I made awhat the fuckface at him, “No. It doesn’t. I am notexcitedto be alone on a boat, in the middle of the ocean, with a killer.”
Drustan smirked as he dragged his tongue across his teeth, letting his gaze travel over me again before replying, “Fortunately for you, I’myourkiller. Whether you want to accept it or not.”
“Dude!” I lifted my hands to shove him off of me, and he let me push him away with a low chuckle. I stood and marched toward the captain’s deck, ignoring my throbbing toe—which probably wasn’t truly broken if I could walk on it—determined to take us back to shore. I could hear his footsteps as he followed me; my body couldfeelhis approach. Fine hairs rose on the back of my neck the closer he came.
Was this…was this a mate thing? No. It’s a woman being pursued by a dangerous man thing.
I huffed, threw myself into the captain’s chair, and started to draw up the anchor. Drustan sat in the passenger seat next to me, just like he had arrived. Except he was a huge siren now, so the chair looked significantly smaller underneath him than it did in his human disguise.
“I take it that we are going to let the fish choke on plastic today?” Drustan asked as he struggled to find a comfortable position with his larger body.
“Eat glass,” I snapped at him.
“The fish probably will without our help,” he replied with a quiet laugh to himself, before he frowned at the chair and murmured, “I was promised a date that involved cleaning up the reefs, but now we’re leaving. It almost feels like you don’t like me anym?—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked as I checked the tank levels.
“Where would you like to start?” Drustan replied without looking at me. He was still frowning at the chair, and how he didn’t fit in it anymore in his actual size. “Perhaps it was the pure joy I felt ripping the hearts out of the worst fae in the realm. Maybe it was five years of torture in the Gravhune. Maybe it’s because my mate doesn’t seem?—”
“Stop it.” I glared at him. “Sit still and stop talking.”
Drustan laughed at that. He lifted his molten gaze to mine and smiled with his words, “I know you enjoy the sound of my voice, my song. It would be a shame to deny you it.” I widened my eyes at him in disbelief, fighting the urge to scream in frustration at him. His eyes flared in response, his grin picked up a notch.
“I hate your voice.” I lied.
“No, you don’t.” Drustan lifted his arms to hold both of his hands behind his head. He turned the chair toward me, showing off his bare, toned torso, his large arms, and that dangerously handsome face.
“I do hate it,” I grumbled through clenched teeth. I was determined to stand my ground.
“You are drawn to my voice, Vanessa. As I am drawn to yours,” Drustan explained.
I shook my head and replied, “My draw to you isn’t real. It’s just your sirensinndra?—”
Drustan lifted an eyebrow as he replied, “You are completely immune to my sinndra, Vanessa.”
I snapped my mouth closed, not expecting that response.
“What?”
“Mates are equals, in every way. I cannot use my sinndra on you—and trust me, I’ve tried. Several times, in fact, only to prove exactly what we are to each other.”
I balled my hands into fists. “We’re nothing to each other.”
“You’re drawn to my voice, my smell, my body,” Drustan continued, ignoring my protest. “As I am to you. Because I was designed by the goddess Tynara herself to specifically appeal toyou. Because you’re mine, and I’myours.”
“You’re not—” I groaned, ignoring the fluttering in my heart, and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers. I squeezed my eyes closed to fight the headache that was starting to form. “We’re not what you think we are. I’m just a horny woman. Just because there’s sexual chemistry doesn’t mean that we’re—that you’re…” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
I opened my eyes and dropped my hand on the steering wheel of my boat to study him. Drustan pressed his lips together and hummed in thought.
“Do you think this is our first fight as a couple? Or—” He was interrupted when I grabbed my insulated water bottle and threw it at his head. He dodged it, laughing as he did so. It spilled somewhere, but I didn’t care about that right now.
“We are not a couple, Dru—” I cut myself off and shook my head, glaring at the ceiling of the cabin as I gripped the steering wheel with one hand. The anchor was secured now, but we hadn’t taken off yet. We were floating in the calm waters of the Pacific. As if Mother Nature herself was letting us hash this out before we got a move on.
“I must admit,” Drustan replied, his tone a little lower. “I’m still learning the details about human courting customs, but?—”
I laughed.
It wasn’t a cute one; it was a hysterical one. I used both of my hands to cover my face as I laughed into my palms. My entire body shook with it. I couldn’t believe this was my reality. The deadliest siren in the magical realm was sitting on my boat, talking about courting me.
