Page 37 of Siren Sins
This was a siren’s bar, and I had a sinking suspicion that Apollo owned it. The sirens were too relaxed as they slumped into chairs, their breasts swollen under their tight bikinis and their cheeks flushed with arousal.
The waitress returned with my coffee and then left me alone with my thoughts. She seemed human, and I contemplated why a siren bar would keep such staff as the conversations thrummed on.
“Are you looking forward to the party?” a young siren asked her sister as the waitress gave them fresh orange juice.
I leaned over my coffee and inhaled its steam as I listened to the reply. “Of course! Didn’t you hear? Apollo invited Derek.”
A gasp. “The Incubus King? Are you serious? Holy mermaids. Imagine how delicious he’ll be.”
“Are you insane?” the other siren squealed. “I’m going to look, but I’m not going to touch. He’s dangerous.” She leaned in and glanced around the bar. I amplified my hearing with the power of my Blood Stone to catch her breathy words. “I heard he’s even sucked a succubus dry. I don’t want to test my luck with him.”
The other girl laughed obnoxiously and I winced at the sharp ring of sound. “Your loss. I’m not afraid to take risks.” Her eyes sparkled. “We’re sirens. We dance with death every day. At least if I go down, I’ll go down… on him.”
The other girl chuckled. “Go for it. I’ll live vicariously through you.”
Taking a sip of my coffee, I shivered. The steaming liquid wasn’t enough to quell the ice forming in my stomach. If Apollo planned for Derek to come to Miami, it meant they were definitely working together. Something was going to go down and I needed to know what.
The sirens continued to gossip, but news of Derek’s impending visit was the hottest topic. It was as if they’d only just heard about it. I wasn’t going to find the information I was looking for here.
Leaving a hefty tip and exiting the bar, I wandered Miami, going through shops and looking for clues. It was only when I found myself in a dive shop did I find anything interesting.
Between snorkels and dive gear was a flyer that showed a fuzzy picture. I would have missed it had my Blood Stone not whispered to me.Look,it insisted, drawing me closer to the image.Is that…?
I plucked the flyer from the wall. Handwritten script etched the top stating “Mermaid Spotted. Reward if Found.”
It seemed ridiculous, but the image itself was from deep underwater with a single ray of light illuminating a fish. Only when I looked closely did I see a topless woman with full breasts and striking amber eyes that reflected in the flash of light.
This was Sarah when she’d been a mermaid.
“Oh, I see you found the local hoax going on,” said a man with beach-blonde shaggy hair.
Startled, I stared at him, helpless as my gaze fell to his open shirt that revealed a pack of abs that made my mouth water.
He laughed at my expression. “You must not be from around here.” He pressed his hand against the wall and leaned in. “My name’s Nick. I own this shop.” He pointed at the image. “What do you think? Is that picture real?”
I blushed as I looked again at the image that was clearly of Sarah. “Who took this?” I asked, looking up into his face and ignoring how close he was getting. My powers as a succubus affected men even if I wasn’t trying, and I didn’t blame him for becoming aroused around me. I was hungry. I couldn’t deny that. And when he leaned in even closer and smelled my hair, I tried my best to ignore him. I wasn’t a killer, not anymore. I would take what I needed from a siren… or from Luke, if he’d have me.
“I took it,” he said, his voice going low and husky. His fingers wrapped around mine as I clutched at the photo. “I put it up hoping someone would come around that had seen her too. I’ve told everyone it’s a hoax, but you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Maybe you’re the person I’ve been looking for.” His eyes fluttered closed as his lips brushed my cheek. “Why do you smell so good?”
I shook him off and he fluttered his eyes back open. He shook himself, his cheeks turning red as he rubbed the back of my neck. “Sorry, uh, I didn’t mean…”
I ignored his blathering apology for getting hot and heavy around me. It wasn’t his fault.
“It’s fine,” I said, then narrowed my eyes. “Why are you so convinced you saw a mermaid?”
His gaze went back to the photo wrinkled in my grip. “I know what I saw. I’m not going to let it go.” He looked up at me and frowned. “Do you know anything about it? You seem like you know something.”
I sighed. Even if he had seen Sarah, it didn’t change anything. She was still entrapped by the Tear of the Sea and Derek was still planning on taking over the world. A human getting mixed up in this mess was only going to be a distraction. “If I were you, I’d keep this quiet and stay away from the beach.” When he frowned I added, “Unless you want to get yourself killed.”
I’d hoped that my warning would have been enough to scare the dive shop owner off, but he was a human. Humans were good at one thing, and that was running straight into danger head-on.
I lingered outside of the dive shop long after it had closed and night had fallen on the city. Streetlights loomed over glistening asphalt and a humid breeze cooled the layer of sweat at the back of my neck.
Just as I’d expected, when Nick came out and locked up shop, he didn’t jump on his bike and head home. Instead, he walked towards the beach, and I fell into the shadows behind him.
He looked over his shoulder as if he sensed me on his tail.
My Blood Stone piped in with an exasperated tone.If the human wants to get himself killed, just let him. In fact, you should just feed on him. He’s your find. A siren doesn’t deserve him.
