Chapter 2
Chapter Two
People have never feared magic. They fear the women who wield it.
Annoyingly, Zuri thought while sitting across from her, Elena had forgotten what it was like to fear. All spectacle and bravado. Her ex-girlfriend never stopped being painfully predictable.
“Sure you can still handle me?” Zuri made no attempt to stand. She’d known exactly what Elena would request, but it was fun to pretend not to want to give it to her.
Elena’s full lips—painted a red that would stain Zuri’s skin if she was foolish enough to let her—curved into a smirk. “Only one way to find out,” she replied, her original accent buried under centuries of practice. Languages came to Elena like breathless lovers, but she’d mastered the art of hiding them.
Uncrossing her legs, Elena beckoned her by dragging her teeth over her bottom lip. The silent promise to unleash her fangs.
The memory of Elena’s bite crept into Zuri’s mind against her will. That exquisite razor’s edge between pain and pleasure, danger and desire. The pull of her tight fist in Zuri’s hair, yanking her head back to reach her sensitive neck. The incredible high that peaked right before her fangs plunged into her. And then the spreading hunger triggered by being ravaged.
Zuri focused on the present, on the woman across from her wielding seduction like a weapon. That shit wasn’t working today. Zuri wasn’t going to be conquered. Even if she had to get close to her one more time, she wasn’t going to drift back into Elena’s orbit. She wasn’t going to set herself up for heartbreak. Once was bad enough.
Standing, Zuri decided to get her desperate plan over with. Every second she spent in her space was a risk. Elena was like radiation—manageable only in small doses.
Tracking her every move, Elena stalked Zuri with her eyes while she moved around the hideous desk she was sure had never once been used to conduct actual business. She pushed away the memory of being bent over its edge. Refused to remember what Elena looked like splayed across it.
Glad for the elasticity in her tight jeans, Zuri straddled Elena’s hips and forced herself not to get distracted by the way the double-sided tape holding Elena’s jacket in place strained to pull away from her tempting skin. She tried not to want to touch her.
With a rumble in her chest that was somewhere between a groan and a growl, Elena ran her hands up Zuri’s legs. She’d worshiped her thick thighs when they’d been together, and Zuri couldn’t help feeling like she’d scored a small victory that Elena was still weak for her. The big bad vampire always came undone by what she’d called the best ass she’d seen in her life. Both of them.
Her fingers slid through Elena’s silken hair, nails raking her scalp and eliciting a soft moan. Zuri leaned in until her lips grazed the shell of Elena’s ear. “Close your eyes,” she commanded, voice deep but soft.
Elena obeyed, her lips parting. Zuri’s thumb floated over her strong jawline as she studied her face, so achingly familiar.
Grasping her hips, Elena tried to pull her closer, but Zuri resisted. Zuri would set the pace.
“Home?” Zuri whispered, magic awakening in her veins and warming her skin as it traveled out from her chest and into her fingers.
At her mercy, Elena didn’t open her eyes when she nodded. Zuri had to engage every drop of her restraint. Had to ignore how alluring Elena was like this. Up close, Elena’s beauty was almost blinding—those artfully smudged kohl lines around almond-shaped eyes that still made Zuri feel naked with a glance.
She pressed her mouth to Elena’s brow, feeling the ridges of her furrowed concentration. The charge between them was a live-wire, raising the fine hairs on Zuri’s arms and supercharging the power pushing at her boundaries like it had missed Elena and was desperate to get back into her mind.
Gently, she unlocked a treasured memory from Elena’s youth, allowing Elena to experience it again. A vivid sense memory of freedom—bare feet sinking into wet sand, the salty tang of ocean air, golden skin baking in the sun.
Elena gasped, immersed in the warmth and joy of a stolen moment centuries ago. Zuri’s gift never failed to overwhelm the senses. And just like that, they were yanked into the past. Elena’s past. Her first life.
Closing her eyes, Zuri was dragged into the place Elena had gone back to a thousand times when they were together. The place that Zuri knew better than she knew her own memories.
The brilliance of the Spanish sun momentarily blinded her as she emerged from the cool alleyway into Cadiz’s bustling town square. Her ears were assaulted by the cacophony of Spanish merchants loudly hawking their wares, raucous laughter spilling from crowded taverns, and the cries of seagulls overhead. The scent of the nearby ocean mingled with smells of roasted meat and sweat from the throngs of people. If only Elena didn’t remember the smells so strongly—or if deodorant had been invented.
Beside her, Catalina appeared—dark, flawless skin reflecting her Moorish ancestry and grin radiant. Zuri wasn’t just watching the memory unfold; she was in it now, standing in Elena’s place. Zuri could choose to watch the memory rather than experience it, but she loved this one too much not to live it along with her. Elena knew that and had selected it anyway.
Catalina’s hand grasped hers tightly, just as it must have grasped Elena’s centuries ago. The mischief in her unforgettable eyes was impossible to resist. “Come on!” Catalina urged, breaking into a run and pulling Zuri forward, the vividness of the memory dragging her deeper into Elena’s past.
Drunk on the ignorance and exuberance of youth, Zuri hiked up her pain-in-the-ass skirts, relishing the feeling of the sun-warmed cobblestones beneath her sandals. They darted through the crowded marketplace. Running, they dodged old women shaking their heads in open disgust at two girls experiencing joy, and ignored leering men who shouted vulgar things.
The sounds of the busy port faded away as they slipped through a narrow crevice in the old stone walls surrounding the city. Stones that were smooth beneath Zuri’s palms when she pushed off of them, throat raw from laughter.
Cool sea spray misted Zuri’s flushed and heated skin. Their secret cove waited just ahead, waves crashing rhythmically against the jagged boulders. Zuri squealed as Catalina suddenly tugged her into the refreshing turquoise waters, their silk and linen garments clinging to their bodies and growing heavy. Zuri could never imagine wearing so much fucking fabric. And then washing it all by hand.
After splashing each other in the surf, they sprawled atop a huge sun-bathed rock jutting out of the sand. Zuri closed her eyes, stretching out to let the glorious sunlight dry her drenched clothes.
A light touch brought her back to the moment. Catalina was slowly tracing the length of Zuri’s bare arm with her fingertips the way she’d once touched Elena. She opened her eyes to find Catalina propped up on one elbow, gazing down at her with naked longing.
Zuri’s heart soared in her chest when Catalina leaned down, her intentions clear. In this charged moment, Zuri knew with absolute clarity that she would risk everything for a taste of the forbidden. Do anything to keep Catalina’s love. To gaze at her until they died old and wrinkled and content.
When Catalina’s soft lips met hers, all rational thought fled her mind. She pulled the other girl tightly against her body, losing herself in the tender kiss.
In this perfect moment, there were no societal rules, no fire and brimstone, no consequences for their risky actions. There was only the blissful press of Catalina’s body and the gentle caress of the sea breeze.
That was all Elena wanted to remember. Zuri knew the rest from the secrets they’d whispered to each other in the dark. Knew that the uncomplicated joy of Elena’s first love would fall victim to social mores. To Catalina’s parents’ decision to marry her off to a financier in Seville. And then there was Elena’s reckless reaction.
Easing out of the memory and into the present, the scent of salt was still lodged in Zuri’s sinuses. The tingle of Catalina’s soft kiss on her lips. But she hadn’t gotten out fast enough to avoid the crushing regret that weighed so heavy on Elena’s heart.
The bittersweet ache of Elena’s memory lingered despite Zuri’s attempts to outrun it. She took a steadying breath, compartmentalizing the emotions and reminding herself that they weren’t hers. It wasn’t her first love she lost. She wasn’t the one who would never feel the sun again.
Her thumbs traced Elena’s sharp cheekbones, following the curve down her jaw to her chin and over her throat. Before she could talk herself out of it, Zuri leaned in, body still half in the past, and kissed her.
Elena’s lips tasted like salt and yearning. Like they’d never been apart. Deepening their kiss, Elena’s palms ran up Zuri’s thighs. She resented her traitorous body for igniting at Elena’s touch, even as her mouth moved of its own accord.
Teeth and tongues clashed, both of them vying for control. Zuri pushed harder into her, using her tongue exactly how Elena liked until she was moaning. Until she was relenting and making a mistake look so fucking tempting.
“You always did like that one,” Elena whispered against her mouth. “Glad to see that soft spot for innocence remains intact. Still want to save them all?”
Zuri scraped her nails through Elena’s hair before making a fist and yanking back hard enough to hurt. Panting, Elena looked up at her, all smug grin and flushed skin.
“Did you forget I felt everything you remember feeling?” Zuri pinned her down with her eyes. With the truth. “Should I remind you of the heaving in your chest?” With her free hand, she wrapped her fingers around Elena’s elegant neck. “Of how you were a quivering mess when your trembling hand slipped under all those damp skirts?” Zuri’s lip curled with the satisfaction of the upper hand. “Of just how quickly a merchant’s daughter unraveled you with clumsy fingers?”
Elena laughed, flashing the lethal points of her fangs. Zuri had missed when those had made an appearance, and hated how her body devolved into aching desire at the sight of them.
“Oh, so it was my innocence that turned you on?” Elena found one of her fangs with the tip of her tongue. “If you like it so much, baby, I can play the sweet?—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Zuri snapped before biting down on Elena’s lip and pulling it until she groaned.
“Do I need to beg you to make me?” Elena dug her fingers into Zuri’s ass, grabbing her hard but not nearly hard enough. “If you give me a taste, I’ll kill every fucking witch on the east coast for you.”
“Threats of mass murder aren’t my thing.” Zuri hovered over her lips, wishing that giving in didn’t have so many consequences. “You must have me confused with someone else.”
In a smooth, single motion, Elena stood, wrapping Zuri’s legs around her waist before pressing her against the desk.
Fuck .
Zuri hated that she couldn’t help but lock her in place. That she couldn’t stop herself from clawing at Elena’s back and pulling her closer.
“As if I could ever forget exactly who you are,” Elena whispered against her neck, the needle-sharp tip of her fang grazing Zuri’s collarbone. The slight contact was a seismic wave of desire roaring through her.
Head tossed back, Zuri wanted to succumb. To give Elena what they both wanted, but there would be no easy way to come back from that. It had been hard enough to detox the first time.
“Keep your murderous instincts in your pants.” Zuri reached into her back pocket, the gold ring cold to her touch. She’d brought it as a backup, just in case Elena had demanded a different price for her help.
Elena leaned back, eyes black with lust. “Oh, come on. You know it doesn’t feel as good?—”
“Take it or leave it.” Zuri slid the elegant gold ring with its large, blood-red garnet at the center onto Elena’s finger. The ornate filigree patterns and twisting gold vines shimmered in the dim light. With a practiced twist, Zuri activated the hidden blade, a small, sharp curve emerging from its spot around the gem stone.
“You used to be so much more fun,” Elena complained with a sigh.
Zuri slid off the desk, pretending she’d leave, but then Elena’s hands were on her hips, throwing her back and urging her to wrap her legs around her again. Zuri hated how much she loved Elena’s raw power.
“Fine. Have it your way,” Elena relented. “Do I get to pick where?” She looked down at her, eyes brimming with sin.
“I’m not taking off my clothes,” Zuri warned, pulse pounding with anticipation. Her entire body alive with the fight-or-flight thrill.
Elena pouted for half a second and then she was using the blade to make a tiny incision over Zuri’s breast. When her mouth followed, Zuri gasped despite herself.
“Do you want to stay?” Elena asked when Zuri pulled her away with a tight fist in her hair.
“No,” she lied.