Keeping His Siren Part 2

by Kiersten Fay

Cole leaned one shoulder against the bars. “Weird. But…not bad. Different. And also not.”

  “What’s it like?”

  He took a moment to think. “Intense. I can hear better. Like crazy good. I can hear you breathing. The sound of clothes swishing when someone walks…your heart beating.”

  As if to torture him, her heart did a nervous dance. “Sorry.”

  “For what? Being alive? It’s not like you can help it.”

  There’s my good-humored Cole, still in there. “Not just for that.”

  “I’m just grateful I was the one targeted and not you. And don’t give me that look. It was not your fault. By the way, I can smell you too. That perfume is awful.”

  She bristled. “It cost me a pretty penny. And you’re one to talk. Don’t they let you shower in there, or should I consider that your permanent stench?”

  “Hey, I smell manly.” He dipped his head to check his pits. Then they both laughed.

  When their humor eased, she sniffed herself wrists where she had applied her perfume and asked seriously, “Is my perfume really bad?”

  Cole shook his head. “It’s just a bit strong for my new nose.” Then he pried. “You trying to impress someone or something?”

  “Three guesses who,” she grumbled. “And you’ll only need one.”

  He whistled. “You really know how to pick ‘em.”

  “Don’t I though? Speaking of, you told him about me.”

  “Yeah. The thing about having a vampire daddy, you can’t say no to him unless he lets you.”

  “So does he know about…” she glanced back at Ryder. “I don’t suppose we could get some privacy?”

  He shot her an are-you-fucking-kidding-me look.

  “Didn’t think so.” Still, no reason to reveal her deepest sin to everyone if she could help it.

  She faced Cole. “Does he know about James?”

  Cole nodded solemnly. “He knows everything.”

  She tried not to let panic overwhelm her, but her heart began to hammer behind her ribcage. Was that why he was rejecting her now? Because of her crime?

  Cole’s fangs appeared, and he took on a wild look. “Naia,” he warned, and she realized it was because her pulse was teasing him.

  “Sorry, sorry!”

  “Who’s James?” Ryder asked.

  “Don’t be a nosey-nelly,” she scolded.

  He gave her a pitying look. “He your baby daddy?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Knock it off.”

  “Secret lover?”

  “Ugh. Enough.”

  “You kill the guy?”

  She choked on her rebuttal and her spine shot ramrod straight.

  “No shit?”

  “I…I…of course not!” Oh, real convincing.

  “So what’d he do?” Ryder asked, no sign of judgment in his tone.

  Cole answered. “He tried to kidnap her in the middle of the night, so I pulled him off her and knocked him out. Next thing I know, Naia’s bashing his brains in with the ass end of a solid brass lamp.” He sounded proud.

  “It was the adrenaline,” Naia defended pathetically.

  Ryder appraised her with new interest. “Nice. I knew there was a reason I liked you.”

  Exasperated, Naia shook her head. “Jeez, you two are way too much alike.”

  “Buds for life.” Ryder tapped his fist against his chest and then held it out at Cole. Cole mimicked the move like they’d done it before.

  She teased, “Oh my god, you guys are soooo lame.” And she suddenly liked Ryder a whole lot more.

  Ryder put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side. “And now you’re stuck with us.”

  A warm feeling wrapped her heart, and she couldn’t stop a pleased grin. “Just for that, I’m going to kick your ass at pool later.”

  “You’re on.”

  She stayed and chatted with Cole for another minute before returning to the elevator with Ryder.

  When they were alone, she told him, “I never thanked you for taking care of me that night.”

  He smiled down at her. “Guess you just did. Ready to sing?”

  She nodded, battling a sudden wave of nerves as they made their way to the Whitlock Stage within one of the medium-sized rooms.

  Ryder stood off to the side as she claimed the mic. The crowd was rather small compared to the night of the concert. People sipped drinks and idly conversed, disinterested in her, for the most part. She didn’t care. There was only one purpose for tonight’s performance.

  She glanced around.

  Ah, there it was, the camera on the back wall, trained on her. She hid a smirk. The music began. The beat was sultry, just as she’d requested. The lights dimmed, and a spotlight hit her. Her gaze remained on the camera as her body began to move to the music. Mic raised, her voice sashayed forth, smoky and sexy, instantly demanding the room’s attention. None of them mattered. She wasn’t even sending out her snare yet. This show was meant for one.

  The beat rolled over her hips, and she began to move. It was like waking from a deep sleep, stretching and praising the sun. Her voice shimmied and danced in the air, slow and sensual to start, hinting at something larger than life. She hovered there in that tense space of anticipation and excitement.

  The crowd was with her, having stopped their conversations to watch her. But she didn’t care about them. Was Cortez watching her now? Did he like what he saw? The thought was more arousing than anything she had experienced on stage, and she let it shine through her eyes, straight into that camera. With a clang of the drums and a snap of her body, she let her voice fly. The core of her desire for him poured out in a flame of bright need. Her hips succumbed to a smooth undulation that crested through the rest of her body.

  The energy in the room shifted with her. It moved and swayed under her command. The audience begged for direction, and she was their conductor. Her voice shifted slightly, turning breathy, wanton. She pictured Cortez staring at his screen and wondered if he was even half as turned on as she was. The thought of his hands on her, loving her the way only he can, tightened every part of her body, kindling a heat that had her thrumming from the inside out.

  Just as the song climaxed, she practically did too, only it was hollow and empty because Cortez wasn’t there, and perhaps she was singing to a camera that wasn’t even filming.

  Her voice died down then, and she brought the song to a close, coming back into her body.

  The sound of someone in the crowd climaxing startled her. The crowd was going at it like a group of wild, horny monkeys, kissing, touching, and fondling their closest neighbor.

  “Oops,” she said, breathless.

  A slack-jawed Ryder gaped at her hungry disbelief. “Girl, if you didn’t belong to my sire, I might be tempted—”

  A murderous tone barked from the entryway. “Ryder!”

  He came.

  Naia hummed with anticipation.

  Ryder went stiff. “Boss, hey, I didn’t see you there.”

  He looked wild, and hungry, and super pissed. Vaguely she realized this was a—if not the—pivotal moment in their relationship. After this, they’d either give their relationship an honest shot, or let the spark die forever.

  She hurried off the stage to cross toward him. His furious gaze followed her. She wasn’t daunted. He might be angry, but it was only because he was so turned on. She was sure of it.

  “Is there something you need, Cortez?” she said sweetly.

  His nostrils flared. With a snarl, he gripped her by the elbow and dragged her from the room. He was all coiled muscle and determination as he led her into an empty room. The door slammed behind them. It didn’t bode well that he’d taken her to the very meeting room where their relationship had been shattered by a video and a few pictures.

  She hated this meeting room.

  With his body, he crushed her against the door and then took her mouth in a rough kiss that set fire to her spine and lit her nerves. Burying her fingers in his hair,
she deepened the kiss.

  Their tongues did battle around harsh gasps, the pressure cutting off her lungs. It was as if he were trying to punish her with his brutal, carnal, bruising kiss. Bring it on. She answered his challenge by sucking his lower lip between her teeth and lightly nipping him. A rough sound rumbled out of him, and his body trapped her harder against the wall.

  He yanked aside the shoulder strap of her dress and attacked the tender flesh there with urgent, wet kisses. Liquid heat flooded her body. “Cortez, oh God.”

  “That was a dangerous stunt,” he muttered between searing kisses.

  “So worth it,” she panted, unbuttoning his coat and pushing it over his shoulders. The fabric flopped to the ground.

  “You plan to torture me at every turn.” Her other shoulder strap vanished so he could lavish attention on that side.

  She went for his belt. “I plan to make you mine again.”

  He fisted the hem of her skirt with both hands and yanked the fabric up over her hips. “What if I was never yours?”

  There went her thong, now useless scraps. “Yes you were. And I was yours. That hasn’t changed.”

  His zipper sounded, and his pants dropped. Less than a second later, they came together in an explosion of heat and fire and madness, his hips thrusting while hers rolled. Then there was no more talking, just bliss and gasps and cries.

  As if he felt he should remind her, he grunted, “I don’t date people who work for me.” Even as his rhythm turned frantic.

  “You do now, so get used to it.” She kissed him, hard, brutal, hands locked in his hair, heels spurring his hips. Then she pulled back with a final lick of his lips and met his gaze, saying with her eyes everything she couldn’t with words.

  His body bucked hard. “We are not dating.”

  “Then maybe you should stop fucking my brains out.”

  His thrusts took on a brutal, mind blowing, tempo. She threw her head back on a moan, melting into the carnal pleasure and sensation and friction. Never wanting it to stop. Her nails dug into his back as his cock slammed home again and again, drawing screams from her with every blissful thrust.

  “I love you,” she blurted.

  His hips pounded harder, his body straining. “Fuck me,” he grated, looking pained. Then he buried his face in the crook of her neck. Fangs pierced flesh. She blasted off, screaming into the ceiling. White-hot ecstasy splintered her every nerve. Almost too much to handle, yet could never be enough.

  On the verge of his release, his muscles stiffened, and he roared along with her. Together they rode the pleasure till their bodies turned boneless and their brains succumbed to a dizzy stupor. His forehead came to rest against hers, both of them panting, shattering. Or maybe it was just her who felt as though she had to pick up all her pieces.

  When she met his gaze, she was stunned by his naked vulnerability. “You have to think about what you’re asking of me.”

  He sounded so defeated. It was confusing.

  “You’re asking for everything,” he said.

  Did he still think she was like the others? “I’m just asking for you. I don’t care about the rest.”

  He backed away, going for his clothes. Cool air attacked the places he’d been touching her. “You don’t understand. This isn’t a decision that can be made lightly.” He stabbed one leg into his pants, then the other. As he buttoned up, she shimmied her skirt back into place.

  Adrenaline was seeping away, making her feel sluggish. “Why can’t we just be like we were? What’s the big deal? We were having fun. I know I screwed up, taking that job and all, but I didn’t know you then. I didn’t realize what you’d become to me. And, to be fair, I was kind of stuck between a rock and the Boyle twins.”

  “It’s not that.” He retrieved his sports coat next, draping it over his arm.

  “Then what is it?”

  His gaze flooded with an intensity that suddenly gave her chills. “I don’t want to just date you. I want to make you mine.”

  She canted her head, not understanding.

  He spoke as if putting a nail in a coffin. “If I made you mine, the arrangement would be permanent.”

  Chapter 42

  Blood bond.

  That’s what Cortez had called it.

  The sedan’s engine rumbled softly down the road with Donovan silent behind the wheel. From the back seat she rolled the word around in her head, glancing aimlessly out the window.

  After sitting her down, Cortez had explained a blood bond was basically the equivalent of a vampire marriage, only, unlike human matrimony, divorce was not an option, which was why he’d asserted once again the need to take a step back. Ruminate. Come to their senses. He’d once more hinted about separation, time to think, as if they had both caught an illness, and distance was the cure. As if a couple of days would reverse the fact that she’d fallen head over heels in love with him.

  Already she feared no other man would do. Still, to commit to forever? After knowing him so short a time? He was right. It was crazy. Maybe love was an affliction that could be remedied with time.

  They were halfway to a bond already. Cortez had taken her blood, finally. And by god what those wicked sexy fangs had done to her. Addiction thy name is Cortez.

  To complete the bond, all she’d have to do was drink his blood too. Then, bam, dunzo. She wasn’t normally squeamish, but yikes.

  You have to think about what you’re asking of me, he’d said.

  Cortez had been right to be cautious. Forever was a lot to ask. Talk about commitment. No wonder he’d wanted to distance himself. When a vampire was contemplating marriage, things had to be serious. Especially after she’d heard the second part of his explanation: if they went through with it, he’d only be able to derive sustenance from her blood from then on. Pressure much?

  Since she was human, she’d have no such restriction. She’d still need to eat human food and sing, per usual. However, by drinking from him every so often, her life would be extended, not forever, but she’d age much more slowly. Then there was the more permanent option: change her.

  What would that do to her siren? Could she abide drinking blood for the rest of her unnatural life?

  It was all too much to take in, and she didn’t know how she felt about any of it. Which was why she was currently on her way back to her place. She needed time to think.

  Donovan stopped the car in front of her apartment.

  Mumbling her goodbyes, she shouldered the door open and stepped into the night. It was cool out this evening. A storm was rolling in. Clouds overhead rumbled with the threat of thunder.

  She fumbled for her keys, stabbed the metal into the dime-store lock with chipped faux gold plating, and then spent the next few seconds jimmying the thing into the exact right position before it twisted with a resounding click, and her door swung open.

  She waved at Donovan who had gallantly waited for her to get inside before driving off. Then she meandered into the living room and sank onto the couch. Her options were this: Bond with Cortez and risk everything, or remain cordial friends and nothing more.

  “Why are those the only two options?” she had asked him. “Why can’t we just keep dating and see where things go?”

  “Because I want you more than reason allows,” he’d said, sounding ardent yet overtaxed. She’d told him she loved him and it had thrown him for a loop. “Trust me when I say a vampire my age understands eternity. Never in a million years did I believe I’d offer myself up for a blood bond. Then you go and walk out of my dreams and I’m fucked.” He’d stabbed his hands through his hair and began pacing. “You have me on my knees here. Even when I thought you’d betrayed me and my clan, I wanted you. You’re either dangerous to me or you’re...everything.”

  She’d gone speechless.

  “I can’t fall any farther—” He’d cut himself off, verbally stumbling for a moment. He paced, scraped a hand down his face, then gave her his back as though it were easier to communicate that way. “I ca
n’t maintain intimacy with you. Not if I’m going to lose you in the end. You might change your mind about us. Maybe not in a year, but in five? fifty? A thousand?”

  Her mind hit a wall, unable to compute. A thousand years or more with Cortez? She couldn’t even contemplate forever.

  “You’re dangerous to me because I already want to cut my heart out at the thought of losing you.”

  Emotion thickened in her throat. “Who’s to say you wouldn’t tire of me?”

  He shook his head. “With consequences so great, my kind does not give in to matters such as this without one-hundred percent certainty.” He paused. “When a vampire falls, he falls all the way or not at all.” He met her gaze. “I’ve fallen hard.”

  Her heart had done a drum solo behind her rib cage because she’d wanted to tell him how much she loved him and wanted him, but she was also scared. What if she was only experiencing infatuation? What if he was too? Could they make such a permanent decision after so little time together? What if her heart was lying to her?

  Noting her apprehension, his shoulders had sagged. “Like I said. You need to think on this. You need to be sure. If there’s even a smidgen of doubt, you should ask yourself: could that doubt turn to regret over time? Regret to resentment? Resentment to hate? I’ve seen it happen.”

  On her couch, she dropped her head in her hands.

  She couldn’t imagine ever resenting him, let alone hating him. It was like an alien concept that didn’t mesh with her DNA. He’d saved her brother, and for that, she owed him everything, yet she hadn’t been able to answer. Her mind had been scrambled. He’d laid a lot out there. More than she had expected. Basically said he wanted her for eternity...yet he’d also been reluctant to confess these things, like she was forcing it out of him. A sign of his own doubt?

  Had he tried to let her go because he feared he didn’t love her enough?

  The thought was a stabbing pain in her chest.

  I’ve fallen hard, he’d said

  Well, so have I, she thought.

  She wanted to be with him now. Hated that she wasn’t. She wanted to be there for Cole, too. In case he needed someone to talk to about the overwhelming urges she was all too familiar with. Although, now he had plenty of other clan members to draw support from, didn’t he? They were bound to protect him. He didn’t really need her any more.