Recovering the Siren Read online

  Maybe?

  The guys came with lunch, and it made me think of something else I wanted to address. “How many bridges did you all burn trying to find me?” I smiled when they all winced, even Galvin. “I want a list.”

  “Are you going to make it all better?” Galvin teased me.

  I met his gaze and nodded. “Yeah, you did it for me, and I appreciate it. I didn’t ask for it, but I would have asked to get out of there, so I’ll figure out something. I’ve got a bunch of ancient babysitters that are very good at politics.”

  “Sounds like fun,” Nikos said with a smile before taking a big bite. “It will give us a chance to keep you sitting more as you slowly get caught up because it’s been three days and you’re already about two months caught up. That’s too fast.”

  He wasn’t wrong, but most of everything had been handled, and that made it easier. I was adjusted to it being summer faster than I’d thought even with being taken because I’d been places where it was summer in winter and whatnot. The rest my mind seemed to be filling in as the timeline of when I was gone instead of having to realign the life I’d lived versus what I’d missed.

  Honestly, I had no idea how it worked, but it was working, and as long as I slowed down during my times I wanted to freak out, I thought it was good. Progressive.

  I needed the progress.

  After lunch, Eugene brought me back to my apartment, and he promised the ancients we were staying in… But what was his plan?

  I felt my face flush when he went over to my iPod that was plugged in and put on Usher’s “Burn.” His eyes never left mine as he came back and slid his arms around me. “I believe you owe me a dance.”

  “Is that so?” I teased, smiling at him.

  “Yeah. We can’t go out dancing and have that date yet, so consider this an interest payment for the delay.” He kissed my neck to take the sting out of that, not trying to make me feel bad about that or think of why it was delayed but just wanting to tease me.

  I appreciated that. I moved with him, his thick arms wrapped around me protectively as he leaned in to get more contact with my body. It soothed my worries that I looked horrible and that I’d lose them because I wasn’t pretty to them anymore. They still saw me as me, and the physical would come back with work. Until then I was still desired.

  I turned in his arms, moaning when I felt how hard he was for me; it pressed against my back as he surrounded me. His hands massaged my hips as we moved.

  “What’s dire wolf loving?” I teased him as he kissed my neck.

  He chuckled deeply, and I felt it vibrate against me. “It’s not like tiger sex where it’s like a thing. There aren’t enough of us to have our own thing.” He licked the shell of my ear. “It’s whatever I do to please my Alpha and make her scream in pleasure, and I plan on doing a lot of that. But not yet. Not even right when you’re better. I want that date and marking you, wearing your bite again and tasting you before we get to that.”

  “So it’s full court press time?” I hummed happily when he replied with something very dirty and turned us both on more. “Good thing this place was built with top quality sound proofing materials, huh? It seems I’m going to need them.”

  “Unless I’m buried in you at the pool or any of the common areas. And I am not the only one who has fantasies about doing dirty things at that rooftop pool.”

  “Someone better gag me,” I drawled, smiling when he buried his face against my neck and laughed. Yeah, it was funny, but it wasn’t wrong.

  6

  The next few days I worked on the massive project of mending fences that needed it. I approved sending cases of fairy nectar and boxes of chocolate lips from Siren’s Kiss’s line. I received a lot of phone calls and got to give my apologies to the right people for the bulls racing through all the china shops trying to find me. Most seemed to understand and forgave it, playing nice that I was back and so on.

  Awesome.

  I even went so far as to send flowers to admins and the poor people who had to take the messages and harassment for their bosses.

  The twins brought me out to see the finished greenhouses, and I got a chance to talk with some of the gull shifters now that they were better and reunited. They were staying in Laila’s townhouses she’d bought along with seven more fairy families that had been rescued out of bad areas. All seemed thrilled for such a nice, calm, and well paying job. They were healing, and it was good progress for all of us.

  It was also the first time I was back at our house and my room. I smiled when I saw the new puzzles the boys had done and framed. Leo made a comment that they weren’t hung yet because we did that together and they were waiting for me. I also learned the art thief brothers had been off as bunny sitters since I’d been gone mostly and were loving the chance to have an extended stay-cation as apparently they never had.

  Hell, I found them lounging in the shade by my pool and hanging out with the boys and several other older kids from either the fairies or pack. Hey, paranormal day care worked for me. It wasn’t like there was any chance of anyone drowning when they were so fucking fast. And it was a mansion, but we hadn’t put in million dollar vases or anything that was over the top and if a kid broke it we would be upset.

  That was just stupid to do around shifters and young ones even if they turned into bunnies.

  The more I saw and learned the more relieved everyone seemed to be like it meant I was really back. And they hadn’t done something wrong in my eyes while I’d been gone.

  I wasn’t the wolf pack guru. I’d been in one just over a year, a wolf only that long. It made me realize I’d missed my year anniversary, but I wasn’t sure that was something to celebrate. Maybe being Alpha a year? Did I throw a party for that?

  There was so much else on my mind that I’d need to catch up first before plotting more.

  Well, besides what I had planned when the doc cleared me for “easy nocturnal activities.” That was one way to put it, but I appreciated that the doc was a bit embarrassed with my continued care. Normally it wasn’t like this and shifters healed faster, even the weakest ones, but he was thrilled with the progress.

  I was thrilled with the weight gained. It might seem hard to believe I’d gained ten pounds since I’d woken up for real, but we had faster than human metabolisms, and I was completely focused on progress. My hair was a bit longer, and I felt more me. Baby steps. Each day would get better.

  And today I was getting back to having sex and another type of workout.

  I wore a chemise nightie that covered how I was too thin and muscle depleted but still made my boobs look more like they had been instead of the fat loss from there too. I owned the building, so it was easy to get the key to Brian’s apartment, and I set the stage.

  And fell asleep.

  “Sera, wake up, babe,” Brian murmured as he shook me.

  I blinked up at him and glanced around, swallowing a groan as I realized I’d zonked out after setting out the roses and petals. “So that didn’t go to plan.”

  “It was still a very pleasant surprise,” he promised, leaning over and kissing me. He looked younger again now that the stress was easing and I’d made him get energy from another siren. “What’s going on?”

  “The doc cleared me for easy nocturnal activities,” I purred, grabbing his tie, pulling him to move over me, and pushing his suit jacket off. “Want to show me what you think that is?”

  “Yes, fuck yes,” he rasped, kissing me deeply as he cupped my head. Then he stopped and rolled us off the bed so we were on our feet and he was holding me to stand. “Wait, sorry, shit, have you eaten? How long were you sleeping?”

  I glanced at the clock and saw it was over an hour. “We can order in, but yeah, I need to eat.” I bit back a moan when I got images of what he wanted me to eat. “Is that right?”

  He licked his lips, not even trying to play it off. “Yeah, I want it. Just like last time and I got you back for real.”

  I sat on the bed and slid down it
so I was trapped between the side of it and his legs as I undid his pants. I didn’t even hesitate as I hurried to take him in my mouth, noting how hard he went instantly when I did.

  “Yeah?” he checked as he moved his hands to my head. He moaned when I hummed in response, moving me as he wanted while I swallowed him and kept humming for the vibrations to set him off. It didn’t take long, and for some reason I was relieved even though I knew Brian wasn’t the type who would ever scratch an itch while I was missing.

  My confidence had taken several hits, and I’d have to work on that. It wasn’t just the physical stuff, but the emotional and breaking down plus the mood swings.

  He bent down and picked me up, tossing me on the bed as he hurried to get undressed fully. I watched every movement, every muscle flex and intense look that let me know he wanted this as much as I did. He smirked at me and moved a hand on the bed, the other sliding in my thong.

  Which he ripped off me.

  “You wear those just because you know I love ripping them off,” he accused.

  “Yes.” I spread my legs to make room for him, but he leaned down and licked me. “Shit, yes, please, Bri.”

  “You wet for me, Sera?”

  “Yes,” I whimpered, and his tongue rewarded me. He didn’t rush, taking his sweet time as he made me orgasm twice and licked and played with me.

  He moved over me, wrapping my leg around him, and kissed me. “You taste better than I remember. You make those same noises, and as much as I want to bury my face in your breasts, I know you’re self-conscious about them. I think you look hot with smaller ones, and if they get bigger when you gain weight, I’ll want to see them just as much as I do now.”

  “Thank you,” I whispered, overwhelmed he was so sweet to say that. Most would ignore it or pretend it wasn’t a thing, but Brian wasn’t like that. He always made a point to take the moment and help me. I let out a shaky breath, undid the tie to the chemise, and pushed up my breasts for him. “They’ve not had any attention in a while and miss it.”

  We both flinched on that one. I had been sexually active, but we didn’t know how or… Honestly, I didn’t want to think about it.

  “Gladly.” He didn’t right away though, moving a pillow under my hips instead and pushing inside me before taking what I offered. “Okay?”

  “Yeah, feels good,” I promised.

  And it only got better.

  Tears filled his eyes as he cupped my breasts and kissed them, kissing me too, and then held onto me. “Thank you for coming home. I needed you so much, Sera.”

  “Me too,” I rasped, burying my face against his neck. “I can’t live without you, Bri.”

  “You won’t ever have to. I’m always here and yours,” he promised. He repeated it as he thrust in me deeper, both of us choking on our emotions. It wasn’t just the abduction but what had happened on New Year’s and the working back to each other. The problems in New York and how I’d been hurt.

  This moment was over six months in the making, and both of us appreciated we’d made it back to each other and where we wanted to be.

  “Deeper, Bri, never leave me,” I begged as I got close.

  “Never, you’re mine,” he growled, picking up the habit after hanging out with so many shifters. “You’ve always been mine, and you will always come back to me because you know this is real. It took years for me to win you, but I did, and now you are mine, Seraphine Thomas.”

  “I’m yours,” I agreed with a gasp as he hit that right spot. “Come in me. Only do it with me.”

  “Only you,” he swore before mashing his mouth to mine. “Fuck, I love being bare inside you. It feels so perfect, you are so perfect.” He brought me with a cry, following me over and holding me tightly while still inside me. “I need you again. I do, Sera.”

  I smiled against his neck. “You do and I’ll be walking funny tomorrow. You’re not little, Bri.”

  “I’ll carry you,” he growled, thinking back to our first time together the same way I was. He pulled out of me and turned us so we were spooning. He pushed back in me and held me to him. “Mine, you are all mine.”

  “I’m here, Bri,” I rasped when I felt him crying. “I’m here. I’ll take security, I swear I’ll be good.”

  “He took you from me,” he broke down, clutching me tightly. “No one can take you from me.”

  “Never,” I promised, pulling away and turning over. I moved my leg over his hips and took him in me, wrapping my arms around him just as he was me. “Never again. I’m yours, and I won’t leave.”

  He searched my eyes before brushing his lips over mine. “One day I want you to be my wife, Sera. I know it. I know we’re not there, but it killed me that I never got to say that. This is real and forever for me. I need you forever.”

  Wow. So wow. I nodded that I heard him and kissed him. I didn’t hate the idea of being his wife, and that floored me. “One day. I’m keeping my name though.”

  He burst out laughing, hugging me so we were completely plastered together as he pumped his hips. “I’ll take your name. Like I give a fuck as long as I have you.”

  It was such a touching statement and totally like Brian that tears burned in my eyes as I begged him to give me more. We finished and didn’t move, laughing when my stomach growled.

  “I’ll wear your work shirt if you stuff my stomach full like you did the rest of me,” I muttered, burying my face against his chest when he groaned, twitching inside of me. “Or you can explain to the doc why I didn’t listen.”

  “You are such a brat,” he growled, nipping my ear. “I swear I’m turning into one of you guys with the biting and growling. I’m going to get fat eating with you all too.”

  “You look like you lost a little weight, so you should join us at the gym,” I said gently. He was fit as ever, but yeah, he’d lost weight along with aging ten years. “Or when I get back to sparring level we can wrestle on the mats.”

  “Yes please,” he chuckled as he moved off of me. He did a double take and realized what I’d said before. “Did you take my work shirts?”

  “You just figured that out?” I chuckled, rubbing my hands over my face when he nodded. “Bri, you are such a goof sometimes.” I smiled at him. “You used to always picture me in your shirts when we were intimate. Yeah, I snagged them thinking you knew I did and would wear them. You always gave me images picturing it.”

  “I hoped you did, but I wasn’t sure.” He reached over and pinched my side. “I lost like five shirts that way.”

  I cleared my throat and rolled over towards the bathroom to clean up. “Sorry, I tossed them after I got infected.”

  “And I was such an asshole,” he muttered, saying it when I didn’t. “I deserved it.”

  I snorted. “I wasn’t apologizing. You totally did.”

  “What do you want to eat?” he asked, changing the topic.

  “Wanna sneak me pizza?” I hoped.

  It was his turn to snort. “If you’re cleared to have sex, I think you can have pizza. Yes, I’ll get your favorites and lots of leftovers.” He came into the bathroom with me, watching as I cleaned up with a proud smirk at the man who’d gotten me dirty. “It’s the least I can do for some gifts sent out in my name. A few people asked if I finally settled down, as a woman sent them for me.”

  I tossed the wash rag in the hamper and came over to him, frowning. “Okay, they might be stupid because I said who I was and you had to tell them who they were looking for.”

  “I’m sure they knew and were pumping me for information if I finally asked you to marry me, as people keep putting it.”

  I rolled my eyes. “We weren’t dating before I got infected, and it took a while to get back together after. People act like we’ve been dating for years.”

  “I think that’s more how many people know how long I was into you before we ever got together the first time.”

  I nodded, running my fingers over his tight, chiseled abs. “I hear I’m worth the chase.”

&nbs
p; “Every fucking second,” he promised, leaning down and giving me a soft kiss. “And I heard how much you liked knowing I’ve only had sex bareback with you. Is that you or your wolf?”

  “Both,” I confessed, meeting his gorgeous eyes. “You’re a lot of my first times, and I like being yours too.”

  “I want you again,” he admitted, smirking when I shivered. “You should keep that key. Not the one for your building but my apartment spare. You might have more than one on your keychain, but I won’t give it out to anyone else.”

  “If I give you one to my apartment, do you promise to come be a voyeur whenever you want?” I teased, shivering again when heat filled his eyes. “Why you put up with that is beyond me. I’d fucking flatten you and any woman I found you with.”

  “Come check anytime.” He moved his fingers between my legs and pushed two in me, smirking when I gasped. “I don’t want to be inside anyone else unless we play. You give me everything I need.”

  “Everything?” I challenged, raising an eyebrow. “Didn’t you just say you needed me again?” I leaned in and smiled when he instinctively leaned down. “Order dinner, and then maybe you should go bareback in my other hole so you’ve been in all three tonight.”

  “Jesus fucking Christ, babe,” he moaned deeply. “You mind reader.”

  “Yes. I’ll go bend over the couch how you want,” I purred, laughing when he about flew back to his pants to find his phone. He ordered us food and then did everything he wanted to me on his couch while I begged for more, knowing how much that flat did it for him.

  A while later we were sitting eating pizza and I kept squirming, a bit tender from that last time. He smirked at me the whole time he ate.

  “You want me again, admit it.”

  “I would never try to say otherwise,” he chuckled, staring at me in his dress shirt and clearly liking what he saw. “I never thought you’d look pretty with short hair, but you do.”