"Are you coming?"
She wouldn't pass out again. She already felt such a ninny for passing out the first time, and for letting herself lose so much blood. Some healer she was! But a combination of that and shock was making her dizzy again. She grabbed a branch and waited for her head to clear.
"Come, it's not much farther. There are city lights through those trees ahead!"
She decided it wouldn't be too wimpish for her to take the arm he offered. They made it out of the forest and through the outskirts of the city, sticking to the shadows and avoiding the sound of rhythmic footsteps when they heard it. The palace guards were currently searching the city.
When they reached a part of town where the lights were brighter and the goings on much seedier, he relaxed somewhat. It would be much easier to blend in with the crowds here. An innkeeper with shifty little eyes called out to them, asking if they needed a room for the night.
It occurred to him to glance down at the woman. Her cloak had apparently fallen off back in the woods somewhere, and under the lights of this part of town, even costly jewels looked cheap and fake. And she was decidedly naked underneath that joke of a gown; he could plainly see two perky little nipples staring up at him. And two slightly narrowed green eyes. Oops. Lift the gaze...
They had neared the edge of that part of town when approaching footsteps made them pause. They looked back to see a bevy of guards marching straight towards them. All he could think of was, he must hide her from their view.
Lisanne saw the guards and readied herself to sing. She was exhausted, but her voice would still have effect. A simple song of sleep should suffice. She opened her mouth but her voice died in her throat when her own lips were covered with a pair of warm and surprisingly soft male ones.
He had intended it just be a kiss for the benefit of any guard that happened to glance their way. The easiest way to hide her from view was with his own body. In this part of town, they would just appear to be another prostitute with a customer. But he hadn't counted on her response. Nearly the instant his lips touched hers her arms went around his neck to pull him closer and her tongue started exploring...
Lisanne felt as though she had entered one of her dreams. Part of her fully expected him to pull her into an alley and make passionate love to her right there in the street; another part of her just kept mindlessly thinking,
Oh gods! This is real!
She couldn't help her response. She'd responded to his touch so many times already that it was an automatic reaction.
And in real life he was capable of wreaking so much more havoc on her body. She didn't remember breathing quite this heavily in any of her dreams, didn't remember her heart rate increasing like this, most certainly didn't remember getting quite this wet so quickly. When he pulled away she actually whimpered.
"They've gone," he said. No, he didn't miss the whimper or the look of longing in her eyes. He was definitely curious about this woman, and would fully satisfy his curiosity at a later date. Now, however, was neither the time nor the place. Even if she weren't injured, he needed to get her back to the Mermaid's Revenge so he could ensure the safety of the other Siren he'd promised to protect.
"Derek? ... Lisanne!" They had reached the waterside, and Alex was standing on the dock. It was she who had called out to the two of them.
Lisanne, upon finally seeing a familiar face and the outline of the ship that would take her away from this place, felt the blackness closing in again, welcome this time. She slumped against the man, then a moment later dimly registered that she was being carried somewhere. She felt something soft beneath her and knew no more.
