SIXTEEN
Wanderlust
Gemma reached a town about a half hour after leaving Sawyer’s house, but she drove around in it for a long time before she stopped. She needed to be sure that her head was clear and her hunger was under control.
That was actually what made her finally decide to stop. She figured that eating people food would at least do something about her appetite.
The only thing Gemma knew about what sirens were supposed to eat was what Lexi had told her back in the cabin on Bernie’s Island. Penn had wanted her to eat Alex, and Lexi had tried to convince her that eating him would be delicious.
But Gemma wasn’t sure exactly how much truth was in that. Based on the way the sirens spoke, she assumed that they needed to feed on humans somehow, but she wasn’t sure what that meant. Maybe they just drank blood like vampires. Or maybe they swallowed an entire person whole.
The only thing Gemma knew for certain was that she didn’t want to find out. She wasn’t yet at the point where cannibalism was an option, and she hoped she never got to that point.
But she still had to eat something, so she parked behind a restaurant. She’d wanted to park in front, but it was packed. Like Capri, this was another seaside resort, only much larger. The restaurant was a steakhouse, and that was why she’d picked it. She thought maybe eating a rare steak would be the best substitute for eating a person.
Before getting out of the car, Gemma checked herself in the mirror. She’d driven here with the windows open, and even though her hair had been blowing around for more than an hour, it still looked great. Gemma had to admit that she looked stunning. The glow that had grown dull the last few days had brightened up.
She wondered if maybe her kissing Sawyer had something to do with it. It occurred to Gemma that that was maybe what the sirens meant. Maybe they didn’t eat boys literally, but it was a figure of speech. Maybe they were like a type of succubus that fed on lust and sex.
Honestly, Gemma wasn’t too thrilled about that, either. She felt guilty enough just kissing Sawyer. She couldn’t imagine how awful she’d feel if she had to sleep with him. She was in love with Alex, and even if she never saw him again, being with someone else would always feel like she was cheating on him.
Besides that, she’d always imagined her first time as being romantic, with someone she loved, not because she’d die if she didn’t have sex.
But if it came down to killing someone or having sex with him, Gemma would pick the latter.
Of course, she had no idea if it would even come to that. She’d seen the kind of monster Penn had turned into, all fangs and claws. She doubted that that form was just for fun. Those teeth probably served a purpose, like devouring boys.
Gemma’s stomach rumbled, and that spurred her into action. She wasn’t wearing any shoes, but at least she’d put on a sundress over her bikini, otherwise she’d have real trouble trying to get a table at the restaurant.
Since Penn and Lexi were always off shopping, Gemma decided to check the trunk of Sawyer’s car and see if the sirens had accidentally left any shoes behind. When she popped the trunk, it turned out better than she’d hoped.
There were several bags with clothes spilling out. She found a pair of flip-flops pretty early on, and then discovered the real prize—a purse containing several hundred dollars and one of Sawyer’s credit cards. That was great, since Gemma hadn’t thought to grab money when she made her escape.
The steakhouse seemed kind of fancy, so Gemma continued to search through the clothes in hopes of finding a nicer dress than the one she wore. She grabbed some fabric with a flower print on it, and before she’d pulled it out enough to determine if it was a skirt or a dress, she saw dark red splotches all over it.
It was unmistakable. The fabric was stained with blood.
Her heart thudded dully in her chest. Once she realized what she was holding, she dropped it in a hurry, not wanting to touch the blood. Hurriedly, she slipped on the flip-flops, grabbed the purse, and slammed the trunk shut.
Gemma stared down at the trunk, swallowing hard and slowing the panic rising in her chest. She knew the sirens were monsters. She had to assume that they did bad things. But she couldn’t think about it. She couldn’t do anything about it, at least not right now.
The best she could do was get herself under control, eat something before she freaked out, and then decide how she was going to deal with the situation.
She had to walk through a long alley to get around to the front of the restaurant, and that gave her time to calm down and cool off. By the time she reached the front door, she felt normal enough to smile at the maître’d.
The straps of her bikini were showing, and she was clearly underdressed. It wasn’t a super-upscale place, but it was nice enough that flip-flops and a sundress shouldn’t have cut it. The maître’d looked as if he were about to tell her just that, but then she smiled at him, and everything changed.
He apologized profusely that he couldn’t find her a table right away and asked her to wait at the bar until one opened up. Gemma told him not to hurry, afraid he might actually kick people out to make room for her.
The sun was setting when she’d arrived, and based on the crowd, she guessed she’d hit the dinner rush. People were finally leaving the beaches and heading indoors to eat.
As she walked through the restaurant up to the bar, she could feel people looking at her. The room seemed to grow more hushed as she walked by. The power of the siren was still something she wasn’t used to.
“What can I get for you?” the bartender asked her before she even had a chance to sit down on the stool.
“Um, just a Cherry Coke would be fine,” Gemma said.
“Coming right up,” he said, smiling brightly before dashing off to fill her order.
A guy was sitting two stools down, nursing his Long Island Iced Tea. Gemma happened to glance over at him, and she caught him looking at her. He apparently took that as some kind of invitation, and he moved next to her.
“Hey,” he said with a Southern drawl. “What are you drinking?”
“Cherry Coke.” No sooner had the words left her mouth than the bartender appeared in front of her with the drink.
“I gave you a couple extra cherries.” The bartender winked at her and motioned at the three maraschino cherries in the glass.
“Thank you,” Gemma said.
Another patron called to the bartender from the other end, and he reluctantly stepped away to do his job.
“So…” The guy next to her leaned on the bar, moving closer to her. “Are you from around here?”
“No.” Gemma deliberately stared straight ahead and stirred her drink with the straw. She wanted to eat the cherries, but she was afraid it might be construed as seductive somehow, and she didn’t want the guy next to her to get the wrong idea.
“Me neither,” the guy went on. “It’s a nice town, though.”
“Yep.”
“Yeah.” He took a long sip of his beverage before turning back to her. “I’m Jason, by the way.”
She smiled thinly at him, doing her best to be polite. “Gemma.”
“It’s nice to meet you.” He held out his hand to her, but she didn’t shake it.
Jason was a little cute, but he appeared to be in his early thirties. Not to mention the fact that she definitely wasn’t looking to hook up with anyone. She’d run away from the sirens and Sawyer to avoid that. Besides, Jason wasn’t Alex.
“Are you here alone?” he asked.
“I’m having dinner alone,” Gemma clarified. “I wanted some time to myself.”
“Oh.” He scratched his head, and for one glorious moment she thought her rebuff was going to sink in. “A pretty little thing like you should never dine alone. Why don’t you have dinner with me?”
“Don’t you think I’m a little young for you?” Gemma asked. The guy was probably twice her age.
“Is that what’s bothering you?” Jason laughed jovially, as if he’d solved a problem that Gemma didn’t even know needed solving. He leaned in closer to her then, almost whispering to her. “The younger the better, that’s what I always say.”
“Wow,” Gemma said. “That’s actually really creepy.”
“Aw, come on, honey.” He brushed his hand against her arm in a way that was probably meant to be flirtatious, but it made her skin crawl, and she pulled away from him.
“Is he bothering you?” the bartender asked, leaning over the bar and glaring at Jason.
“We’re just having a little fun, that’s all.” Jason laughed and moved away from Gemma, trying to look more innocent than he actually was.
“Is he bothering you?” the bartender repeated, and this time his eyes were fixed on Gemma.
Out of the corner of her eye, Gemma had seen the bartender hovering around her, sometimes ignoring the other patrons. Now at the other end of the bar a young man kept leering at her, much to the annoyance of his date. And Jason was next to her, stealthily trying to put his hand on her thigh under the bar.
Gemma had hoped to sit quietly, eat her meal in peace, and think about what she should do. But this was obviously not the place to do it. It was too busy, and she was drawing too much attention.
“You know what? I think I should just go,” Gemma said. Jason pouted, and she ignored him and jerked her leg away from his hand.
“You haven’t even finished your Cherry Coke,” the bartender said. “And if he’s bothering you, I can have him thrown out.”
“Oh, come on!” Jason protested, and threw his arms up in the air. “I wasn’t bothering anybody! We was just talking!”
“You’re always harassing ladies,” the bartender insisted, glaring at Jason. “We should have you banned from here.”
“How much do I owe you?” Gemma asked, interrupting their argument.
“Nothing.” The bartender smiled at her.
“I can get your drink,” Jason hurried to supply.
“I got it,” she snapped. “How much is it?”
“There’s no charge,” the bartender said, softening. “You didn’t drink any, anyway.”
She wanted to argue with him, but she wanted to get out of there even more.
“Thank you,” she said simply, and slipped off the stool.
Gemma hurried out of the restaurant. She wanted to jog, but she forced herself to keep her pace to a normal speed. Her stomach rumbled, and she knew she’d have to find someplace else to eat. It was nearly dark now, and she didn’t know the town, so she wanted to hurry.
She’d nearly made it around the corner when she heard footsteps pounding behind her, and she looked back over her shoulder to see Jason running to catch up to her.
“You sure took off like a flash.” Jason grinned as he fell in step next to her. “Sorry if I said something to offend you in there.”
“No, you were fine,” she lied, and shook her head. “I just didn’t realize how late it was. I have to be getting home.”
“You haven’t eaten anything yet,” Jason reminded her. “Let me take you out somewhere. I’ll find you something real special.”
“No, I’m all right,” Gemma insisted. She turned down the alley that led to the lot where she’d parked her car, and Jason stayed at her side.
“Please, Gemma,” he entreated. “I was a jerk inside. Come back in. Get something to eat with me. Let me make it up to you.”
She softened a bit and slowed down, but she still didn’t want to go back in there or eat with some stranger. Really, she just wanted to get out of there.
“Sorry.” She smiled up at him. “I’m not hungry anymore. I should go.”
“Wait.” He grabbed her arm when she started walking away, and while his grip wasn’t exactly painful, she didn’t like it. “If you’re not hungry, there’s plenty of things we could do.”
“I need to go home.” She tried to pull her arm away, but he hung on tighter.
“I know I’m older, and that scares you, but that’s no reason to be shy.” He smiled at her, but there was something menacing in the smile that made her recoil.
Thanks to her siren strength, she could overpower him, but just then he caught her off guard. He pushed her back against the brick wall of a building, putting an arm on either side of her and pinning her there with his body.
“Move,” Gemma insisted. “Jason. Please. Move.”
Just because she could overpower him didn’t mean she wanted to. It would be easier and create much less of a scene if he just stepped away on his own. Not that there was anyone there to watch the scene. The alley was deserted.
“Move?” He laughed darkly. “Honey, I’ll show you some moves.”
He rubbed his body up against hers, and something flared inside her. It wasn’t the lust she’d felt before, not like back at the house with Sawyer. At first it reminded her of when she went swimming, when the ocean hit her flesh and her body began to transform. It was that same kind of tingle running through her.
But instead of feeling the tingle in her legs, she felt it in her arms, and her mouth. Her lips trembled, and her vision changed. She couldn’t explain it exactly, but it was almost as if her eyes shifted and her pupils dilated, so she could see better in the dark.
Jason had been rubbing himself on her and trying to kiss her neck, his mouth moving gruffly against her flesh as with one hand he clumsily pawed at her chest. He looked up, maybe to see if Gemma was enjoying this as much as he was, and his eyes widened.
“What the f*ck…?” he muttered, and those were the last words Gemma heard him say.