Chapter 9
Taryn
I’ve been kissed before, but never like this.
His lips move against mine, then his tongue is in my mouth. Our tongues intertwine, wrestling for control. I groan into his mouth and he grunts in response. His hands move against my skin, sliding under my pajamas and squeezing my right breast. My nipple pebbles against his calloused touch.
When our lips finally part, I’m dazed, but it feels like I’m seeing the world in a whole new light. Like part of the world was permanently shrouded, and someone finally ripped the veil away.
My body is on fire. My core clenches and unclenches spasmodically. I can feel the pull toward Victor and it’s so strong. I can’t fight it. Don’t want to fight it.
“When I first got your scent, there was a bitterness because of the magic,” he growls, staring into my eyes. “Now the bitterness is gone. Your scent is as pure as fate itself.”
“What does that mean?” I whisper, unsure if I really care, because my lips are still tingling from the kiss, and I want more.
“The curse was broken, but it didn’t stop the mating bond,” he groans. “It just seems to have made it stronger. This isn’t magic, Taryn. This is real.”
“So real,” I breathe, my hips moving against him. “I don’t understand why, but I want you. More than I’ve ever wanted anything or anyone in my life.”
“It’s not just a want, it’s a need. The strongest need you’ll ever feel,” he is panting. “We should be able to fight it. The frenzy hasn’t started.”
“Please! I don’t want to fight it,” I whimper, kissing him again.
Our second kiss is more intense. Victor’s hands move to my wrists, and he rolls us to the floor, pinning me under his massive body while he ravages my mouth.
My hips keep moving until I get a leg free.
I wrap it around his waist, trying to pull him between my legs, but it’s like trying to move a boulder.
He finally pulls away with a gasp, then he starts kissing my neck.
“I thought Mother Fate forgot me. That I would never find my mate,” he speaks frantically, his lips moving against my ear, but there is joy in his words.
“But it’s you. Every instinct says you were made to be mine.
The spell… it must have just opened the door.
Tainted something with bitterness that is supposed to be beautiful, sweet and pure. ”
“You’re sure it’s not just magic now?” I groan, desperate for him.
“The magic is gone,” he assures me. “Even the book doesn’t have a bitter scent now. The curse is broken, but…”
I’m needy and wet, but I feel a tremor in my chest as an old memory surfaces. “My grandmother used to say that our family was cursed by a witch long ago.”
My grandmother wasn’t crazy. Not about this. Maybe not about any of it. The thought should terrify me, but all I feel is the pull of Victor’s body over mine and the impossible relief blooming under my skin.
He lets out a sharp exhale. “That could be it. If there was a curse, it may have kept us apart. Then the spell… I don’t know, Taryn. There are others I could talk to, but right now, I just need to be close to you. I need…I…”
“I need it too,” I whisper, grinding myself against him.
I can feel all the resistance cracking and melting away.
Not just mine, but his too. If he’s feeling what I’m feeling, he’s showing considerable restraint.
He could have taken what he wanted before he broke the curse.
I wouldn’t have fought him then. I definitely can’t fight him now. I want him with everything I am.
Victor’s hands move behind my back, stripping off my pajama top. His shift allows me to wrap my other leg around his waist. He’s too big for me to lock my ankles behind him the way I’d like, but I can still shamelessly grind myself against his hard length as he stands and carries me to the bed.
“If you tell me to go, I’ve got enough willpower left to stop,” he groans, hands squeezing my breasts, dick throbbing against me. “There’s so much you don’t know about me. You don’t even know what I really am.”
I look up at him, meeting his dark gaze.
The dim basement light plays across his brutally handsome face, highlighting every sharp, gorgeous feature.
There’s a golden flame burning in his irises.
I know that isn’t natural. But whatever he is, something brought us together. Something more powerful than magic.
Every muscle in his body is tight like he’s still fighting it, even while I grind against him.
I can’t help but wonder if this is why my life has seemed to be in a permanent downward spiral.
Why nothing ever seems to go my way. My grandmother was right.
My family was cursed, and now that it’s broken, the universe no longer hates me.
It’s trying to embrace me, like I want to embrace the man between my thighs.
“I don’t care,” I whisper. “I feel… alive again. Breaking the curse has done something to me. Brought something into my life that has always been missing.”
“It’s brought me into your life,” he growls.
“Then don’t stop,” I beg, pulling him closer. “Don’t go.”
His hand moves to my throat, squeezing enough to hold me in place as he leans forward, staring into my eyes.
“Then you’re mine, Taryn,” he avows with a certainty that sounds absolute. “All fucking mine. There’s no turning back.”
I pull his shirt up, letting out a sharp exhale when I reveal thick abdominal muscles and a massive, hairy chest. I should ask more about him. Ask what he is, what makes a golden flame burn in his eyes, but I’m too consumed to care. Too drawn to him to question it.
I toss his shirt to the side. He shifts to his knees and his hands clutch the front of my pajama bottoms. His fingers dig into the waistband and he pulls them off, my panties getting dragged down in the process.
I can still feel the burn radiating from my ass, but I can’t focus on it because the heat in my core is even hotter.
“You’re so fucking beautiful, Taryn,” he groans, stripping me completely and leaving me naked before him on the bed. “Mother Fate couldn’t have chosen a more stunning mate for me because you’re absolutely perfect.”
“I’m nothing special,” I sigh, looking away, feeling old insecurities surface.
“You’re wrong about that,” he growls, spreading my legs with insistent hands. “You just don’t see it because the world has used you as a punching bag. Now, you’ve got someone who punches back.”
My fingers move to the front of his pants.
I rub his length through the fabric before I begin unfastening the button and zipper.
I can tell he’s well-endowed, big enough that his size should frighten me.
As I slide his pants down and see his thick, hard length, a wayward thought creeps in, one that worries me enough to hesitate.
“Were you… did you… Joe?” I ask, unable to get my thoughts out coherently.
“Joe and his friends were discussing how easy it would be to break into this house,” he rumbles. “How easy it would be to kill Frank and take everything of value upstairs.”
“Oh god,” I gasp, my hand flying to my mouth.
“But Joe didn’t care about any of that. He just wanted you,” he snarls. “And nobody touches my mate but me.”
I should be horrified. I haven’t seen the crime scene photos, but I heard enough from the cops and the media to know how violent the attack was.
They weren’t killed by a man. Not a normal man, at least. But the horror doesn’t surface.
All I feel is gratitude. Relief that Joe is gone.
Victor protected me, and I didn’t even know how much danger I was in.
“Thank you,” I whisper, my hand moving to his length.
“Goddamn,” he groans, his dick throbbing in my hand as I rub it.
I shift my hips and pull his cock toward my wetness as I reluctantly let go of the hard, throbbing flesh.
I’m scared. He’s so big, I’m afraid it will hurt.
But I need him so much I don’t care if he tears me apart.
I just need to feel him inside me, right fucking now.
I need him more than I need to breathe. Breaking the curse has amplified my arousal and I was already soaking wet after he spanked me.
“Relax, mate,” he soothes, gripping the base of his cock and pulling it free from my hand. A spurt of pre-cum splatters on my folds and makes me whimper. “Have you ever done this before?”
“Yes, a long time ago,” I say, glancing at his hard length. “But you’re a lot bigger. Like, A LOT bigger!”
“Your body will recognize your mate,” he reassures me, rubbing the huge head on my slick entrance. “And once it does, I’m going to rut you until you scream, just like I warned.”
The thought makes my pussy clench, my body already anticipating it. He rubs the head against my entrance until he can begin to push into me. I gasp as my walls stretch around his incredible girth.
“Damn, you’re tight,” he groans, pulling back and sinking more of his length into me. “So, fucking tight.”
Every throb makes my walls ache with a mixture of pleasure and pain.
I hiss as he goes deeper, and I can see the need burning in his eyes.
He’s being gentle. Way gentler than he wants to be.
But I can see the savage need lingering just beneath the surface.
The low growls. The guttural grunts. My mate may be more beast than man.
“If it’s too much, tell me,” Victor growls, his hand moving to my neck and holding me down as he begins to gently move.
“It’s not too much,” I groan, even as he goes deeper than I’m prepared for. “Oh fuck, FUCK!”
Every careful movement pushes his thick cock deeper into my slick passage and my body responds, welcoming every marvelous, beautiful inch.
Pleasure radiates through my core, but there’s still pain.
I groan through it until he’s fully seated inside me, pressed against my cervix, hard cock twitching within my fluttering walls.