Siren Song Read Online Free PDF Page B

going on here?”
    Her lips quirked at the corners. “Either another example of my spectacularly bad taste in men, or a little thing called sexual chemistry.”
    “After everything you’ve been through, Chloe, how can you—“
    “What am I supposed to do? Learn my lesson and throw on a burka? No way. Not gonna happen.”
    “I just find it hard to believe that you’re so…well-adjusted.”
    Chloe snorted. “You mean, other than my alleged alcoholism?”
    Okay, he deserved that. “I just think you should take better care of yourself.”
    “Look, after about three years in fetal position, I managed to stand back up on my own two feet. Am I all healed up? No. But I don’t have to wear my pain on my sleeve. I get to party if I want. I get to be sexy if I want. And I get to be attracted to men if I want.”
    Sirens weren’t attracted to men so much as they were attracted to the power they had over them. They were creatures who took all the rage twisting inside them and turned it against others. But the spell Chloe wove over him now was hopeful and pure. Born of something other than her voice. He found himself leaning over her, inhaling the subtle notes of citrus under the scent of seawater. “You’re shivering, Chloe.”
    “Not because I’m cold.” Her eyelashes lowered, her lips parted, wet and trembling, begging to be kissed.
    Somehow, even his dented self-control prevailed. It was a Herculean effort, but he pulled away. Her eyes fluttered open and a blush swept over her cheeks. “Did I just read this wrong? I thought—“
    “I can’t kiss you, Chloe.”
    “You can’t? ”
    He shook his head. “A siren’s kiss destroys a triton, robs him of his resistance.”
    She sighed, tucking wet tendrils of hair behind her ear. “That’s a major buzzkill.”
    He was going to have to let her go. Physically, emotionally…although sirens were no longer supposed to be his concern, he found that this one was. “Chloe, if you want me to set something up for you at the Academy—“
    “Thanks, but, I’ll figure something out. I’ve got to…I dunno. Is there gonna be a funeral for the midshipmen?”
    He nodded. “Maybe I’ll see you there. Take care of yourself.”

CHAPTER FIVE
    Once inside, Chloe leaned on the door and closed her eyes. This should have been one of the best nights of her life. Instead, her show was ruined, she had to give up singing, she was some kind of ancient monster, and the first guy she’d felt an intense attraction to in a long time was a kidnapping merman who couldn’t even kiss her.
    Awesome.
    The whole night seemed like one long nightmare, but one word kept echoing through her. Siren. It just couldn’t be true. The men that had attacked her— they were monsters. Not her. She still didn’t believe that she’d hurt those midshipmen. If she let herself believe it, she really would crack. But she couldn’t just ignore the possibility, either. She was going to have to find a way of proving her guilt or innocence, one way or another.
    Sophia must have heard Chloe come in, because now she rushed out into the living room crying, “Oh, my God, are you okay?”
    “I’m okay,” Chloe mumbled.
    “Jay’s still out looking for you! What happened?”
    Right now, Chloe was exhausted. She just wanted to close her eyes. She waved Sophia away with some vague promise to explain everything in the morning. Then, pushing a pile of clothes off the end of her bed, Chloe curled up under the blankets and fell into a deep, dark sleep.
     
    Alexandros stared down at the lanky, tattooed body of Chloe’s drummer as the authorities hauled him out of the water. Two of the officers talked about the rash of drownings and how they’d caught a couple of kids shooting up and daring one another to jump in the river. “Some kind of deadly new game in the nightclub scene,” was the conclusion.
    For once, Alexandros was hard-pressed to disagree.
    Someone must have called Chloe, because she came racing up the