by A C Warneke
“No,” Lexi said firmly, not about to have a repeat of what happened in Cancun. How horrible would it be to be in a roomful of people making out when the only person she wanted to kiss was…. She looked around the intimate setting and tears not so unexpectedly welled up in her eyes. When the others tried to offer their comfort, she laughed humorlessly, trying to stop the tears from coming. She drenched three tissues as she laughed and cried, “I am so sorry about this; I don’t know why I’m crying so hard.”
Cole pulled her into a hug and she let him, accepting the comfort he offered because she needed it. “I think you should get a change of scenery, Lexi. Just to get you over this hump.”
“I think you’re right.” She didn’t care where she went, she just wanted to go away for a few days and clear her head. It was ridiculous to be upset over something when she knew from the very beginning that this was how it was going to end, how it had to end. And if she had the chance to do it all again, she would make the exact same decisions. She just had to get over her aching heart and get on with her life. She was Lexi Darling and she was a Siren; life couldn’t possibly be any cooler than that.
And as soon as her heart thawed out she would be sure to remember that.
Chapter 18 (Thursday)
Lexi was resting under the sun out on the lounge chair in the back yard of her Aunt Cassandra’s large, beach front mansion, complete with a pool. A week and a half ago she had arrived on her aunt’s doorstep with a normal wardrobe, a lot to think about and not a single wig. Aunt Cassie made sure there were plenty of things for them to do, though Lexi was happy just hanging out at the house, on the beach. It had been a relaxing holiday and she was fully recovered from whatever flu bug had knocked her out. Her heart, on the other hand, was still a little battered but she knew she was going to be okay.
Although the dreams that were keeping her awake at night were… odd. She dreamt she was a wolf, running through the woods with the gorgeous black wolf with Duncan’s eyes chasing her; it was a mating run. In her dreams, she could see the world as if through a wolf’s eyes; smell things that were long gone; hear things that were far, far away.
And when the black Duncan-wolf caught her, they made love as wolves, his teeth holding her by the scruff of her neck as he mounted her from behind. But then their bodies would transform and they made love as humans, face to face. While she was dreaming it made perfect sense that she would be a wolf one moment and a human the next; it was in the morning that she realized there was something seriously wrong with her brain. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she didn’t crave meat so damn much: she wanted meat at every meal, bacon, pork chops, ribs, steak, chicken wings…. And everything smelled so much stronger than before. It wasn’t natural and there had been several times that her aunt looked at her with perplexed amusement.
“Hey, you,” Cassie’s voice broke through her reverie. With her ash blond hair, she didn’t look like her sisters. At least, not until you got close and saw her hazel eyes and full mouth; then she was definitely related to Charisma and Sophie. Carrying a tray with two glasses of ice cold lemonade, she smiled down at her niece. “You might want to consider heading in soon; you’ve been out here for a while.”
“SPF 30,” Lexi grinned, gratefully accepting the cool beverage. A drop of moisture spilled onto her nearly bare breast and she shivered, enjoying the chill against her skin on the hot afternoon. Taking a long drink, she smiled, “Thank you.”
Cassie lay back on the other chair, closing her eyes. Just as Lexi was beginning to think that her aunt just wanted to bathe in the sun, Cassie took a sip of her lemonade and murmured, “I remember you when you were a little girl.”
“Please,” Lexi cringed, the image of her mousy self flashing in her head.
Cassie smiled, “You were such a serious, imaginative little thing, creating all of these stories in your head. You were also very charming, once you warmed up.”
Lexi made a face, “I don’t remember it that way at all.”
“It’s true,” Cassie insisted. “It’s why they thought you weren’t a Siren, or enough of one, to warrant bothering you with the truth.”
“I know,” Lexi grimaced, torn between the desire to have been told and the wish she never knew at all. If she didn’t know she was mesmerizing Duncan, she would still be with him because she wouldn’t have accepted his decision to end things. She would have pushed and pushed until he accepted she was a part of his life and eventually he would have told her all of his secrets. She had spent a lot of time contemplating what his huge secret could be and came up with a variety of options, from premeditated murder of a potential rival to being occasionally gay. Whatever it was, she doubted there was anything big enough to make her hate him. And she couldn’t imagine him outright killing anyone. Or being gay.
“We didn’t know you’d be a late bloomer,” Cassie continued. “Or the most… vibrant Siren there’s been in several generations.”
Lexi chuckled, “My plumage is safely at home; this vacation is strictly a non-wig vacation.”
“That’s not what I mean and I think you know that,” Cassie grumbled, smiling in spite of herself. “It’s… well, I think our worries did not come to fruition and for that I am grateful.”
“Mom and Aunt Sophie were awfully concerned about true love and whatnot but it’s all a bunch of bull,” Lexi chuckled, taking a sip of the sweet lemonade. “According to them I should be languishing at the bottom of the sea and other than missing Duncan an obscene amount I feel fantastic. Better than fantastic.”
“You fell in love?” Cassie’s voice held dismay.
“No, of course not,” Lexi shook her head, denying any feeling she had for Duncan. “Of course I didn’t fall in love. Remember? I’d be languishing at the bottom of the sea if I had.”
“When you arrived on my doorstep you were a wreck.” Cassie said considerately, watching Lexi closely.
“I was on strong antibiotics for an unknown infection,” Lexi returned calmly as her heart started pumping twice as fast as it had been beating before. “Besides, it doesn’t matter if I fell in love, and I am not saying I did, because he didn’t return my feelings, that is if I had any, and I kissed him good-bye.”
“And he let you go?” Cassie’s brows drew together in a thoughtful frown.
“I’m here aren’t I?” Lexi's chuckle sounded forced even to her own ears. Clearing her throat, she added, “I’m just a regular Siren, like my sisters; just a late bloomer, like you said.”
“You’re not like your sisters,” Cassandra said softly. “You’re more like me or your mother but even that isn’t a fair comparison since you are so much more of a Siren than either of us.”
Everything within Lexi stilled, her thoughts, her heart, “What do you mean?”
“I fell in love once, the only man to hold my heart and share my bed... well, until a few months ago,” Cassandra said softly, blushing and looking out over the pool, not seeing the present. “But he didn’t love me in return. Unlike other, um, lesser Sirens, the unrequited love nearly destroyed me. If it weren’t for Sophie and Charisma, I think I would have ‘languished at the bottom of the sea,’ as you say. It took years for me to recover and I’m still missing pieces of my heart. Hell, I just recently started having sex again.”
Lexi didn’t want to hear about her aunt’s sex life but she listened, fascinated despite the uncomfortable topic. Cassandra chuckled to herself, “I missed sex but I just couldn't find it in me to... make love without love. Your Aunt Sophie, on the other hand, can sleep with anything on two legs and enjoy every moment of it. She just draws them in, enjoys them, and then sends them on their way with a kiss and a pat on their ass. I have been lucky to fall in love again, though not nearly as deep as before."
Cassie’s gaze flashed to the man standing off to the side; a gorgeous creature with olive brown skin, long, bluish-black hair and black eyes. Marco was twenty-six and Cassie’s man-of-affairs; at least that was what Lexi believed until that moment.
Clearing her throat, her voice was a little garbled, Lexi said, “He’s a good looking man but I don’t know what it has to do with me since I didn’t fall in love with Duncan, or whatever, and I’m not languishing.”
“Maybe you’re a new breed of Siren,” Cassie grinned mischievously. Nodding her head, she added, “Maybe you can love as passionately and deeply as me and enjoy sex as much as your Aunt Sophie. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more than one Grand Love Affair?”
“Okay,” Lexi said wryly, sipping the lemonade through her straw and becoming peripherally aware of the gorgeous Marco standing next to her. She jumped when his shadow came over her, making the lemonade splash over the edge of the glass and onto her stomach. Setting the glass down on the ground, she wiped her stomach and grimaced; she had been enjoying that. Oh, well; she’d just grab some more when she had enough sun.
“Shall we try a little experiment?” Cassie grinned. Without waiting for Lexi to accept or decline, she smiled up at Marco, using her Siren charm, “Sweetie, give my niece one of your… special massages.”
“Cass, I don’t think….” She yelped as warm hands grabbed her ankles and slowly started massaging her legs. Her eyes closed in pleasure as he worked muscles she hadn’t realized had been so tight; maybe a massage wouldn’t be so bad. Relaxing back in her chair, she groaned as he got a particularly sore muscle. Keeping her eyes closed, she grinned, “See? I can handle this.”
“Marco?”
Hot breath moved over her thigh as blunt fingers started tugging at her bikini bottoms. Between one heartbeat and the next, Lexi was out of the chair and Marco was on his back with Lexi’s claws at his throat. Her voice was feral as she growled, “Don’t touch me; you are not allowed to touch me.”
His eyes widened impossibly in his handsome face and she was pretty sure he pissed himself; she seemed to be having that effect on men lately. Clearing her throat, she slowly released him and stepped back and offered a remorseful grimace, “Wow, I am so sorry about that; I have no idea where that came from; I’m not sure what came over me.”
With a whimper, he scampered over to Cassandra’s side, whose own eyes were as large as saucers as she stared at Lexi in horror. “What in the name of all that is holy was that?”
“I’m not sure,” Lexi admitted. She licked her lips and then a caught her lower lip between her teeth, awkwardly sitting back down on the chaise, her feet firmly planted on the ground as she stared straight ahead. “It wasn’t the first time it happened; the day after I kissed Duncan good-bye I had a similar reaction to a dick in the office. He pissed himself, too.”
Cassandra was quiet, pensive, for a long time, her palm on Marco’s head, comforting him. “Is your… Duncan human?”
“Of course he is,” Lexi scoffed, her heart picking up speed once again as she paused. A lack of humanity could be a viable secret – and it would explain so much. “At least, I think he is. I mean, what else could he possibly be?”
“Sweetheart,” Cassandra said kindly, considering her lover was cowering in fear at her side. “You’re a Siren; maybe there are other things out there we don’t know about.”
“Well, whatever,” Lexi frowned, waving her hand through the air, her thoughts coalescing on the possibility that Duncan was more than he seemed. It was kind of an exhilarating thought, except she had kissed him goodbye and would never be given the chance to discover just what Duncan Tremain could be.
“I’m so sorry for causing you all of this trouble, Lexi,” Cassandra said solemnly, standing up and taking Marco into her arms. Holding the much bigger man, comforting him and protecting him from the vicious Lexi, she added, “But when I mentioned what I saw to Sophie and Charisma, I didn’t know they never told you.”
“It’s not your fault,” Lexi said absently, Duncan wasn’t human…. “I’m okay with being a Siren and I think I would rather know than not, all things considered.”
If Duncan wasn’t human, what could he be and how could she possibly find out? The curiosity was going to drive her mad. Would it be considered bad form to reintroduce herself into his life, make sure to keep her humming to herself, and maybe make him fall in love this time? Enough to get him to trust her with his secret, with what he was?
Cassie whispered softly, “You should go back inside, love.”
“After a quick dip.” Shifting off her seat, Lexi adjusted her bikini bottoms as she sauntered over to the pool. A swim would help her think; if nothing else it would get the sticky lemonade off her stomach. Diving off the diving board, she swam through the cool water, feeling it surround her, embrace her.
If he wasn’t human, that would change everything.
She had spent enough time sitting around and moping; she was going to pack her bag and fly back home, storm the office and demand… an… introduction. Shit. She was going to have to come up with a better plan.
*****
Duncan sat in front of his computer, the glow of his desk lamp the only light in the other-wise dark room. For almost two weeks he had worked non-stop, not allowing any thoughts non-work related filter into his head. Tomorrow was his last day at the lavish offices and he would be able to move on, get on with the rest of his life. It didn’t matter if he was shattered inside; he was still an Alpha, still in charge.
Rubbing his eyes, he leaned back in his chair, deliberately not thinking about any tempestuous vixen. He was going to offer her a pay raise when she did return, via a memo, of course. Her column had breathed new life into the magazine and he hadn’t even realized. All he had known was lavish was an excellent investment; an established magazine that seemed to be increasing its sales in the harsh climate. It wasn’t until after he looked over the figures and compared them to her arrival that he realized she was the reason why.
He had been an idiot, about a great many things.
Giving himself permission to indulge himself for five minutes, he closed his eyes and pictured her as she had looked in the kitchen the Monday he let her go. Her hazel-green eyes sparkled as she went to her knees and, after unzipping his pants, she eased his erection out and slowly stroked the rigid length took. Taking his cock into her hot, wet mouth, she looked so sexy and he could still feel the pleasure as she took his cock deeper and deeper.
Mechanically, Duncan freed his erection from the bindings of his pants, stroking the hard flesh as he continued picturing Lexi on her knees, pleasuring him with her lips and tongue. Sensation had shot up his penis, into the base of his spine and he hadn’t known if he would be able to remain standing. And then the wicked little minx started playing with his testicles and his brain exploded. She had looked so self-satisfied after she brought him to his knees.
He concentrated on her expression as she wiped the excess semen from her lips and stuck the finger into her mouth, the sheer seductiveness of it. Straining, desperate for release, he fucked his palm imagining it was her tender touch.
I love you, his wolf whispered in Lexi’s voice and his body tightened as an orgasm tore through him. The wolf snickered as Duncan fell forward in the chair to clean up the mess, angry with himself and angry with the wolf.
“I had no choice but to let her go,” he said out loud to the empty room. Tucking his cock back into his pants, he scowled even more as he realized he hadn’t even had an erection for the past two weeks. He could try to convince himself it was because he had been working so hard but he knew that was a lie. He hadn’t allowed himself even a moment to think about Lexi and the moment he did…. “Fuck.”
Almost violently, he powered up his computer; he was going to check his email one last time and then he was going to get out of there for the night. If his suspicions were correct he was going to find a way to kill the fucking wolf who was destroying his life.
Taking a few breaths to calm down, he half expected to see something from Lexi, now that he allowed himself to think about her. His heart leapt in his chest when he saw the subject line titled “Lexi Darling,” and with a trembling hand, he clicked on it.
Mr. Tremain-
What would you like me to do with Miss Darling’s final paycheck? She left no forwarding instructions and she has not returned any of the messages I have left for her.
-Mrs. Reynolds
Duncan flew out of his chair and opening the door to his office with such force it slammed against the wall. Mrs. Reynolds jumped, spinning around in her desk to face him with wide eyes, “Can I, er, help you, Mr. Tremain?”
“Lexi Darling quit?” he asked through clenched teeth, the veins on his neck popping out until he felt like his head was going to explode.
“I gave you her resignation letter and final column almost two weeks ago,” she calmly explained as she pushed her chair a little further away from him. “It was in a folder marked ‘Lexi Darling.’”
That would explain why he hadn’t seen it; he refused to allow her into his thoughts and so he had ruthlessly denied anything having to do with her. “Get her back. Now.”
“Um, she hasn’t been returning my calls,” she repeated the words from her email. “Her roommates tell me that she is on indefinite vacation and will forward any messages to her but they couldn’t make any promises that she would return them.”
Duncan’s fingers squeezed into a tight fist and he wanted to punch a hole through something, preferably his wolf’s mangy ass. “I want her address, her phone number, the Rudnar’s phone number….”
“Why do you want the Rudnar’s phone number?” Mrs. Reynolds asked slowly even as she wrote down the items he had rattled off.
Duncan froze as a hazy memory came ripping through his head. “One last secret, Duncan; I’m a Rudnar; Alexandra Rudnar, the youngest daughter you wanted me to interview.” She laughed but it was so full of sadness he couldn’t fathom it coming from her. “I’m also a Siren and I am so, so sorry.” Standing up on her toes, she pressed her lips against his, “I love you.”
