Their Siren (Daughters of Olympus Book 1)

by Charlie Hart

  “Harlow, my love,” he says. “You okay?”

  I wipe my face. “I’m totally fine.”

  He frowns, shaking his head. “You sure, girl? I tried calling but your phone goes to voicemail.”

  “Yeah, I lost it. What’s up?”

  “The group of friends canceled. Guess one of the guys got food poisoning and they decided to stay back. Poor guy.”

  “Oh. So, we don’t have to work?”

  He shakes his head. “Nope, so I’m off, my lover is waiting. She bought some lube if ya know what I mean.”

  “Uh. TMI, Davis.”

  “Right, I forget how innocent our sweet Harlow is.” He smiles, raising his hands in apology. “And I already called your parents to let them know the cruise was cancelled.”

  “Thanks,” I say. “I think I’ll just chill here for a sec, though.”

  “Alright, my girl. Oh, if you’re staying here for a bit, then be sure eat the food in the fridge. I had it all ready for the cruise tonight,” he says as he waves goodbye. “Stay cool.”

  I can’t help but smile as he leaves. Davis does that to people, helps them chill out. And right now, I can certainly use all the good vibes he wants to offer.

  I don’t know why I freaked out so hard at the guys. The things Kai said made sense.

  But it scares me. How right it feels; the idea that I’m not from here. Here being, you know, solid ground. It does answer some questions I’ve always wondered about. The whole drowning thing and all, especially. However, it leaves so many more questions on the table.

  Like, who were my parents? And what does that make me?

  I walk to the fridge below deck and grab a bottle of the champagne we use for the sunset cruise, and pop the cork. I guess now is as good as any time to get properly drunk for my big 2-1.

  I pour a glass of champagne and grab the platter of chocolate covered strawberries from the fridge, knowing I royally pissed the guys off, but with good reason. Walking back up to the boat deck, I prepare to watch the sunset all by myself.

  Except when I get there, the guys are standing on the dock, waiting for me.

  “You don’t have to run when you’re scared,” Eric tells me.

  West steps forward, his hand on the boat railing. “And you don’t have to cry alone.”

  “And you don’t have to sleep alone, either,” Crew adds, with a cocky grin I have memorized in the space of a day.

  Kai shoots him a legit eye-roll. “And you don’t have to say yes either, but we’d like to join you for this sunset cruise if you’ll have us.”

  I shake my head, wondering why they are still here, for me.

  Wondering why they want a mess of a girl whose heart is in tangles. But when I look at them, so earnest and wanting, the parts of me that feel like wreckage, suddenly seem whole.

  “So,” West asks. “Is that a yes?”

  I nod.

  It’s most certainly a yes.

  Chapter 15

  Kai

  Harlow hands me the champagne and turns on the boat’s engine. Seeing her in control like that is sexy as hell. She knows how to work this rig and I know how to work her.

  Tonight, is going to be something else.

  “What are you smiling about?” She asks, putting the boat in second gear and driving toward the open waters.

  “So many things. Being here, on the water, with you.”

  West and Crew are looking at the boat, eyeing the caliber of the vessel, and Eric is downstairs grabbing beers.

  “This is all kind of crazy, you know. The last twenty-four hours,” she says, her pale pink hair blowing the breeze.

  The air is heavy with the scents of saltwater and seaweed. It smells like home, being out here.

  “I know.” I shake my head. “My dad is already pissed that I dropped out of law school to sail, and if he knew I may have fucked this gig up, he’s gonna be livid.”

  “So, then what will happen?” Harlow asks. “I mean, will he get over it?”

  “Hopefully.” I run a hand around my neck. “Thing is, my mom died when I was a kid and I have a trust fund that makes my life pretty cush. So, I won’t be left wanting, you know? But his support matters to me. He’s the only family I have.”

  Harlow nods, and when I mention family there’s a far-off look in her eyes.

  “Sorry,” I say, coming up behind her, and wrapping my arms around her waist, my breath on her exposed neck. “I shouldn’t have mentioned family tonight.”

  “It’s okay,” she says softly, stopping the boat’s acceleration and letting it coast in neutral. “It’s just my parents have been so wonderful to me, that I’ve always feared to let them down, and now it’s even worse. Whatever is happening to me, it feels like I am going to be torn from them, forever. I don’t want to hurt the people I love, but I do want to find myself. It feels selfish, Kai.”

  “It’s not selfish to want to be the person you were always meant to be. That’s brave. That’s badass.”

  She sinks against me at those words, her ass against my groin. “Yesterday, all I said I wanted for my birthday was to be a more badass version of myself.”

  “I think it’s happening, Harlow.” I kiss her neck tenderly, and she exhales, tilting her head to give me more access to herself. “You were all kinds of badass last night if memory serves me.”

  Her shoulders move as laughter escapes her. “I don’t even know what last night was about.”

  “Yes, you do,” I tell her, my hands moving from her waist to her breasts. She is wearing a strapless dress and I want to push it down, to hold her perfect tits in my hands. “It was about you taking what you wanted.”

  Instead of giving into my most carnal impulse, I massage her breasts through the fabric, feeling her hard nipples, realizing she isn’t wearing a bra. Damn, I want her.

  “I know what I want now,” she says with bated breath.

  “Oh, yeah?” I ask, running my tongue over her smooth neck, another hand running low, past her belly, pressing against her pussy. “What do you want, Mermaid?”

  “All of you,” she whimpers as I give in and pull the top of her dress down, pressing her bare tit into my mouth. God, it’s so full and round. Perfection. “I want all of you, again.”

  “Good,” I tell her. “Because that’s what we want, too.”

  I kiss her then because I need to. Because I want to. Because whatever my life was before she entered it feels inconsequential. Small. With her in my world, anything seems possible. A woman who can breathe underwater and swim in the sea and look at me with eyes so full of longing, so willing to give and receive. That is what I want.

  Her.

  Only her.

  Forever.

  “I love you, Harlow,” I moan against her mouth, inhaling her sweet smell. Lilies laced with longing.

  “Love?” she asks, searching my face, her breasts pressed against my chest. “You don’t know me,” she says.

  “Oh, Harlow, I know enough to know this is real.”

  She kisses me deeper now, and I pull her to me, my hands in her hair and her heart beating hard and our bodies moving as one. “But is this real?” she murmurs. “Or is this some supernatural spell?”

  Her face is written with worry, but I only have eyes for her.

  The movement around us, makes it clear that other guys are here, and we pull apart, ever so slightly, our lips are swollen and our need intensified.

  “Don’t stop on our account,” West says solemnly. “We can let you be,” he says.

  “No,” Harlow says, loudly, her gaze direct. We all stop, having never heard her speak with so much fervor. “I mean, please, don’t go. I want you all, or nothing.”

  Crew’s eyes meet mine, and I nod. I want this too.

  He steps forward. “I can’t not be with you,” he tells her, taking her hand and pulling her to him. “Because you’ve totally gotten under my skin.”

  “Is that a good thing?” she asks.

  “Oh, girl, it’s a fu
cking perfect thing,” he groans. “I love you. As crazy as it sounds. I fucking love you, Mermaid.”

  She shakes her head. “I’m not a--”

  He cuts her off. “I know. We don’t know what you are. But you are ours. I’m not letting you go again.”

  “Me either,” West says. “We were off course for weeks, coming for you. And I’ll fucking dive to whatever depths to fight for you now. Love is not some careless word that I say to any woman I meet. But you, Harlow, aren’t just any woman anyway. You are the only woman for me.”

  Her eyes are wide, and she looks at us. She’s overwhelmed.

  “We know it’s a lot,” Eric says. “But when we stood on the dock, watching you walk away, we made a decision.”

  “You did?”

  Eric nods. “I love you. And together we made a promise. If you jump, we jump. If you swim, we swim. If you need to set sail, we will pull up the anchor and take you where you need to go. We are yours, Siren. Body, mind, and soul.”

  “You love a stranger enough to do that?” she asks, disbelief written on her face.

  I shake my head. “No. Not a stranger. For you, Harlow. For you alone.”

  “And if I want you to make love to me all night long,” she asks with a flash of forbidden lust in her eyes. The sun is setting behind us, a rainbow of color painting the sky and illuminating her desire. “Will you put up a fight?”

  A smile spreads across my face. “No fighting,” I tell her. “Just fucking, fair enough?”

  She steps toward me, greedy in her want. “More than fair,” she whispers.

  Chapter 16

  Harlow

  One minute I’m pouring champagne for myself and the next I’m stripped to nothing and surrounded by four men who are pulling me into their arms and vowing their undying devotion.

  To say it’s a little much is an understatement.

  Or at least, it should feel like a lot.

  But somehow, it doesn’t. Somehow it feels exactly right. It wouldn’t make sense to anyone who wasn’t in this situation. You know, the whole green legs, meeting a selkie, tossed into a whirlpool thing--not to mention the orgy with four strangers a night ago, situation.

  Somehow all this happening at once makes it seem totally normal.

  And in my new reality, I’m stripped of my maxi dress while a group of devoted lovers stare at me like I’m a Greek goddess.

  Okay, maybe not totally normal, but that’s where I’m at right now.

  And then there’s the whole love thing.

  That’s right: they confessed their love for me.

  And I know love can mean different things to different people, but when I look into their eyes I only see something pure and absolute.

  Perfect, whole, complete.

  Love.

  For me.

  For this messy girl whose origins are unclear and who can breathe underwater.

  Me.

  The girl they’ve fallen in love with is me, the girl they were sent to find, the girl they were called to rescue.

  Me.

  So, yes, it is a lot. But also, maybe, it’s finally getting the answers I’ve always been so desperate for.

  I’ve spent my life not quite understanding who I am, feeling like I’m living in skin that isn’t mine.

  But maybe, finally, I’m standing on my own two feet.

  My glittering, sparkling, shimmering, green two feet.

  “Harlow,” West moans as he drops to his knees and wraps his arms around my bare waist. “You are divine.” He kisses me softly from my navel to my pussy.

  Behind me, Eric runs his hands through my hair, twisting it into a knot and kissing the base of my neck. He cups my breasts from behind, plucking my nipples like they’re ripe fruit. His mouth against my skin sends tingles along my spine.

  In front of me, Crew kisses me, his tongue inside my mouth, twirling it around my own. He smells like cedar and sunshine, reminding me of summer camp and nostalgia and possibility. Kissing him is a promise, a beginning. I never want it to end.

  We move to the floor of the boat deck where Kai has laid out a quilt. Once on the floor, it quickly grows heated. We are all limbs and hands and mouths. All teasing and tickling and taking what we want.

  I am all of theirs and they can have all of me. There are four pairs of hands on my skin at once and they bring me to completion much too fast.

  So, we go again. They stroke me, with my thighs spread, touching me, probing me, with gentle fingers.

  They fondle me, my nipples are hard and tight; they caress me, moving over my skin like I’m something precious. Something breakable. Something they treasure.

  I move to my hands and knees with West beneath me, his mouth breathes hot air against my opening, taunting my clit with growing need.

  I lower myself to his hard cock and pull it toward my mouth. My lips circle him as his throbbing length grows. Behind me, Crew uses my slick release to ease open my untouched hole and he gently moves his cock in my backside, slowly, as if hurting me is the last thing he ever wants to do.

  While I suck West, his hard cock deep in my throat, I use my other hand and take Eric’s hardness, pumping him rhythmically.

  The licking and teasing and dipping and grinding are all too much. It makes me delirious and insatiable.

  Using my other hand, I reach for Kai, desperate to be with them all the same time. I want their come against my skin and in my mouth and down my throat. I want them inside me, I want nothing between us.

  And they want it too.

  When I come, it’s hard. I moan their names, begging for more. This is not sex or fucking.

  This is love incarnate and I don’t know how I found it in the middle of the ocean, on a sunset cruise, but we did.

  And yes, it’s a miracle and yes, it’s a kind of magic.

  And yes, it feels so fucking good.

  I scream my ecstasy and as I do, a torrent rises up and around the boat. The waves begin to rock the vessel hard--faster and faster--at a dangerous speed. As the boat moves, I keep coming against them and with them for a moment it feels like the culmination of the best sex we will ever have.

  But then it becomes more than euphoric--it turns into something dangerous.

  I call out against it in terror and the boat moves hard, but not in a way that makes me want to lean into Crew’s chest and have him hold me until the storm passes. No. This is more than a storm.

  This is something unleashed.

  I touch my throat remembering the way I called out my lovers’ names as we came. In my moment of orgasm, my voice was no longer my own.

  My eyes widen, all of us are on the edge of terror, grabbing hold of one another. We all look up at the sky that has turned violently black. The stars seem to shine brightly, as if in warning, but I don’t know what they’re trying to say.

  I look at the men around me, wondering if we caused the storm. I was warned to leave these men. Warned that they were here to take my power. I think of the selkie, half man, half seal. Maybe he knew what he was talking about. Maybe I am a fool for wanting something so dangerous.

  The storm whips around us, so furiously, we cry out, reaching desperately for the railings. For something or someone to grab onto.

  It’s scary, as the wind howls, as the Bimini shade is ripped from the boat, thrown into the waves. Water sloshes over the edges of the boat, and within moments the boat is nearly filled with seawater.

  Why is there a storm when moments ago the water was calm? Why is the sea raging in such a dangerous way?

  But deep in my belly I know.

  Deep in my belly, I can feel what is happening.

  I caused this.

  Being with these men caused this.

  And I don’t know how or why, but it must be true. They look at me with love that’s too intense to have occurred in one day’s time. I gave into this passion because I was longing to be seen. I am so tired of being lost; desperate to be found.

  But at what cost for that sort of l
ove?

  “Harlow,” West cries, searching for my hand, but before we touch, he’s ripped from my reach by the pressure of the wind.

  “We need a life raft, something,” Eric screams. But there isn’t time. And we watch in horror as Eric is carried from the boat, tossed into the dark sea.

  I scream as Kai and West are pushed into the ocean by a wind stronger than any scientist could measure. I watch in horror, shaking with fear.

  Crew pulls me to him, vowing to never let go.

  But those promises mean nothing in the eye of this storm. He wraps his arms around me as the wind pushes hard against us, forcing us to the ground. My thigh hits hard against the wooden boat deck, and I scream.

  But it is no longer in fear.

  Now I scream in fury.

  I unleash a torrent; my call is loud, and it comes from somewhere inside me I’ve never known. It shakes the storm, it seizes the wind, and I make a demand of the sea in the pause.

  “Stop it,” I insist with a rage I’ve never known myself to possess. “Now!” I command.

  The sea listens. I stand up, telling Crew to stay put, vows be damned. I tell him now it’s up to him. He must keep the boat safe because it’s all we have left.

  “Look for the raft and life preservers,” I tell him. “Just promise you’ll stay here.” I stand on the railing, the rain still pouring, but the storm has passed. It’s like I spoke, and it listened. “Crew, be the anchor we all need right now. Because Eric is drowning, and Kai is drowning, and West is drowning and we’re not. I have to go after them.”

  Then I dive into the water and before my head touches the surface of the sea, I feel my body shift.

  My green legs are no longer legs as they glide into the ocean. I dive into the ocean that heard my call and I am no longer the woman looking for her lovers.

  I am a siren looking for her sailors lost at sea.

  Chapter 17

  Harlow

  Under the water, I take in massive gulps of salty water as if it’s the only thing that could possibly purge me of the horror of what is below the surface of the water.