by A C Warneke
Taking her time, she examined a few more photos that highlighted different parts of his body: his ridged stomach, the sharp hips, his long limbs, his elegant back. And then she froze in front of the close up of his face, the harsh planes made even more stunning by the beautiful silver eyes. If she stared long enough, she would fall into the picture and never be apart from the man again. If she stared long enough, she could believe in fairy tales and happily ever after and True Love.
Tearing her gaze away from the mesmerizing image, she saw something out of the corner of her eye and jumped. Realizing it was only Cole standing in the doorway, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched her with an enigmatic smile, she laughed. Placing her hand over her racing heart, she crossed the distance between them, walking into his arms, “You scared me Cole; I didn’t think anyone was home.’
“I’ve been standing here for the last twenty minutes as you stared at my latest masterpieces,” he chuckled, kissing the top of her head. “I was thinking about using them in my next show.”
“Don’t you dare, Cole,” Lexi growled, stepping back and glaring at him with flashing green and gold hazel eyes. “If anyone else sees those photos I will rip their eyeballs out.”
Cole laughed harder at the vehemence in her voice, draping an arm around her shoulder and guiding her over to the bed. “Don’t worry, my sweet; I promised Mr. Tremain that the pictures were for a strictly private viewing. How was your trip?”
“It was good,” Lexi murmured, wanting to get back to talking about Duncan but not knowing how to do so without appearing rude. “Aunt Cassie gave me a lot to think about and I’m glad I went.”
“By the expression on your face when I came in I would say you are still mooning over the delectable Duncan Tremain,” Cole teased, giving her a lead in but in a way that made it seem like she was still mooning over him. Which she wasn’t.
Okay, she was.
But Cole was here and it was the perfect opportunity to prove her aunt wrong; she could have sex with someone not Duncan. After all, she loved Cole and she knew that Cole loved her since the goodbye kiss didn’t work on him…. Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she looked up at him, “Cole?”
“Yes, my sweet Lexi?” he asked, grinning.
“Will you have sex with me?” she asked bluntly, her fingers going to the hem of her t-shirt.
He made a strange strangled sound and color flooded his cheeks as he stared at her aghast, “Lexi, I think you may have had too much sun. You’re asking me to have sex with you? Why now, after all of this time?”
“Well,” she hesitated to explain. But Cole had seen her at her worst, recently in fact when she passed out at the office, and he knew everything there was to know about her; she could trust him with anything. She did trust him. “It turns out the women in my family are descendants of Sirens and apparently I’m one of the breeds of Sirens that can have only one mate… er, sex partner. But I kind of want to prove that theory wrong. So, you wanna have sex?”
That same strangled choking sound came again and his face was even brighter red, “Lexi, as much as I love you and would love to share your bed, I don’t think I can have sex with you.”
Throwing caution to the wind, she whipped the t-shirt off her body. Standing up, she undid the buttons of her blue jeans and slid them off her legs until she wore only her lacy peach bikinis and matching bra. “I’m a Siren, Cole; a mythological creature that lures men to their death with their beauty and sensuality. Don’t you want to be a part of a myth?”
“I don’t want to die,” he said gruffly, his voice thick with desire as he came to his feet and took his shirt off. As his eyes roamed down her nearly naked body, he added, “But in this case, I think it would be worth it.”
Stepping forward, he took her into his arms until the warmth of his body pressed against hers. Sinking his fingers into her hair, he held the back of her head as he slowly lowered his lips to hers. And all Lexi felt was the absurd need to laugh. Biting her lips, she watched as he brought his mouth down over hers, expertly kissing her with the skills of a modern day Casanova.
And she felt nothing except the overwhelming belief that it was wrong to be kissing Cole when her heart belonged to another. His tongue stroked over hers and while she could appreciate his technique, she was detached and her evaluation was clinical.
As soon as he realized she wasn’t kissing him back, he leaned his forehead against hers and sighed loudly, “Not feeling it, Lexi?”
“Um, you’re a very good kisser,” she said softly, licking her lips and tasting Cole there. She wanted the taste of Duncan to be on her lips. “But I think I am a one-man woman.”
He let her go and sat down hard on her bed, laughing at her, “I have seen you in less, Lexi, but right now you are the sexiest damn woman I have ever seen. If I didn’t like the bastard, I would want to kill him.”
Chapter 20 (Saturday, a week later)
Lexi walked along the balcony around the edge of the ballroom in her parent’s palatial estate. There were already so many people there, all eager to be a part of Senator Carson’s bid to take the White House by storm. The idea of spending two years on the campaign trail, of grueling schedules, speeches, baby kissing, whatever else politicians did, sent a shiver of the utmost dread through Lexi. She was grateful she had no political ambitions what-so-ever. She much preferred to change the world in her own way; wearing marvelous clothes was just an added bonus. And as long as she held the spotlight of one good man, of Duncan, she didn’t need fame.
Her red silk dress felt like heaven over her body, slithery with a mindless will of its own. The two slits on either side allowed her to walk with ease and showed off the patterned leggings she had on underneath. Her shoes were minor works of art, elegant in their deceptive simplicity: red, silk-wrapped four inch soles. Deciding against a wig, her brown hair was artfully arranged in a style vaguely similar to a Geisha’s, including the porcelain sticks. Completing her look was her make-up, again a nod to the Geisha, though she did not powder her face. Her lips were glossy red and her eye liner exaggerated the lines of her almond-shaped eyes.
Flattening a hand against her quivering stomach, she wished the butterflies would take a break. Both Cole and Dima said they would swing by later and while she waited for them Lexi had hoped to be able to spend some time with her parents, just to know that love sometimes did conquer all. Unfortunately, they were both engrossed in conversations whenever she saw them, though they did smile at her, happy she showed up. Of course, they didn’t know the reason why she even hesitated to begin with; and if she had her way, they would never find out. Her mom didn’t need to know that she was so foolish as to fall in love with someone and then kiss him good-bye before he could fall in love with her.
Maybe luck was with her and Duncan wasn’t going to be there and she could put off the re-introduction for a few more days, not knowing if she’d be able to bare the lack of recognition in his silver eyes that had once burned so hotly for her. After all, why would he be at Senator Carson’s party? Sure, he was a rich business tycoon, but maybe their politics didn’t mesh and Senator Carson wasn’t the man Duncan wanted for the job. Yeah, and that was wishful thinking on her part; according to her mother, the Tremains were very big supporters of Senator Carson. In fact, there seemed to be some sort of connection between them, though Lexi wasn’t entirely sure what, exactly, the connection was.
Why didn’t she pay more attention when her mother talked about these sorts of things with her friends? Even when she was in high school she avoided the social parties her parents hosted, preferring to stay in her room doing just about anything else. In a strange turn, it was highly probable that Duncan Tremain was a regular guest at Casa Rudnar. That thought brought a wry smile to Lexi’s face; at one point, she might have met him had she not hidden herself away in her room whenever her parents had people over. She wondered if she would have had the same exhilarating, unruly, devouring reaction to him if she met him while she was a mouse
.
Probably; but would she have been bold enough to pursue him as relentlessly as she did as Lexi? It hardly mattered, since she hadn’t met him before and even if she had she probably would have been beneath his notice, both as a mouse and a teenager.
Putting her hands against the railing, she watched the people below, looking so dignified and stunning in their tuxes and evening gowns. Her mother was so beautiful in her cream chiffon dress, her hair styled in a French twist; classic pearls encircling her throat. Her father was as handsome as ever, wearing an expensive tuxedo with a cravat instead of the usual bow tie. She smiled at the two of them as they effortlessly talked to their friends and guests.
Her brothers and sisters were all there with their spouses, all sophisticated and beautiful, mixing effortlessly with the politicians, the local celebrities, the media. Just the thought of being down there and talking with all of those superficial people had her skin breaking out in hives; if she didn’t have her disguise on, she would have died of stage fright long ago.
“Look at all the beautiful people,” Thea said as she sidled up next to Lexi at the railing. With a glass of champagne in her hand, she pointed at the group below, “Do you think they know how their every thought, every whim, is fabricated by powers beyond their control?”
Lexi looked at her oldest sister, seeing the fine lines around her hard eyes, the desolation within their depths. “You’re not talking about the Siren’s allure are you?”
Thea bit out a bitter laugh, “If only Sirens were as powerful as the puppet masters pulling the strings of these fools; no, they’re all driven by fame, power.”
Lexi smiled slightly. “Don’t you crave fame?”
“I crave love,” Thea whispered, her voice broke, her hard eyes on the husband that gazed up at her with absolute adoration.
“Your husband loves you to distraction,” Lexi said softly.
With a cruel laugh, Thea shook her head no. Her eyes were bleak as she met Lexi’s gaze, “He doesn’t love me, Alexandra; he doesn’t even exist. How can a man exist when his will is not his own?”
“I thought we couldn’t control anyone,” Lexi whispered, feeling queasy at the thought of how much she could have hurt Duncan had she not let him go. “Only… nudge.”
“If a man is weak enough he can be controlled by any woman,” Thea sneered. “And Richard is simply Richard; a fool too stupid to realize he’s no longer a man.”
Turning her head, she looked at Lexi, “Don’t ever marry a man you can control, Alexandra; it eats away at your soul until there’s nothing left but hatred and bitterness.”
“Why did you?”
Thea shook her head and her eyes glistened with tears she’d never let fall, “When I was eighteen I fell madly in love with an slightly older man that was completely immune to the Siren’s allure and I thought he loved me in return. I let him do things to me….”
Her voice trailed off and she took a moment to gather her composure once more and Lexi’s mind flitted to her weekend with Duncan; her run in the woods…. When Thea spoke, her voice was hard, brittle, and Lexi winced. “I gave him three years of my life, knowing that he was The One. And on the night he was supposed to take me to dinner and ask me to marry him he showed up with a hangdog expression, begging me to forgive him.
“He had fallen in love with some tart he met at a conference he had attended the week before,” Thea scowled. “And now we get to stand around and cheer him on as he announces his decision to take the White House by storm. Here’s to you, Senator Scumbag.”
Thea toasted the air and then swallowed the rest of her champagne in one gulp. With a smile that was closer to a sneer, she summoned a waiter and grabbed two more glasses, handing one to Lexi, “Hold this for me.”
Lexi openly gaped at her sister; she hadn’t known her sister had had her heart broken and empathy swelled in her chest. She reached out an arm to offer something – a hug, support – but Thea batted it away, glaring at her through narrowed eyes, “Don’t you dare pity me, Alexandra.”
“I don’t,” Lexi said meekly, letting her arm drop to her side and standing in silence next to her sister, uncomfortable and bleeding for her.
Thea let out another bitter laugh, “I had hoped to snag his brother’s attention just to make the bastard jealous but even then Duncan was beyond my touch. Now that he’s back, I’m glad I missed that opportunity; Mr. Tremain is not an easy man to deal with.”
Lexi choked and then quickly drank the champagne meant for her sister. When Thea looked at her strangely, she pasted a smile on her face, “Excuse me; something must have gone down the wrong pipe.”
“Isn’t he your boss at that magazine you dabble in?” Thea asked curiously.
“He is, I mean, he was,” Lexi said quickly, feeling the heat building in her cheeks. “I quit.”
Thea snorted, nodding her head in agreement, “I’d quit, too, if I had that man breathing down my neck day in and day out.”
Lexi’s knees went a little wobbly at the thought of Duncan breathing down her neck and she grabbed onto the railing to steady herself. She had finally come to a place of peace, she didn’t need any reminders of what was hers for only a moment of time. Luckily, Thea was oblivious to her discomfort and continued on, “After Philip left I decided I would never again let another man have that kind of power over me.”
“So you went to the other extreme and married Richard.” Lexi looked out over the crowd and saw Thea’s handsome husband smiling up at his wife, devotion shining in his soft blue eyes.
“If a man is captured by the Siren's song, Alexandra, he doesn't die. No, it is far worse and far crueler. Look at Richard; I can treat him like a dog and like a dumb dog he comes crawling back, begging for more,” she sneered, drinking deeply of the champagne as she glared down at the poor man. “I could fuck the pool boy in front of him and he wouldn’t bat an eye. It disgusts me; he disgusts me. For eleven years….”
“Then let him go,” Lexi said quietly, passionately. Looking out over the crowd, her brain short-circuited for a moment as she saw Duncan walking in, looking a little less civilized than before. Her fingers curled around the railing to keep her from flying into his arms and kissing him until he remembered her. She couldn’t do that to him; she didn’t even know if it was possible. Instead, she would have to take things slowly, since he would be meeting her for the first time and have no memories of their time together. It was going to be really difficult but she’d manage, especially if it meant getting Duncan back. Clearing her throat, ignoring the temptation that was Duncan, she faced her sister, “Let him go, Thea.”
“We have eleven years together, Alexandra,” Thea laughed darkly, her face miserable. “And two children; how do I let that go?”
Lexi shook her head; she didn’t have an easy answer. Her eyes drifted back to Duncan and her heart wanted to rip itself to shreds. Would she have enslaved him for eleven years? Kept him as her pet until nothing remained and she ended up despising him as Thea despised Richard? She couldn’t fathom ever hating him but she also gave him up. She pressed her hand against her stomach, against the butterflies that wept.
Thea gasped and when Lexi turned her head and looked at her, Thea spoke in a scandalized whisper, “My God, you love him.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Lexi said dispassionately, pressing her hand harder against the butterflies that were going to fly up and out of her throat and accuse her of lying at any moment.
Thea slowly turned her head in the direction of Duncan and Lexi struggled not to look, keeping her posture loose and her expression blank. “You’re in love with Duncan Tremain.”
“I don’t know how you can say that.” Her voice hardly quavered at all. “He doesn’t even know who I am.”
Thea’s eyes widened as they flew back to Lexi, “You kissed him good-bye?”
“What choice did I have, Thea?” Lexi asked softly, no longer able to lie. “He didn’t want me, not really; and the only reason he w
as with me was because I hummed.”
Thea pressed her lips together and Lexi could see she was struggling not to laugh but her eyes danced. It perturbed Lexi to see her sister laugh at her after she had opened up and finally exposed her heart. Crossing her arms beneath her breasts, Lexi glared at Thea, “I’m glad you think it’s funny because I have bled for almost three weeks trying to get over him. And now I get to pretend that I’ve never met him before when Philip introduces us….”
Lexi slapped a hand over her mouth, realizing that Philip had been her sister’s former lover. The world she moved in was small and treacherous and she feared she had just stepped in a landmine, “I swear, Thea, I didn’t know about you and the Senator when I did that interview.”
“Shut up, Lexi,” Thea said, but the words lacked heat. “Of course you didn’t know; you were a child with your nose buried in your books; I’m surprised you even knew you had any siblings. And as far as Duncan Tremain goes, I doubt your kiss was much of a deterrent.”
Cocking her head to the side, she asked, “What makes you say that?”
But then she felt it, the heated gaze burning into her skin. Slowly, letting her arms fall to her side, she turned her head and saw the fire burning in his silver eyes. He didn’t look like a man who had forgotten anything. Quite the opposite, he looked like a man who had never forgotten a thing in his life and had relived his memories of their time together until he knew them by heart. The air of danger, intoxicating and potent, surrounding him was even more powerful than before and Lexi’s attraction to him exploded exponentially.
His black hair was again perfectly cut; if ever-so-slightly uncivilized, and the tux emphasized his broad shoulders and long legs. She had thought he looked good in a suit, but, holy hell! he was overwhelming in a tux. The warrior cleaned up really, really well.
Out of the corner of her mouth, she whispered, “He said he didn’t love me and I kissed him good-bye; he doesn’t remember our time together, only the… lust he feels when he sees me.”
