. “Hey, it’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
He must have calming pheromones because the heat of his skin calls to mine and I sink into his hold, breathing in his sweet citrus scent. Focus, Lula. Incubi are masters of seduction, but even an incubus wouldn’t smile at my song. They wouldn’t hold me as if I belonged in their arms, because they’d be busy on the ground, having their insides liquefied.
“What are you?” I ask.
Alex’s amused expression falters, sending tightness through me again. I try to jerk away, but he clings and blurts out, “A demigod.”
No way. A deity on earth? There’s the slightest glow to him, a confident golden hue that draws me to him, telling me he’s here to help. No otherworldling has that.
My palm lies over the heart of a god.
I’ve never met a deity. Amah says they abandoned the Earth long before I was born.
He—Alex—observes me, squinting. In the old days, people worshipped the gods that visited Earth in preposterous ways, right up to tossing themselves off cliffs to gain the divine’s favor. Three decades ago, a nymph told me she came across two and tried to please them, but they wouldn’t accept anything from her, only wanted to talk about humans and otherworldlings. Maybe this deity has questions too.
I breathe slowly, attempting to tame my speeding heart. “What’s your real name?”
He leans forward, millimeters from my cheek, warm breath brushing my ear. “Alexiares.”
I shudder, letting that information settle. I’ve studied him—the demigod who wards off wars. The son of Hercules, and grandson of Zeus, the king of Olympus. Damn.
My eyes wander his features, searching for any clue to the phenomenon that is this deity. “I don’t affect you?”
“Oh, you affect me.”
Unable to keep the sarcasm at bay, I groan and step back from him. “My ability, I mean. Siren, remember?”
“Did you just eye-roll at a deity?”
I grin instead of performing the thousand apologies I’m sure he’s expecting. My power doesn’t work on him. I’m still wavering between belief and impossibility. It’s a flaw, a dream, a crazy oasis mirage envisioned in a desert when I need it the most, except I'm not thirsty for water. I’ve never had an honest conversation with a male.
His full grin is disarming. “No, your ability doesn’t affect me. You could ask me to kiss you, and it would have no impact on me.”
Intrigued, I eye his lips. “Really? Kiss me.”
With a step forward, he cups the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, and peruses my features with intent I’ve only seen in romance movies.
I’d contemplate that look, but he inches forward. Chills rise in response to the electricity shifting between us. I didn’t believe he’d kiss me.
He’s a deity.
He’s also a stranger, and I should pull away.
“No impact, huh?” I whisper.
“Just a taste. Tell me to stop.” His eyes search mine.
He radiates warmth, smells like my best dreams, and for one moment, I want someone to kiss me because they want to.
I relax into the hand cupping my head, tilt my chin up . . .
And wait.
Don’t stop now. Keep reading with your copy of MY SONG’S CURSE by City Owl Author, Poppy Minnix.
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And find more from Linda J. Parisi at www.lindajparisi.com
Want even more paranormal romance? Try MY SONG’S CURSE by City Owl Author, Poppy Minnix, and find more from Linda J. Parisi at www.lindajparisi.com
Ultimate control has its downside, especially when it comes to romance. But will it be enough to keep them together?
As a siren Lula Aglaope can bend anyone to her will with the smallest whisper, but she’d give up her power for one meaningful, honest conversation.
She wants a normal life, like the open, true connections the humans seem to pull off with such little effort.
When she meets Alexiares, God of Warding off Wars, all thoughts of normalcy fly out the window. The beautiful demigod cannot be controlled! He’s frustrating, irresistible...and utterly off-limits.
Alex has watched Olympus slowly fall apart. The old gods continue their archaic control of the Universe, denying the progress of humans and other deities. But Alex has plans to repair the damage, and Lula is a major player.
She just doesn’t know it yet.
Falling for her is the worst idea. And just when things move in the right direction, danger arises that no one expects, plunging the sirens into the deadly Olympian spotlight.
With Lula’s sisters missing, and a pile of broken laws surrounding them, will Alex and Lula change the Universe for the better or destroy it?
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Acknowledgments
I’d like to give a heartfelt thank you to Eva Scalzo, my wonderful agent at Speilburg Literary, for helping make my creation a reality.
A special shout out to my CP’s who’ve read this book in all its versions: Chris Clemetson, Gwen Jones, and Gretchen Weerheim.
A huge hug to MaryAnn Johnson for always loving my vampires, and for being the first person to read this book in its entirety.
A very special shout out to NY Times and USA Today Best-Selling Romance Author Caridad Pineiro, whose insight got me on the right track.
Thank you to my co-workers, Barbara Phillips BSMT ASCP, and research scientists Jessica Brady and
Anjana Nair, for helping me fine tune my science and for listening to all the crazy ideas rolling around in my head for way too many years.
Last but very not least, I’d like to thank my husband John for putting up with all the years of my writing books. You are and will always be, my HEA.
About the Author
As a major in biochemistry with a minor in English literature, LINDA J. PARISI has always tried to mesh her love of science with her love of the written word. A clinical research scientist by day and NJRW Golden Leaf award winning author by night, she creates unforgettable characters and puts them in untenable situations, much to their dismay. Choices always matter and love conquers all, so a happy-ever-after is a must. Linda is the current Treasurer of Liberty States Fiction Writers, a past board member of New Jersey Romance Writers, and long time member of Romance Writers of America. She lives in New Jersey with her husband John, son Chris, daughter-in-law Sara, and Audi, a Cocker Spaniel mix who had her at woof!
www.lindajparisi.com
About the Publisher
City Owl Press is a cutting edge indie publishing company, bringing the world of romance and speculative fiction to discerning readers.
www.cityowlpress.com
Additional Titles
ASHES OF ONYX
By: Seth Skorkowsky
They stole her magic. They killed her friends.
Nothing in the multiverse will stop her quest for revenge.
* * *
A TOUCH OF DARKNESS
By: Yelena Casale & Tina Moss
USA Today Bestselling Authors
Cassie Durrett dreams of the darkness. And lives the nightmare.
Award Winning Urban Fantasy
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BLACKBIRD SUMMER
By: Em Shotwell
When the world fears you, being Gifted is a curse.
* * *
BLOOD AND MAGIC
By: Melissa Sercia
Gray is a Dhampir—a woman alive, but also dead. With supernatural powers and an insatiable need for blood, her existence is cursed.
* * *
BLOOD KING
By: Amber K. Bryant
While Sybille’s ability to summon and guide spirits of the undead to the afterlife pays the bills, it comes with colossal risks, including becoming undead herself.
* * *
CODE BLACK
By: Tina Moss
USA Today Bestselling Author
Gossip mag reporter Sera Benenati knows a thing or two about unearthing secrets...and burying them.
* * *
FORGOTTEN MAGIC
By: Eden Butler
Bane Illes never smiled. He never spoke.
But each day, that brooding wizard gave Janiver Benoit a glance.
* * *
FREYJA’S DAUGHTER
By: Rachel Sullivan
Well behaved women seldom make history, but they still end up as the monsters of folklore.
* * *
FROSTBITE
By: Joshua Bader
Getting hired to be a personal wizard for a billionaire may just become a death sentence.
* * *
GHOST OF A GAMBLE
By: J. E. McDonald
There’s something extraordinary hidden beneath Wickwood’s picturesque façade.
* * *
HEART OF MALICE
By: Lisa Edmonds
The first time Moses Murphy’s granddaughter killed on his orders, she was six years old.
* * *
HOUSE OF ASH & BRIMSTONE
By: Megan Starks
Hell has come to collect, but Gisele Walker has no plans to pay the debt.
* * *
MIDNIGHT DESIRE
By: Shari Nichols
Danger and desire collide to form an unlikely alliance between a witch with a sordid past and a special agent who might be her future.
* * *
MY SONG’S CURSE
By: Poppy Minnix
Ultimate control has its downside, especially when it comes to romance. But will it be enough to keep them together?
* * *
SMOKE AND RITUAL
By: Melissa Sercia
The voices haunt her. Their whispers taunt her with a war she never wanted. But Arya Frost has more to contend with than the cryptic voices disturbing her sleep.
* * *
TIDES OF TIME
By: Luna Joya
A witchy good girl hiding secrets from her family…
A reformed bad boy who doesn’t know his family’s hidden secrets…
* * *
TRUTHSIGHT
By: Miriam Greystone
Rowan and Amy must join forces with the creatures who were once her patients and fight to uncover the one secret that may be powerful enough to save them all.
* * *
WAKING THE DEAD
By: D. B. Sieders
The road to hell begins when the reaper darkens her door.
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