Page 9

Evelyn

K atarina saunters up the beach wearing her favorite garment of choice—her scales. My sister has always had an easy confidence about her. She’s a fast swimmer, a powerful temptress with the voice of an angel, and excels at making the Elders proud by indulging in all their festivities.

I spent my entire adult life reminding myself that I have my own strengths, and as much as I want to impress the Elders, lately I haven’t been able to fully join in their temptations without feeling hollow inside. I crave a real connection.

“E, what are you doing here? We’ve been looking everywhere for you,” she turns her head abruptly to Kai and raises a brow with a smirk. “Oh, I see. You’ve been occupied.”

Kai looks awestruck, unable to pull his gaze away from my sister's naked form, and there is a blush crawling up his neck and settling in his cheeks. It seems not even he is immune to Katarina’s charms.

“Who is that?” He whispers, eyes quickly snapping back to my sister, as if he can’t bear to look away from her for more than a moment.

Katarina turns to me and quirks a brow, knowing full well I don’t usually participate in helping the men understand their new fates. She boldly takes a step closer to Kai, making me flare with an irrational jealousy I’ve never felt before, but inside my head is screaming.

He’s mine. I saved him.

She will not turn this one into another one of her play toys.

“Have you told him nothing?”

“I have, he just woke up. He was injured in the wreck, and I spent the night healing him. I was just telling him about the island before you arrived.”

“Perfect, I love a fresh one. Sweetie, you can follow me, I’ll give you the full tour .” She purrs while grazing her fingers across his chest. “Are you still hurt, sailor? I can cure that right up.”

“I–uh,” Kai sputters, clearing his throat, trying hard not to show a reaction. Katarina is standing so close to him that her large breasts brush against his chest.

“Sister,” I say quickly, grabbing her arm and pulling her in front of me.

Kai practically sighs in relief, his hands clenched tightly at his sides, looking like he’s resisting every urge to let this affect him.

He shifts uncomfortably and adjusts the front of his pants, attempting to hide what appears to be his growing desire.

“He needs to get back to our village so that the Elders can take a look at him. I did what I could, but he lost a lot of blood. I want to make sure he’s okay and fully recovered.”

“Well, let me show him the way,” she smirks and takes a step back in front of him, flicking her hair behind her back, making sure he can see every inch of her bare body.

I close my eyes with an exasperated groan and then open them to look at Kai again. I’m taken by surprise to see that he isn’t paying Kat any attention at all, he’s looking right at me.

I stare at him, the beauty of his features and the kindness in his eyes. I’m captivated by those green eyes, and the longer I gaze into them, the stronger my need grows to help him, hold him, touch him.

I begin to wonder if he could be happy here with me, on the island forever. Could he be what I’ve been missing for so long?

Sweet intense heat rushing between my thighs as I imagine all the deplorable things he whispered to me in his delirium the previous evening.

Suddenly, the need to taste this man’s lips again takes over my senses.

His shirt does nothing to hide the strength lurking beneath, and I want to feel his hard chest against mine, to know how he will feel inside me.

Would he be commanding and domineering? Would he let me use my gifts to take control? I have to know.

He coughs loudly and waves his hand in front of my face. How long was I daydreaming for? I really need to pull it together. Katarina snorts at me knowingly like she’s aware of exactly what I was thinking about.

“Evelyn,” and the way my name sounds on his lips makes that heat spread to the far reaches of my body. “Are you ready to go?”

“Y–yes,” I bite out. “I just need to speak with my sister quickly.”

I force a smile and yank Kat’s arm, pulling her far enough away so that Kai can’t hear our conversation.

“Listen, Kat,” I whisper, taking a cautious peek at Kai before continuing.

“He’s mine. I know I haven’t been interested in the men who wash up on our shores in a long time, but this one is different.

I don’t know.” I murmur, looking at him again, only to have my heart flutter instantly in response. “I feel… a spark between us.”

“A spark? Could it be? My sister, in love?” Her lips spread into a feline smile, “I never thought I would see the day.”

“Don’t be dramatic. It’s not love. It—it’s just…

lust. An overwhelming feeling.” I blush slightly at my confession.

“Have you seen him? There’s something about his features and those…

those things on his face. I can’t stop staring.

Look at his jawline, his golden curls, and I mean, did you see his chest?

He could carry me out to sea any day.” I begin to laugh at the sudden burst of sharing my innermost thoughts.

Katarina has never been shy about sharing her conquests and exploits.

It honestly feels so freeing to finally share along with her.

“Well, well, well.” She laughs. “It’s finally time for you to join in the party with us again, sis. And might I say,” she looks over her shoulder to glance at Kai and winks. “He is a fine choice.”

We both start to giggle, and I can’t help but steal little looks at the lost sailor, admiring the view. We briefly make eye contact, and I feel it again—that spark, that pulsing need. No part of me has ever felt this carnal yearning for another being, and it feels so freeing.

Knowing that we have a long day ahead of us, full of meeting the other sirens and making sure Kai’s on the mend, a heavy disappointment settles in my gut.

I probably won’t have another moment alone with him for quite some time once we arrive there.

The Elders will have other plans once they know there is another sailor in our midst.

My sister looks at me knowingly and declares, “It’s quite a long walk to the other side of the island, and I’m exhausted from helping your ship out of the storm. I think I’ll swim to the other side. Can you handle it from here, E?” She winks.

“Yes, absolutely.” I squeal internally, hoping for a chance to get to know this man a little more intimately on our walk over.

“Wait,” Kai stops her just before she dives into the waves, and I clench my jaw at the hungry gaze she sends back at him. “My crew, did they survive?”

Katarina’s look of hunger fades momentarily, “Some.” She says solemnly. “The ship made it out of the storms on your side of them, the ones that didn’t…well, you’re the only one on this side still alive.”

Kai’s mouth is a hard line, but he nods his thanks to my sister, and that sly smirk spreads across her face again as she says, “Don’t have too much fun without me,” and dives into the waves.

“Well, are you ready?” I ask.

“I think so, as long as you promise to take it slow. I’m still feeling like I swallowed half the ocean, and my back still feels as if I lost a fight to a dragon.” He tries to smile, but it falls flat.

I know he must feel guilty about the sailors who lost their lives. For being the reason they were all here in the first place.

Walking back to him, I grab his hand in an attempt to provide some level of comfort and wave my sister off into the dark depths. Knowing her, she will take her time getting to the other side, allowing me an opportunity to figure out what it is about Kai that makes me tingle with an incessant need.

We begin our journey down the beach while he keeps the grip on my hand and lazily begins to draw circles with his thumb against the back of it.

Each step seems to be slower and more painful than the last, as I wait for him to break the silence.

I can feel myself thrumming with the urge to reach up and kiss his soft lips, slip my tongue inside, and taste him again.

I want nothing more than to lower him to the sands and peel off every layer of sandy clothes to show him exactly how much I appreciate his form.

“So, how long have you all lived here?” He asks, interrupting my thoughts.

Feeling my face flush, I turn away before answering. “The sirens? For centuries, as far as I know. This island has always belonged to us. I’ve lived here my whole life.” “And how long has that been?”

“Are you asking how old I am? Don’t you know it’s not polite to ask a siren’s age?” I joke, pushing against his arm. Our eyes meet, and my breath nearly vanishes completely as I say, “A hundred and twenty-seven years.”

Kai’s brows raise and his mouth is slightly ajar, “I—my Gods, what’s a normal age range for a siren?

I didn’t realize that creatures…” He stops, rubbing anxiously at the back of his neck.

“I mean, well, I just didn’t know that mythical beings such as yourself lived so long.

But I’m no expert, clearly. Since I didn’t even know you existed until today. ”

I offer him an amused smile to show I’m not offended by his surprise. “No one really knows how old the head Elder of our village, Yvette, actually is. She’s the oldest of us all, but Katarina and I suspect she's nearly five hundred years old.”

“Gods, that's a long time,” he muses. “Well, we are sort of the same age…minus one hundred years. I’m twenty-seven.” He laughs, and his entire face lights up in a way that causes a spark of desire to shoot through me.

There is a silence between us again as I try to reign in my feelings for this man, and then he goes and asks something that has the heat coursing through my veins, turning to ice.

“When we were on the beach before your sister came, you said you had to tell me something. What was it?”