Taboo Kisses(17)

Sameya leapt off the bed. The Bengal followed as she stalked toward the vampyr. He held his ground as she approached. Reaching him, she placed her hand on his chest, directly over his heart and channeled power into him. Nothing happened.

The motherfucker!

Her magic wouldn’t work on the one who bound her. “You collared me, not the witch!”

“So it would seem.”

“I demand your name.”

“Why?”

“I want to know the name of the man I’ll kill when I’m free.”

He chuckled. “Good luck with that, pet.”

Cold rage slithered down her spine. She kept pets, but would never be anyone else’s. Taking a page out of the human handbook, she smacked him across the cheek. His head snapped to the side, and the throb in her hand was refreshing. As he turned his face toward her, he worked his jaw. A red handprint pinkened his skin.

Fury stole her logic. She wanted to unleash her siren on something, someone, or anything to prove she wasn’t suddenly as sterile as the humans.

Breathe through it. I’m only defenseless against him and only as long as this magic is viable. When she broke the spell, she’d rip him apart and enthrall the witch as a pet for eons. Sweet revenge would be hers.

“When my Empress discovers what you’ve done—”

“Blah, blah, blah.” He mocked, rolling his eyes. “She must leave Atlantis first. I cannot imagine even you are that important to her.”

His conceit would be her victory. She swung her arm, but he caught her wrist and put her against the wall. The tiger snarled.

“Stay out of it, Gabriel.”

Gabriel? She glanced over the vampyr’s shoulder as the feline shifted into the man from the bar. Fuck her, he’d said he was a shifter, but she never would’ve guessed he was the biggest of the breeds.

The shifter’s eyes gleamed gold, rimmed in a wide black band. “Release her, Maximus.”

Startled, her gaze shot to the vampyr. “Maximus? As in…'MadMax?’”

“I see my reputation precedes me.”

“Impressive.” And it was. He’d single-handedly taken out almost the entire troll contingent.

“He’s not been MadMax for over a thousand years.” Gabriel’s voice licked over her like a lover’s tongue. She gritted her teeth and steeled herself against any physical response.

Didn’t matter when he’d held the title of MadMax. He had a name in Atlantis. “Uncollar me, and I’ll pretend this did not transpire.” She’d still go after the fucking witch.

“No.” Maximus’s hand slid from her shoulder to her throat. Her pulse leapt, and that odd feeling of heat snaked through her again. “You’re mine and Gabriel’s mate.”

She glanced at Gabriel who hovered behind Maximus’s right shoulder. She’d already told the hardheaded vampyr, sirens did not have plural mates. Although the idea of having two men such as these paired with her…she’d be lying if she pretended not to be intrigued by the idea. How many would envy her in Atlantis? Mostly she was feared, and that had served her well, but sometimes the fright grew wearisome. The only friend she could claim was the Empress, and theirs was a complicated relationship.

Sameya shook her head. She wouldn’t allow vanity to turn her rash.

Maximus’s thumb swished back and forth, drawing her attention to him. “We cannot lose you without trying to court you.”

“You think this is the best option?” She yanked on the choker. Had he collared any other siren, she’d probably think him not just ballsy, but exceedingly intriguing. Worthy of a roll in the sack to say she’d done him.

“I was against it.”

Maximus hissed at Gabriel’s comment. “You would’ve run, Sameya, and we’d have lost our chance to prove we’re right for you.”

She’d already advised him once that sirens didn’t mate with creatures beneath them. Maybe if she said it a second time but slower this go-around, he’d comprehend the words. “Sirens. Do. Not. Mate. With. Vampyrs. Or. Shifters.”

“Incorrect. You are mated to a vampyr and a shifter. Which means, sirens do have plural mates and do so with those outside their stratum.”

Empress, what an imbecile!

Gabriel moved to stand at their side, his golden eyes attentive. Sameya worried she could lose herself in those beautiful yellow orbs. “Don’t you want to know what an orgasm feels like?”

Hell, yes, but not with either of them. And no reminder of their lovemaking to one another would alter her mind. But…what would it feel like to have their hands on her the way they’d touched one another? Could they make her come? She highly doubted it. More superior men than them had tried. And failed.