Chapter 22 #3
I shoved him away with my hands, startling him again. He didn’t go far because he was still a massive man, so when he tried to reach for me again, I lifted my foot that didn’t have a throbbing, painful broken toe and pressed it against his bare chest.
Right between his massive pecks. Heat flared in his eyes at the move, and I tried my best to ignore it.
“You killed Liam’s parents—you ripped their hearts out—” Drustan cut me off by grabbing my ankle with one hand. His fingers folded over each other.
“—and I would do it again if given the chance,” he scowled with his words. A frown pulled at his lips.
“Because you loved killing them so much?” I asked through a shiver.
Cold chills had raced down my arms at the thought.
I was again reminded of how alone we were.
He could rip my heart out, too, with little thought, and no one would find me.
He could dump my body in the ocean, only for it to wash up on shore days later. “B-because—”
His grip on my ankle tightened a moment before he roughly yanked me under him, sliding me away from the pantry doors so that I was flat on my back. He braced one large arm on his elbow near my shoulder so that he could lean down toward my shocked face. His damp red hair tickled my shoulders.
“I don’t lose any sleep over killing those fae, Vanessa.
” Drustan shook his head. “I’d do it again, and again, and again.
I lull myself to sleep at night, recalling the sounds of their screams, slowly morphing into pathetic gurgling as they drowned in their own blood.
I will never apologize for finding pleasure in that memory. ”
A sharp pang of understanding hit my ribcage, and I hated that I sympathized with someone like this.
That I had a past that even allowed me to sympathize with someone like this.
From my vulnerable position on my back, I was still willing to argue with him.
“All the more reason for me to be fucking terrified of you right now.”
Drustan’s lips pulled back, slowly, slowly. As if my words humored him. Something flashed in his eyes. Was it heavy emotion? Was it insanity? I couldn’t tell. I was too distracted by the speed of my heart rapidly beating in my ribcage.
“You’re a little frightened of me, that I will concede,” Drustan murmured. He pressed his lips together in that shit-eating grin before he continued, “…but that also excites you.”
I made a what the fuck face at him, “No. It doesn’t. I am not excited to be alone on a boat, in the middle of the ocean, with a killer.”
Drustan smirked as he dragged his tongue across his teeth, letting his gaze travel over me again before replying, “Fortunately for you, I’m your killer. Whether you want to accept it or not.”
“Dude!” I lifted my hands to shove him off of me, and he let me push him away with a low chuckle.
I stood and marched toward the captain’s deck, ignoring my throbbing toe—which probably wasn’t truly broken if I could walk on it—determined to take us back to shore.
I could hear his footsteps as he followed me; my body could feel his approach.
Fine hairs rose on the back of my neck the closer he came.
Was this…was this a mate thing? No. It’s a woman being pursued by a dangerous man thing.
I huffed, threw myself into the captain’s chair, and started to draw up the anchor. Drustan sat in the passenger seat next to me, just like he had arrived. Except he was a huge siren now, so the chair looked significantly smaller underneath him than it did in his human disguise.
“I take it that we are going to let the fish choke on plastic today?” Drustan asked as he struggled to find a comfortable position with his larger body.
“Eat glass,” I snapped at him.
“The fish probably will without our help,” he replied with a quiet laugh to himself, before he frowned at the chair and murmured, “I was promised a date that involved cleaning up the reefs, but now we’re leaving. It almost feels like you don’t like me anym—”
“What the hell is wrong with you?” I asked as I checked the tank levels.
“Where would you like to start?” Drustan replied without looking at me.
He was still frowning at the chair, and how he didn’t fit in it anymore in his actual size.
“Perhaps it was the pure joy I felt ripping the hearts out of the worst fae in the realm. Maybe it was five years of torture in the Gravhune. Maybe it’s because my mate doesn’t seem—”
“Stop it.” I glared at him. “Sit still and stop talking.”
Drustan laughed at that. He lifted his molten gaze to mine and smiled with his words, “I know you enjoy the sound of my voice, my song. It would be a shame to deny you it.” I widened my eyes at him in disbelief, fighting the urge to scream in frustration at him.
His eyes flared in response, his grin picked up a notch.
“I hate your voice.” I lied.
“No, you don’t.” Drustan lifted his arms to hold both of his hands behind his head. He turned the chair toward me, showing off his bare, toned torso, his large arms, and that dangerously handsome face.
“I do hate it,” I grumbled through clenched teeth. I was determined to stand my ground.
“You are drawn to my voice, Vanessa. As I am drawn to yours,” Drustan explained.
I shook my head and replied, “My draw to you isn’t real. It’s just your siren sinndra—”
Drustan lifted an eyebrow as he replied, “You are completely immune to my sinndra, Vanessa.”
I snapped my mouth closed, not expecting that response.
“What?”
“Mates are equals, in every way. I cannot use my sinndra on you—and trust me, I’ve tried. Several times, in fact, only to prove exactly what we are to each other.”
I balled my hands into fists. “We’re nothing to each other.”
“You’re drawn to my voice, my smell, my body,” Drustan continued, ignoring my protest. “As I am to you. Because I was designed by the goddess Tynara herself to specifically appeal to you. Because you’re mine, and I’m yours.”
“You’re not—” I groaned, ignoring the fluttering in my heart, and pinched the bridge of my nose with my fingers.
I squeezed my eyes closed to fight the headache that was starting to form.
“We’re not what you think we are. I’m just a horny woman.
Just because there’s sexual chemistry doesn’t mean that we’re—that you’re… ” I couldn’t even finish the sentence.
I opened my eyes and dropped my hand on the steering wheel of my boat to study him. Drustan pressed his lips together and hummed in thought.
“Do you think this is our first fight as a couple? Or—” He was interrupted when I grabbed my insulated water bottle and threw it at his head. He dodged it, laughing as he did so. It spilled somewhere, but I didn’t care about that right now.
“We are not a couple, Dru—” I cut myself off and shook my head, glaring at the ceiling of the cabin as I gripped the steering wheel with one hand.
The anchor was secured now, but we hadn’t taken off yet.
We were floating in the calm waters of the Pacific.
As if Mother Nature herself was letting us hash this out before we got a move on.
“I must admit,” Drustan replied, his tone a little lower. “I’m still learning the details about human courting customs, but—”
I laughed.
It wasn’t a cute one; it was a hysterical one. I used both of my hands to cover my face as I laughed into my palms. My entire body shook with it. I couldn’t believe this was my reality. The deadliest siren in the magical realm was sitting on my boat, talking about courting me.
It was all so insane.
“I wasn’t expecting you to find this so amusing.” Drustan dared to sound mildly offended.
“Nothing is funny,” I laughed with my words. “This is just so crazy. You’re crazy.”
“I hear that’s a side-effect of the Gravhune,” he deadpanned.
“What is your angle?” I lowered my hands to glare at him, finally able to compose myself. “What do you gain from messing with me like this?”
His hands were still behind his back, his legs stretched as far as the space allowed him to, one ankle crossed over the other. Drustan frowned at me.
“Beyond the supposed bliss of a mating bond, you mean?”
“Why the hell would you, Drustan, give a single shit about ma—about bonds?”
I still couldn’t say the word out loud.
Drustan stared at me, his lips pressed together. A muscle popped in his jaw as he let the noise of the ocean soak into the moment. I held my glare on him, determined to wait him out. To not fold under his scrutiny.
Slowly, he lowered his hands and leaned forward. Drustan was sitting, but he still managed to feel like he was taking up the entirety of the captain’s quarters. When he rested both of his hands on either side of my chair to turn me toward him, my face heated.
His nose was only inches from mine as we locked eyes.
“For some reason,” Drustan murmured. “The goddess blessed me with this gift.” The way he spoke made me sink into my chair, but he didn’t let me escape.
He maintained the distance between us, scooting to the edge of his seat.
It creaked under his massive frame. “Don’t get me wrong, Vanessa.
I may be the Mad Siren Prince, but it would be completely foolish of me to ignore what’s between us. ”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re seriously…
” I shook my head, struggling to get the words out when I could feel his body heat this close to me.
“You’re trying to claim you want to be m—” I hesitated, but forced myself to say it this once, “Mated to me?” I shook my head at him, “What would your daddy say about that?”
“Fuck my father,” Drustan snapped.
I jumped at his tone.
Didn’t expect that response.
He tensed his body over me for a moment before he closed his eyes and exhaled. The heat of his breath brushed against my neck and chest, making me shiver underneath him. Suddenly, Drustan opened his eyes and stood. He grabbed my hands and yanked me out of my seat.