Legends of the Damned: A Collection of Edgy Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance Novels

by Lindsey R. Loucks

  A crease appeared between his eyebrows. “What is it?” he whispered.

  “A siren.” I figured if he knew what they did, he might back off.

  The crease deepened, and his forehead wrinkled with confusion. Then his skin smoothed out, and humor filled his eyes. “A mermaid?”

  I nodded and he actually laughed. He had obviously watched The Little Mermaid with his kids way too many times.

  “You’re kidding, right?” he said through his laughter.

  I narrowed my eyes and pressed my lips together as the temptation to show him just how toxic a siren’s song actually was to humans. But if I did that, I’m sure the plane would fall out of the sky and kill everyone on board, and I’d be the devil’s plaything again.

  “Sirens are deadly to humans. They poison mankind’s minds, turning them into monsters. What happened on that boat was nothing more than a murderous rampage caused by the siren song.” I chose my words carefully, hoping he would equate it to men, not all humans. I needed him to think I was safe on some level, and this ruse was the only way to do it.

  His laughter faded as he studied me. “Will it affect you?”

  I shook my head, opting for the silent response so he could draw his own conclusion.

  “But it will affect me if I hear it?”

  “Bingo.” I pointed my finger at him. “Thus my insistence that you not come on the boat with me. It would be a shame if I had to kill you.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  I glanced out the window, trying to formulate an answer that would hold water. “Because I have run across these things before. And I’m afraid the one causing this havoc was one I let go a long time ago. So, this is on me.”

  “You can’t blame yourself,” he said.

  It was my turn to laugh. “Why don’t you get some sleep. It’s a long damn flight.” I put the seat back and closed my eyes, avoiding any further conversation for the moment.

  He squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. Under all my angst, I was glad to have someone with me. Someone who could help pick up the pieces when all this was done.

  Chapter Four

  I dozed, but every time I wandered into dreamland, I shot upright in the seat with my heart pounding without recollection of the dream that caused such visceral fear. Luckily, my restless sleep didn’t interrupt Alex. He remained softly snoring in the seat next to me.

  I stretched, giving up on the idea of sleep for the time being. My shifting stirred him, and he opened his dark eyes, sliding his gaze in my direction with a sheepish smile.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  His voice turned deep and scratchy with sleep. It was the sexiest thing I had heard in a long time. I took a breath before glancing out the window. The vast blue of the ocean met my gaze.

  “Over the Atlantic.”

  He glanced at his watch and then bit his lip with a raised eyebrow. “How much longer?”

  I did the calculation in my head. “Around another fifteen hours.”

  “I didn’t think this through,” he mumbled and got up out of the seat, heading toward the restrooms in the back.

  I watched him go and sighed. At least the transatlantic flights had bigger seats than domestic flights, so the comfort level was better. I climbed to my feet and followed his path. He stepped out of the restroom just as I stepped into the hall to wait. He held the door, and a small smile pulled at the edges of his lips. I paused and met his gaze, tilting my head at the sparkle in his eyes.

  He leaned close. “I can think of one way to kill some time.”

  I understood that pseudo-smirk of his and gave him an eye roll before slipping in the bathroom and closing the door on his insinuation. I did my business, washed my hands and face, then rinsed the sleep taste from my mouth. When I glanced at my image in the mirror, his idea surfaced, and my cheeks reddened with heat.

  I shook it off and headed back to my seat. Alex slid out and let me into the window seat. He pulled out his tablet and propped it on the tray. I glanced at the display and then at him. He was doing searches on sirens on Wikipedia, a site shrouded with a mixture of mythology and truth.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Research,” he said. “Not the best way to spend my time, but I need to do something so I don’t have an anxiety attack.”

  “Why are you anxious?”

  He laughed and waved at the fuselage around us. “I’m forty-thousand feet in the air encased in a tin can. I don’t fly for this very reason.” He reached into his bag, pulled out a bottle of water, and gulped down half of it.

  I didn’t realize just how afraid of flying he was. I reached out and squeezed his hand before rifling around in my pocketbook for a deck of cards. “How about a little poker instead?”

  He glanced at the cards in my hand and back at the screen outlining the morbid dangers of my kind. He folded the cover over the text, stowing it in the pouch on the back of the seat in front of him.

  “What are we playing?”

  “Texas Hold‘em,” I said, drawing a smile in response.

  “What are the stakes?”

  I considered his question and shrugged.

  “We have to be playing for something.” The cock of his eyebrow turned my insides into warm honey.

  “Okay, then you name the stakes.”

  He licked his lips and grinned. “We can’t exactly play strip poker on a plane,” he said with a light laugh. “So, how about... sexual favors?”

  His hushed whisper sent a rash of gooseflesh across my exposed skin and a quiver of excitement down my spine. I had to draw a breath to not visibly shiver at the thought.

  “What did you have in mind?” It was my turn to be coy.

  His slow grin sent a rush of heat right to my center. “Are we upping the ante with each card turn, or did you want to set what the winning hands represent up front?”

  I glanced at the card deck as my heart pumped liquid heat through my veins. The safer way was to set the limits up front, but then that wouldn’t be as exciting as upping the ante for each hand. I took a deep breath and met his gaze.

  “We can bet with each card turned. The ante starts with a kiss on the cheek, and we go from there. However, the, um, mile high club is only available if you have a royal straight flush. In other words, if you call it, you have to show your hand. No bluffing.” I figured the odds of that were slim, but if I didn’t put the rule on the table, it was one I was sure he’d bluff about just to get me bent over in the bathroom.

  His cheeks turned rosy pink and he smirked. “Sounds fair. Wagers to be paid up after each hand?” he asked with a hopeful lilt.

  “Depends,” I said and glanced around the plane.

  Alex scanned the sleeping passengers and shrugged. I guess the thought of someone waking up to find us engaged in sexual favors didn’t deter him, as a matter-of-fact, his smile widened. I shuffled the cards and dealt the first two to each of us, then put the deck aside. I glanced at my first card and stifled a smile, forcing my face to betray nothing. The ace mocked me, and I chose to bet on it alone without viewing the second card. I waited for him to weigh in.

  “I’ll start with a kiss on the lips,” he said.

  “Check,” I said and cut the deck before I flipped the first three community cards.

  The flop contained an ace, a jack, and a three, none of which were in the same suit. Now, I had to think of what exactly I wanted from him. My odds of winning with a pair of aces looked really good.

  He bit his lip and looked from his cards to the ones on the tray. “I’ll raise to a French kiss.”

  I wanted to see the turn card before I started upping the stakes. “Check.” I grinned and let him cut the deck this time. I flipped the turn. Another jack. That made things interesting. I met his gaze, waiting.

  His lips twitched. “Hand job through the jeans.”

  “Check,” I said.

  I turned the river. A three, which didn’t help me at all.

  “Oral in the re
stroom,” he whispered with a grin.

  “I’ll see your bet and raise it to oral right here in the seat.” My heart sped up just thinking about how taboo that was, but the thought of him kneeling on the floor lapping me underneath one of the airline blankets made me ache between my thighs.

  He blinked at me and then glanced around the cabin at the sleeping passengers before taking a look at his cards. “Check,” he said, his voice cracking. He turned his cards over. He had a full house with jacks and threes. His grin widened as my heart dropped.

  I turned my hand over, showing the ace, and then moved it to reveal the other card. A five of diamonds.

  He swiped up the cards and lifted the table, shifting in the seat with the biggest grin I had ever seen.

  I pressed my lips together against my own smile. Hell, it wasn’t as if I had never dreamed of seducing Alex this way. I just never thought I’d actually be doing it on a plane full of passengers. I threw the blanket over his lap and glanced around to make sure the stewardesses weren’t starting their rounds. The passengers in the aisle across from us were sound asleep. I unbuckled my seatbelt and dropped to my knees on the floor. He lifted the seat divider and put one of his legs up on the seat and leaned back, pulling the covers up to his chest as I crawled under the blanket.

  His pants were quickly unbuttoned and the zipper undone, leaving me a view of dark, tented boxers. I pulled his already hard member free from his pants and cursed the fact I didn’t look at my second card. But I couldn’t begrudge him that much. I probably would have made the same bet on an ace high pair.

  I drew his tip into my mouth, and his sharp intake of breath made me smile, as did the stall of shuffling cards. I thought about tucking him back in and taking my seat because, technically, I had met the bet. He didn’t up the ante to swallowing, but I knew that wouldn’t be fair. He won the hand and deserved a proper blow job.

  The airline tray came down, giving me very little room to work with. His hand threaded into my hair, pushing me to swallow more of him than I was prepared for. I nearly gagged on the pressure in the back of my throat. His grip on my hair tightened, moving me in fast, deep strokes until his hips thrust, forcing his entire length into my mouth, along with a flood of hot semen. I swallowed and received almost a purr in response.

  His body shook once, and then his grip on my hair loosened. When I pulled away, he tucked himself back into his pants and shifted again, moving so I could slide back into my seat. The blanket remained draped over him, but his face carried blotchy red patches. He met my gaze as I buckled in.

  I wiped my mouth and reached for the gum in my bag, offering him a piece before I unwrapped one and popped it between my teeth. The mint explosion was welcome, overriding the salty aftertaste.

  “Damn,” he whispered and started shuffling the cards again. “I might need a nap.” He leaned over and caught a kiss before he focused on the cards.

  He dealt the first two cards, and this time, I looked at both. A pair of queens, but I didn’t want to start out too cocky. It wasn’t like either of us had issues losing. In most cases, whatever the favor, we would both win. I just wanted the reciprocal action.

  “Check,” I said.

  He stared at his cards. “Hand job.”

  “Check,” I said, stifling a smile.

  He rolled the three cards. Two hearts and a diamond, all low. At this point my pair of queens seemed to be the best hand, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to start betting more than a hand job yet. There were two more cards to be flipped, and the sparkle in his eyes had me worried.

  “Check.”

  “Check,” he said and rolled the turn card.

  Another heart. This time a six to go with the three and four, making the option for a flush a possibility as I glanced at my queen of hearts.

  “Hand job under the clothing,” I said.

  “Oral, here in the seat,” he said, staring at his cards.

  “Check.”

  He flipped the river. This time it was the eight of hearts. A flush beat two pair.

  I smiled. “Mouth and hands,” I said, raising my eyebrow.

  He blew a stream of air out of his lips. “Mile. High.”

  “You don’t have a royal straight flush.”

  He turned his cards, revealing a straight flush, eight high. While it wasn’t a royal straight flush, it was close enough, and I couldn’t really deny him, not with that hungry look in his eyes.

  “That’s not what we agreed to,” I said as he stowed the cards in my pocketbook and folded up his tray.

  He took my hand, led me to the restrooms, and pulled me inside before the nearest stewardess turned around. Before I could protest, his mouth covered mine, and his hands wandered over my ass. He broke the kiss and dropped, pulling my pants and underwear to the ground.

  “Turn around,” he whispered.

  I obeyed, staring at my reflection in the mirror and then his dark eyes behind me. He reached his hand around to my stomach and slid lower, finding my clit with his fingers. The slow circling of his fingertips drove me half mad. With his other hand, he closed the toilet lid.

  I stepped out of one of my pant legs and widened my stance as much as possible in the small space. It had been centuries since I felt this kind of heat, this kind of connection with anyone. When his finger penetrated deep inside me, I clamped my mouth shut on a moan.

  He wasn’t gentle like he had been last night on the beach. His gaze locked on mine and was half mad with desire. He swept my hair to the side and planted a kiss on my neck, right on the spot that made me shiver with anticipation.

  The moment he entered me, I thought I would lose it. The siren song made it as far as the back of my throat before I caught myself. I wanted this man. I wanted his soul, his devotion, his love. As we rocked together in the tiny space with his fingers and his manhood creating a magic in me I had never experienced, I realized just how deep my feelings for him ran.

  “Kylee,” he whispered and squeezed me tight, burying his face into my shoulder as he shivered with the force of his release. He pulled me with him as he sat down on the seat, huffing against my back. “What am I going to do with you?” His fingers hadn’t stopped, and I arched as my body finally responded to his caress the way he wanted me to.

  I clamped my hand over my mouth as the waves crashed over me. His soft chuckle in my ear brought me back to the present, to the fact we were in a bathroom on a plane over the Atlantic.

  His hand stilled, and his forehead landed on the spot between my shoulder blades. “Now, I seriously need a nap.”

  I leaned down without uncoupling and pulled my pants to my knees. I wasn’t ready for this warmth inside me to end, so I leaned back into him and sighed. “Me too. But I don’t want to fall asleep in here.”

  He snorted a laugh and stood, forcing the uncoupling. “Sorry,” he said when I whined. “I’ll let you clean up.” He scooted around me and gave me a kiss before slipping out of the bathroom. I closed the door and engaged the lock to do my business.

  By the time I got back to the seat, he was already asleep. I climbed over him to get to the window seat and curled up alongside him, using his soft shoulder as a pillow. My eyelids drooped, and his soft snore followed me into sleep.

  Chapter Five

  The jerk of touchdown shocked both of us awake. I wiped my eyes and glanced out at the Heathrow terminals. We didn’t have to switch planes, but for several of the passengers, this was their final destination. I stretched in the seat and looked at Alex.

  “Morning,” he said and rubbed the slight stubble now present on his cheeks. “Did we...?”

  I allowed a smile to surface. His sheepish question amused me. I nodded.

  He exhaled and grinned. “I was afraid it was another vivid dream.”

  “You have vivid dreams about me?”

  Alex chuckled. “Since the day I met you.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes. But you and I both know I haven’t been ready for anything other than fri
endship. At least not until recently. And then I was afraid of screwing up our friendship, so I didn’t make a move...” He shrugged and studied his hands.

  I knew he had started dating in the last few months, but he never seemed to be interested in the women he found through an internet dating service. Some of his date stories were hysterical, but he never clicked with any of them. Each time he’d share a disaster date, I had to admit the outcome didn’t disappoint me the way hearing he had a date had.

  “What changed?”

  “Something about how vulnerable you looked last night hit a nerve, and it made me realize how much I cared about you.”

  “So my vulnerability prompted you to make a pass at me?”

  His lips twitched into a smirk and he shrugged. “I’ve seen you worked up before, and I figured if I was wrong, you might not be inclined to beat the crap out of me for taking a chance. If I was right, I figured maybe I could wipe that lost look out of your eyes.”

  I stared at him, contemplating whether I was irritated at his timing or humbled by his sweetness. I chose the latter and leaned in, pressing my lips to his prickly cheek. “That’s sweet.”

  He blushed. “I’m glad I decided to take the chance, but I really need to warn you. I’m not sweet. Sometimes I can be a little possessive and overbearing without meaning to be. At least that’s what my ex told me. So, I’m asking you to tell me if I start behaving like a lunatic. I don’t want to ruin whatever we started.”

  I let out a chuckle. “You mean like jumping on this flight thinking you’d be all hero-like and save me from whatever big bad I’m going up against?”

  His face reddened even more, and he shifted in the seat. “Well... yeah. Kind of like that.”

  I patted his thigh. “I forgive you, but only if you listen to me when we get to Crete and stay on the island.”

  He bristled and glared. “And if I don’t?” He crossed his arms.

  “Then you will probably die.”

  His eyes widened.

  “And I would hate for that to happen,” I added to soften his shock.