Recovering the Siren Read online

  “You like it better longer though,” I muttered, knowing he did. I wasn’t trying to be a brat, but I wanted him to know I knew so none of them fibbed about it.

  “Yes, but I don’t dislike this. I think it will be interesting to see you with all different lengths now, as I’ve only known you with it long.”

  I smiled at him, knowing he was trying to tell me it wasn’t as big of a thing as I thought, but it was. They all so, so loved my long, thick hair. “Thanks for helping my office so much while I was gone.”

  He froze for a moment and cleared his throat. “You’ve been reading all the case files?”

  “Yeah, I’m that thorough,” I assured him. “I’ve seen your name and approval all over them. Thanks.”

  He shrugged. “Your team had it well in hand. None of them had the experience to feel confident, so most were quick sign offs.”

  “Thanks, Bri.” I smiled as he gave a quick nod, never one to soak up the credit or look for the praise. I finished my food and moved to his lap, pulling down the front of the lounge pants he’d put on.

  “Babe, you can’t go again,” he worried.

  “No, but you can, and I want to smell like you,” I whispered as I stroked him. He smiled, undoing his shirt on me so I was naked to him.

  “You are so fucking beautiful,” he promised, knowing where my head went. “You are. You’ll just be perfect when you’re back to you.” His eyes went wide when I slid off the chair and sucked him again, making sure to have him mark me with his scent when he finished. He bared his neck to me and gave me a hopeful look. I growled as I climbed back on his lap and sucked up a huge mark on him that he could hide under the collar of a shirt.

  “Mine,” I growled as I licked it when I was done. “All mine.”

  “Damn right,” he agreed. He stood with me, carrying me over to his bedroom as I kept licking the mark. He laid me down and gave me a soft kiss. “Sleep. I’m going to put everything away, but just close your eyes. I’ll be right back.”

  “Just making sure I get in your bed, huh?”

  “Damn right,” he chuckled.

  I closed my eyes for what felt like a minute, and then he was shaking me awake.

  “I love you too, sweetie. Make a baby with me.”

  I sat up with a gasp, glancing around in fear but only finding Brian asleep next to me. No warlock. No restraints. I was home and safe.

  “Babe?” Brian asked as he sat up too. “You okay?”

  “Nightmare,” I admitted, my heart still racing too fast to fake being okay. “I fell asleep?”

  “Yeah, you were out like a light, and apparently you wore me out too.” He grabbed my face when I just bobbed my head. “Sera, look at me. You’re home. You’re not there. It’s me, and we’re okay now.”

  “Are we?” I whispered, looking at him as tears blurred my vision. “Are we?”

  “Yes.” He kissed me gently and then deeper. “Yes. Stay with me. Don’t leave me again. Please stay with me.”

  I hugged him, realizing why he more than the others kept saying that. He was scared I was going to crack. That this was finally my limit and was too much for me. “I won’t leave. I just need help keeping mood swings grounded.”

  “Whatever you need.”

  “Wanna have sex?” I teased, hating I’d not only woken him up when he needed the rest but upset him.

  “I think you wore me out,” he chuckled.

  “Well, go back to bed then so we can have morning sex,” I sighed, flopping to the bed and taking him with me.

  “I love being able to sleep with you,” he murmured as he snuggled with me, fixing the bedding. He kissed that spot under my ear. “Guaranteed morning wood right here.”

  I burst out laughing, and he started tickling, lecturing me to get my needed rest as he did until I caved and begged him to stop. We finally settled, and I decided to have some fun. “So where did we land on that morning sex?”

  “I’m screwing you in the shower until you scream loud enough to wake the neighbors and they complain to the building owner,” he told me in a serious voice, chuckling when I elbowed him. “Whatever you want, Sera. I just want you and whatever makes you happy.”

  “I can live with that.”

  There were worse things to suffer through. This was my happiness for making it through the bad.

  7

  Several days later I was lying out at the rooftop pool, just having finished with my rehab exercises and feeling more like myself. I’d gained some more muscle and weight, my hair was long enough to be getting in my way, and it was thicker now.

  Sort of like my ass, which made me focused on the plan and keeping with progress. And I was mostly caught up now with everything that had happened while I was gone so when I was ready, I could move forward.

  “You are ruining my event,” Vlad accused as he landed on the roof.

  I didn’t even flinch, knowing this was coming. “Oh, you mean the event of my idea that you ran with and changed all around while I was gone?” I pulled down my sunglasses and looked at him, wishing I wasn’t alone. “Not a word or note from you that you’re happy I’m home safe, but instead I find out you took my idea for forming the American Paranormal Alliance and turned it into a vampire network you’re the king of.”

  “So life should halt because the queen was gone?” he sneered, giving me a look of hate.

  “No, I would have been fine if you’d done it like we agreed, but you just went and did it and changed the plan. You agreed to work with Carter. You didn’t.”

  “Everyone was so busy looking for you no one cared about anything else,” he snapped.

  “I know which is why I’m not calling foul on the agreement we drew up, but you’re a rat bastard for doing it the way you did, Vlad. Pulling the vampire only shit at the eco gym idea, which was Melicent’s idea. It was supposed to build a community. All of this was to bring us closer together.”

  His eyes flashed something dark, and I sent that pulse out to let people know I needed them, but I was too weak to do much of anything, which he fully enjoyed. He chuckled at that and ignored my attempt, addressing what I said instead.

  “Yes, well, you do like to get closer with people, don’t you, Seraphine?” He moved closer, looking over my mostly naked body. “A bunch of men loyal and infatuated with you, but then you add a beloved Alpha. Then the rare tiger. That wasn’t enough, and you all on your own go for a councilman. Can’t blame me this time, can you? This was all you.”

  “You sound jealous,” I chuckled, just as pissed now. I had meant that so many high quality men wanted me, but he took it the other way.

  “Is that what I’m missing? Do you really have the magical vagina that changes men? Fuck you and you never do anything wrong to them again? Is that how you turned my vampires against me?”

  “No, that was all you and trying to be a shitty king of Chicago instead of what was best for paranormals. Some might call me queen, but I don’t. I never wanted it.”

  “Yes, but a queen should rule next to a king,” he snarled, suddenly on the day bed with me, groping my breast as he leaned in. “Not as big and supple as they used to be. Did I need to get the pre-used Seraphine to feel the effects?” He smiled widely at me. “How many times did he rape you? You were gone for months. Was it once a day? Twice? How many hundreds of times? Thousands? Do you think it thousands?”

  “How many thousands of times did you whore yourself out to that councilwoman for all you got?” I threw right back, not willing to crack no matter how hard he pushed. “I don’t remember my being used, but you do.”

  “I hope you get all the memories back,” he hissed before fisting my short hair and trying to force me to kiss him. I fought him, but he just laughed because I was still so weak. “Come, give me a taste too. Maybe I won’t care you ruined everything if I get to fuck you too. What’s one more man?”

  “You are such a cliché,” I sneered, thinking that sounded like a line from one villain or another in a 90’s movie. “
Get off of me.”

  “No, I helped make you, and now I get to enjoy the perks,” he sneered as he grabbed my suit bottoms and pulled. “If I have to suffer through you being back, I’m enjoying what everyone else gets to.”

  I flinched, getting images from him he was so agitated. I wasn’t sure I ever had with Vlad before as vampires were harder to read. “You knew where I was.”

  He smirked at me in that way I’d seen criminals do throughout my career where they were glad someone finally knew the truth, knew their secret that they’d had to keep hidden. “Sometimes gossip isn’t just gossip. You brushed off what the Memphis coven said, but they knew something interesting about a powerful warlock that was in town when you were and the moment you killed the bad humans, his plane left.

  “They made sure I knew because you kept lying to everyone that we were such friends. They even gave me the registry of the plane. And guess what plane registered in Germany was at the New York airport the same day you went missing? The one who wanted you so bad in Memphis that he was willing to make a deal with dirty, shifter killing humans finally got you.” He leaned in and kissed my cheek. “Then again, he was going to kill you. Shame he didn’t.”

  Vlad was ripped away from me, and Reagan restrained him in his third form while Hagan moved in front of me protectively. I’d been so focused and scared I hadn’t felt them come. I hadn’t thought anyone would feel what I did, but I was supposed to meet them for dinner at my apartment and I guessed they came looking for me.

  “Good timing,” I whispered as I leaned my head against his back.

  “We felt the pulse in the lobby when we got here, but so did others and people were trying to find you and using the elevator,” he explained.

  “That’s a lot of fucking stairs to run up,” I muttered, wondering why the fuck my brain went to that, but I was sort of in shock. I knew Vlad and I would never be besties again, but this was a whole other level I hadn’t thought we’d reached. “He knew where I was.”

  “We heard,” Reagan snarled, moving his claw to Vlad’s throat when he struggled. “Try me, please.”

  “I did not take her so don’t even think of being stupid,” Vlad hissed. “You’ll bring war among us if you retaliate.”

  I was scared he was right, but Hagan just snorted. “We witnessed you trying to rape our Alpha. Are you like nuts? Yeah, we’re just going to let that go.”

  More people arrived and seemed confused as to how Vlad was there and the problems. I fixed my suit and fought to get a grip on my emotions so I could be the boss as Vlad struggled and Hagan helped his twin. We needed to contact Remus and Jake, as they were Vlad’s seconds.

  Except they showed up, worried that he’d come here after finding out what I’d done and close enough to get there so fast.

  Noah had a different answer. He yanked Vlad away from Reagan. “I’ve owed you this since you sent me away so I wouldn’t protect her from Igor.” He sank his fangs into Vlad’s neck.

  Except he wasn’t the only one. Carter had had the same idea, and now they were both drinking down the Master of Chicago. My mouth dropped open, not even able to hide my shock at the turn of events.

  They pulled their fangs out and dropped Vlad’s dead body right there at my feet. I met Noah’s gaze and glanced between him and the guy he’d once respected.

  “No one else hurts you,” he declared firmly. “I’m not letting anyone else be master of the coven and risk it again. I’m Master of Chicago now.” He licked his fangs as his eyes raked over me. “I’m master, and you’re my mistress.”

  I nodded, knowing something was going on, not sure what besides my swooning over the fact that he’d just agreed to take a role he’d never wanted so no one ever hurt me. In a flash I was up in his arms and he was carrying me inside to the clubhouse. He stopped at the large kitchen for parties and set me on the counter.

  He gave me a look full of need and desire, and I found myself nodding again, not understanding what was going on with him but willing for whatever he needed. He smiled and pulled off my bottoms before undoing his pants.

  “You’re sure?” he checked, kissing me when I said it was okay. He thrust in me, and I wasn’t really wet enough and way too tight. “And still you let me.” He kissed my neck as he moved my ass off the counter, but I kept my hands there for balance as his hands moved under me. “Never again will vampires hurt you. Not now. Not when I’m master.”

  He raked his fangs over my breasts through the top, and I got the hint, taking it off for him. I whimpered when he bit my nipple but didn’t drink.

  “So perfect. You are so perfect, Sera.” He started moving now that he’d given me a moment to adjust. “My queen. You’re our queen, and now I’m master of the coven. Your prince. I’ll be the prince who rules at your side, and Chicago will be safe for you, secure for all of us. No more letting anyone hurt you.”

  He grunted as he moved faster, and I gasped as he hit that perfect spot. I felt our audience, but honestly, I was so caught up in the whirlwind of crazy that I really didn’t care at the moment. I lost my grip on the counter, and he caught me, holding me against him as he kept thrusting. I kissed him, relieved it was still so good between us after it had been so long and we’d been through so much.

  Noah carried me over to one of the sofas and kept snapping his hips the whole time. It felt like when I’d sovereigned him to me, or sirened him really, but it reminded me of that intimate moment, and I saw in his eyes he was thinking of the same.

  “I promised to serve you always,” he murmured as he kissed me again. I wrapped my legs around him and lifted my hips to meet his, crying out his name as my orgasm hit me.

  I flipped us so I was sitting on him, moving his hands to my breasts as I danced for him. “Is this what you want? You’re the boss now, and the boss wants inside his mistress?”

  “Yes,” he hissed as he moved one hand on my ass and helped me move. “It’s all mine now, and that makes it yours as my mistress.”

  A bit more and I came again, him joining me this time. Whatever was going on with him seemed to cool it as we stared at each other, gasping for air. “That was new.”

  He nodded. “Yeah, I’m not—he hurt you, and you’re mine to protect, I swore it. It was also a rush to drink his blood. Like fuck, I’m high, I think. Sorry, not normally so aggressive.”

  I leaned in and kissed him gently. “Yeah, I figured it was like that. You had the look like shifters do around the full moon and we get territorial. You never wanted the job.”

  “No, but the idea of someone else trying for it, even Remus or Jake who I trust, I couldn’t handle it.” He let out a shaky breath. “I trusted Vlad like that once. I’m so sorry he hurt you again. We asked him. We asked him if he knew or—”

  “I did too,” Carter muttered from behind us. “Vlad must not have known exactly where you were. He got around what we asked him. He seemed so annoyed you were taken, and it didn’t fit that he was involved. He didn’t seem worried about you, simply annoyed what it meant for Chicago and more turmoil, but still, that doesn’t point to someone involved.”

  I nodded. “He wasn’t. He knew who tried for me in Memphis and figured out it was the same person, confirmed it. He knew I was in Germany, but he wasn’t in contact.” I shook my head, leaning into Noah. “I really thought he was my friend.”

  “A lot of us did, but I don’t think Vlad knew how to have friends, only people who were useful or not,” Remus muttered. “I hate that I feel relieved he’s gone because he wasn’t a bad master, but he just couldn’t get his shit together after he lost Bernard. He would seem to but then he just…”

  “You’re bruising,” Carter said, explaining why Remus had trailed off and everyone went tense.

  “I’m not my best yet,” I muttered as I moved off of Noah, wincing now that the happy hormones were fizzing out. I smiled at Noah when he gave me a guilty look. “Totally worth a bit of bruising. Thanks for protecting me.” I accepted my coverup and locked gazes with Reaga
n. “Thanks for the save. His grip was ridiculous, and there was no chance I was fighting him off.”

  “Sorry traffic was bad and we didn’t get here sooner so he never touched you,” Hagan grumbled as I slid on the coverup. “Then again, it’s better we knew the truth.”

  I nodded. A bit of groping and tenderness from his grip was worth it to know Vlad hadn’t been just a dick but a bad guy.

  More people arrived, and suddenly Dain was in front of me, cupping my face and checking me out. “Do one of us need to stay tethered to you always? Only you could get into trouble sunbathing on the roof of your own fucking apartment building.”

  “I’m fine,” I promised, giving him a quick kiss, standing so I could get cleaned up. “Reagan and Hagan had perfect timing. Vlad’s dead, and we have another mess now.”

  “Like who’s the coven leader when two people drained Vlad?” Remus muttered, glancing between Noah and Carter.

  “Wait, why did Vlad attack you?” Eugene demanded, there with Axel. “I thought you guys were allies.”

  Axel shook his head. “I told you Vlad was a problem. Sera smacked him back into place instead of the King of Chicago and helping other vampire masters pull the same shit if they could bond with a shifter species.” Axel let out a huff and showed me the bags of takeout he was holding. “I gave notice at the council. I was coming to interrupted your dinner with Hagan and Regan and tell you that I told them I’m out.”

  I bobbed my head at that shock and then shook it, walking outside of the clubhouse and jumping into the cool pool away from Vlad’s body. Someone joined me, and I blinked into Jonik’s gorgeous lilac eyes, not able to get my mouth to work.

  “Hello, Sera,” he murmured as he moved closer. “Surprise. I’m in town to take over your rehabilitation, as I have a sports medicine PhD.” He waited until I nodded. “Dain picked me up from the airport after work.”

  “Give me a minute,” I whispered when he reached for me. “Sorry, I need a minute. I need my wolves.”

  He nodded and gave my cheek a quick kiss before moving away. Relief filled me when Hagan and Reagan jumped in with me. I moved between them and softly cried against Reagan’s chest as Hagan hugged me from behind.