A Song of Death and Desire (The Sirens of Witches Cove)

36. Chapter 36

Chapter 36

T he next few days seem to pass in a blur. It continues to surprise me how well Kairi and I get along and share space. Tom was right when he said I generally don’t like to live with anyone. I didn’t hate living with Kelly, but I still found that she often pushed me to do things that I was reluctant to do. I didn’t feel like I could completely relax around her. Other than Kelly, I haven’t lived long-term with anyone else since living with my parents.

Something that I’ve noticed with Kairi is she is more than willing to go with the flow. This might be because she’s new to being human in general, but she rarely has strong opinions about how something should be done. She also seems happy to go along with my choices. It’s because of this that I find myself paying more attention to what she likes and dislikes and making decisions with these things in mind. She doesn’t demand things from me which makes me more willing to give them. It’s some kind of fucked up logic but it means that our dynamic is completely different to what mine was with Kelly.

I also really enjoy spending time with her. She makes me laugh and I find her enthusiasm for mundane things contagious.

We haven’t done anything sexual since our talk the other night, much to the disappointment of my chronically hard cock, but her face is far too easy to read, and I can tell that she is struggling to determine how to interact with me.

I’ve thrown myself back into work and have sent a few designs to Tom for approval. He’s told me he is pleased with what I have done and is happy for me to continue working from home. He doesn’t want to overload me with work too quickly, which is understandable. But I am also eager to help out, given that I know how completely inundated with work Tom is at the moment. I’ll be patient, though, and succeed at the work he gives me.

Kairi has also found a real love for retail. I was shocked when she told me about the job, and I didn’t lie when I told her that I had my doubts about her abilities. But once again, she surprised me and I’m learning that she is a lot more capable than I have given her credit for. I can also see that it’s improving her overall confidence in the human world.

She’s gone into the boutique every day this week. She told me that Kelsey didn’t actually need her every day, but Kairi was so eager that she pushed Kelsey to agree to extra shifts. It’s been nice to have the apartment to myself for a few hours each day. It allows me time to work without distraction and gives me the opportunity to think about my next steps.

We have also seen a lot of Sienna this week. She’s keeping busy during the days but will often come over for dinner. I get the impression that something isn’t quite right with her. If you didn’t know her as well as I do you probably wouldn’t notice, but I see the way her smile drops when she thinks neither of us are looking at her. I haven’t had the chance to ask her yet, but I know I need to make it a priority. She’s been here for two weeks now, and I know she will have to go back any day, but she still hasn’t mentioned when she has to return.

As the afternoon drags on, I take a break and decide to make a short trip into town. It feels like deja vu when I walk out the door of the apartment building only to come face to face with that journalist guy again. The nervous looking one with the disheveled hair. What was his name?

“Mr. Reynolds can I please have a moment of your time? It really is important.” Jeez this guy cannot take a hint.

“As I told you before, I’m not interested. Please leave me alone.”

“When the boat crashed did you see anything in the ocean? Anything that you couldn’t explain perhaps? Or did you hear anything unusual?”

I immediately go cold, and my heart begins to race. “I told you I don’t remember anything,” I respond, perhaps too quickly. “I’ve asked you to leave me alone. If you continue to come onto my property I’m going to have to get the authorities involved.”

Once again, I have to be the one who walks away from the conversation. This time, I’m entirely filled with dread. Why was he asking those questions? What does he know? Is Kairi in danger? My thoughts automatically go to Kairi and the urge to protect her. This journalist might be a problem. We need to keep an eye on him.

Later I decide that it might do us all good to have a night out. I doubt Kairi has even experienced going to a bar and I’ll invite Sienna and maybe even Tom and Lacey. Yeah. That sounds like a good idea. It can be a celebration of Kairi’s new job and my return to work.

I send text messages to Sienna and Tom and get replies back almost instantly saying that they’re in. Apart from the small stop at the bar with Tom recently, I don’t even remember the last time I had a night out. I definitely can’t remember the last time I wanted to go out. Now I just have to wait until Kairi gets home to let her know.

Kairi is just as excited as I had anticipated when I tell her that we are going out and I get the pleasure of witnessing her crazy dance moves once more. I love the way she has no inhibitions and isn’t afraid to be herself. She even lets out her signature squeal when I let her know that Tom and Lacey will also be there.

“Oh, my goddess, what if they don’t like me?” she asks, running strands of hair through her fingers.

“Don’t worry, Tom and Lacey like everyone,” I respond.

We are interrupted by a knock on the door, and I open it to find Sienna.

“Hey Enna, what are you doing here? I thought we were going to meet at the bar.”

“I thought Kairi might appreciate someone to get ready with.” The scream that comes from behind me suggests that Kairi would indeed like that. I wordlessly gesture to Sienna, inviting her inside and she walks straight past me to Kairi.

“It’s great to see you too, Enna,” I call out as she and Kairi shut themselves in her room. She just laughs in response.

After what feels like a long time later, I’m ready to go and am trying to hurry up the girls. “Come on,” I groan. “What could you possibly be doing in there that is taking so long?”

“You can’t rush perfection,” Sienna yells out in reply.

The sound of the bedroom door opening draws my attention, and all the breath suddenly leaves my lungs. Kairi stands before me. I thought she looked like a goddess before, but now, now, I wonder if there is any being that tops a goddess in beauty. Her long sunset hair, while usually mostly straight with a slight wave, now falls to her waist in soft curls. Her emerald eyes that capture me in her spell are dusted with a dark shimmer on the eyelids, her eyelashes impossibly long. And her lips, fuck her lips, red and glossy and all I can think about is seeing that lipstick smudged on my cock. It takes me a long moment before I’m even able to look away from her face but when I do, the sight has me wanting to fall to my knees to worship at her altar.

Kairi is wearing a form-fitting, very short, black, silky dress. It’s so tight to her body that it’s positively indecent and leaves nothing to the imagination. A deep v neckline shows the swells of her breasts and I think I can see a shimmer to the skin of her cleavage.

I am completely and utterly lost for words. She is every daydream and fantasy I have ever had, wrapped up in a black silk package. I want to devour her. Consume her . How the hell does she expect me to walk out the door with her looking like this? I want her all to myself. The idea of anyone even looking at her in this outfit has a growl building in my throat.

I’m broken out of my trance by the sound of the girls laughing. Sienna leans in and whispers into Kairi’s ear. I can’t hear what she says but it causes Kairi to beam. I finally look at my sister and notice that she dressed up as well. They obviously decided to go all out tonight.

“So big brother, what do you think? How do we look?” she asks, giving a twirl. But I can’t take my eyes off of Kairi. She’s going to be branded in my memory forever looking like this.

“So fucking gorgeous,” I whisper, looking only at Kairi as the words escape me. Her eyes widen but her attention is pulled away by Sienna’s howling laughter.

“Oh my god, Kairi. You made him speechless! Look at him!” My cheeks flush and I make a mental note to get Sienna back for this later. I cough trying to recover from my mental lapse.

“You… er… both look beautiful. You did a good job,” I stammer out and can’t miss the twinkle in Kairi’s eyes and the pink that tinges her cheeks. “Let’s just go.” I internally shake myself to try and rid myself of the completely inappropriate thoughts I’m having, which include carrying Kairi straight back into the bedroom, peeling off that dress, and tasting every single inch of her.

We catch a ride share to the bar and wait out front until Tom and Lacey join us shortly after. They greet Sienna with a hug and stand back with smirks on their faces as they wait for me to introduce Kairi. I notice that Kairi is bouncing on her toes and fidgeting with the hem of her dress, both indicators that she’s feeling nervous and excited.

“Tom and Lacey, this is my friend Kairi.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Kairi jumps in, never one to hold back in social environments. “I have heard so much about you both. Eagan always says the nicest things.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you too, Kairi. You and Sienna look so wonderful tonight,” Lacey gushes.

“Thanks so much. Sienna helped me get ready,” Kairi says smiling.

“Alright let’s go inside. I have had a hell of a week and could use a drink, or five,” Tom chuckles, and we follow his lead.

Tonight, the bar has a completely different vibe to the weekday I came here with Tom last. On the weekend, this is one of the top places to be for anyone under the age of forty. It turns into more of a club scene, which is not usually my thing but tonight is an exception.

The sound of the crowd crashes over me in a wave and I’m momentarily blinded by the flashing lights. Kairi slowly circles, staring in awe at the people around her. It looks like my suspicions were correct and she’s never been to a place like this before.

We slide into the booth with me sitting beside Kairi and it takes all of my mental strength not to trail my fingers up her creamy, white thighs. Tom, Sienna, and I order a whiskey. Lacey convinces Kairi to try some sort of fruity concoction, and the drinks are brought out to us quickly. It’s only as I am raising my drink to my mouth that I realize I’m missing a very important piece of information about Kairi.

“Please, for the love of god, tell me you are over twenty-one years old,” I whisper into her ear. I don’t have a clue how sirens age. She looks to be in her early twenties, but I don’t know whether sirens age at the same rate as humans.

“Of course, I am. I’m fifty-five,” she replies, looking me dead in the eyes, and I swear my heart stops beating.

“Seriously?”

“Ha! You should see your face,” she says in between fits of laughter. “I can’t believe you thought I was being serious. I’m twenty-four you idiot.” I let out a long breath, my mouth twitching as I try not to smile.

Kairi’s hysterics have caught the attention of our booth, and everyone is staring at us. I can’t stop the bark of laughter that escapes me at the perplexed looks on their faces. I have to give it to her; she really got me good with that one. But it’s made me realize that I would very much like to get to know her better. I want to look past her actions as a siren because I’m learning there is far more to Kairi than I originally thought.