The Siren by KATHERINE JOHN (general ebook reader .txt) 📕

used a stack of cocktail napkins to wipe myself off while he pulled up his pants. “You’re on birth control, aren’t you?” he asked. “Or are you too old now?”

“I’m only forty,” I snapped. “And yeah, I’m on birth control, just being cautious.”

I looked around for a garbage can to dispose of the soiled napkins. “You can leave them on the bar. The staff’ll take care of it,” he said.

Gross. I wrapped the napkins inside more clean napkins to dispose of upstairs.

“I’m gonna hit the sack.” He yawned, opening the door.

“I’m pretty tired too.” I followed him up the stairs and into the restaurant, where even the bar was now dark.

I grabbed my purse from the barstool where I’d left it. “That was fun,” I fibbed. I leaned in to kiss him as he reached for his phone, landing the kiss on his cheek. “See you tomorrow.”

I cast a flirtatious glance over my shoulder as I sauntered away, but he didn’t look up from his phone. When I reached the door, he finally called out, “Stella.”

“Yes?” I turned.

His eyes were in shadow, but a smile played around his lips. “If you ever did decide to spill things, it wouldn’t turn out well for you.”

My heart skipped a beat. Was he threatening me? I dropped my gaze to the floor for a moment as I tried to figure out how to respond. When I looked up, he was gone, the door to the kitchen swinging in his wake. My stomach felt suddenly unsettled.

Outside, the rain had stopped and the night creatures were singing. The luminous sea lapped at the shore, and the palm trees rustled in the wind as I scurried around the deserted pool, down the stairs, and across the torchlit pier toward my bungalow. I was already sore from the rough encounter. It had been so long since I’d bedded anyone that I’d lost track, and I’d always needed more foreplay for proper lubrication to begin with.

I entered the bungalow to find the ocean side completely open to the salty night air and some kind of chill trance music playing on the stereo. Through the rectangles of glass in the wood floor, submerged lights illuminated the water, sending liquid reflections dancing around the dimly lit room.

I dropped my purse next to the incense burning on the coffee table and grabbed my smokes, calling out, “Felicity?”

“Out here!”

I followed the sound of her voice to the glowing dive pool on the moonlit deck, where I found her floating naked in the tantalizing indigo water. She smiled, our earlier scuffle forgotten.

“Where were you?” she asked.

I sank into a cushioned lounger at the edge of the pool and lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. “With Cole,” I admitted as I exhaled.

She swam to the edge of the pool, resting her chin on her hands. “And?”

“We…rekindled.”

She laughed. “I knew it! Tell me everything.”

“I ran into him at the bar.” I leaned back, staring up at the twinkling stars. It was truly amazing how many stars were visible out here in the middle of the ocean. So many, I couldn’t even make out the constellations. “We had a drink and he confessed he never stopped loving me all these years—he’d always wanted to give it another go, but he knew he wasn’t in a good place, you know. He’s different now.”

“What kind of person was he before?”

“Oh, I don’t know…” I searched for the words. “He wasn’t ready for a relationship.”

“And he is now?”

“We’ll see.” The smoke from my cigarette hung heavy in the thick night air. “I told him he’d have to prove he’s worth my time, of course.”

“Of course,” she said, smiling. “I posted the picture of the two of you that I took on set the other day. You’ve got a thousand new followers.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. She pushed off the side of the pool to float on her back again, her curvy body backlit purple. “You should come in. It’s so warm from the sun, it’s almost a hot tub. It feels amazing.”

The breeze did feel delicious on my skin and the steamy water was tempting, but I was tired. “I’m sorry about earlier,” I said. “I was hungry and irritable.”

“No worries.” She lifted a leg, pointing her toes at the moon. “There’s wine in the fridge if you want a glass.”

I felt a twinge of guilt, then, for lying to her, when she’d been so good to me. But it was better this way. If I started telling the truth, I might not be able to stop.

Felicity

Thirteen Years Ago

I awake like rising from underwater to the sound of a siren. A dark-skinned man’s unshaven face is inches from mine, haloed by a bright light. I start and try to move away, but find I’m tied down. Panicked, I fight against the ties.

“She’s back,” the man says.

Back from where? Where am I?

His face is replaced by that of a smiling Hispanic lady with bright pink lipstick, her long hair slicked back in a bun. “Hi, sweetie,” she says, placing something on my index finger. She holds open my eyelids and shines a bright light in each of my eyes.

I feel whatever I’m lying on jostle beneath me and look past her to confirm I’m in an ambulance. Suddenly it all comes flooding back. Cole’s house, my mom—

“Where’s my mom?” I ask, alarmed.

“They’ll have all that information for you when we get to the hospital. You’ve just had a head injury. Right now I need you to concentrate on staying calm so you can heal, okay?”

Fear rises like bile in my throat. I push down the half memory of her unseeing eyes, her cool skin, hoping against hope it was a dream. “But my mom, she wasn’t doing well. She was hurt. We were taking her to the hospital.”

“Mmm-hmm.” She nods. “You’re on your way to the hospital. Do you know your name?”

“Phoenix Pendley.”

“What day is it?”

“Saturday.”

I’m only getting more confused. “Where’s Cole?” I ask.

“Is Cole your daddy?”

“No, my mom’s boyfriend. He was