Page 32 of Siren’s Mark (The Siren’s Mark Duology #1)

ZANE

“What the hell are you doing here?” I ask. I can feel my heartbeat slowing and I release his shirt from my balled fist.

“Kami told me you’d all be here and we thought I’d surprise you,” Finn says.

My heart is still beating heavily.

Okay, the guy talking to Ava was Finn. So he wasn’t hitting on her.

Someone isn’t trying to take her from me.

She’s not going to leave me.

It was just Finn.

Damn it. I’m a Siren. I’m supposed to be the one that others yearn for, obsess over, get jealous of. But with Ava, even when I try and turn the tables, I can’t.

I’m acting like a desperate idiot.

“Mate, that’s what love is,” Finn’s voice says in my head. “It’s another person making you completely helpless.”

“We already getting sappy?” I think.

“Well, you did just imagine some aggressive things about my balls, so I feel like we’re at that level in our relationship.”

I chuckle as he brings me in for a hug.

“What the heck?” Ava asks, staring blankly at us. “You were trying to kill him a second ago and now you’re hugging?”

“My apologies,” Finn says with a smile. “Forgot to use my outside voice.”

“Finn can communicate telepathically,” I explain to Ava.

“Yeah uh, I know,” she says, blushing slightly.

He told her he was telepathic already? That’s unusual.

“While you were obsessing over my balls, Ava here was…” he looks to her with a smirk then back at me. “Well, let’s just say you have similar interests.”

What’s this now?

Ava lightly smacks Finn in the chest.

“First rule of thought club!” she says. “Geez!”

They’re probably talking about something she was thinking about me, right?

Right?

The bartender makes his way to our end of the bar; we seem to be up next.

“Anything for you three?” he says, turning to me. “You already back for another? Gotta go easy on that absinthe, dude, it’s heavy stuff.”

Finn explodes with laughter.

Oh shut up, mate.

“I am so confused,” Ava says.

“A Guinness, a cider…” Finn says to the bartender, pausing to turn to me and struggling to hold back his laughter. “Another absinthe for the Iron Siren?”

I might need it to prevent me from killing you.

“Okay, no absinthe then,” he says with a smile.

As we make our way back to the booth, I pull Ava in to my side.

With her in that dress, I can’t believe I let her walk to the bathroom without a bodyguard.

I look down at her as we walk and my eyes can’t help but stop at her breasts.

Fuck.

This dress is going to kill me. I’ve hardly been able to look at her all night.

I could take her to the coatroom, charm the attendant into letting us back there, take her against the wall…

“What’s the deal with absinthe, anyway?” Ava asks, shaking me from my thoughts.

This is embarrassing.

“It contains a particular spice that, erm… has a calming effect in Sirens.”

“Calming?” she asks, nearly shouting trying to speak over the music.

“I had some because I haven’t been able to get you off my mind all night. It’s driving me mad. There’s a reason I couldn’t have you sitting on my lap, love. It’s a miracle I’ve kept my hands to myself this long.”

She blushes and looks up at me with those grey eyes.

“I couldn’t help but notice it was fine when Gabby sat on your lap.” Her expression is playfully pouty.

“As much as I love seeing you jealous over me,” I say into her ear, “I can’t fucking stand Gabby. Not that any woman could possibly be competition for you. She sat on me for a couple seconds and I hardly noticed. I was more focused on you getting chatted up by… well, Finn, apparently.”

“How would you feel if I sat down on another man’s lap?”

Well fuck. My blood starts to boil just thinking about it.

“You’re right. It won’t happen again.”

She smiles and seems to be satisfied with my answer. Lucky for me, the alcohol seems to have her in a forgiving mood.

“Finn, you gorgeous motherfucker!” Kieran shouts as we approach the booth.

“Heeyyyy!” Finn says, pulling Kieran in for a hug. Finn gives Kami a quick hug as well and introduces himself to Gabby.

I take a seat between Ava and Finn. Ava leans into me and rests her head on my shoulder.

Damn it, even this is distracting.

So much for the old absinthe trick.

Maybe I should have another. Or maybe I should just carry some aster on me whenever I’m with Ava. Loads of Sirens keep some on hand just in case.

“You got it that bad?” Finn asks through my thoughts.

Oh piss off. Get outta my head.

“Ava, I love what you’ve done with our boy, here,” he says aloud with a smile and a pat on my back. “The ‘Iron Siren’ thing was so boring!”

That nickname just won’t die, will it?

“I know, right?” Kieran says. “Where was the fire? The intensity? I was beginning to think he wasn’t a Siren at all.”

“Iron Siren?” Ava asks. I turn toward her but find my eyes dodging the moment we make eye contact. Every time I properly look at her, I just want to jump her.

The irony of this conversation is not lost on me.

“For a while, Zane was known for being very controlled, very unshakeable,” Kami explains. “Most Sirens are the opposite—feisty, quick-tempered, possessive, sexual…”

“That sounds like you to me,” Ava says, giving me a wink.

Keep it together, Zane.

“Yeah well, it is now,” Kami says. “Thanks to you.”

“I didn’t even know the color of your Siren eyes ’til tonight!” Finn says with a laugh. “I can’t believe I got to see it all first hand!”

“Oh get used to it, Finny,” Keiran chimes in. “The eyes are flashing on and off nonstop these days.”

“Can we talk about a subject that’s not me, please?” I ask. “How have you been, Finn? How’s Marella?”

“She’s great,” Finn says. “We just got done visiting her family so I’m looking forward to some land time.”

Ava looks at him with an odd expression.

“My wife is mostly confined to the water,” Finn says. “She’s a water spirit, so she can only come on land at certain times. We live in the Pacific most of the time, then I come on land to manage our affairs for a few months every year.”

Ava nods but I can tell she’s very confused.

“Yeah, well I’m a Selkie,” he says, presumably answering a question in her thoughts.

Of course, she probably doesn’t know what that means.

“He’s a lovely little mermaid!” Kieran says with a giggle. A slight slur in his voice makes it clear that the alcohol has kicked in.

“Something like that,” Finn says, taking a sip of his drink.

It’s more or less correct. Part seal, part human, that’s basically a mermaid. (Although, you might hear a very different opinion from actual Merpeople.)

“So I’m back for a while to keep everything in order,” Finn continues, “and hang out with a couple of my favorite Sirens.”

He laughs and squeezes my and Kami’s knees.

“So you’re married?” Gabby asks. She’s just met Finn, so I imagine she’s feeling left out.

“Oh yeah, coming up on a hundred years or so.”

Selkies are hardcore monogamists once they find their partner. Since they live for thousands of years, it takes ‘mating for life’ to a whole new level.

Kieran’s eyes go wide. “Jesus, Finn, you’ve been married for almost a hundred years? That’s literally my worst nightmare.”

Finn chuckles and takes a gulp of his Guinness. “I’m pretty sure being married to you for a hundred years would be anyone’s worst nightmare.”

“Ohhhhh!” Kieran yells, holding his hand up to Finn for a high five. “Nice one.”

“What about you two?” Finn asks, gesturing toward me and Ava. He points to the rose tattoo on Ava’s wrist. “Is that just a tattoo or is it covering…”

Shut up, Finn.

“Shit, sorry… sore subject?” Finn’s voice echoes in my head.

“Uhh,” he continues, stumbling over his words. “I mean, you guys both have tattoos so you’ve committed to having those for a long time.”

He gives up on his clumsy save and opts for chugging the remainder of his beer instead.

“Okay, that wasn’t my finest. And from her thoughts it sounds like she’s not buying it. I’m thick. I just thought…” Finn says telepathically. “You’re so wild about her and she has a tattoo on her wrist.”

She doesn’t know about the mark, Finn.

I look over at Ava who’s squinting in my direction, confusion evident in her expression.

“I’ve always wanted to get a tattoo,” Gabby interrupts.

Thank fuck for Gabby right now.

“I think I would look super good with one,” Gabby adds. “Like on my chest, so it would only show when I wear low-cut stuff.”

It’s no surprise that Gabby’s remark has caught Kieran’s attention.

“I think that would be a great idea,” Kieran says, staring shamelessly at Gabby’s cleavage. “But like, where exactly?”

“Don’t answer that, Gabby,” Kami snaps, glaring at Kieran.

Aaaand we’ve lost Kieran.

“If you get it on the sternum area it’s supposed to be really painful,” Ava says. “I looked into it a while ago, but I’ve heard it’s not worth it.”

Uhhh…

My eyes migrate back to Ava’s chest.

Damn it.

Her eyes catch mine and I can no longer think straight. Her eyes and smile have an effect on me that her body can’t even touch.

I’ve completely lost track of the conversation.

Ava takes a drink of her cider and wraps her lips around the tip of the bottle.

Fuck.

My mind floods with a series of vivid thoughts.

“You dirty slut,” Finn’s voice says in my head.

Get out of my head, Finn.

“See! There they go again!” Kieran says, pointing at me.

There what go again?

“I don’t know why you’d be triggered now,” Kieran says. “I didn’t even say anything about Ava’s tits yet.”

Yet? I’m seriously going to kill him.

“Haha, there we go, they’re even brighter now,” Kieran says. “Oh oh, Finn! This is perfect. You can tell us, what’s he thinking? Does he want to kill me or does the thought of a threesome with me just turn him on?”

Gotta admit, thinking about sex with Kieran is a great way to kill my libido. Now I just want to smash Kieran’s face into the wall.

“I never kiss and tell,” Finn says, giving me a wink.

Thankfully I know Finn keeps other people’s thoughts to himself. That’s especially helpful now since my mind has been on sex since the minute Ava revealed that damn dress.

She thinks I can handle dancing with her when she’s looking this good? I’m nearly dying just looking at her, let alone touching her. Or having her touching me.

Fucking evil dress is what it is.

Bloody hell.

I lean in to whisper into Ava’s ear.

“Follow me. Now .”

I pull Ava through the crowd toward the entrance.

She giggles and asks, “Where are we going?”

I have a bit of tunnel vision as we make our way to the coat check.

“Are we leaving?” she asks.

“Nope.”

“Excuse me,” I say, lightly touching the wrist of the woman behind the counter. “Quietly let us back to the coatroom, then give us some privacy. When we leave, you’re going to forget we were ever here.”

The woman quietly nods as she opens the door to let us back.

“Zane,” Ava says, playfully admonishing me. “You’re not serious.”

We enter the larger closet section. It’s dimly lit and lined wall-to-wall with coats. I close the door behind us and pin Ava against a rack of coats. I can see her face is slightly illuminated by the glow of my own eyes.

“Dead serious, baby,” I say.

She smiles slightly and her lips part. She pulls me in by the front of my shirt and brings her lips to mine; softly at first, then faster. The taste of apples and alcohol from the cider lingers on her lips.

I slip my arms around her hips and lift her up, knocking coats off their hangers as she wraps her legs around me.

Her eyes remind me of the first time we kissed, or rather—when she kissed me. They’re a beautiful, soft grey with wide pupils and a look of lust. It was the only time I had ever let someone catch me off guard. The first moment of many when this woman captivated me; took me by surprise.

Is it possible she’s gotten more beautiful? More entrancing?

Those wide pupils hold my greatest fear: that her love is nothing more than an effect of my powers. But in this moment, I see a true intensity of emotion behind them. Maybe even nearing my own.

I find myself unable to hold back my own increasingly frantic touches, as though I need to take in all of her at once, by feel alone.

This dress hugs her every curve and her chest is gloriously on display.

Evil. Evil. Evil dress.

My trousers feel unreasonably tight. Her fingers fumble at my shirt’s buttons and I rip it open in one quick motion.

She giggles as I lightly bite her neck. It’s taking more restraint than I’d like to admit not to bite harder.

The dress has ridden up her thighs, and I pull it further up to her hips.

Evil. Evil. Bloody genius dress.

She’s managed to unbuckle my belt already and pulls my zipper down. I shiver under her touch, letting out a bit of a growl. She strokes me through my pants and I swear I’m seeing stars.

“What are you doing to me?” I moan, aching for more of her touch.

The club music is booming on the other side of the walls, making the room vibrate. My subconscious has taken over my body and every move of my hands and hips is out of my control. We both pant and grope until I sink into her, both of us groaning in relief.

Soft moans escape her lips as I thrust at a desperate pace. I’ve knocked over roughly eighty percent of the coats in this room, but damn it if I won’t get to a hundred.

My eyes trace the lines of the red dress from her shoulder across her chest and down as it wraps around her hips. Her nails dig into my back and down the ridges where my wings would emerge. I grab hold of the wall to steady myself as my legs start to shake beneath me.

A loud, thick growl emerges from my throat.

“Shhh,” Ava whispers in my ear.

With one more thrust we both come undone and I collapse to my knees.

“Alright love,” I say between heavy breaths. “You want to go dance?”