Page 13 of Silk and Sirens

She was very much the siren she called herself. A succubus ready to fuck the soul out of anyone for the right price.

I didn’t catch what she said to the woman, only the way her expression fell when Aeris straightened and was helped down from the stage by another one of her Sirens. Her bare feet were silent against the dark wood as she closed the distance to me with deliberate steps.

“If it isn’t the Prince himself,” she said in that fucking voice. It matched her image, a velvety timbre that was like a breathy invitation that I had no intention of accepting.

“Not a prince.”

“The son of a baron.” She clicked her tongue, which only drew my eyes down to the red shade of her lips. “You’re as close to any prince as I’ll ever get. Let a girl dream.” Reaching over, she pressed her palm to my chest. “The last time you were here uninvited, you had me against the wall.”

I didn’t rise to the bait, because that was what she wanted. “The last time I was here, I was warning you about sharing information.”

Aeris smirked, all sensuality and sin, but I knew she disliked me as much as I disliked her. Probably because I never gave her the reaction she wanted.

“And you also swore you’d never come here now Sebastian has become an honest man. So, what do I owe the pleasure?” she asked, keeping up the act while she had the audience.

“This is just business.” I caught her wrist, her slight annoyance not going unnoticed. “We need to talk.”

“What is it with men lately, thinking they’re entitled to my attention?”

Her skin was hot to touch, and I wanted nothing more than to push her away. But neither of us moved. Neither of us willing to be the first to break.

That was the real problem. We didn’t just clash, we pushed. Constantly. An unspoken game of chicken, each of us daring the other to bend first, to react. She was the only person who’d ever managed to get under my skin. The only one who challenged me while everyone else backed down.

So. Fucking. Infuriating.

Movement in my peripheral, and I noticed a few of her male Sirens hovering, looking to intervene. They were all ridiculously ripped, their bare chests indicating that they ate nothing but protein and dehydrated themselves to the point of death. Their bodies were all for show, and I knew they’d never risk their most valuable assets, themselves, to help against a man much larger, stronger.

Aeris threw her head back with a forced laugh, the sound enough to set my teeth on edge. “If you wanted me to yourself, all you had to do was book.”

“I don’t pay for sex,” I grunted, squeezing her wrist just a little harder.

Aeris gave no indication that it hurt, and yet I felt her bones creak. “Good, because I don’t sell it. But you do look like you’d know how to please a woman. Or a man, if that’s to your taste.”

“If you’re finished, I’d prefer our conversation continued in private,” I bit out, my patience wearing thin.

She let out another gentle laugh, a single strand of red curling across her forehead. “Fine. Come to my office. I have time before my next appointment.” She tugged her arm, and I finally released her. Her fair skin was marked, but I didn’t feel guilty. She shouldn’t have touched me in the first place. “Follow me.”

Gritting my teeth at the command in her tone, I followed her to her office, ignoring the curious and somewhat jealous stares that prickled against my back. Passing through a heavy wooden door, she waved a hand at one of two armchairs on the left, opposite a large vanity and desk to the right. I ignored both, instead making my way to the back where there was a wooden shelf spanning the entire wall. It seemed to be made from driftwood, each shelf characteristically different and displaying the most unusual things. Crystals, iridescent ornaments, and even a decorative fork. I picked up a pearlescent shell to hold it to the light, only to feel her presence closely behind.

“I collect pretty things,” she commented, waiting until I placed the shell back down before adjusting its position. “What do you want, Mr Ackworth? My time is money.” I turned to find her there, looking up at me with a face and body made for sex. Heavy breasts pressed against the thin fabric of her bodysuit, highlighting a small waist, long legs with thick thighs and generous hips …

Her lips curved, a knowing look that she’d caught me looking.

Fucking hell.

Why did she have to dress like that? Her body was provocative enough without needing to dress as if she were naked. But I guess that was part of the act, the fabric just transparent enough to show her curves without actually making her bare. A tease of what was to come if you could afford it.

Stepping closer, she lifted a hand to tug at my collar. Her nails brushed my skin, and before I could think I had her against the wall, my larger body hovering over hers with an ease that should have terrified her. Not pressing, exactly, just a warning.

“You see,” she said, utterly unbothered. “This is why you’re my second-favourite guard dog.”

I didn’t ease back, irritated that she’d managed to provoke a reaction at all.

“Langdon is much better company,” she continued, as if I wasn’t twice her size and capable of ending her life with one hand.

“Care to explain why you went into a hotel room with Isaac Gordon two nights ago, and he ended up dead?” I asked, studying her expression. Up close, I could make out the water droplets clinging to her skin, glistening like glitter and making her seem almost ethereal.

Her eyes darkened, giving her away even as she hid it beneath a seductive smile. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”