Siren Song

by A C Warneke

  “You have to tell me the story.” Putting her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her hands, Ashley looked like a little girl playing grown up, all bright eyed and eager to learn more.

  “Well, when I first moved into their house, I was kind of shy and awkward,” Lexi admitted, unable to keep her lips sealed. Almost against her will, she found she liked Ashley. “As my family is so fond of reminding me, I preferred books to parties and avoided everyone who came to the house for gatherings.”

  “That would be why nobody recognizes you; why it took me so long to put the two of you together.” Ashley nodded sagely, stunning Lexi with her ability to match her with her mousier self at all. “Well, what happened?”

  “Cole and Dima were determined to drag me out of my shell, by force if necessary." At Ashley’s startled expression, she chuckled, “Not really by force. But they were always trying to get me to try something new and they would always say, ‘Lexi, darling, why don’t you try sushi,’ or ‘Lexi, darling, why don’t you get your navel pierced,’ or “Lexi, darling, let’s go to the nude beach.”

  Ashley’s eyes darkened and she leaned closer, “A nude beach?”

  “It had been an eye opening experience for a naïve and sheltered eighteen year old girl.” Lexi chuckled at the memory, thinking how good it felt to talk to someone about this. Her family would have been scandalized and Cole and Dima lived through it with her. But the woman sitting across from her was Ashley Brown, Duncan’s occasional lover and her prospective rival. “Why am I telling you any of this?”

  “Because I asked?” Ashley grinned, her teeth very white and her eyes very blue. “Besides, there is something very different about you and I find myself curious about the girl Duncan can’t seem to shake.”

  “Are you planning on using any of this against me?” Lexi asked cautiously, experiencing a strange kinship with the woman. She didn’t have a lot of female friends because girls generally saw her with Cole and Dima and hated her on principle. It might be kind of interesting to have a female friend, even one as inquisitive as Ashley. Even one who had slept with Duncan.

  “Not at all,” Ashley assured her. “If I wanted to have revenge, I wouldn’t use gossip… I’d use my teeth.”

  Ashley snapped her teeth together and Lexi jumped back, startled. Pressing her hand over her racing heart, she laughed unsteadily, “That’s not very reassuring.”

  “I like you, Lexi, so you don’t have anything to worry about.”

  “Thanks?” Lexi picked up her glass and was dismayed to see that her hands shook slightly. Taking a sip of water, she set it back down and took a breath, “So, are you Duncan’s girlfriend?”

  “He’s answered that question several times, Lexi,” Ashley rebuked with a smile. “We have been lovers in the past; it is the way those in our… families do things. We prefer to know if we are sexually compatible before any… vows are exchanged.”

  “And are you?” Lexi asked casually as she swirled her straw around in her water, trying to act as if Ashley’s answer wasn’t all that important.

  “He’s very talented in that department and a girl could definitely do worse.”

  “You sound like there is a ‘but.’” Did she sound too hopeful?

  “Not at all,” Ashley denied and then sighed, staring out across the street to the building that Duncan was still in. “If he were to choose me as his… wife I would be a very happy woman. But he has been losing interest in me even before you came along; I fear that his sights are on you now.”

  “Certainly not,” Lexi protested even as her heart did a little jig in her chest at the thought. But it wasn’t real; it was her Siren wrapping her net around him and dragging him to the shore where she could have her delightfully wicked way with him. “The thing between us is purely physical.”

  “And yet you escaped his clutches with your virginity intact.” Ashley said so matter-of-factly Lexi was momentarily stunned speechless. “How was that even possible?”

  “How could you possibly know something like that?”

  Another enigmatic smile graced Ashley’s lips, “I simply know and no, Duncan didn’t tell me. Well?”

  “I passed out and then slipped out in the middle of the night,” she admitted, feeling the heat in her cheeks at the memory and at having admitted it to the red head.

  “Interesting.”

  “In what way?”

  “He must have realized it would be… challenging getting involved with someone like you.” Ashley chuckled to herself, “Though it hasn’t stopped him from fantasizing.”

  “In what conceivable way would it be challenging? I'm a sure thing.” Unless Ashley knew about the Siren but, no, that didn’t seem likely. Probably because Duncan was so straight-laced and sophisticated and Lexi wore vibrant wigs and racy clothes. And then the words echoed in her head and she slapped a hand over her mouth and felt her face go up in flames, "I can't believe I just said that to you of all people; I am so sorry."

  Laughing, wiping an imaginary tear from her eye, Ashley explained, “Duncan is simply more than most people can handle.”

  Lexi couldn’t argue with that since it was very true… and she wanted to handle all of him. He was the most compelling person of her acquaintance and she was unrelentingly drawn to him. “I could handle him.”

  Ashley looked at her for a few moments with a shrewd look in her eyes. Even when it became uncomfortable, Lexi continued to hold Ashley’s blue eyes straight on. A small smile curved Ashley’s lips and she murmured, “Yes, I believe you could. I knew I’d like you.”

  “Just so long as we’re clear,” Lexi cleared her throat, “You two are not together, right?”

  “The rules are different in mine and Duncan's world, Lexi,” Ashley explained carefully. “If he chooses you he is free to have you with no hard feelings on my side. In fact, I think I would respect him more if he had the balls to chase after you, damn the consequences.”

  “If he were mine I think I’d rip the eyeballs out of any girl who threatened to take him away from me,” Lexi vowed, hearing the possessiveness in her words and damning the Siren bitch to hell for causing all of this.

  Ashley threw her head back and laughed heartily, causing several heads to turn in their direction. Lexi could just imagine their thoughts: the society girl and the tramp. “You are a blood-thirsty little thing, aren’t you?”

  “Not at all,” she instinctively denied then thought better considering. With brutal honesty, she admitted, “Apparently I have a blood-thirsty streak when it comes to Duncan, which is ridiculous – I barely know the man.”

  “Sometimes that’s the way it works.” Ashley relaxed back in her seat, resting her arms on the arm rests of the chair and smiling. “Maybe I should worry about Duncan; I don’t think he has a clue about what’s happening to him.”

  “I haven’t cast a spell.” Lexi sucked her lips between her teeth and bit down to stop her wayward tongue from wagging further.

  “Even if you had it wouldn’t matter,” Ashley’s eyes sparkled as she dropped that strange comment. “Now, tell me more about the nude beach; did Dima join you in the clothes optional adventure?”

  “Of course,” Lexi rolled her eyes at the thought of Dima; when didn’t he prefer nudity over clothes? “He and Cole kidnapped me and took me to Cancun for three months my freshman year of college and then threw me to the sharks.”

  “’Lexi, darling, let’s go to the nude beach,’” Ashley mimicked in a deep voice, laughing. "Lexi, darling, it's time to get naked."

  “Exactly.” The memory of that first morning came crashing back and she was a little dumb-struck by how cosseted she had been. Cole and Dima explained that they were on that particular beach to get her comfortable with her body. She had blushed like mad, especially when they dropped their pants and displayed their male parts in all their naked splendor. And they were glorious: hard, nineteen-year old male bodies….

  It took her a little longer to feel comfortable enough to finally ta
ke off her swim suit. Eventually, it was exactly what Cole had promised; she had never felt freer than while she was on that beach completely bare. Everything was so much… more. The sun was warmer, the water was slicker; she was bolder. And it was a lesson well learned; she was absurdly comfortable with her body.

  “It was nearly impossible to put clothes back on when it was time to come home,” Lexi finished with a sentimental sigh.

  “I think you’ve left some behind,” Ashley teased and they shared a laugh. “And I am sure if Duncan had his way, you’d lose the rest of your clothes as well, preferably soon.”

  Despite the inherent awkwardness of having a conversation with Ashley, Lexi couldn’t stop the image of a naked Duncan from filling her senses. His eyes would spark with desire as she ran her hands over the smooth, hard planes of his chest, down his ridged stomach to the erection that would stretch outwards to her, pulsing in anticipation. He would devour her and the thought sent a shiver of desire straight to her belly and she sighed in pleasure.

  Ashley’s eyes slid close for a moment and she took a deep breath. Letting it out slowly, her voice was rough as she whispered, “My word, you smell delicious; no wonder why Duncan is drawn to you.”

  Lexi was startled by Ashley’s reaction and frowned, “That was random.”

  “Sorry, it’s just that your scent when you think of Duncan….” Her words trailed off and she opened her eyes, smiling sheepishly, “It was unexpected and powerful, like sunshine and desire and bliss.”

  “That’s… odd.” But the words were flat; was that how she was controlling Duncan, with her scent? But how could she get rid of something that she had no control over. Maybe perfume… all of the women in her family wore some sort of floral scent, maybe she could try that. Maybe lavender or vanilla….

  “He’d be able to smell you beneath artificial odors,” Ashley interrupted her contemplations, grinning when Lexi looked at her in bewilderment. “Your face is very expressive, Lexi; it’s an open book.”

  “Are you sure you aren’t just a bit psychic?” she asked almost seriously. She glanced at her watch and saw that more time than she expected had passed and she stood up abruptly. Apologetically, she looked at Ashley, “As enjoyable as this has been – and it actually was – I really have to get back to the office. New boss and all that.”

  “Blow off work and spend the rest of the day shopping with me,” Ashley said, coming to her feet and throwing some cash down on the table to cover the bill.

  “I can’t,” Lexi actually regretted not being able to spend more time with the fascinating woman. “I don’t think the boss would approve.”

  “Pshaw,” Ashley said, dismissing Duncan with a wave and a smile. “I have the feeling that he would forgive you pretty much anything.”

  “I don’t want to put him in the position where he will have to.” Lexi shrugged her shoulders and gave a sheepish smile, “You see, I really do like my job and would rather keep it based on merit, not because I’m sleeping with the boss.”

  “If he didn’t like your work he’d fire you even if he was sleeping with you.” Ashley looped her arm through Lexi’s once more and the two of them headed back to the office, Ashley’s words reassuring in a strange way.

  ****

  Lexi was staring out the window, as she had been on and off for three and a half hours since she returned from lunch with Ashley, when she was startled out of her reverie by the phone ringing. Smoothing her hand over the front of her blouse, her skirt, as if the person on the other line could see her, she picked it up, “Hello?”

  “Miss Darling.” Duncan’s voice rumbled over the line and her body tightened in excitement and anticipation. “I was wondering if we could have a meeting in the conference room in five minutes… that is, if you’re not busy.”

  She glanced around the office, at the papers on her desk that she hadn’t looked over, the stack of messages she hadn’t returned, the list of things to do that she hadn’t done. “No, I’m not busy; I’ll be there.”

  “Good,” he heaved a sigh and she was sure he was going to say something else, but he simply hung up the phone.

  Standing up, she straightened her clothes as much as possible, oddly nervous about coming face to face with the man who made her insane. Too nervous to sit still, she grabbed her bags and headed towards the conference room at once, eager to see him even if he was going to fire her.

  Pushing through the door, her smile faltered when she saw Jeffrey sitting there, looking at her with warm, sympathetic eyes. Duncan wasn’t there and she knew that he sent Jeffrey in his place to do his dirty work. “Will you make sure my severance pays goes to the usual place?’

  “He’s not firing you, Lexi,” Jeffrey assured her, his eyes kind. “He simply asked me to sit in on this meeting for legal reasons.”

  “Does he think I’m going to sexually assault him?” she was astonished that a big, strong man like Duncan would need protection from her, even if her Siren was making it nearly impossible for him to resist her.

  “Um, no,” Jeffrey chuckled. “He’s worried about his own behavior. Apparently….”

  “That’s enough, Jeffrey,” Duncan said, striding through the door. Lexi’s heart leapt in her chest and she couldn’t stop the smile from forming as she looked up at the gorgeous man with his flawless black hair and his intense silver gaze. “I’m glad you could join us, Miss Darling. There is something we need to discuss before it gets out of hand.”

  “I’ll try to tone it down,” she said quickly.

  “You’re not the problem; I am.” He ground his teeth together and his jaw tensed as he shifted uncomfortably. “I promised you a month to make your case for belonging at lavish and you will have that month but I seem to have a problem controlling myself around you so we have to set down some round rules to… protect you from unwanted advances.”

  “They’re not unwanted,” she interjected quietly but fervently, her words making the muscle in his cheek tic wildly. Then realization dawned and her eyes widened in horror, “Unless you’re just trying to be kind and you don’t want me.”

  He closed his eyes and released a long, troubled breath. “That’s the problem, Le… Miss Darling; I cannot give you a fair chance if you keep tempting me. And I cannot allow outbursts like what happened at this morning’s meeting to continue without reprisal.”

  “I am sorry about that,” she said contritely, her heart fluttering madly in her chest. He was being so kind to her; after her behavior – both at the meeting and later on – he had every right to fire her and he was giving her another chance. She just hoped she didn’t screw it up with rampaging lust and pheromones.

  “I know you are,” his gaze softened for a moment as he looked at her. Then he remembered who he was and what he was doing and his silver eyes became as impenetrable as any solid metal. “But the fact remains that I am your boss and certain standards of behavior are expected from both of us. For the foreseeable future it might be best if we attempt to keep our distance from one another; at least until we can get this… thing under control.”

  Lexi glanced at Jeffrey who offered a helpless shrug. It would probably be best to keep her distance from the man since she had no idea how the Siren spell worked. Maybe if they weren’t in close proximity the spell would wear off and he would be able to get on with his life without her. Maybe her mom or aunt knew of a way to keep her from casting the spell again so Duncan could be free of her and her Siren. She would just have to learn to live with the long, slow burn of lusting after a man she couldn’t have. Slowly, she met Duncan’s eyes, “All right. I have an… assignment out of the office the next couple of days but I will figure out a schedule to limit our interactions as much as possible.”

  “The burden of responsibility isn’t solely on your delectable shoulders, Le… Miss Darling,” Duncan growled. “Give a copy of your schedule to my secretary and she will figure out the logistics. I just hope I can follow it.”

  She nodded her head and was going to
leave but she got caught in Duncan’s silver gaze and remained rooted to the floor, unable to move even if the building was about to collapse. His eyes darkened, the silver being swallowed by the black of his pupils as their gaze held. The temperature in the room was increasing rapidly because her body was melting and her skin was on fire. As she licked her lips with the tip of her tongue, he tracked the movement with his eyes. Breathing was becoming difficult as the air thickened and her clothes became too tight. Her fingers went to the top button of her shirt and Duncan sucked in a harsh breath as he watched….

  “Is there anything else we need to discuss?” Jeffrey asked, standing up and brushing his hands together, washing them of the whole thing. Lexi turned her head and saw the flush spreading across the older man’s cheeks but he didn’t say anything about her behavior.

  “There is one more thing,” Duncan said, his voice rougher than usual. Turning her head, she once more found herself trapped in his gaze. “The Rudnars?”

  “What about them?” she asked carefully, her heart picking up speed in her chest.

  “Did they truly agree to an interview?”

  “Uh huh?” her voice squeaked at the slight fib.

  His mouth hardened into a shark’s grin, “That would be an excellent coup; the Rudnars are notoriously tight-lipped. Congratulation, Miss Darling.”

  “Thank you?” she hated how her voice was so breathy when she was lying; he was going to figure it out that she wasn’t being completely truthful if she kept talking.... But, maybe she could find out if what her sister said about them not mixing was true… “Um, the three daughters are exceptionally beautiful; did you ever consider taking one of them for a, um, lover?”

  “The oldest daughter once showed an interest in me but it didn’t last long.” His eyes twinkling with genuine amusement, “Why this sudden interest in matching me with a Rudnar?”