Siren Song

by A C Warneke

  “Ticket, sir,” the valet said, bringing him back to reality.

  Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the stub, never taking his eyes off the girl. He had no business obsessing over the human but that didn't mean he couldn't take a few moments and just admire her.

  She opened her eyes and their gazes collided head on; he was lost once more, not caring that he was drowning. In that moment, he could see her spread out beneath him, welcoming him into her body. Then her tongue darted out to moisten her lips…. His erection was instantaneous and painful, causing him to adjust to make room for the unruly organ. Her lips curled upwards into perceptive smile and he almost abandoned Ashley, to walk over to her and claim her, damn the pack.

  The spell was broken when the man she was with said something and she turned away. Before he completely lost his sanity, he grabbed Ashley’s hand, holding onto her like she was a life line back to reality. With her lineage, her nature as a wolf, Ashley was who he should be thinking about; not some girl who played dress up and kissed like a goddamn dream.

  “Isn’t that the blond from the bar?” Ashley’s serene voice broke into his ruminations.

  He looked down at her and smiled at her unassuming face, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Liar,” she laughed good-naturedly, smiling up at him. This companionability was exactly what he needed in a relationship; none of those tempestuous emotions associated with Lexi. He didn’t need madness and that is what he would get if he gave into his primitive instincts.

  Even if she was a wolf, Lexi, was not the type of girl someone like him married. Hell, she wasn’t the type of girl someone like him got involved with. She would twist a man up inside and he would be powerless to stop her. He would even put his finger on the knot so she could make a bow. But she wasn’t a wolf; he had absolutely no business thinking about her at all.

  The valet pulled his roadster up in front of them and Duncan opened the door for Ashley, his fellow wolf. Looking back one last time, he firmly put the fantasy out of his head. Sighing heavily, he walked around the front of his car and took his position behind the wheel, feeling the loss and knowing that it was the right decision to make. It was the only decision to make.

  “So, anyway, what magazine are you buying?” Ashley asked, taking his mind off his melancholy thoughts.

  Duncan turned his head and looked across the seat at her, blinking, trying to focus on the present. “Um, lavish.”

  “Really?” her eyes widened in approval. “I just recently started reading that; it’s the one with 'The Scene' in it, isn’t it?”

  “I wouldn’t know,” he shrugged, pulling away from the curb. "I bought it because it was a good investment."

  “This writer is certifiable and absolutely brilliant. She’s a human who does all of these wild things and then writes about them,” Ashley continued, oblivious to the fact that Duncan couldn’t care less about some fluff writer. “This week she wrote about your brother, Senator Carson. She got an interview with him last month by going wind surfing with him and after she beat him in a race she got him to announce his plans to run for presidency in the next election.”

  Even though he had discussed some of his half-brother’s political ambitions with Philip, Duncan raised his eyebrow at that statement. “Philip would hold a press conference for that type of announcement. I doubt he would casually mention it to a writer of a small, gossip column in an exclusive magazine.”

  “She challenged him and won,” Ashley explained as if that made perfect sense. “Last month she interviewed a wildlife survival guide and ate sautéed earth worms and the month before….”

  “That does not sound at all like the type of article one should find in lavish,” he lamented, making a mental note to fire whomever it was that wrote that crap. His magazine was not going to have fluff pieces, even if they did yield an occasional news-worthy item.

  “Even though she is a mere human I think I would be friends with her if I ever met her in the real world,” Ashley said with a half-smile. “She tackles life and wrestles it to the ground, much like a wolf. I would even consider biting her, just to keep her around.”

  “Most, if not all, humans can’t make the transition, Ash; I’m sure your writer is no exception,” Duncan said disapprovingly. “And if what you say is true, that she is reckless and daring, I don’t want someone like that on my staff. Or in my pack.”

  “You can’t fire her,” Ashley said, aghast.

  “Watch me,” he promised.

  Chapter 4 (Monday)

  Lexi struggled under the weight of her bags as she ran into the office building, late for the most important meeting of her journalistic career. The new owner had decided he wanted to meet the staff and layout his vision for the future of the magazine, which meant he was going to be going over everyone’s contributions and weed out the ones that did not fit his standards. And apparently the new owner had very high, very rigid standards and while Lexi knew she was a good writer she also knew that she was going to have to prove herself, just like all of the other talented writers on the staff.

  The only bright spot was the fact that the meeting was being held at 11:00. If it had been any earlier she would have missed it completely and had absolutely no chance of saving her job. As it was, if she managed to make it up there in the next ten minutes, she might still have a career. At the very least, she would know whether or not she still worked for lavish. With each second that ticked by, that possibility was growing slimmer and slimmer.

  Because her alarm failed to go off, she wasn’t as put together as she had hoped to be, missing the small, personal touches that completed her look. She was wearing a pleated, plaid mini skirt with a white blouse and thigh high nylons, held up by the very sexy garter belt she bought last week; it was just visible beneath the short hem of her skirt. She had wanted to wear the auburn wig with pony tails to complete the school girl look but had to settle for a very cute, sleek black bob. In addition to not being able to take the time to put on the right wig, she couldn’t find the tie. Instead, she wore the shirt with the top three buttons undone, her already full breasts pressed upwards by the push up bra she wore.

  “Hold the elevator!” she called out as the doors were half way shut and she was still ten feet away. A hand shot out to keep the doors open and she sighed in relief as she quickened her pace to keep her savior from waiting. “Thank you so much.”

  “My God, Lexi,” a familiar voice drawled derisively behind the opening door. A sickening thud weighted her stomach down and she dreaded seeing the man who came with that voice. “What look are you going for now? Anime porn?”

  The doors opened completely to reveal the guy who had wanted her column, Mason Jones. He was the most vocal detractor when she was hired – and the only one still complaining. With his white blond hair slicked back, he looked almost bald, which only emphasized the icy cold blueness of his eyes. Those eyes narrowed as he looked at Lexi with equal parts disdain and lust and she debated whether or not she should get into the elevator or take the stairs. Since she was running so late, she really had no choice; besides, she really didn’t want to try to climb all of those stairs with slip on heels. She was already wobbly enough walking on a flat surface.

  “Mason,” she said politely, trying to rearrange her bags so she wasn’t quite so off-balance. She shouldn’t have brought so much work home over the weekend, but she wanted to be prepared for the meeting. Unfortunately, the two days had been spent reeling from her family’s revelations, though she still wasn’t sure whether or not she believed them, and the nights had been spent twisting in her sheets, thanks to a certain silver-eyed would-be lover.

  “You should be illegal,” Mason sneered, though he didn’t take his eyes off her. If anything, he continued to peruse her like he purchased her in the back room of a comic book store. It was a very disconcerting feeling and she fidgeted slightly under his intense scrutiny, trying her damnedest to ignore him. He let out a low whistle, crossing h
is arms over his chest and leaning against the wall, “In fact, I’m pretty sure that in some states you are.”

  “That makes no sense,” she said, refusing to give in to the urge to tug her skirt down, maybe button up the undone buttons; there was no way she was going to let the weasel win. Wearily, she watched as he unfolded an arm and moved his hand to the stop button. “I’ll have you know that I am wearing five inch stilettos.”

  “So?” he asked, his hand still moving towards the stop button.

  “Have you seen what a five inch stiletto can do to a man’s private parts?” she asked, raising a single eyebrow. “Needless to say, you touch that button and you won’t have to worry about testicular cancer. Ever.”

  He quickly – and wisely – pulled his hand back, “Geez, Lexi; you are one cold bitch.”

  “And don’t you forget it,” she smiled serenely. She knew that her outfits drew attention, and she knew that it was often sexual in nature; but there was something about Mason that gave her the willies. The vibes he gave off were hostile, menacing.

  Trying to tune him out, and ignore the way he was looking at her, she mentally tried to recall which bag she put the information in for that month’s column. Crap, she couldn’t remember. Getting a little nervous, she glanced at her watch. The meeting started six minutes ago.

  “Are you running late, Lexi?” Mason’s voice interrupted her silent plea for the elevator to move faster, giving her another reason for wanting it to speed up.

  “Of course not,” she lied, looking up and seeing there were still three floors to go. If the gods were smiling down at her there would be no one getting on. Of course, being that it was an extremely important meeting, she was running really late and she was stuck in the elevator with a lecherous misogynist, the cart stopped two floors from hers. “Damn.”

  Two people stepped on and pushed the button for the ground floor. As the doors closed, she closed her eyes and begged the mischievous gods to let them keep going up. As the elevator started moving, she opened her eyes and realized the gods were spiteful, little bastards. Pressing the button for the floor immediately below their current floor, she waited until the cart came to a lurching stop and the doors yawned open. With a lunge, she stepped off the elevator, hearing the cackling of Mason as it started its trek upwards. She was going to have to climb three flights of stairs in heels.

  Spiteful. Little. Bastards.

  With no other choice, she found the stairwell, pushing the door open and stepping into the other-worldly nothingness of concrete. Clutching the bags, she bent down and took off her shoes, knowing she risked grievous injury if she attempted to scale the stairs in the aforementioned weapons. As she started the journey upwards, she realized that she wasn’t going to be able to stop at her office to drop off her stuff.

  “Hey, Lexi, how many more flights do you have?” Mason’s voice echoed through the hollow stairwell, followed by his maniacal laughter and the sound of the door closing. She was so going to get him for that; just not until after her meeting, which could very well be her last meeting at lavish magazine. That would satisfy Mason, even if he didn’t get her job – ‘cause, honestly, who would want to read about the latest stalker techniques or the best places to masturbate in public?

  A wry smile parted her lips as she mounted the stairs, not caring that the bottoms of her stockings were going to be filthy. Dima and Cole were going to laugh at her; and after she was done pouring over her horrible morning, she would probably be laughing as well. And then they could make arrangements for a trip to the Caribbean, since it wasn’t likely she was going to have a job after, oh, fifteen minutes.

  Finally, she reached the top of the stairs and dropped her shoes to the ground, sliding her feet into the sexy heels. She pushed against the door and nothing happened; it didn’t budge an inch. Slamming her fist against it, she yelled, “You son of a bitch!”

  In frustration, she pulled at it. And felt like a complete idiot when it opened. Rolling her eyes at her stupidity, she couldn’t prevent the smile from forming, or the laughter from bubbling up. Dima and Cole were going to give her such grief for that supreme act of idiocy. A laugh escaped just as she stepped through the door of the board room and died almost as quick. Everyone in there was deathly silent; never a good sign.

  “Hey, sorry I’m late, but my alarm failed to go off and almost everything else that could go wrong managed to do so,” she called out, stumbling over to her spot, oblivious to the other people in the room. Pulling out her chair, she set her bags on the table, determined to find the necessary folder she had prepared for the new owner. Burying her head in one of the bags, she pulled out the folder with her notes and smiled. Finally, success first time out!

  Someone cleared his throat and she looked up. Thank God the chair was behind her since she was pretty sure her spirit completely left her body for a moment. And a body without a spirit is unable to stand on its two inanimate legs. Her bottom hit the chair with more force than normal and she hoped she wasn’t going to end up bruised.

  “Duncan. Wow, I am so glad we didn’t have sex the other night,” she said without thinking. “Otherwise this meeting would have been really awkward.”

  Someone snorted and she heard the words she spoke and flushed hotly. “Not that this isn’t already awkward.”

  “I’m glad you could join us, Miss….” he said, arching that expressive eyebrow, acting as if he had never had his hand on her bare breast or his tongue down her throat. Maybe she was still asleep and this was just an elaborate dream because there was no way in hell that the man standing there acting like the new owner of the magazine was the very same man she almost slept with on Friday and who subsequently disturbed her sleep for the rest of the weekend.

  If it were a dream, wouldn’t he be smiling at her right now instead of glowering? And along those same lines, wouldn’t they be getting naked and horizontal? But then, if that were true, why were all of her co-workers there, acting as if it weren’t a dream? Someone nudged her and she grimaced; not a dream. Okay, she could deal with this. “Um, Miss Darling; Lexi. But you know that.”

  “Mmm hm,” he murmured in a non-committal manner. His silver eyes looked right through her and she frowned; how could he act as if he had never met her when they had that Moment? “Would you like to share anything else or can we continue with the meeting?”

  He was so not how she expected he would be should they ever meet again. Of course, in the many scenarios she imagined, this was never, ever one of them. The room was still silent and she looked up to see everyone watching her. Rolling her hand in the air, she murmured, “Sure, we can continue.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “Now, as I was saying, I plan on working closely with you over the next several weeks to get the feel for the dynamics of this magazine and to determine which writers will be staying and which ones will not.” And as those words left his mouth, he looked directly at Lexi, sending a familiar fire through her bones. But he was talking about firing her. That would explain that fire analogy. Damn, this was not how she imagined their reunion would be. Perhaps it was that idiosyncrasy that was making her mouth speak without the benefit of thinking first.

  With a frown, she met his gaze, “Are you suggesting that I am one of the writers who will be released?”

  “Why are you interrupting me?” Duncan asked, crossing his arms over his broad chest and making her mouth water just a little bit. Reality, Lexi; this is reality. No warm caresses or heart-melting kisses or a simple hello. Just imminent dismissal. Reality sucked.

  “You looked at me,” she explained. She really needed to separate fantasy from reality because in real life, this guy obviously didn’t experience the same earth-shattering connection on Friday night. Or he was furious that she bailed on him after passing out before they ever even had sex. Unfortunately, her body was responding as if he were seducing her with hot words and hotter caresses. “I presume you are going to fire me.”

  “I haven’t made that decision yet,”
he said, shifting slightly in his seat as he glanced around the room before meeting her gaze once more. If she looked close enough, she could almost make out a flare of desire in his eyes but it was banked beneath opaque silver.

  Her eyes narrowed as she studied his straight-faced expression; not a muscle ticked and his jaw was perfectly relaxed as if she didn’t affect him at all and it kind of pissed her off because her hormones were fighting one another to get closer to the stoic bastard. Her eyes dropped to the hand that rested on the table and as she watched, he squeezed his fingers into a fist and then relaxed them and she smiled to herself. He wasn’t as unaffected as he pretended. “If I sleep with you it won’t be just to keep my job.”

  A few gasps filtered into her rebellious brain but she held Duncan’s silver gaze, watching with fascination as it became molten. He spoke through clenched teeth as he bit out, “I don’t sleep with my employees.”

  Her lips tilted upwards in an amused smile, “So you’ll fire me just to have the pleasure?”

  “I’m not going to fire you,” he bit out, his nostrils flaring as he continued to glare at her.

  Ignoring the sound of someone, probably her old boss Jeffrey, clearing his throat, her eyes sparkled, “Then eventually you will be sleeping with an employee; it’s only a matter of time.”

  “Lexi,” Jeffrey murmured next to her. “Stop talking.”

  She shrugged her shoulders as she continued to hold his silver gaze through lowered lashes, “Forgive me, Duncan; I just never expected to see you again and to have you show up here as my new boss is a somewhat disconcerting.”

  “You have no idea,” he grumbled, exhibiting the first crack in his smooth exterior. Heaving a sigh, the mask slid back into place and he resumed glaring at her. “Everything – everyone – is going to be given one month, even your… fluff.”