The Siren's Tale by Anne Carlisle

in an exaggerated fashion, grinning .
    “ So, ape, you think my situation is funny? Disrespect is what I get in return for all I've given?” I was so angry that I stomped my foot. ““I have done without you before, Mr. Drake. I can very well do without you in the future.”
    “ Yes, my dear, but the point is that you will not want to.” He laughed and gave my inflamed cheeks a hard pinch. “And what Cassandra wants, Cassandra gets.”
    “ Leave me at once!” I commanded. My lips and limbs were quivering with a mixture of heady, treacherous human emotions. Curly stood for a while and absorbed the dangerous current between us. For his own protection, I willed him to go.
    “ Yes, I’ll go,” he said. “But I’ll be seeing you again, very soon.”
    “ Only,” I said, “if you admit the wedding was broken off because you love me best.”
    “ I don’t think that would be a good policy,” he said. “The lawyer in me advises me not to give you so much power.”
    He wisely kept his eyes away from the current flowing from mine, as he mi ght have been burned to a crisp by looking directly at me when I was filled with outrage.
    “ Admit it!” I cried.
    He turned his b ack to avoid my glare. Suddenly, my anger cooled; I shrugged and dropped my eyes. He turned back to me and preened his moustache, as if gloating over a victory. But I was not done with him, not yet.
    “ Where is she now, your bride?”I asked in a casual tone.
    “ I won't speak of her any more with you,” he said pettishly. “I came in obedience to your call. That will have to do as a sacrifice for the goddess tonight.”
    “ As you wish,” I said with a show of indifference. “I willed you to come, and you did. I am willing you to go from me now. The rest bores me.”
    His eyes grew dark.
    “You are too hot-blooded to play at any cold tricks. I knew before the night was out I would be back in your web. I drew you out before you drew me.”
    “ If that is so, then we are bound together by destiny as well as desire. Either way, I freely give you up. I leave you to your sordid fate.”
    I spoke calmly, but my self-control was fraying. What he had said about my hot-bloodedness was true. This human male knew me all too well. Inside, I was struggling with myself, my siren brain sending me in one direction and my human instincts in another. I wanted my lover to want me and me alone. My siren's power was enough to pull him in, but it was more than a trick I yearned to accomplish. I wanted him to carry me away from this awful place, proving that he loved me only.
    The ember s of the fire between us flared up once more. Curly lunged toward me and kissed me roughly. I resisted at first, then bit his lip passionately.
    In a moment we were unbuttoning each other's clothes, tearing and ripping at them, regardless of the cold wind whipping around us. In the rising pitch of our mutual frenzy, the heaving and the sighing and the cries of sexual ecstasy mingled with the sounds of the prairie at night. The brambles scratched my bare flesh, but I didn't care, even if I bled; I knew he too would bleed.
    However, in the midst of our frantic lovemaking, as his cock thrust into me, I had a sudden vision. I saw myself standing over a dead man. As soon as I saw the image, I pushed Curly off me. The moment was spoiled and my passion had faded.  
    “ What is the matter, lass?”
    I detached myself and stood up.
    Here human emotions and paranormal life parted company. I could not tell my lover my passion had suddenly cooled because I had seen a vision of death. My breastbone was cold to the touch, a signal our delightful friction was at an end for tonight. On the spot, I made up an ultimatum. It was one I did not expect him to honor, but I knew it would cool his ardor.
    I said flatly, “You may not make love to me again until you have given up Clare forever.”
    “ By Mungo, you could not be so cold as to deny me, now that you've got me into this state!”
    Curly