Lexi slid down low, keeping her body as close to Alex’s as she could without touching him. She grabbed the bottom of his wet T-shirt, and in one smooth move she pulled it up over his head, leaving Alex half naked in the center of the room.

“That’s better.” Lexi smiled at him and admired his shirtless torso. “He’s pretty cute, Gemma. You have good taste.”

“What are you doing?” Gemma asked. “Why are you doing this to him?”

“You think he loves you?” Penn asked. “He doesn’t love you. He’s about ready to pounce on Lexi there and have his way with her.” She glanced back at him. “Aren’t you, Alex?”

“She’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Alex said, his voice flat and faraway. Lexi took a step back from him, and he tried to follow her. She held her hand up, keeping him at bay.

“She has a spell on him!” Gemma insisted. “He can’t control his actions. He would never act like that.”

“But if he really loved you, it would overpower the spell.” Penn kept her eyes on Gemma, but motioned to where Lexi and Alex stood. “He would see he loves you. But he doesn’t. He can’t. He won’t.” She stepped even closer to Gemma, nearly speaking into her ear. “Mortals are incapable of love.”

In front of her, she could see Alex using all his restraint to keep from running to Lexi. She stood a few feet from him, tempting in a way that was driving him mad.

Gemma’s stomach twisted, but not with jealousy. The spell that Lexi had over him was making him do this, and that spell had to be hurting him, too.

“Fine, you’ve made your point.” Gemma squirmed against Thea’s arms, trying to pull away from her. “He can’t love me, and he never will! Now let him go!”

“Don’t you see?” Penn crossed her arms and studied Gemma. “Everything he’s told you has been a lie. Everything’s he’s done has been to trick you, because he wants to possess you and sleep with you, the way all men do. He never cared about you. He only cares about himself.”

Gemma took a deep breath, and as much as it pained her heart, she realized that what Penn said might be true. Alex hadn’t even really looked at her since he’d gotten here, and she was a siren, too. Maybe that meant he didn’t care about her.