Secrets of the Siren [Sirens and Sailors 5] (Siren Publishing Classic) (3 page)

“Let’s keep it as our secret for a while,” Ligia said with a forced smile. “We’ll make the arrangements first.”

“Li and I want to spend some time together,” Kalliope interjected, evidently seeing how awkward her friend was feeling.

“We could check on the latest flower order,” Rechavia suggested, tactfully. “It’s due out first thing and we haven’t worked out who’s taking it yet.”

The men set off for the bottom field while the girls finished the dishes.

“Are you having second thoughts?” Kalliope asked, once the men were out of earshot.

Ligia sighed. “It’s not that I don’t
want
to marry him, Kally. I love him so much it hurts. I just think it’s for the best if we don’t, but I don’t know how to tell him. I can’t let his family turn against him because of me. He loves his family, and his mom needs him.”

“His mom’s a bitch and he loves
you
.” Kalliope always told it like it was.

Ligia smiled at her friend’s bluntness, though tears were already filling her eyes again. “Let’s go and sit on Destiny for a while,” she suggested as they put away the last of the crockery.

Destiny Rock was reached by walking over a small causeway between it and the main island of Refrainia. Before the men came to settle there, the girls were all Sirens and used to rely on luring the sailors to wreck their ships on the hidden rocks which surrounded the island. While one group of girls would “occupy” the surviving sailors using their womanly wiles, another group would swim out to their ship and rob it of anything which they deemed valuable before it sunk for good. The women were all trained to be strong swimmers and could spend quite some time underwater before having to come up for air. This enabled them to pick off the “treasures” before they were ruined by the salt water. Of course, their ideas of treasure were things like tinned food, sticks of furniture, and even items of crockery. These were the things which they could make use of on the island. Anything else which was salvageable would be taken and sold or traded on the mainland when the elders went over on their regular visits. In those days, the girls were never given the opportunity to leave the island. It was only the elders, who were in charge of the island, who were allowed to take the trip over to Eastland.

“It’s odd how much things have changed,” Ligia mused as they lay on a large, flat boulder, staring up at the clear blue sky.

“Hmm, do you regret it?” Kalliope asked lazily.

“No. I love having the men here and it’s great that we’ve got so much freedom,” Ligia replied with a smile. “I love not having to kill the sailors, too. I never really liked that part, although the rush it gave us was great at the time.”

The “rush” was the orgasm which the girls enjoyed while they flew over the sated, sleeping sailors and tore their bodies to pieces with their sharp talons, before casting them into the sea. Although it seemed quite barbaric to them now, it was their normal way of life back then. Now that Poseidon had decreed that they were no longer to live as Sirens, however, they didn’t grow wings and talons anymore. As long as they only had sex through meaningful relationships, the sea god had promised they would live as normal human beings.

“Do you still get a rush when you’re with Aitan?”

Ligia smiled. “Oh yes. It’s different now though. I love making love with him.”

Kalliope must have noticed her friend frown a little. “But?”

“Oh, nothing really. Just sometimes I wish he’d be a bit more…you know.”

Kalliope grinned. She did know. “Dominant?”

“Yes, that’s it. Not all the time. I mean, most of the time I love how kind and tender he is. It’s just that sometimes…”

“Yeah, I know.”

“I don’t mean like those thugs, though. Some of those sailors were horrid. I could never actually
feel
anything for any of them. And the way they used to paw at us made my skin crawl. I could never do that now.”

“Me neither. I much prefer having the choice of who I’m with,” Kalliope mused. “And Rech always keeps it so exciting. I can’t see me ever getting bored with him.”

Ligia chuckled. She was very much aware of the antics Kalliope and her Dom enjoyed in their woodland dungeon.

“I love being able to come out here and just talk,” Ligia said, closing her eyes to the bright sunlight.

“Me, too. I miss all those long afternoons we used to spend just laying here in the sun. We didn’t have to do any work as long as we entertained the men when we needed to, did we?”

“
You
never did any work, anyway!” Ligia laughed.

Kalliope frowned at her friend. “Actually, that’s quite true,” she relented. “I don’t like work. I never did. I like keeping the house clean now though. It makes me feel good, somehow. And Rech’s always so grateful when I cook for him. He makes it all worthwhile, you know?”

“Yeah, I know.” Ligia smiled.

“Do you still want to marry Aitan, then?”

“Yes. But to be honest I don’t see why we can’t carry on as we are. I don’t mind marrying him because it’s what he wants, but now I know how his family feels I don’t think it’s worth the hassle. I just know he’d be unhappy if I told him that, though.” Ligia sighed sadly.

“You don’t know how his family feels, you’ve only heard his bitch of a mother,” Kalliope pointed out. “He’s got other family. They might not all feel the same.”

“True. But I think his mom’s really important to him,” Ligia replied. “He won’t feel happy if he knows she’s not happy about it.”

“I don’t see why not. I don’t know Rech’s family. He speaks to his dad occasionally just to let him know he’s OK, but I don’t think the rest of them bother with him. He told me once that he fell out with his mother when she discovered he was a Dom. She doesn’t understand his lifestyle and thinks he’s some kind of monster. He tried to explain it to her but she didn’t want to know. Funny how their moms seem to influence their whole families, isn’t it?”

“That’s the trouble,” Ligia said with a frown. “It seems if you alienate their moms, you alienate the whole family in one go. I don’t think Aitan’s as strong as Rech in that sense. It would really hurt him if his family turned against him. I can’t let that happen.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Ligia sighed. “I just need some time to think about it.”

* * * *

Aitan was really excited when they all met up for supper that evening. He and Rechavia had spent a very productive afternoon preparing and loading the large flower order which was due to be dropped at Eastland’s
harbor tomorrow morning.

“The new ship’s making it much easier with these orders,” Aitan announced happily as he tucked into his meal. “The cold store means we can load up earlier, too.”

The islanders had recently taken possession of a new, much larger ship with all mod cons. It was compensation for one which one of Eastland’s wealthy businessmen had had sunk in a revenge attack on the sailors. The businessman was currently serving a gaol sentence for his crimes.

“We’re getting paid in cash for this order, too,” Rechavia pointed out, munching on his food.

Many businesses traded goods instead of using money, especially when dealing with the islanders. This usually meant that the islanders got more for the sale of their flowers, and, as they would only be buying food or other goods with the money anyway, it suited them just fine.

“Can we put it toward the new project?” Aitan asked eagerly.

“I don’t see why not.” Rechavia grinned.

“What project?” Ligia asked as she dished up fruit for dessert.

“We’re going to build a bar,” Aitan announced proudly.

“A bar of what?” Ligia asked, bemused.

Aitan chuckled. “No, I mean a bar where people go to drink.”

“Like a tavern?”

“Sort of. We could all congregate there and socialize at night.”

“In the dark?”

“No, that’s the other surprise.” Aitan’s gray eyes looked almost blue as they twinkled with excitement. “We’re going to get electricity run to the island!”

“What?” She was clearly stunned.

“Electricity. We’ll be able to install lights, cookers, washing machines, anything we want!”

“But why?” Kalliope frowned.

“To make life easier for everyone,” Aitan explained. “We’ll be able to wire up the huts so they all get power. We’ll be able to stay up later at night because we’ll be able to put lights on to see. Your housework will be easier because you’ll be able to get modern equipment to help you. Don’t you see? It’ll be brilliant!”

Rechavia grinned. “I thought you’d be only too keen to have an easier life, Kally.”

Kalliope obviously resented the comment. Aitan was sure that their friend knew Rech was joking really, but was clearly a little hurt that there was actually an element of truth in what he was alluding to. Kalliope was well known for being lazy, and it had taken for her and Rechavia to almost break up before she had actually knuckled down and changed her idle ways.

“Isn’t it exciting, darlin’? We’re having a big meeting about it with the Central Electricity Board of Eastland soon. They’re gonna run power cables under the sea from the mainland to here. We’ll have to keep up payments for the supply, of course, but with the revenue we get for the flowers that shouldn’t be a problem. And, of course, it’s gonna be expensive to set it up in the first place, so we’re going to speak to the bank about a loan to help us pay for it. Dr. Jay’s good at the finances, so he’s going to deal with the bank while we deal with the electric company. It’s gonna be great, isn’t it?”

Ligia didn’t seem so sure. “But we’ll have bills to pay. We’ll have to rely on making a certain amount of money for the flowers in order to pay for everything. And how will we know if we’re making enough? What if we fall behind with the payments?” Her mind was evidently whirling with the possibilities, and they weren’t good. Aitan knew she had heard from the other sailors about having to work to pay bills and the consequences of not meeting financial obligations. It had sounded horrific and she’d said it made her glad she lived a simple life on the island.

“It’ll need some discussing.” Kalliope sounded thoughtful.

Aitan’s face fell. “We’ve got a meeting with the electricity board in a couple of days,” he admitted.

“But what if we don’t all agree?” Ligia’s eyes were wide as she gathered the dirty plates.

“Why wouldn’t anyone agree, pretty maid? It’s a boon for the whole island.” Rechavia frowned, obviously noticing the horrified expressions on the girls’ faces.

“But we’re a democracy. We’re all supposed to have a say in everything, aren’t we?” Ligia pointed out.

“Yes, but…well, we didn’t think anyone would have a problem with it,” Aitan replied, starting to feel very worried.

“That’s because you didn’t ask anyone.” Kalliope threw the dirty cups into the washing-up bowl, splashing hot water everywhere. She spoke through gritted teeth, clearly trying to keep a cap on her temper.

“OK, so we’re asking now. Do you have a problem with the idea?” Rechavia asked, cocking an eyebrow at the two girls.

“Yes,” they replied in unison.

The next couple of days passed slowly and painfully. The girls were seething about their men’s presumptions that their decisions would be gratefully received by everyone, and the men were hurt and angry that their women weren’t supporting their ideas.

“Poseidon put
us
in charge of the island,” Rechavia pointed out when Kalliope raised the subject for the umpteenth time. “So it’s
our
decision.”

“Poseidon expected you to talk to the rest of us before deciding anything,” Kalliope pointed out stubbornly. “It’s
our
island, not yours. He wouldn’t expect you to change it like this. You’ll need to speak to him before you do anything as drastic as that, and I bet he won’t like it any more than we do.”

“Well the meeting’s all set for tomorrow,” Rechavia told her firmly as they climbed into bed.

“Well you can talk all you like, it won’t change anything. The rest of the girls aren’t happy with the idea either.”

Rechavia chuckled as he held her close to his hot body. “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, pretty maid, there are more men on the island than women now, and, as the men have all loved the idea, I guess that makes it a majority vote.”

She tried to pull away from him angrily but his strong arm held her firm.

“But that’s not fair,” she protested. “The men are only happy about it because you’ve promised them a bar that they can go to at night. What if they get drunk and can’t work in the mornings because of it? How will you make the money for the bills then?”

“Sailors are used to holding their drink, pretty maid, don’t you worry about that,” he said with a chuckle. “They drink at sea all the time and still manage to sail the boats afterward.”

“It’s not the same.” She sulked until they both fell asleep.

* * * *

Fortunately, things went a little better next door.

“We’re not really gonna fall out over this, are we, darlin’?”

Aitan’s lazy drawl and big, gray eyes did things to Ligia’s girly parts. She was lying in his arms, reveling in the heat and smell of him. She could never stay mad at him for long, and had hated the last couple of days.