To Seduce A Siren (26 page)

“Trust
me.”

Damn
him for looking so sincere, so appealing… so hot.  Goddess, she’d missed
him these last few days.  Reluctantly she cracked open the barrier she’d
mentally put in place since she was fifteen and had reinforced on a daily basis
ever since.

Goddess,
she hoped Nate knew what he was doing, Bettina here we come.

Chapter
Twenty-Five

“Why
are you taking your boots off?”  Charisse had finished opening up the
cabin and now took a seat in the deck chair beside Nate under the shade of the
canvas veranda.

Nate
rolled up his trousers and flexed his bare feet, grimacing slightly.  “I
discovered something the other night when we were out here with Destiny and
not-Gustave.”

“Not-Gustave?”

“Not
important.”  Nate settled back deeper into his chair.  “I discovered
that I can sense what Bettina’s feeling.”

Charisse’s
mouth dropped open.  “Seriously?”

“Seriously. 
I’m not sure if I was always able to feel her or if maybe things changed, when
you and I…”

“Did
the dirty deed?”  Charisse grinned.

“I
was looking for a descriptor that was neither too flowery nor too crude. 
The deed will cover it for now.  All I know is, the other night when my
bare skin came into contact with Bettina, I could sense her.”

Charisse
looked down at his bare feet.  “And can you still?”

Nate
nodded. 

“So
you’re going to help me cut ties with her once and for all?”

Both
Nate and Charisse winced as beneath them Bettina roiled with anguish, hurt and
a myriad of dark edged emotions.

“Not
exactly.  You two need to come to a better understanding.”

Charisse
rolled her eyes.  “Seriously, this is why you dragged me out here…
couple’s counselling?”  Charisse eyed the calm ocean, nice afternoon for a
swim; she could be back at her place in less than fifteen minutes if she left
now.

“Cyd,
I don’t think you realise how important you are to Bettina.”

Charisse
shook her head in bemusement.  “Oh I have a vague clue… remember, I’m the
straw, without me she’d starve.”

“Actually,
you’re her mother.”

“Excuse
me?  I’m pretty sure I’d recall birthing a humongous rock.”

Nate
raked his hair out of his eyes.  “Look every myth… every legend about
Sirens says the same thing…”

Charisse
heaved a sigh.
 
“Nasty big rock,
beautiful woman luring in lovesick happy meals on legs, blah, blah… old news.”

Nate
chuckled.  “Well as long as you’re not defensive or anything, Cyd.”

“Sorry.” 
She smiled.  “It’s just I’ve been dealing with this for fifteen years,
trying to keep she-bitch here from taking the last piece of my soul in her
desperate bid to subjugate me to her will-power.”

“Actually
she’s clinging to you like any scared child clings when they fear losing a
parent.  No.”  He held up a hand to forestall Cyd from interrupting
him.  “Me first, just listen.  Think about it.  Before you came
into your powers, was there a rock out here?”

“I
can’t remember.”

“You
don’t remember?  A great big rock, a few miles off-shore?  Every
teenager and his date would have been out here sunning themselves. 
Bettina came into being when you came into your powers.  You created her…
or called her here, perhaps that’s part of the lure of being a Siren. 
She’s scared… alone, except for the fact she can sense you.   So she
pulls you here and you hit your Siren high note ‘so to speak’ and you
bond.
  
Wa-lah, she’s not alone any
more.  Instantly you became her whole world, so naturally, she wants to
make you happy.”

“By
imprisoning me out here?  Forcing me to lure men?”

“Remember,
she’s just a baby, new to the world and not human.  She loves you, so the
harder you struggle, the tighter she clings.  What if you leave? 
Never come back?  So she tried to make you happy.”

“How
has she been trying to make me happy?  Clawing at the bond night and day?”

“She’s
been trying to find you a man.”

Charisse’s
eyes went wide in shock.  “Excuse me?”

“You
heard me.”

“No…
that’s ridiculous.  She needs men here to feed upon.  It’s got
nothing to do with me.”

“Then
why does she drain them of emotion, make them forget you?  If she was just
a feeding machine then why wouldn’t she make them slaves to you, bringing them
back constantly so she can top herself up?”

“Ummm…” 
Okay, that was a good question; she never saw the same dickhead twice. 
“Hold on a second, so what’s up with her hunger and why once she feeds does she
radiate a smug satisfaction?”

“I
have a feeling you’ve misinterpreted her hunger.
 
I think it’s her longing to be with you that
you feel.  She desperately wants you, Mummy - for want of a better word -
to be happy and stay around.
 
She’s
primitive, an infant but she understands male and female attraction.  But
you keep insisting upon only luring in dickheads and what emotion do you feel
when one of those bozos turns up on your rock?  I’m betting it’s
distaste.  So Bettina zaps them, thinking she’s making you happy or that
perhaps it’s a game you’re playing.”

“A
game?” Charisse stared in horror at the rock under her feet.  What Nate
was saying couldn’t be right. Bettina wasn’t an infant, was she?
 
“She did get really, really, excited the day
I named her.  So what about you?  Why did she take an instant dislike
to you?”

Nate
sent her a sexy knowing grin. “Because from the very first you were attracted
to me and it was a game changer for Bettina.  In theory, every child wants
their single parent to be happy but the reality, especially when you’re an over
possessive sentient rock-being, is kind of a kick in the teeth.
 
I’m guessing she was jealous and a little
afraid so she acted out.”

Charisse
lapsed into silence, thinking back over the past fifteen years… Goddess, if
what Nate said were true, then her entire approach to managing Bettina had been
wrong.  She cringed at all the verbal abuse she’d heaped on her over the
years.  “Oh Goddess, I don’t think I’ve been a very good mother.”

“You’ll
learn.”

Charisse
sent him a hard scowl.  “You need to remove that crowbar right now.” 

“I
can see who’s going to be the soft touch and whose going to be the
disciplinarian when it comes to our kids.”

“Hold
on… what kids?”

“Our
kids.”

“I
haven’t agreed to raise a rock with you yet and you’re adding imaginary
children to the fold.”

“Just
promise me when you’re singing to them, you’ll give me a heads up so I can put
some ear plugs in.”

Charisse’s
mouth opened in shock for a moment.  She couldn’t sit still for another
second, jumping to her feet and striding back and forth in front of the cabin. 
She was upset with herself, for not knowing… realising, what Bettina really
was, what her actions meant.  Worse, it was all kinds of annoying to have
Nate come in and be so darn right about everything. 

And
that bought her to Nate.
 
She sent him
another narrow eyed glare.  How dare he turn up after three days away,
acting all casual and friendly.  Okay, so she didn’t want to be mindlessly
worshipped or smothered relentlessly with compliments or endearments but still
the man hadn’t even tried to kiss her hello.
 
And now he was babbling on about kids and earplugs.
 
“Okay, now not only have you jumped the shark but
you are beginning to piss me off.  I think the best place for me right at
this moment is away from you.”  She looked back towards the main beach and
her little house.  “I need to finish clearing out my house and you…” 
She gave Nate another glare.  “I was serious about you removing that
crowbar.”

Nate
picked up his boots and got to his feet.  “The crowbar stays.”

“The
crowbar goes.”

Nate
grinned.  “We shouldn’t be fighting in front of the children you know.”

Charisse
tight lipped began to hum.

“No
fair and no way.”  Nate grimaced before striding over to stop just inches
away from her.  “That crowbar is staying, trust me, when Bettina enters
her difficult teenage years, you’re going to want that there as a reminder of
consequences.”

Charisse
stopped humming and went very pale.  “Teenage years?”  Oh Goddess,
the horror.

“Yes
and we’re going to need to present a united front so let’s take the rest of
this conversation elsewhere.”

Dazed
still, Charisse nodded, looking down as Nate captured her hand.

“You
need to ask her to send us back where she found us.”

They
both felt Bettina balk at the idea.

Charisse
knelt down, placing her palm gently on the rock, sending soothing thoughts to
Bettina and the promise of a swift return.  Thankfully Nate still had hold
of her hand because abruptly she found the two of them back once more on the
back deck of her house overlooking the beach.  Wow, that was new, Bettina
letting her go.

Beside
her Nate laughed and then said the four words in the English language
guaranteed to send her nuclear. 

“I
told you so.”

Chapter
Twenty-Six

She’d
kicked him out. 

Nate
couldn’t believe it as he thrust his foot down hard on the accelerator and sent
the jeep into a sliding turn, just missing the left-hand post at the end of his
driveway by inches.  Of course she’d kicked him out… when it came to Cyd
it was like he was starting at ground zero.  A hundred years of smooth
moves, effortless flirting, well timed compliments and come hither quirks of
the eyebrow just flew out the window.

Seemingly
along with his common sense, what had he been thinking?  Saying -
I told you so
?  It was a rookie
mistake of epic proportions… earthquake, resulting in tsunami, bad. 

He
had no defence, he’d taken one look at Cyd’s psyche upon their return to her
cottage and he’d been unable to keep his trap shut.  The evidence was all
there in vivid technicolour detail, Cyd’s beautiful soul, those glorious golds,
bold reds and vivid greens wrapped tentatively, but securely, around Bettina,
now nesting peacefully at her core.  He’d been right, Maat damn it.
Yeah,
because every woman loved to hear that. 

From
the get go, he’d sworn he’d stay out of it, but he couldn’t help himself, could
he? It was Cyd.  She tied him up in knots, had him speechless, had him
second guessing himself.  Maat, in over a hundred years, no woman… ever,
had affected him like Cyd.  He was jealous for Maat’s sake, of the
shirtless himbo with the dimples and tousled blonde romance cover looks. 

He
thought he’d imagined his reaction to the wannabe male model the other night,
passing it off as adrenalin, but now… a growl sounded from the back of his
throat.  He’d never been jealous in his very long life.
 
If this was being in love, then he did not get
it.  How had Vaughn managed it so effortlessly… for that matter,
Drum?  The man barely said a handful of words a year and he’d only needed
four days to convince Nell to marry him. 

Cyd
knew he cared, wasn’t that enough?  He’d told her about the kids… their
kids.  It was blatantly obvious what their next step should be, wasn’t it?

With
a frustrated sigh he bought the jeep to a halt and slammed out the vehicle…
okay, new plan.  He’d give her a day to cool down and then he’d approach
her and… what exactly?  Tell her that her hair reminded him of a glossy
blanket of simmering fire when the sun hit it?  That her eyes were limpid
pools reminiscent of tropical waters beckoning him to dive into their depths?

 
Yeah right, because she hadn’t heard every half-assed lame compliment going
already a hundred times over.  Maat, how was he going to fix this? 
Climbing the rickety, in need of replacement stairs to the front door, he ran
his fingers through his hair, think man.
 
You have a day to come up with a plan to sweep Cyd off her feet and make
her admit that she loved him and that they belonged together.

He
was so busy running through possible scenarios he didn’t notice the wall of
boxes in the front foyer until he almost ran into them.  What the…? 

Where
had all these boxes come from?  Why were they in his house?  And who
the fuck did they belong too?  He stared at the labels; kitchen, living
room, library… huh, now he came to look at them, these boxes were distinctly
familiar. 

Suddenly
the tight band around his chest loosened, he was pretty fucking sure these
boxes belonged to Cyd.  And if her boxes were here, then…. that meant, the
sound of feet stomping down hard on floorboards sounded from overhead… Cyd was
here!

He
sidled past the boxes, racing up the stairs, taking them four at a time. 
He slammed to a stop in the master suite doorway, his fingers digging hard into
the doorframe.  Thank Maat, it was true, she was here.
 
Wearing nothing but a bright blue silk robe, her
hair half up, a few tendrils curling around her neck, still damp from the
shower she’d just stepped out of.
 
He
couldn’t keep the grin off his face as he watched, mesmerised, Cyd stomping
back and forth on bare feet across the recently polished dark wood
floors. 

The
bedroom was still in disarray, more so, since there was a pile of luggage and
boxes against one wall next to a wire clothes rack that Cyd was currently
filling as she sorted through clothes, grabbing hangers from a large waiting
pile. 

She
sent him an annoyed look.  “Took you long enough.”

“Ur…
sorry about that.”  He had to bite his tongue from mentioning that he was
pretty sure, in his total disgust at himself, he’d broken every speed limit
there was getting home. 

“And
it was a stupid dumb ass thing that you said to me.”  Charisse followed up
with a green eyed glare of total disgust.

He
nodded quickly in agreement.  “Yes, it was.”

“And
in the future, you’re going to have to find a way to compliment me that isn’t
lame, trite or sickly sweet.  A girl likes to be appreciated.
 
I just don’t want to be smothered.”

“Agreed.” 
He nodded again.

“Okay.” 
She studied him with suspicion, he was being awfully agreeable.  In fact
he was starting to remind her of a bobble head doll.  “And no putting me
up on a pedestal or treating me like spun glass.  I’m not some perfect
princess.”

“Absolutely.” 

Charisse
eyed him carefully for a moment, as if searching for signs that he was being
anything but sincere. Not seeing anything, she turned and shook out the
wrinkles in a little black dress before hanging it up.  “And you’re being
snide and huffy with Declan… my cousin, is unreasonable, immature and will not
continue.”

Nate
tried to nod, he really did, but a mental image of the shirtless wonder,
grinning as he sucked up to Cyd had him seeing red… a growl erupting unbidden
from the back of his throat.

“You
did not just growl.”  Charisse turned, arms folded, glaring his way. 
“What do you have against Declan?  He’s a sweetheart, who has been nothing
but nice and helpful.”

Again
a growl, this time deeper… throatier.  Nate couldn’t help it.

“Seriously?” 
Charisse’s green eyes narrowed even further, her hands now on her hips, one of
her feet tapping out a fast impatient rhythm.  “What do you not understand
about the concept that he’s my cousin?”

“Adopted.” 
Nate reminded in a clipped rough tone.

Charisse
rolled her eyes.  “You’ve gone insane haven’t you?  Why would you
possibly pick on Declan?  I just can’t…”

“I’m
jealous, okay.”  Nate stalked into the room, pacing back and forth. 
“Every time he comes near you I want to rip his head off and beat him with it.”

Charisse’s
mouth dropped open in shock.  “You’re jealous?  Of Declan?”  For
a moment she was gob smacked, then she snapped, dashing forward she punched
Nate as hard as she could on the arm.  “He’s.  My. 
Cousin!”  For good measure and since her hand was already numb, she
thumped him again. 

“Okay.” 
He grabbed her flailing arm. “Stop that, you’ll hurt yourself.  And I’m
sorry.  I know it makes no sense and that I’m acting irrationally, but you
have to understand Cyd… I’ve never been jealous before.”

“What?’ 
She blinked, shaking her head, had she heard him right?  “Excuse me?”

“I
said that I’ve never been jealous before.”  Maat, she smelled wonderful,
and this close to her provided the added benefit of an excellent view down the
front of her robe.

“You’re
serious, in over a hundred years, you’ve never been jealous?”

He
shook his head gravely.  “Never.  I’ve been trying to find a way to
tell you how special you are to me Cyd and it’s not easy considering the swathe
of men who’ve prostrated themselves at your feet before me and already told you
how beautiful, smart, witty, sexy and magical you are.  I find myself lost
for words.”  He glanced at his hand encircling her wrist still.  “I
want to take it slow, savour you, but the moment I touch you, it’s all I can do
not to slam you up against the nearest hard surface and take you.  Damn
Charisse, I knew it from the first moment I laid eyes on you that you were the
woman for me.”

Charisse’s
green eyes were wide, her breath coming in short shallow pants.  “But you
hate my singing?”

“That’s
a fact, and I’m not a big fan of your humming either.  You trying to tell
me you think I’m perfect?”

“Hell
no.”  Charisse shook her head quickly.  “You’re arrogant, grumpy,
overly fixated on my breasts…”

“And
your ass, don’t forget that sweet ass of yours.”

“Let
me add annoying to the list.”  She rolled her eyes heavenwards.

“But
despite my very few flaws, you love me Cyd, don’t you?”  His other hand
moved to play with the tie that held her robe closed.

“Would
I be here if I didn’t Sheriff?”

“Na-huh.” 
He leaned over, breathing in deeply the essential scent that was Cyd, nuzzling
his lips against the side of her throat.  “Say the words Cyd.”

She
arched into his warmth and the heated words he breathed against her skin. 
“You first.”

“I
said all those nice things about you and admitted to being jealous of that
so-called cousin of yours… I’m pretty sure it’s your turn Cyd.”

She
gave a deep sigh, her silk covered breasts brushing against his chest.

“And
stop trying to duck out of it by distracting me with your breasts.”

“Hah.” 
Charisse slammed a palm flat against his rock solid chest and pushed. 
“Fine.” 

She
bought her other hand up, pressing all her weight against him, it took Nate a
few seconds to realise she was trying to back him up.  Holding back a
smile he let her manoeuvre him back to the bed.  Taking a seat on the edge
he appreciated the view mightily as Cyd sat on his lap facing him.

“You
sure you’re not just trying to distract me here Cyd?”

Charisse
laughed, bringing a finger to rest below his jaw and tilting his face
up.   “I can dig out one of my muumuus if that would help keep your
attention focused.”

He
shook his head.  “Not really, I’d just be thinking of the quickest way to
tear the thing off of you.”

She
took a deep breath.

Automatically
his gaze dropped once more.

“Pay
attention.”  She fisted her fingers in his hair, only satisfied when his
whiskey eyes met hers.  “Goddess damn you Nate, you’ve surprised me from
day one.   You scowl and flirt with me, sometimes in the same
breath.  Kiss me senseless.  Make me angrier than any other human
being on the planet.  I think… no, I know I’m going to regret this, damn
it, but… I love you.”

Nate
reared back, his eyes narrowing.  “What did you mean by that crack… you
know you’re going to regret this?”

Charisse
brushed her hair out of her eyes, feeling frustrated.  “Didn’t you hear
what I just said?  I love you.”

“Yeah,
yeah.  Now about that wise guy crack you just made.”

Charisse
grinned, laughing at him.  “Pissed you off didn’t it?  See how it
feels for once.”

“Why,
you little…”  Nate picked her up by the waist, tossing her into the middle
of the bed, diving after her, trapping her in place.  “So Cyd, you love
me?”

Charisse’s
laughter died abruptly as she looked into his gorgeous whisky eyes.
 
A sensual smile tugging at the corners of his
oh-so-tempting lips, now only inches away from hers.

“I
love you Nate.”

“Thank
Maat Cyd, I love you too.”  He leaned down, capturing her lips with his,
giving her a heated but sweet kiss.  “So you’ll meld with me?”

“Hmmm?” 
She reached up to pull his head down.

Nate
evaded the lure of her lips, pulling undone the tie of her robe, spreading the
silky material aside, feasting his eyes down over her naked flesh, determined
to be strong.  “When?”

She
whimpered, why wasn’t he kissing her?  Touching her?  “Meld?” 
Her mind cleared a little as the word fully sunk in.  “Umm, you don’t just
want to live in sin for a decade or three?”

“It’s
bad enough we had Bettina out of wedlock honey.”  He trailed a finger down
the line of her breast bone.

Charisse
whimpered.  “Funny… not.”

His
warm finger circled her left nipple slowly.  “Should we have a big
ceremony or something intimate?”

“Intimate.” 
Charisse strained upwards at his touch.   “Definitely something
intimate and fast… really, really fast.  Or we could just skip the whole
thing and…”  She let out a soft breathless gasp as he dipped his head and
swirled his tongue around her other nipple.  “Damn you Nate.”

He
gave her a wolfish grin, though sweat dotted his forehead, his other hand
gliding up over the satin soft skin of her thigh, his touch light and
teasing.  “I can keep this up all day Cyd… all you have to do is set a
date.”

She
moaned fretfully, scowling up at him, trapped by his weight and his teasing
ways.  “Tonight, tomorrow… the day after, pick a date, I’ll be there.”