ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

I step out onto the balcony to avoid disturbing Ava, who is fast asleep on the couch. I hold my phone to my ear and listen to the ringing.

Pick up, damn it.

"Zane, what the hell?" I hear Kami's voice whine at the other end of the line. "Are you seriously calling me at this hour??"

"Right love, like you never call me in the middle of the night for a random favor."

"Okay, sure," she says with a yawn. "But you never call me this late."

"Well, I am now."

"So what's the emergency?"

"It's not exactly an emergency but, uh..."

"Did Ava already break up with you?"

"No," I say. "But thanks for immediately assuming that."

"My bad," she says. "What's up?"

"Ava wants to have sex."

"Oh my god Zane what are you, a teenager? Do we need to have the talk? Should I tell you about the Sirens and the bees?"

"Kami you're not as funny as you think you are."

"I'm hilarious and you know it," she says.

"I've been trying to avoid being alone with her but... I'm struggling to control myself."

"Oh wow," she gasps. "This is good!"

"How is this good?"

"You're letting loose. No more tightly-wound, can't-let-my-guard-down Zane. You've been holding yourself back for so long. You're finally being who you are: a true Siren."

"We can have my coming out party later, love. I'm losing my fucking mind over here. My eyes have been sparking green so much that she's starting to ask questions. I can't even think straight when I look at her. I'm turning bloody feral, I swear."

"Men are so melodramatic," she says with a sigh. "You could always try aster. Or anything with aster in it. Personally, I like absinthe."

Aster is a spice that calms the passions of Sirens. I've always prided myself on never needing it.

"First off, who has absinthe just hanging around in their pantry?" I ask.

"I do."

"Of course you do," I sigh.

"Honest answer, Zane? You just need to feed your urges. You're a Siren. Just have sex with her. Don't make it more complicated than it needs to be."

"How? How do I do this? How do I know if she really wants to?"

"Well first off, venom doesn't make people do anything they don't want to do. It just brings your desires to the surface. It's an aphrodisiac, not hypnosis," she says. "Secondly, you could just ask her."

"Ask her what?"

"Ask her what she wants to do before you guys get all hot and heavy. Then you're double sure."

"I... huh... maybe that would work."

"Well it's better than sporting a perma-boner." Kami was never one for subtlety.

"Ahh that's enough, thanks. I'm hanging up now."

"You called me, remember?"

"Bye, Kam," I say as I end the call and set down my phone.

I peek through the glass door to see Ava fast asleep.

I'm going to have to try something eventually. Otherwise, this girl is going to kill me.

𝔸𝕧𝕒

I wake up on Zane's couch, tangled in his arms with my head on his chest. He's now wearing a black T-shirt and grey sweat pants. I borrowed one of his shirts and a pair of boxers to sleep in. He's still fast asleep and through the window I can see the sunrise.

Ow. Pain is shooting up my back, but I don't want to move. This just feels too perfect.

Zane's chest rises with a deep breath as he stirs awake.

"You're so beautiful, baby," he mutters drowsily, his eyelids just cracked open.

I just woke up after sleeping in my makeup and on most days I would assume I look like crap right now, but the way he says it makes me feel like the most gorgeous girl who has ever lived.

He stretches before wrapping his arm back around my shoulders.

"So," I say. I think it's time we had that talk.

"So?" he asks.

"I believe I was promised a talk."

His eyes widen and he seems to jolt up a bit.

"Bloody hell, you really don't waste any time, do you love?"

"I'm a girl who knows what she wants," I say, leaning in for a kiss. He puts a hand to my lips to stop me.

"Want me that badly, do you?" he asks.

I hate his cocky attitude. Why is he like this? I'm hot so why won't he have sex with me?

"Oh whatever," I say, untangling from him and getting up off the couch. "Get over yourself. If you don't want me, nobody's forcing you to do anything."

He follows me as I straighten my clothing and look for my sweater.

"Baby," he says, grabbing my arm. "I didn't mean it like that, I do want you."

"Then what's your deal?" I ask, crossing my arms. He sighs in response. It suddenly occurs to me that I may have been insensitive.

"Are you a virgin?" I ask.

He explodes into a fit of laughter.

"You think..." he stammers between laughs, "think that I... am a virgin?"

His laughter gets louder. He's so full of himself.

"Okay, that's enough ladykiller, it's not that funny." I cross my arms and shoot him a glare.

"I'm sorry," he says as his laughter settles. "I just... I'm not a virgin, no."

"So you just sleep with everyone but me?"

"Love, I do not just... no... it's not like that." He huffs and runs his hand through his hair.

"Then what's your deal?"

"I've just... never cared very much what anyone really thought of me..." He lets out a long sigh and his eyes meet mine. "...until you."

"Until me?"

"Yeah. Being with you confuses me," he says. "I want you to really like me, to really want to be with me, to really be attracted to me. I don't want to cloud that."

"And you think having sex will cloud whether or not I really like you?"

"Yeah, I guess," he sighs.

"Well I do really like you. And I'm telling you that. And I'm attracted to you."

"Alright, love, so you want to have sex with me?"

"There's that cocky attitude again..." My eyes narrow.

"What do you want me to say?" he says in a frustrated tone. "That I want you? That you're fit as fuck? That it takes everything I have to resist you even for one fucking second? 'Cause if you need me to swallow my pride here and make it clear that I'm bloody obsessed with you, then I will."

His eyes flicker between green and brown and he seems a combination of shy and exasperated.

"I..." I try to speak but I'm at a loss for words. "You... Then why try to resist me?"

"Because I care about you," he says, seemingly startled by his own words.

Our eyes meet and he smiles.

"You want me to fuck you?" he asks in a low, soft voice.

Duh, dude. Duh.

"Yeah," I say. "That's kind of my point."

"Right now?" he asks, approaching me.

Wow. Okay, to the point then.

"Yes," I say, stepping closer and tracing my hands across his chest. He shivers at my touch. I attempt to kiss him but he puts up a hand to stop me.

"Nuh uh uh," he teases. "I have a few more questions. Do you want me to..."

He bends down to kiss my neck.

"...use my tongue, love?" he asks.

My skin tingles as his lips touch me.

"Yes," I say softly.

"Do you want to..." he says, moving to the other side of my neck, "use yours?"

Dayumm. I feel the blood rushing to my face at his words.

"I um..." I'm suddenly feeling shy.

Damn it, Ava, you're an independent, sexually liberated, adult woman. You can do this.

"Ye-... Yes," I mumble. Not exactly the confident, sexy tone I was going for, but I got the word out.

"Well then," he says with another kiss at my collar bone. He grabs my ass and presses his hips into mine, letting out a breathy moan as he does. "You're about to get what you want, baby."

Zane's lips crash into mine and my body feels electric. The pain in my back and neck eases and all that's left is ecstasy. My nerves are on fire and every touch feels ten times more intense as a wave of heat rushes through my body.

His hands grope along my body as I wrap my legs around his waist. He grips my ass, lifting me and carrying me back to his bedroom.

"Fuck, baby, you're so sexy," he says between kisses.

He lowers me onto his bed and climbs on top of me as I pull my shirt off. He kisses along my collar bone and down my chest until he reaches the pair of his borrowed boxers I'm wearing, tugging them off me in a swift motion.

I pull his shirt off over his head, revealing his flawlessly sculpted body. His eyes are shining a brighter green than I've ever seen them and his expression is wild with lust.

His kisses become increasingly ravenous and I slip my hand beneath the waistband of his sweatpants and stroke him. A growl resonates deep from within his chest and he lifts my body further along the bed until his mouth is between my legs, kissing me through my panties.

Damn. This boy is gonna kill me, I swear.

He grabs my panties with each hand and tears them in two as if they were made of paper

"Oops," he says with a smirk.

In seconds, his tongue is on me and I feel an incredible sensation radiating from his touch. I'm overcome with waves of pleasure rippling out through my body. I've never felt better in my life.

This is what I've been missing with him this whole time??

I'm barely coherent, my vision is fuzzy, and I feel like I'm floating, riding through one wave of sensation to the next.

"Zane..." I moan. He squirms and his back tenses.

"Fuck, baby," he sighs. He kisses my stomach and works his way up to my chest. He rises further until his eyes meet mine, radiating a green glow. "Say my name again."

"Zane," I say through heavy pants.

In what seems like an instant his boxers are off and he's on top of me, slipping a condom on. A low guttural moan escapes his lips as he buries himself in me.

I see sparkles at the corners of my vision and I drift in and out of pure pleasure.

"How do you want it, baby?" he asks.

"I... I..."

Words, Ava. Words. What are words again?

"You want it fast, baby?" he asks, thrusting into me rapidly.

"Or do you want it... nice... and... slow?" He reduces his pace, slowly pushing in and out of me with each word.

My muscles have turned into pudding and now he's asking me to form a sentence?

"Ff... fffasstt," I stutter.

"Fast, baby?" he asks, a smirk spreading across his face. "I'm really glad you said that."

He increases his pace again, pounding into me as the pressure between my thighs increases.

"Because," he says, his breath catching. "I've been waiting... too long... to have you. I wasn't sure I was gonna... be able to... take it slow with you, baby."

I let out another moan as pleasure overpowers my brain. My legs shake and my whole body tingles.

"Zane... Oh god..."

My vision goes white. He continues, his pace quickening slightly as deep moans emerge from his chest.

"Ffuuckk," he yells, releasing into me with a shudder and collapsing on top of me.

We both rest for a moment entangled in each other.

"Ava... Fuck..." he says, his voice strained.

I giggle.

"Are you..." he asks, raising himself onto his elbows to look me in the eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I'm better than okay," I say, basking in the floating-on-a-cloud feeling.

"So," he lets out a sigh. "You don't regret it?"

Is this boy crazy?

"No, dumbass," I say. "This is not my regret face." I smirk at him before sticking out my tongue.

He smiles back and rolls off of me.

"Now, love," he says. "Are you gonna be a bad girl and get cheeky with me?"

"What if I am?" I tease. He looks at me with a devious smile.

"Try me and find out."