Siren's Kiss (Seraphine Thomas Book 5) Read online

  “I only took over out of fear and exhaustion, neglect. I do not wish to do it, and we both know that I am a part of her, as you said, and not a demon who could take over.”

  “Good, then this fun is for you, both of you, and remember that.”

  She agreed, back to being curious and aligning with me instead of trying to take over. I heard the door open and smelled several familiar scents, dying to ask what was going on.

  “Everyone here has deep feelings for you, Milady,” Dain explained, cupping my cheek. “Myself included. Today isn’t about sex, as that is not all a siren or you are good for.” I flinched, hating how he could always hit the nail on the head so well. “It’s not. You are so much more than that and a goddess with your big heart and daring nature. Everyone here wants a chance to show you that.

  “Spoil you in a way you don’t have time for or they didn’t know you were open for. All you have to do is say yes or no. Yes, you care enough about them too to let them show you, or no, you’re not there with them or don’t trust them enough. Whatever the reason, but it’s yes or no, not what will they do or why they want to. They will tell you and show you.”

  “But no sex?” I checked, not sure what else they could all come up with.

  “There will be contact, I’m sure, but nothing to please them, only you,” he answered carefully. “Will you play the game, Sera?”

  “Yes,” my siren answered for me before I could even mull it over.

  “Was that Sera or her siren?” Brian asked, and I felt a thrill go through me that he was there, willing to play such paranormal sorts of games.

  “Both of us,” I agreed, giving my siren the win. “So what now?”

  I felt Brian move closer and hug me from behind, kissing my neck as his hands teased my bed shorts. “Now you accept who you want to spend some spoiling time with and not worry about anything else. No guilt if you say no. No fear you hurt someone. This is about you, Sera. So will you accept me?”

  “Yes,” I breathed, coming around to the fun of this game. He moved away, and I felt Jason step up in front of me.

  “Shit, baby, you’re like vibrating with need. Is this your first time using cuffs?” He laughed when I nodded. “Something to think about later. So am I a yes too?”

  “I’m shocked you’d want to be,” I admitted as I nodded. “You’re not normally known for being selfless or doing anything without getting it in return.”

  “Yeah, well, I have some making up to do for some of the shit I pulled, so let’s just say it’s my way of saying you are more to me than the mission,” he grumbled as he stepped away.

  I’d smelled Hagan and Reagan immediately when they’d come into the room, always in tune to them more than anyone else. Reagan went first, kissing that spot on my collarbone that always made me shiver.

  “Do you really forgive me, or were you just scared I was acting so crazy?”

  I thought about that a moment as he kept kissing my body. “Yes, but I was freaking out. I mean, that doesn’t mean everything’s okay with us, but yes, I forgive you for saying the words. I’m not sure how to stop hearing the words echo in my head, but I want to try. I don’t want us to be over.”

  “Thank you, Sera,” he breathed, shuddering in relief against me.

  “Yes,” I said to Hagan before he could even ask when he switched spots with Reagan. “Yes. After hearing what you said to Virgil about all you saw, yes. I get you guys thought I wasn’t open to the full package because you’re dense, but yes, I want it.”

  “Thank you, Sera,” he whispered, giving me a soft kiss.

  My breath caught in my throat at who was next, not having scented him among the others.

  “Why are you here?” I asked, my voice shaky.

  “Dain offered it to all the lovers of yours he knew, past and present,” Tristen explained as he kissed my raised arms. “I still love you, Sera. I know I’ve not reminded you of that since Vegas, but you seemed to need time after the bond breaking too. Is there anything you feel for me past the bond? Any small flame of hope we could ever start again?”

  “Yes,” I said so quietly I barely even heard myself. I missed Tristan, and after months of it, missing him more months than we were even together, I knew it was more than the bond I felt for him. “But getting involved with one of Vlad’s vampires is complicated and—”

  “That worry isn’t allowed for this morning,” Dain interrupted. “This isn’t about dating later. It’s about what you want. Do you want to spend time with Tristan and let him show you how he feels?”

  “Yes,” I sighed, knowing it was more complicated than that but unable to lie to him or Dain, especially since Dain would know, as he could read my feelings like a damn billboard.

  Luca was next, and I actually laughed as he massaged my hip bones and found my ticklish spot. “Good. I wanted to find them, as a good tickling brings serotonin, which you could use some of more. Is that a yes for me too, Milady?”

  “Yes. Noah, yes. Dain, yes,” I answered and added, checking who else was in the room and frowned. “No Riley, huh?” I wasn’t shocked, and honestly I was a bit relieved since I would have turned him down.

  Dain cleared his throat. “It has been decided that Riley will be taking a leave of absence from his job and spending some time in Greece to see if that will help the situation and your bond. If not, Alena has made it clear that it was his mistake to push a new wolf that had sovereigned a damn vampire, and he knew you were more than wolf.

  “The councilwoman’s accusation of him being subjected to drugs when he was a child is also being looked into by Nina. If it was at the same time as he was infected as a wolf, it could have left him permanently with some imbalance, which is what your mother believes might be happening with the overly big swings.”

  I nodded that I heard him but then gasped when I felt soft lips kissing my stomach. “Now this is a surprise. Why are you here, Virg?”

  “Because I would take any chance to spend more time with you, Sera. Not for the pack, not for the alliance or that you’re a goddess that has given us so much hope of help, but my own selfishness at how taken I am with you. I know I won’t be one of your regular men, but I would like to be someone in your life you care for too. Can I?”

  “Yes,” I answered after a moment, curious as to what he would come up with.

  Plus, he was a fantastic lover, so yeah, spoil me away.

  There was only one other missing, and Dain explained that as well, saying Jesse felt uncomfortable at the idea given things were so messed up with Riley and I’d been carefully leaving him off my docket and he really thought that might be wise, as it didn’t cloud the compliments and building of his self-esteem I’d been helping with. Smart guy.

  That left me with only one question. “So am I staying locked up and blindfolded this whole time? How are we working this?”

  The blindfold came off, and I blinked at the sudden brightness, taking in Brian’s smiling face. “No, this was just for fun to let us come to you and set the stage. I go first since I have a shit ton of work to catch up on today and a lot to coordinate with Monroe and whatnot to handle the hunters.”

  “I should be spoiling you for doing all of that,” I argued as he released my hands.

  Mirth shined in his eyes. “Oh, I’ll enjoy this because it’s something I’ve always wanted to see.” He swooped me up into his arms and met Dain’s eyes. “No sex as in nothing that finishes us, right? So not even hand jobs?”

  “Correct. Only anything to please her.”

  “Sex pleases me very well,” I argued.

  “And has left you believing sirens are only good for fucking,” he replied, tension in his tone. “I understand that is after what you’ve been through, but other sirens would gut people who imply that, as they know the truth and they’re so much more. You flinch at it and let it seep into you as if there was any truth to it. There is not, and all of the men in your life want to prove that.”

  “Okay, no sex,” I whispered,
shocked he was so upset by it.

  I wasn’t sure what else to say, but I didn’t get the chance, Brian whisking me off to one of the other dungeons, saying we didn’t have all that much time and some may even go tomorrow since it was opening weekend. He shrugged when I gave him a look like I knew it wasn’t a coincidence he’d brought me to the room that had all of Luca’s toys.

  It wasn’t. He did it on purpose, getting me undressed and sitting me on the Sybian. “Don’t get mad, but a few of us overheard that you’d never played with toys before, and well, I got so hard knowing you were new to this that it hasn’t gone down yet.”

  “Dirty fucker,” I chuckled, then moaned when he turned it on. “So you’re just going to sit there and watch me orgasm a bunch of times on this thing? That sounds like torture for you.”

  “No, it sounds like I care so much for your pleasure, so much for your stress levels, that I want to see you enjoy yourself again and again, letting me be a part of it. Believe me, watching you have fun is anything but torture, Sera.”

  Apparently, because he spent the next half an hour using several different things on me all while outlining what he’d be up to the next couple of days. I thought it weird until I put together—even in my hormone filled mind—that they were all things that would help me. Dain had signed for the farm for me, having the paperwork to do so as my attorney, and Brian was taking a ride out to speak with the locals.

  Awesome.

  Noah went next, showering me and admitting he loved to shower me. It was the time I let my walls down most from the way I curled against him when he did to how I didn’t care about being so vulnerable or get embarrassed as he looked his fill at my body. Well, that made me a bit embarrassed, but whatever.

  He took his sweet time and turned off the water and pulled me onto his lap when it was time to deep condition my long hair… That had gotten so much longer with neglect. I honestly hadn’t ever let it get so long, and I admitted that to him, saying I needed a cut.

  “Please don’t,” he argued, rubbing my temples. “All of us love, and I am mean love, it. We thought you were doing it because you heard us that we love it.”

  “No, I’ve not had time for a haircut,” I confessed but then shrugged. “Fine, as long as it can fit under the headdresses or whatever for the show. Getting it all under the cap before the wig hurt, and I lost a bunch of it that way.” I frowned. “I loved how Hagan and Reagan would blow dry it when I was hurt. I thought they sort of understood that.”

  “No, they were drowning idiots, choking on their guilt you got so hurt,” he admitted, leaning over and kissing my head. “They’ll get better. We all will. And on that note, since Vlad is playing nice, I got a bunch of the vamps I know to take a closing shift a week for nonalcoholic blood. I worked it all out with Simone, and there’s a line of shifters wanting to donate for access to the club so it works.

  “It might put out Vlad’s shifter club he mostly owns, but, well, he’s foreseen that coming with you knocking him back from being king of Chicago. It really didn’t make that much anyways, as most were pissed it was his and only used it during the full moon.”

  “He made his own bed then.” I tilted my head up and smiled at him. “Thanks, Noah. I really don’t know what I’d do without you.”

  He leaned down and kissed me gently. “Before you get that look in your eyes again like you’ve been abusing me, you haven’t been. I love our home and my new life, the life you’ve given me. I knew you weren’t up for sex, and you clearly said I had as many passes as I want as long as I didn’t dare bring someone home to your house. I used them. We’re good, okay? Please don’t think otherwise.”

  “Okay, good,” I sighed, letting him go back to massaging my scalp. I really meant it, as that was something that weighed heavily on me. I kept adding men—sort of, though some had left—and never seemed to be able to handle it, them, or their needs. I reminded my siren of that and the fact we had originally agreed to her picking moon mates, not permanent men, but she was getting them left and right.

  It had been a year ago when I’d had no men, and it had been months and months and months since I’d been on a date much less had sex. I frowned. Yeah, that wasn’t fun at all. I’d rather have nine men spoil me, knowing two at least wouldn’t be all the time, even if another one was potentially problematic, as now Tristan was Vlad’s.

  He told me some of the other updates regarding the training center, and I felt so much tension ease out of me. Part of me had been waiting for the government and higher ups to pull out of the idea, and they could while construction was going on, but now that the last bit had been finished by the donated paranormal construction crews to help, it was done. We really had a training center that we now just had to get equipment and personnel in.

  Awesome.

  My next shock came when Noah carried me from the shower to what came afterward and I saw Goran and Zlat standing in the hallway.

  “Dain didn’t include us because he didn’t know there had been any intimacy but thought it was only what we saw,” Goran explained as he moved forward. “Say yes to us, Sera. Please? At least let us show you we care for our Mistress. I know what we did hurt because of—”

  “It helped me get through that night,” I confessed, not liking they’d thought it was because of something they did that I avoided them. “What you did helped me get through that night, and I enjoyed it. You just both remind me of that night.”

  “We know, but we want to be more than that. Give us the chance to be more than that and overwrite some of those memories with some new good ones,” Zlat begged.

  “There are nine men here already,” I argued. “There’s no—it’s too complicated.”

  “But do you want their attentions?” Dain asked from behind them, brushing past them. “That’s the only question to answer, Milady. Not think of the big picture or that it’s crazy to you that there are nine or eleven men. Think of none of that. Do you want their attentions?”

  I found myself slowly nodding, becoming a greedy woman it seemed.

  “Good, but I am next, as I have a meeting with Queen Laila on your behalf soon.” He took me from Noah’s arms and brought me into the room with Luca’s stuff, gently spreading me out on the bed and removing my towel. “Do you know why the fae and court push our ruler to have so many lovers?”

  “No,” I admitted as he got undressed. “Why?”

  “Because the fae do not believe there is a limit to love. You, as once human, hear there are eleven men who want to show you affection and rail at the idea, thinking it slutty or a harem or something no one could ever have, as the heart cannot love so many. Who says? Can you not add more and more friends? Adore so many in your pack? Has not your heart accepted more people to care for, the more who care for you?”

  I frowned, realizing he had a point. The more people from the pack and panthers that I became friends with, truly cared about, the more open I was to being around people and making friends instead of keeping to myself.

  “You’re saying the more I open my heart to love or being loved, the more it can accept like my siren feeding on power?”

  “Yes, that is our belief,” he agreed, moving down to the bed and over me. “Your heart is not a set idea, Milady, as it is not the organ that holds the love but your soul. Fae understand that and know that a soul can accept limitless good or evil. Accept all of this good and be loved. Be loved by dozens. Let them love you, and let them worry if they are getting the love they need.

  “Look at your Noah. He loves you and knew the problems you were going through, so he scratched his itch somewhere else as you allowed. It’s not a matter of you failing him, as you have given him so much else. It is not on your shoulders. It is our choice to love you as you are, so let us.”

  “That’s a lot of men, Dain,” I argued as he wrapped my legs over his hips. “I thought no sex?”

  “No sex, only playing, as I know you never get enough of the teasing and pleasing,” he murmured, lowering his lip
s to my neck. “Milady, I—”

  “Sera,” I whispered. “I get you swore an oath to me and should call me that by your ways, but it bothers me you do when I’m naked, Dain. It’s like you’re only doing it because you think you should or something. They don’t call me Alpha or Mistress during fun.”

  “Sera,” he breathed as he teased my ear. “Sera, can I say the words?”

  “No,” I rasped, closing my eyes. “Please? Not until more is settled. I didn’t even have a clue Tristan still cared and I was still nursing a broken heart. I’m too all over the place. I know it’s not fair, but it would upset Hagan and Reagan if you really told me how you felt when we’re having problems. Please?”

  “As you wish,” he agreed, kissing all along my neck. “Are you at least enjoying this surprise and games?”

  “Yes,” I answered immediately, not even needing to think about it. “How did you come up with this?”

  “Something Eva said about a siren not being far off from a goddess in what she expects and gives. It made me realize part of her upset is not only that you starved her but she wasn’t being treated as she should for all you’ve done. I would kiss her feet every day for you both saving me from court alone.”

  “Yeah, but what about you? Fine, I saved you from court, but that’s not enough of a reason to love someone, Dain. I guess I don’t see what you all do or understand why any of you love me.”

  “Because you were abused in your childhood,” he explained gently, not trying to poke at the wound I had from that, but make me understand. “But I can show you why.” He rolled us so he stood and I was bent over the bed. Then he knelt behind me, massaging my butt. “I have wanted to do this to you from the moment I met your gaze when you stepped off the elevator at court.”

  I moaned as he buried his face in my most private parts, licking and sucking, fingering and pleasing me in an overwhelming way. He worked me through several orgasms, stopping only when my legs gave out. Dain rolled me and moved back over me, smiling at me and licking his lips.