And the transformation seemed to make her hungrier. Not ravenous like she’d been before, when she’d killed a man, but it was gnawing inside her, spreading out from her stomach with insistent electricity.
“Should I do more?” Gemma asked, and her voice had taken on that slightly demonic tone she heard when Lexi and Penn spoke in this form.
“Can you do more?” Daniel asked.
Her legs hadn’t shifted at all, and her wings hadn’t broken out yet, so she knew she could go further. But she wasn’t sure that she should. “I don’t know.”
“How does it feel? Are you still in control?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah. I mean, I’m not eating you, but I do feel hungrier.” She breathed in deeply, trying to calm the hunger growing inside her, but it only made things worse. “And you smell…”
“I smell?” Daniel asked, confused.
“Yeah, like…” Gemma didn’t know how to explain it. Nothing on earth had ever smelled the way he did just then. “Delicious.”
“Seriously?” His eyes widened. “You want to eat me right now?”
“Kinda, yeah. I can hear your heart beat, and it’s like…” Gemma closed her eyes and sang along with the melody of his heart. “Da da dum, da da dum.”
“Holy shit,” Daniel said in complete awe. “Your voice was really beautiful just then.”
“Really?” Gemma asked, and looked at him.
He didn’t have that glassy stare in his eyes the way humans did when they were under the siren spell, but there was something not quite right about his gaze, like he was captivated by her.
“Yeah.” He shook his head, trying to clear it. “I’m not under your spell, at least not the way I think normal guys would be, but yeah, you had me kinda entranced just then.”
“You have no idea how hungry I am. I think I need to eat soon.” She tried to lick her lips but could only run her tongue along her teeth. Her stomach growled, an audible, angry sound, and her body trembled with hunger. “Well … maybe I could eat now. You could get someone, right? Some horrible person?”
“Some horrible person? Where would I find some horrible person?” Daniel asked, and he’d taken a step back from her.
Her back and ribs began cracking as her torso stretched out, and she felt herself losing her sense of reason. Her thoughts were getting blocked out, and she could barely remember the name of the guy standing in front of her. She didn’t know where she was, and she didn’t care. The only thing that mattered was the burning hunger inside her.
“I don’t know. But you should totally find them right now.”
“Gemma … you’re changing more.” He stepped back again and stared up at her, now that she was towering over him. “I think you need to get yourself under control really fast.”
“I will,” she hissed. “I just need to eat.”
“Your voice just now, it was not pretty at all. You’re losing yourself, Gemma,” Daniel said forcefully. “Let’s bring it back.”
There was a blackness coming over her thoughts, and she knew she was losing control. She knew that the monster was taking over, and soon she’d be run by some kind of primal instinct that she didn’t trust or understand.
“Gemma,” Daniel said, keeping his voice calm but firm. “Gemma, you need to get under control.”
“Daniel,” she said, mostly because she just wanted to say his name. She wanted to make him a real person who she knew and cared about and not a meal she’d have for supper.
The sound of the door opening at the front of the theater echoed, and she cocked her head, listening for the sound of a new heartbeat. Maybe this would be someone she could eat.
“Shit. Gemma. Somebody’s coming.” He held his hands up to her and tried to push her back behind the curtain but without really touching her. “Get back.”
“Daniel…” She moaned but moved back, hiding behind the velvet curtain.
“Hello, Daniel,” the director, Tom, said in his lilting British accent. “I thought you’d be gone by now.”
The thought of devouring Tom or Daniel, or maybe both, was consuming her. The way their blood would taste warm and sweet down her throat. It took all her strength to keep herself hidden behind the curtain.
Tom sounded especially delectable. Her emotional attachment to Daniel helped keep some of her hunger at bay, but she didn’t feel anywhere near as strong about Tom. He might not even be a nice guy. She’d seen him yell at Kirby before.
When she’d killed Jason, it had been in a blackout, and she thought she’d forgotten everything about it. But now, a lingering memory surfaced—the way his heart had tasted, and how warm and sweet his blood felt going down her throat.
And then she didn’t even need to justify killing Tom. Reason was leaving her entirely, and all she wanted to do was eat.
“No, yeah, the set’s just about down,” Daniel said in a nervous rush. “What are you doing here? Do you need help? What’s going on?”
“I just left something in the office,” Tom said. “I’ll be gone in a jiffy.”
Instead of rushing out to rip him open, Gemma clung to the last scrap of reason still remaining and put her long arms over her head. She crouched, trying to make herself as small as possible, and wished she could disappear into the floor. The hunger and monster were still fighting to dominate her.
She heard his footsteps retreating, then she realized she couldn’t hear anything anymore. Not his heartbeat or even Daniel’s. The flutter of her skin had stopped, and for a horrible moment, she thought she’d given in to the monster and blacked out like she did the last time. She fully expected to open her eyes and find herself covered in blood.
But then she realized the hunger was still there. Not as strong as it had been a moment ago, but much stronger than it had been before she’d started shifting into the monster.
“Gemma?” Daniel asked. “Are you okay?”
She lifted her head to see him standing over her. She glanced down, and her hands were back to normal. When she ran her tongue along her teeth, they felt flat and ordinary.
Her tank top had ripped when her torso had stretched out, so her purple bra was showing, and Gemma quickly crossed her arms over her chest and stood up.
“Yeah, I’m back to normal,” she said, hoping her voice sounded even and not as tremulous as it felt. “I ripped my shirt.”
“Here.” Daniel took off his flannel shirt, revealing a T-shirt, and Gemma pulled it on, covering herself up.
“So that wasn’t such a good idea,” Gemma said.
“No, you did good,” he said, but he didn’t sound that convincing. “I mean, the first time you transformed, you completely lost control. This time, you almost did, but you stayed true to yourself. Nobody got hurt. You just need to practice more.”
“Maybe I should stick with safer things, like learning to control my wings for now,” Gemma said.
“Maybe,” he agreed with some reluctance. “But I think if you want to beat this curse, and you want to keep the people you care about safe, you’ll have to harness who you are. You’ll have to learn to fight.”
“I know.” She sighed. “And thanks for being so cool about everything.”
“Did I seem cool? Good. Because you’re a really hideous monster, like so gross.”
She smirked. “Thanks, Daniel.”
“Anytime.”
Daniel went back to work taking down the set, and she continued to help him, but she didn’t let on how unnerved she really was. The hunger was even stronger now than it had been before, and Gemma realized dismally that her body would insist on eating even sooner.
With September rapidly approaching, Gemma had only a couple more weeks until her cravings were completely out of control. And that was assuming, of course, that Penn didn’t kill her first.
SIXTEEN
Slumber
Daniel hadn’t commented on her overstuffed book bag, not when she got on the boat or when she carried it into his house on the island. But then again, he proba
bly thought it was homework.
That was the kind of hot date Harper was, and yet Daniel tolerated it with such ease and patience that she was often overwhelmed by how grateful she was to have a guy like him in her life.
“So…” She slipped her heavy book bag off her shoulders and dropped it on the kitchen table with a thud. “Mind if I spend the night tonight?”
“I…” Daniel glanced down at the bag, then at her, and seemed to be at a loss for words. “I thought you were going back to Sundham tonight.”
“That’s what I told Gemma and my dad because I didn’t want to explain anything to them,” Harper said. “But I don’t have class until ten tomorrow morning, and I haven’t been able to spend much time with you lately. So I thought maybe I could spend the night, unless—”
“No. I mean, no unless. Yeah, you can spend the night here. You can always spend the night here. You’re always welcome. Mi casa, su casa.” He laughed.
“It would just be sleeping,” Harper said. “You know … Not any … you know. I haven’t changed my position on anything. I still want to wait until…”
“Yeah, no, that’s cool, I get it,” he said. “Anything you want.”
She covered her face in her hands and groaned. “Ugh. I’m being totally weird and awkward, and I don’t know why. You know that I care about you, and I don’t want to send you mixed signals, but I’m not ready, and I should probably just go.”
“No, Harper.” Daniel walked over to her and took her hands in his, gently pulling them away from her face. “I care about you, and I hope there will come a time when we have sex. And I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t thought about it, about how much the both of us would enjoy it.” He raised her hand to his lips, brushing a gentle kiss across her knuckles.
“But I don’t want to do anything you don’t want to do,” he went on. “I know that you’re not ready, and that’s fine. I’m in no rush. So if you want to spend the night tonight, we can spend all night with our clothes on, spooning, and I’ll be more than happy with it. Okay?”
“Are you sure you’re okay with it?” Harper asked. “I mean, it wouldn’t change anything if you weren’t. I want to know if you’re not okay.”
“I am one hundred percent sure I’m okay with it.” Daniel smiled. “I waited months before I even got a kiss from you, and you know what I learned from that? You’re definitely worth the wait.”
Harper leaned against his chest and stared up into his eyes, and he wrapped his arms around her. She didn’t know whether it was the feel of his strong arms around her or the thought of sharing the most intimate part of herself with Daniel when she was ready, but heat swept through her.
“You can’t keep saying perfect things like that to me,” she told him.
“Why not?” Daniel asked.
“Because I can’t come up with anything perfect to say back to you.”
“Okay. How about this? How about I say, I love you, then you say, I love you?” Daniel asked with a playful smile. “That sounds pretty perfect to me.”
“I love you,” Harper said.
“I love you, too.” He leaned down and kissed her gently on the mouth. “But I was supposed to say it first.”
“I beat you.” Harper laughed and pulled away from him. She didn’t want to let him go, but the emotions swirling through her left her feeling overloaded, and she needed a moment to collect herself.
“So do you have any homework to do tonight?” Daniel asked, following her as she walked over to the couch. “Or do I have you all to myself?”
“I could do some studying,” Harper said as she leaned back on the couch. Daniel sat down next to her, and she laid her legs across his lap. “But I think I’ll skip it for tonight.”
“You sure? I don’t want to be the reason for bad grades.”
“No, I need to take a break every once in a while, or my brain will overload.”
“And nobody wants that.” He grinned. “Did you go swimming with Gemma today?”
“I did.” Harper nodded. “She took me out in the ocean, past the island. It freaks me out a little when she does that. She’s so crazy fast.”
When Gemma turned into a mermaid, she sliced through the water like nothing else. She’d been a fast swimmer as a human, but now she was like lightning. The waves couldn’t keep up with her.
Harper would cling to Gemma, her arms wrapped tightly around her as her sister pulled her through the ocean. She stayed at the surface, so Harper could breathe, and she’d feel the sun beating down on her skin as the waves splashed over her. Even Harper had to admit, there was something truly exhilarating about it.
“Did you have fun?” Daniel asked.
“I did.” Her wistful smile faded to something darker when she thought about the sirens. “What do you think of Thea?”
“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “Why? What do you think of her?”
“I don’t trust any of the sirens, but Thea seems the most trustworthy.” Harper chewed her lip. “I just don’t understand why she gave Gemma the scroll.”
“She could be suicidal,” Daniel said, and she considered it.
“Penn’s pretty easy to set off. If Thea wanted to die, she could’ve just pissed Penn off, then”—Harper snapped her fingers—“no more Thea. I mean, Penn took Lexi out without a second thought.”
“Yeah, but maybe Thea wants to get rid of Penn, too.”
“Like a murder/suicide?” Harper raised an eyebrow.
“Kinda. Except Thea clearly doesn’t want to stand up to Penn or kill her.”
“Why not? Penn is an evil monster.”
“Yeah, but she’s still Thea’s sister,” Daniel said. “How bad would Gemma have to be before you plotted to kill her?”
“Gemma would never be like them,” she replied quickly, and shook her head.
“I know, but I’m not asking you about what Gemma’s capable of,” he clarified. “I’m talking about what you’re capable of. Could you ever kill your own sister?”
“I don’t know.” Harper swallowed hard and stared off into space. She wanted to say no, but deep down, she hoped that she’d be able to do the right thing no matter what. If Gemma ever went off the deep end, she hoped she’d be strong enough to stand up to her sister and protect innocent lives. “But I never want to find out.”
“That’s probably enough dark talk for one night, anyway,” Daniel said. “I think it’s time we institute a new rule.”
She looked over at him and tried to shake off her despondency. “So what should we do now?”
“We could watch some TV,” Daniel suggested. “I have a couple episodes of Quantum Leap on VHS.”
“Daniel.” Harper tried to scold him, but she couldn’t help but smile. “I thought you were gonna stop getting paid in videotapes now that you have rent to pay.”
“Hey, Quantum Leap is a viable form of payment,” he insisted. “And I already paid the rent for September. I made out pretty well working on the play.”
Harper laughed, and Daniel put in the tape. She curled up on the couch next to him, and they spent the rest of the night watching old television shows in grainy, warped VHS. It didn’t sound fun or relaxing, but Harper enjoyed herself immensely.
Everything was going well until she started falling asleep on the couch, and Daniel suggested that they go to bed. Harper changed into her pajamas, which consisted of shorts and a tank top. While she admired herself in the bathroom mirror, she couldn’t decide if she should’ve gone with something sexier or more matronly.
But there wasn’t anything she could do about it now, so she brushed her teeth, took a deep breath, and walked into his room.
Daniel had turned on the lamp on his nightstand, and he stood next to his bed wearing only a pair of boxers. Harper had seen him shirtless before, many times actually, and she’d always enjoyed it.
He wasn’t overly muscular, but there were smooth ripples of abs and indents on his hips from the muscles that started in his pelvis. Not to mention the th
in trail of hair that ran from his navel down underneath his boxer shorts that Harper found oddly provocative.
But as sexy as Harper found Daniel shirtless, that’s not what left her standing nervously in his bedroom doorway. It was the amount of flesh she saw and the very nearness of him. When they were in bed together, she’d be able to feel nothing but him, and the intimacy of it was overwhelming.
“Are you okay?” Daniel asked.
“Yeah.” She forced a smile and nodded but didn’t step into his room. “Is that how you sleep?”
“Usually.” He glanced down at his boxers. “Do you want me to put my shirt back on?”
“No,” she said quickly. “Not if that’s how you sleep.”
“It is,” Daniel said, then motioned to her. “Is that how you sleep?”
She looked down at her tank top, which suddenly seemed too thin, and her shorts, which had sleeping penguins on them, felt much too juvenile for the moment. She wished she had brought more adult pajamas. Not necessarily sexier, but something a woman would wear, like satin or silk or lace … but that all sounded too sexy.
But maybe that wouldn’t be so bad. She looked back up at the shirtless foxiness that was Daniel and thought that if things got a little hot, maybe it wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He was gorgeous, and he loved her. There were far worse ways that she could spend an evening.
“Yeah,” Harper said finally, and pulled at her shorts. “These are my pajamas.”
“They’re nice.”
“Thanks.”
“So…” He looked at where Harper stood frozen in his doorway, then back at his bed. “Do you want me to take the couch, and you have the bed?”
“No. Part of the reason I wanted to spend the night was so I can spend time with you.” She walked into his room and over to his bed.
“Okay. So let’s spend time together.” He smiled.
Harper climbed into bed and got under the covers. Her natural instinct was to stay at the edge of the bed, but she decided she was being ridiculous. Once Daniel got in bed, she slid over to the middle to be closer to him.
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