Page 9 of Siren’s Mark (The Siren’s Mark Duology #1)

ZANE

As I walk through the door I’m hit with the familiar sights and sounds of Pike’s. I head toward the bar and wave at Kieran as he serves another customer.

“Well look who’s still alive!” he says, sliding me a beer. I haven’t been to Pike’s for a couple of weeks, pretty much since the night that we ran into Jen and Ava.

“Yeah, yeah,” I say. “I’ve been busy, alright?”

“Jesus, you can say that again. I’m fucking starving, man. Your new girlfriend is officially getting in the way of your wingman duties.”

“She’s not my girlfriend,” I say.

Fucking Kieran.

“Yeah, okay, man. Sure, she’s not your girlfriend. She’s just a girl you obsess over and you punch your best friend out when he makes a pass at her, and you’re out with her so much I haven’t seen you in weeks… but sure, yeah, she’s not your girlfriend.”

“I’ve only known her a couple weeks.”

“And yet you’re leaving me to fend for myself pretty much the entirety of those two weeks. The sex must be fuckin’ fantastic.”

I feel my jaw clench and I fight the urge to chuck this beer directly at his face.

“I wouldn’t know,” I say through my gritted teeth.

He looks at me, gobsmacked. “You don’t know?”

“No, I don’t know, okay? That proof enough for you that she ain’t my bloody girlfriend?”

His jaw drops and the corners of his mouth curve up as though he’s about to laugh.

Fucking Kieran.

“Holy shit, bro. You haven’t closed the deal? Either you’re really, truly interested in this girl or you’ve seriously lost your touch!”

“Piss off, Kieran.”

“Whoa,” he says teasingly. “Somebody’s sensitive. Did I touch a nerve? Your powers not as effective with the ladies as they used to be?”

“Powers are just fine, mate. Don’t need ‘em anyway.”

“Yeah right! Have you ever even seduced a woman without your powers?”

He’s really testing me tonight.

“You serious? This coming from the bloke who’s starving without me?”

“Hey!” he snaps. “I’m alive, aren’t I? Obviously I have more game than you do if you haven’t closed the deal with Ava.”

The beer bottle shatters in my hand, the shattering glass attracting eyes from around the room. Kieran quickly grabs a towel and pretends to look at my hand for wounds.

“Wow, so subtle there, Z,” a woman’s voice says.

I turn to see who it belongs to and meet Kami’s grin.

“You have to watch yourself. You know what happens if we get outed. Best case we get heat on us, worst case we attract attention from someone who wants to kill us. After all of these disappearances around town, it’s probably best if you don’t go around smashing bottles and making yourself a prime suspect. ”

“Don’t blame me. This twat is trying to start something,” I say nodding toward Kieran.

“He’s a demon,” she says. “That’s kind of his M.O.”

Kieran chuckles to himself, wiping beer off the counter.

“We’re having a debate, here, Kami. Incubus versus Siren, who has more game?” he says.

“Please,” she says. “Sirens. Hands down…”

“Without powers,” Kieran chimes in, cutting her off.

“Oh…” she says, pausing for a moment. “Then I guess it depends on the individual.”

“Me versus Zane,” he says as he pours us each a shot.

“Oh, you’re really underestimating Zane, here,” she says. “You forget he’s dated mostly other Immortals, a lot of Sirens in there too. He can’t use his powers on them. Plus he’s got the whole brooding, bad boy thing.”

“Come on,” he says. “I can do brooding bad boy.” He rolls up his sleeves to reveal tattoos on both arms. He still has the tattoos he used to impress Ava.

“Why the fuck are those still there?” I ask.

“Why, bro? You got a problem with them?” he asks, all but egging me on.

“When did you get those?” Kami asks. “You shift them on?”

“Yeah, uh… Kinda did it by accident,” he says.

“Ahhh, met a girl—or guy—who’s into tattoos, I take it?” she asks.

“Girl, yeah.”

For a moment he looks embarrassed. Is he still trying to get to Ava?

I feel heat rising in my chest.

“And you still have them?” she asks. “Just sleep with her and move on. Talk about no game… I’m sure Zane would’ve gotten the job done and moved on by now.”

“Oh, I think you’d be wrong about that,” he says with a mischievous grin.

I’m about to test the concept that an Incubus can’t be killed. I’d like to see how he survives his head being ripped off.

I grab one of the shots off the counter and down it.

“That’s it. You wanna play? We’ll play. Pick anyone in this bloody bar. You and me, no powers. First one they invite back to theirs wins.”

“Oh, it’s on!” he says, scanning the room. “Blonde, black dress.”

Leave it to Kieran to choose the most over-the-top-looking woman in this place. She has long, bleach-blond curled hair, heavy makeup, and a skin-tight dress that leaves nothing to the imagination. Her chest is practically spilling out. I should’ve known—she’s exactly his type.

Kieran and I have been chatting this girl up for 20 minutes and I’m so bored I almost don’t care who wins.

Almost.

After the way Kieran has been getting under my skin today, if I’m not going to sock him in the jaw, I’m at least going to win this stupid game. I can’t remember the last time I had to really try, let alone compete, for someone or something.

The blonde is currently laughing at some dumb joke Kieran has made. I’m clearly not winning at the moment; I need to bring it back. Ugh. This girl is so not my type.

She’s not Ava.

Bloody hell. My stupid brain. Where did that come from?

I try to refocus on the conversation, but my eyes catch Kieran’s inked forearms.

Are you fucking kidding me? He’s chatting up this girl and he’s still got Ava on his mind?

I want to tear the flesh from his bones, but right now I’ll settle for winning this.

I stare at the girl, focusing until my alcohol-induced haze morphs her dull blue eyes into a soft grey, her blond hair into a vibrant purple. Her eyes meet mine and for a moment I forget she’s this stranger in a bar.

“Sorry, love. I’m just so bloody captivated by you. I got lost for a moment.”

She shifts in her seat, a blush creeping over her cheeks.

“Wow, um…” she bats her eyelashes, and for a second the facade fades and she’s back to the random blonde.

Fuck. Focus.

“You’ve just got my head spinning,” I say. Suddenly the words are pouring out of me and I can feel my subconscious speaking for me. “I just can’t think straight. All I know is… I want to listen to every word you’ve ever wanted to say. I want all of you.”

Part of me knows that the words coming out of my mouth are insane. I don’t even know what I’m saying or what I mean. I’m too drunk to think straight.

Does she believe me? Does she believe these words are for her? Is this even what this woman wants to hear or is my brain just desperate to get the words out?

She leans closer to me, her eyes intense. It seems that my words are having their intended effect. She feigns a look of shyness while aggressively tracing her hand up the inside of my leg beneath the table.

“Hey, is that Ava?” Kieran’s voice says.

I shoot up from my seat as though I’ve been fired from a cannon, knocking over the barstool and someone’s drink as the table shakes.

Fuck fuck fuck.

My eyes scan the room but I don’t see any sign of that purple hair. I look back to see Kieran helping the blonde clean the spilled drink off her dress with a napkin.

Fucking tosser.