Siren Song by Stephanie Draven Page A

expect Sophia to know what a triton was, but she did expect her to show fear at the sight of a gun. Instead, Sophia’s voice rose an octave, a powerful sound that even pulled Chloe toward her. Alex was just standing there on the dock, his hand shaking. Then, slowly, he turned the gun toward his own head. In the morning light, Alex’s trembling finger hovered over the trigger.
    “No!” Chloe cried. “Stop it, Sophia! Stop it right now!”
    Chloe didn’t think. She just reacted. She took three running steps toward Alex. The next moment, she was hurtling herself through the air. Her body collided with his, and then they both plunged into the river with a cacophonous splash.
    Under the water, Chloe was disoriented, lost in the murky current that threatened to suck her deeper. But she had hold of Alex’s arm and wasn’t letting go. He was trying to get away from her, trying to swim back to Sophia. So Chloe did the only thing she could think to do. She broke the surface of the water, took a gasping breath and sang!
     
    Sophia. Pure blue desire for her burned through him. He wanted the siren. He wanted to have her, to be inside her, to do anything she asked him to do. He wanted to kiss if she wanted him to kiss, to dance if she wanted him to dance and to die if she wanted him to die…. He had to get back to her. He had to hear how her song ended.
    But the one thing stronger than Sophia’s siren song, was what he heard now. It wasn’t soft as the lullaby had been. It wasn’t a pretty melody. This was a soaring anthem of pain and need that could come from only one woman.
    Chloe.
    He became aware of her, treading water as she sang, as she fought for her life—and his.

CHAPTER EIGHT
    Chloe had used her powers to make men want her before. She’d made men fawn over her, and cheer for her songs, and buy her drinks at the bar. She’d never tried anything like this. Swim away, she thought. Get away from here now!
    But Alex just bobbed up and down in the water beside her while Sophia cried, “Chloe!”
    That break in Sophia’s siren song was the chance Chloe needed. She pressed her wet shivering lips against Alex’s mouth and felt him stop struggling. He was completely under her power now. Or so she hoped. Chloe tried again. Swim away! Swim away!
    Of course, she hadn’t thought he’d take her with him. The powerful propulsion of his body as he hastened to her command was like a rocket through the water. He dragged her, and for one thrilling moment, it was like riding atop a killer whale. Then his arms clasped around her and he pulled her under.
    His grip was so strong she couldn’t break it. She kicked to pull free, already panicking that she didn’t have enough air in her lungs, and not sure if he was even conscious of his actions. She held her breath, praying that he’d break the surface again. Feeling the rush of water over her face, her arms, her legs. Ripples of water, scales of fish, scrape of silt. He only dived deeper.
    He was going to kill her, she thought. She was going to drown in his arms. As she clawed at him to release her, she heard him say, “As long as you hold on to me, you can breathe the water.”
    She hadn’t expected to be able to hear anything other than the rush of the ocean as it filled her ears, but his words were as clear as if they were standing next to one another on land. “Breathe, Chloe. Breathe.”
    There was no way she was going to try that! The few times she’d inhaled pool water as a kid had been extremely unpleasant, but now her lungs were burning. She needed air! A moment later, she was thrashing again, her survival instinct to get away from him and break the surface stronger than anything else. Bubbles blew out her mouth and nose, but it was only a little relief. Her eyes were squeezed shut and now speckles danced against the blackness.
    “Trust me, Chloe.”
    She had no choice. Taking in that first big breath of water may have just been the hardest thing she’d ever done,