by A C Warneke
Letting out a low wolf whistle, a slow smile spread across his face, “Very nice. The fans at the convention won’t know what hit them.”
As she was walking out the door, she felt Duncan’s eyes on her and she paused, needing to see him before taking off for the weekend. Looking over her shoulder, she saw him leaning against the wall, his eyes burning into her as they moved over her body. In that moment he looked like a wolf, all predatory and dangerous, and it sent a jolt of electricity through her body. With a little wave, she forced herself to turn away and keep walking.
“Who’s the suit?” Cole whispered.
“My new boss,” she whispered back, her pulse pounding madly in her throat. She was so tempted to take another peak to see if he was still there but if he was, she wouldn’t have made it out the door. And if he wasn’t, she would have been sorely disappointed.
Chapter 8 (Thursday)
“Congratulations,” Duncan murmured late Thursday morning as he cornered Lexi between the copy room and her office, her arms loaded down with colorful pages. “In the nearly two weeks I've been here seventeen men have come up to me trying to convince me that you should keep your job; one of them was the guy who makes my coffee in the morning at the bistro across the street. How do you manage that?”
“Very carefully.” Lexi looked up at him, mentally rejoicing in the presence that was Duncan. Everything seemed more vibrant when he was around, like the world came into sharp focus and became hyper real. And she liked the butterflies and the irregular heartbeat he inspired, so she had no complaints, even if they only exchanged a word or two in passing, a glance from afar.
“I don't think my plan of keeping our distance is working.” He glowered, “I know the moment you step into the building.”
“You set the rules, Mr. Tremain... unless you are planning on breaking them?" she asked hopefully. He paused for a heartbeat before shaking his head no, making her huff in resignation. "Well, then, I am desperately trying to obey your absurd rules but you make it difficult. Now, if you will excuse me, I have a lot of… research to do for next month’s article.”
“What are you working on?” he asked, straining his neck to try and get a glimpse of what Lexi held in her hands.
Lexi frowned at his obvious attempts at snooping, hugging the pages to her chest. His woodsy, wild scent was seeping into her brain and doing wondrous things to her body. “Don’t you have something more important to be doing right now? Like, oversee your empire, or whatever it is you do?”
“I do but I can’t seem to stop myself from seeking you out; it's hell on days when I don't see you,” he said, shaking his head and meeting her gaze, his silver eyes heating slightly as he looked at her. She reached up and touched the honey-blond bob she had on and didn’t miss the slight frown that marred his forehead. "You're unlike anyone I've ever known and while I know I should keep my distance I can't seem to stop thinking about you, wondering what crazy outfit you'll show up in next, when I'll get to talk with you about things that shouldn't matter but become the most important things in the world because you and I are talking about them.
"It's insanity, Lexi."
His hot gaze drifted down to the outfit she wore and a low growl of appreciation rumbled from the back of his throat. She liked the soft pink dress that barely covered her ass with the matching pink heels. So what if the neckline was a little low; it showcased her breasts to their best advantage while still being suitable for the work place. And if Duncan lusted after her and looked at her with those hot, silver eyes....
When he looked at her with that burning hunger in his eyes and said such wonderful things, she felt like he could see into her soul and see all of her. Her heart was racing at the thought and it was suddenly much warmer in the corridor where they stood. In fact, her breathing had changed, becoming a little more… frayed. She needed to get away from him and this… thing he did to her.
“I’m trying to be good, Dun… Mr. Tremain, but you keep giving off mixed signals,” she said curtly, trying to scoot past him and jumping from the swirl of pleasure that spiked her blood when her body brushed against his. She felt the charge all the way to her toes and she wanted to linger. But her panties were already damp and it would only take a word from him and she would be jumping him. Not good, especially since they were standing in the middle of a corridor used by all of the employees.
“Lexi,” his voice whispered in her ear as she moved past him. She felt his fingers brush against her bare arm and her body shivered in response. “The signals aren’t mixed; I want you more than my next breath but I cannot have you.”
“Yes, you can,” she whispered, clutching the papers even tighter, trying to stop the spontaneous combustion of her cells. Turning her head, she met his eyes, “Break your rules and I’m yours for the taking. Just break them, Duncan.”
He laughed without humor, his eyes tormented. “Stop tempting me.”
She decided it would be better to not say anything because the more time she spent near him, the more her resistance faltered, and she had no resistance to start with. Without even looking at him, she finished the journey to her office, closing the door behind her. Life had been so much easier when she was simply Lexi Darling, with her crazy outfits and her funky wigs, taking on the persona of a comic book character to embrace life. What was she going to do about Duncan, who was blurring the line between her created reality and her true self, to say nothing of her Siren-self?
Dropping the pages off on her desk, she sank into her chair. The sci fi convention the past weekend and her work load might not have been able to take her mind off Duncan but it did succeed in pushing all of her other concerns to the backburner, including the possibility that her Siren had improper power over Duncan and it was all a fantasy.
She hadn’t taken a moment to call her mother or aunt about what it meant to be a Siren, something she tried not to think about too often because it was depressing. It was one thing to believe Duncan was helplessly attracted to her because of something beyond his control but it was another to have it confirmed. Selfishly, she had just wanted to savor the flirtation for a little while longer before having it taken away.
Rubbing her forehead, she leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. It was time to call and have her hopes shattered before she spent any more restless nights fantasizing about him. Picking up the phone, she dialed the number, nervously tapping her finger nails against the desk as it rang and she waited.
“Hello?” came the wonderfully familiar voice, making Lexi smile.
“Say I believe you, that there’s some truth to what you and mom sprang on me a few weeks ago,” she spoke without any preliminary, jumping right to the heart of the matter.
“That you’re a Siren?”
“Yeah, whatever,” Lexi faltered a moment at her Aunt’s calm response but soldiered on. “Tell me more – what does it even mean to be a Siren?”
“What do you know about Sirens?” Aunt Sophie asked carefully.
“Um, they were a trio of beautiful women who lured men – sailors – to their death with their hypnotic melodies,” Lexi recited, remembering some of the mythology from her childhood. She lightly ran her fingers over the colorful brochures that sat on her desk. Maybe she should choose a destination and just go; maybe Cole or Dima would join her. Anything to get away from Duncan before she lured him to his death. God, being a Siren sucked.
“It was never the Siren’s intention to lure men to their deaths,” Sophie murmured. “And it wasn’t their song that made men linger on the island until they died; it was the Sirens themselves.”
“That is not very reassuring.” Lexi paused, chewing on her lower lip as she tried to figure out how to put her fears into words and finding it difficult. “So, our lot in life is to kill men. Great.”
Sophie laughed out loud, “Not at all, my dearest Lexi. We are the descendants of the Siren who fell in love.”
“What difference does it make,” Lexi lamented, tears welling in her ey
es. “If we make men fall in love with us against their will?”
“We cannot make anyone fall in love against their will; only lust.” Sophie cleared her throat and Lexi felt the heat blossom in her cheeks. “Men won’t die of a little lust.”
“But what if it is all consuming?” Lexi’s voice came out as a whisper.
Sophie was quiet for a long moment before she asked in a hushed voice, “Is there someone specific?”
“There might be.”
“Tell me about him.”
“He’s gorgeous, Sophie; all intense and powerful and so beautiful. I swear, in a previous life, he was a Viking, or a warlord, or something,” Lexi said, feeling the heat trying to blossom in her body at the thought of his gaze, the intensity in his eyes. “He wants me but he doesn’t want to want me and I want him so badly it hurts. What’s wrong with me?”
“There’s no spell, Alexandra,” Sophie said firmly, kindly. “Unless you sang to him, which only… complicates matters; did you sing to him?”
“Nooo,” Lexi said slowly, as her brain took a devious turn and tried to figure out a way to justify singing to Duncan to break through his rules, to make him want her as much as she wanted him. Ruthlessly, she pushed the intriguing idea out of her head, “I won’t sing to him.”
“Are you in love with him?”
Lexi scoffed at that, “Of course not; it’s simply… lust; burning, soul consuming lust. And I am so afraid that the only reason he wants me is because of my own desire for him.”
“Alexandra,” her aunt’s voice was amused. "It doesn't work that way. As long as you haven't sung to hum, you can assume it's real. Just be careful and don't fall in love with him if he isn't likely to return your feelings."
"Why?" Lexi asked slowly, bemused.
"Because a Siren whose love is unrequited tends to languish away," he aunt said theatrically. "Depending on the strength of the Siren, of course."
With sparkling eyes, Lexi chuckled at that, “That’s so dramatic but no, I won’t die of a broken heart, Sophie. But I might die from a lack of sex.”
A shocked gasp echoed through the room and Lexi looked up, seeing the strangled expression of her office space-buddy. Covering the phone with her hand, she smiled, “Hey, Henry….”
“Kerry,” he said.
“No, it’s Lexi,” she said. Uncovering the phone, she said, “Give me a moment, Soph; Henry just walked in.”
“I meant,” the guy said, shifting slightly. “My name is Kerry.”
“Oh,” Lexi frowned slightly. “I could have sworn your name was Henry.”
His face was turning red again as he continued to stare at her with his gray eyes. With his overly long, strawberry blond hair and decent build, he was an attractive man who spent much of his time travelling to various locations around the globe and then writing up the reviews for the magazine. But he kept staring at her, his face getting redder and redder as she stared back.
Glancing down, Lexi saw that she had quite a bit a cleavage showing. With a careless shrug, she looked up and tilted her head to the side, “Can I help you with anything? Get you a glass of water? Call an ambulance?”
He let out a strangled sound and beads of sweat began forming on his forehead and his breathing was harsh. “I’m good,” he squeaked, scrambling over to his desk, pulling out a drawer with such force it clattered to the floor. “I’m good.”
“Okay,” Lexi didn’t sound certain but her aunt was on the other end of the line laughing. “Just so long as you’re sure.”
“Sing for me,” Sophie said from the other end of the phone.
“Pardon me?” Lexi asked, her attention immediately back on the conversation with Sophie, Henry – or Kerry – forgotten as he continued to fumble with his desk
“The young man from earlier is still there,” Sophie’s voice filtered into Lexi’s brain. "Correct?"
“Yes.”
“Sing for me,” Sophie repeated. “I want you to see something.”
Lexi blinked slowly and reluctantly sang a few words of her favorite haunting ballad, her voice coming out sweet and pure with a strong underlayment of sensuality. A choked, garbled sound came from behind her and she spun around in her chair to see Kerry frantically doing… something, one hand on the front of his pants, the other digging through his desk. Damn, damn, damn. “Um, Kerry, what are you looking for?”
“Paper clips,” he bit out.
“I want you to smile at him,” Sophie instructed, the devil whispering in Lexi's ear. “Slow and sultry.” When Lexi hesitated, her aunt hissed, “Do it.”
Uncertain she was doing the right thing, she tilted her lips up into a seductive pout and watched as Kerry turned beet red, his hair matted to his head, and he let out a low groan. Lexi watched in horrified silence as a stain spread across the front of his pants. Grabbing a few tissues, she set her feet on the floor, stood up and walked around her desk, holding out her hand towards Kerry, “I am so sorry.”
“This is so embarrassing,” he mumbled, taking the tissues and blotting at his pants. Grumbling, he headed towards the door, rushing to be somewhere else.
“That was not helpful, Aunt Sophie,” Lexi groused, her heart going out to the poor bastard. She looked at the art work on her back wall: some of Cole’s earlier prints – to get the image of Kerry’s stained pants out of her head.
There were three images from their time in Cancun, with one of her in profile looking like an ocean goddess in a colorful sarong and bikini top, her skin golden from the tropical rays, her hair hanging about her body. The other two were group shots of the three of them, splashing around in the cerulean blue ocean. She loved the pictures. She loved the memories behind the pictures. “What was the point in having me make a guy embarrass himself like that?”
“I wanted you to know what it is to be a Siren; now the young man is devoted to you,” Sophie said casually, as if she hadn’t just had Lexi enslave the poor bastard. “He will be summoned to your side whenever you smile at him.”
Ah, so that was how Aggie did it. But that wasn’t something she wanted to know. Ever. Frowning, she glowered, “I don’t want mindless devotion, Aunt Sophie. I want to know what to do about Du… the reincarnated Viking.”
“I hate to break it to you, Alexandra, dear,” her aunt chuckled. “Without a song, it’s just good, old-fashioned lust.”
“I don’t know if that makes me feel better or worse,” Lexi groaned, picking at a piece of imaginary lint on her dress. “What good is being a Siren if I can have either mindless devotion or unrequited lust?”
“Because if you find your True Love,” Sophie kept talking over Lexi’s snort of disbelief. “You’ll have magic.”
“Okay,” Lexi said sarcastically. It was hard enough believing in Sirens; there was no way she was going to believe True Love. Lust, absolutely, but love happened over time.
“Alexandra, your mother found it with your father.” Sophie's voice was laced with melancholy. “She’s a stronger Siren than I am and was lucky to have her True Love return her love. If she hadn’t found your father she might have become a spinster.”
“Does that mean you’re a virgin?” Lexi was confused.
Sophie laughed, “Goodness no; I have enough of the Siren gene to lure men in but not enough to deny me the pleasure. Your mother found her True Love when she was in high school and they haven’t been able to keep their hands off one another ever since.”
“Is that why I have so many siblings?”
Sophie laughed, “You should watch them the next time you’re home; they are always making excuses to check on something but in reality….”
“Oh, God,” Lexi moaned, burying her face in her hand. “I do not want to hear this.”
Sophie let out a gusty sigh, “The purer the Siren the stronger the reaction to her mate when he’s found.”
“I don’t believe in One True Mate, or whatever you want to call it,” Lexi said, shaking her head in denial. Pinching the bridge of her nose, she exhale
d. Spinning around in her chair, she looked out at the world from ten stories up and swallowed painfully. “It’s a great big world out there; the chances of finding a soul mate are astronomically against a person.”
“Luckily, Fate has a way of working out; matching a Siren with her heart.”
Lexi scoffed, “No, Fate has a way of fucking with you.”
"That is true," Sophie almost reluctantly agreed. "There is no guarantee that the man chosen for you will return your love. In a way, I feel sorry for you, Alexandra."
"Oh, please," Lexi scoffed. "I can have sex with whomever I please."
"Then why are you still a virgin?"
"Because the man I want is being stubborn." Sophie burst out laughing as a reluctant smile played on Lexi's lips. "The Siren isn't all-powerful, Sophie; I can control her."
"It's not a matter of control, dear."
Lexi heard the door swing open and she rolled her eyes; the poor guy was back for more. She wondered how she should handle it; was there some sort of Siren protocol for dealing with men who were gluttons for punishment? Holding up a finger in a silent gesture to let him know she’d be with him in a moment, she said, “I’ve got to go.”
“Alexandra,” her aunt laughed. “Did Kerry return?”
“Yes,” she answered, not bothering to turn around. Cupping her hand around her mouth and the mouthpiece, she asked, “What am I supposed to do with him now, since a song and a smile made him come; how do I get rid of him?”
“Miss Darling,” a rich tenor said directly behind her desk, not two feet away. Glancing over her should she saw Duncan standing there, wearing his jacket and tie, looking very civilized. Judging by the amusement dancing in his eyes, he heard her words.
“Oh, shit,” Lexi breathed, falling out of her chair as she dropped the phone and tried to stand up. Very classy, especially since her pink dress rode up slightly and she knew that she exposed her panties. Thank God there was a desk in the way; otherwise Duncan would have gotten an eyeful. Avoiding Mr. Tremain’s eyes, she managed to right herself before she casually bent down and picked up the phone. “Listen, I’ve got to go.”
