Chapter Thirteen
LENA
That night, I stood at the water’s edge. The crescent moon cast a soft glow across the water, and a warm wind carried the humid air through my hair. I wrapped my arms around myself and allowed the slow, rhythmic crashing of waves to lull me into meditation.
I had connection and community in Candace. I had love and support in Sonia and the memories of my grandma. And I had a fresh start and future in my plan to expand Yoga Star and stay on the island.
While pangs of sadness still hit me from time to time, the deep depression that had weighed on me for so long had lifted. Life felt light and full of possibility. And I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t acknowledge the role Elias played in my recovery.
The truth? I’d let Elias into my heart. The easy friendship we’d developed over the past few weeks and our sizzling beach hookup had unlocked the vault.
He’d gotten me to trust again, no simple task after what my ex had put me through.
And unlike Rob, Elias’s personality and flirting weren’t a manipulative act.
He had a big heart and spread his positivity and optimism wherever he went, genuinely opening himself to others.
I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but I’d been scarred by my past, and I struggled to reconcile what I’d seen that night with my faith in his virtue.
And now my trust also snagged on the island legends.
Was Elias really a siren? A mythical creature? And if he was, how much of what I felt was real? Was I under the influence of his song?
I wanted to believe he wouldn’t manipulate me and use his power to affect my emotions. But then again, I didn’t exactly have the best track record at gauging my partners’ intent or integrity.
I shook my head. This whole train of thought was bananas.
A siren? Was I really considering this as a viable possibility?
No matter what, though, I couldn’t deny the island’s magic.
I’d felt its mystic energy, my grandma’s spirit, and the role they played in my transformation.
Was it really such a huge leap to think magic extended to supernatural beings?
Notes floated along the warm ocean breeze from somewhere distant. I tried to ignore the sound, assuming it came from one of the resorts, but the song grew louder and the music edged closer. Words took shape, and the haunting melody drew my attention south and tugged on my body.
A man, backlit by the faint moonlight, waded through the shallow water toward me. His pant legs were rolled up, the waves lapping his muscled calves, and his longish hair moved with the breeze. I knew that body. I knew that voice. Elias.
The song swelled and became insistent. I needed to go to him. I fought the impulse, but then he faced me. His voice rose and reverberated through my body, capturing control, and holding me in place. His eyes glowed, luminous in the darkness, crystal blue pools of ocean reflecting the crescent moon.
My arms fell to my sides, and I took long, slow strides toward the relentless pull of his voice.
I moved without thought closer to the enchanting man with gorgeous eyes and a sad downturn to his mouth.
My brain caught on his lips, shaped into a frown, so unlike the carefree smile of the man who’d captured my heart.
He reached for me, and I took his hand. He pulled me into him, wrapping an arm around my waist and holding my hand as if we were dancing.
His voice softened, and he sang the final, quiet words into my ear.
His breath caressed my neck, and the rough edge of his stubble brushed my cheek. I melted into his arms.
He held me closer, sensing my surrender, and nuzzled my neck.
In a daze, the vestiges of his song echoing through my mind, I inclined my head to give him better access, and he rewarded me by trailing feather-light kisses up my neck to my ear.
He placed my arm on his shoulder and wrapped his hand around the nape of my neck, threading his fingers into my hair.
He tilted my head back and stared at me with glowing blue eyes.
My lips parted in invitation, and his eyes lidded as he bent forward to kiss me.
My pliant and willing body, spellbound by the music, his eyes, and his closeness, succumbed.
His lips on mine were a welcome reunion; they’d gone missing and had found their way home.
The tender stroke of his fingers through my hair and across my neck sent shivers down my spine.
He massaged my mouth gently, his tongue sliding over mine in slow, careful caresses, and I surrendered to the delicious taste of his kiss.
He broke the kiss and squeezed me close as though he couldn’t bear to have even an inch separating our bodies. “I’m so sorry, Lena.” His enchanting voice was no more than a whisper.
Sorry? Sorry for what?
My mind swam in a sea of his song. I wanted to listen to his voice forever.
That thought scratched something at the back of my mind, but what?
It didn’t matter. What mattered was that he’d stopped kissing me. I leaned forward and pressed a kiss against the top of his chest, tangling my fingers in his wavy hair.
“I didn’t know you were there,” he said.
Where?
I placed another kiss on his chest.
An incessant idea buzzed around my head like a gnat. I was forgetting something.
He kissed my neck just below my ear. Electric heat danced along my spine, from my neck to my core, and my knees weakened from the sensation.
“It’s not what it looked like. Nothing happened. I made a mistake. I tried to tell you. I texted you, called you, but you wouldn’t answer.”
His soothing, sultry voice was oil on the flame of my desire. I stood on my toes to place a kiss on the edge of his stubbled jaw. He took my face in his hands and stared into my soul with those bewildering eyes.
“I knew if I kept coming here, I’d eventually find you. Get a chance to explain.”
Had his eyes always glowed like that?
“I got scared. I thought if I admitted what was happening between us, I’d lose my freedom, lose my independence. But none of that matters if you’re not in my life. I don’t want to lose you.
“I fucked up, Lena. I’m sorry.”
I fucked up, Lena. I’m sorry.
Those words. I’d heard them before. From my ex-husband. Standing in my kitchen next to a woman in her underwear.
I froze.
Images from the night at South Beach shot into my mind like a cannonball. My ex-husband. Elias singing. His arm around a woman as they whispered into each other’s ears and laughed. The look on Niko’s face when he saw me. The women at the coffee shop. The tales of sirens.
A surge of adrenaline ripped through my body and collected in my stomach. I felt dizzy and nauseated from the rush, but the flood lifted my brain fog and replaced it with cold clarity.
Confusion morphed into outrage, and I jerked out of his arms, my face contorting in horror. “Did you just sing to me?”
His mouth fell open. “Wha—What?”
“Did. You. Just. Sing. To. Me.”
His eyes widened and darted across my face. “Yes. I—” His throat bobbed through a labored swallow. “You know I love to sing.”
I narrowed my eyes, anger rising. “That’s not what I mean, and I think you know it. You tried to manipulate me, didn’t you? Didn’t you?”
He stared at me in shock and shoved a hand into his hair. “I just wanted a chance to talk. To explain.”
“So, you used your voice—your—your powers—to trap me? To make me listen?”
His face paled in distress. “Lena. It’s not like that. I—”
“I think it’s exactly like that!” Tears brimmed my eyes, frustration, anger, and hurt swirling in my chest even as the last vestiges of his song pulled me toward him. But I fought it. I fought it with every ounce of anger coursing through my blood.
My nails cut into my palms, fists balled tight from the effort of my restraint. I ground my teeth trying to contain the heated words begging for escape, but the look on his face—his sad eyes and worried mouth, as if I was hurting him—tipped me over the edge.
“How dare you!” I pushed him away with both hands. He barely budged, adding to my frustration. Hot tears streamed down my face. “How could you!” My fists landed on his chest, pounding against the immovable wall until I turned my back to him so he couldn’t see me cry.
My shoulders shook trying to contain the anger and hurt. I wanted to storm off, but my legs wobbled with outrage.
“Lena. Please. Let me explain.”
A gentle hand landed on my shoulder. I shook it off and spun around to face him. “No! You don’t get to explain. You fucked up and tried to fix it by entrancing me. You tried to manipulate me!” I held up a staying hand, closed my eyes, and took deep breaths to rein in the anger.
“Lena—”
I opened my eyes, and my hand fell to my side. “I believed in you. I thought you were different.” I shook my head. “But you just made this so much worse.”
Before he could respond, I walked away, and under a riot of hurt and anger, my determined walk turned into a run. I didn’t stop until I reached my house. Away from betrayal. Away from the siren. Away from Elias.