My other hand fell to her breast and squeezed, toying with her nipple until it puckered from beneath the material of her shirt. I ripped open the loosened lacing down the center, forcing it apart until one breast was exposed and then I descended on it with my mouth, sucking. Biting. She arched up against me with a whimper, her whole body shivering under my touch. She let out a throaty moan, her eyes pressing shut. I reached down, my fingers biting into her thigh and dragging her leg upward. Pushing myself onto my knees, I continued rocking into her with ruthless force, my hands clutching her hips to drag her toward me. I watched as my cock drove into her again and again, glistening with her arousal.
“You are a monster,” I grunted. “My monster—my siren—and I’ll fuck you like I own you till the day I die. Like that scar I gave you was my brand.”
She clutched the sheets in her fists and threw her head back in a silent cry. I lifted her leg over my shoulder, my lips tracing over her ankle and along the top of her foot. Leaning forward against her leg, I folded her under me, taking her chin in my hand.
“Look at me,” I demanded. She opened her dazed eyes toward me. “Come for me.”
I thrust hard, my cock spearing her until I hit the end of her channel. She yelped, her eyes watering at my assault, but she never turned away. Even as I played against her clit, coaxing her release, she kept her gaze on mine, gladly accepting the torment of my stare.
“Aye,” I nodded. “You understand, I think.”
She began to writhe, her breath coming in short, uneven gasps as her walls squeezed my length. I started to move again, dragging myself out of her and back in with long, gradual strokes.
“You want it harder, love? Just say so and I’ll knock the damn breath out of you.”
She nodded and before she could get a word out, I slammed into her again, driving her up the bed. She braced her hands on the headboard as I fucked her, tormenting her clit until I felt her whole body stiffen. She muffled a cry behind clenched teeth as I continued to thrust. The mere sight of her in the midst of a climax tore my own release out of me like a thorn that had been yearning to get plucked for days. I groaned, my hips jerking forward with every wave of pleasure that moved through me. Beads of sweat adorned my forehead as I filled her with my seed, renewing my claim on her.
I collapsed on top of her, my lips a mere breath from hers. Her body was languid beneath me, heavy and spent. Still panting, she brought her hand to my cheek in the most tender way, showing me a glimpse of that elusive softness hiding behind her hardened, sharp exterior.
“Now,” she breathed. “You smell like me.”
“Good,” I grinned.
A broken vase reassembled
Will always be missing pieces
~ Luis Guerre
Four days. It should not have felt like such a long time, but it did. When the sails were finished, a few of the men ventured out to get them while Vidar and the others made trips back to the Rose to load supplies. I stood at the docks, watching from the corner near piles of rotting ropes and soggy wooden crates.
My thoughts were running rampant.
We never crossed paths with Aeris and Nazario again after that first night, but they had been on my mind. Aeris especially. To know that she had surrendered her nature and sacrificed the water for a life on land with her lover made me wonder about many things. I wondered if I could ever make that sacrifice. Maybe then Akareth could not reach me. If I severed that invisible limb, perhaps it would sever that unwanted connection to him.
Or the connection to whatever it was that was plaguing my mind, luring me to the darkness.
I still hadn’t dismissed the idea that it was all a product of my own psychosis, inherited from my mother.
Arms crossed, I stared out into the water. It seemed calm that day. Inviting. But it also seemed colder. Darker. More deceiving than ever.
For months, the crew of the Rose had been taking contracts to hunt the xhoth and whatever sirens we crossed, but how long would that last? How long before the sons adapted and the tension turned into something that could destroy both sides?
And all the while, I felt like I was at half strength. I could not enter the water for fear of the madness taking full hold. I could not fully fight because a small part of me—a sliver—knew I was a part of the force we were fighting against.
The xhoth would continue to multiply, sirens would continue to bend to the father’s will, and I was being pulled in two directions by two equally unyielding tides.
It was only just beginning.
Vidar strode up to me, placing his leather tricorn hat on his head as he did.
“Last trip, love. We’re heading out.”
I nodded, pushing off the post I had been leaning against to head toward the boat. Vidar reached out, grasping my arm.
“What is it?” he asked.
I stared at him, wondering how well I could pretend I was just fatigued from my time on land, but I knew I couldn’t fool him. It wasn’t worth the effort to even try.
