Curse Me Wicked #4
For the longest time that night, my eyes remained wide open.
Hours maybe. Lucian had left the bothy, but I knew he was close by – maybe just outside the door, probably waiting for me to go to sleep.
I got the sense that he knew me way better than I knew him; almost as though he could read my thoughts, knew my fears, and strangely enough, consider them.
I stared at the dark wooden beams of the ceiling and let my thoughts ramble.
Had Pax known about the ancient rogue curse, and about Lucian’s clan, would things have turned out differently?
Would he be now transitioning into the very thing he hunted?
I shivered at the thought of Pax’s fate; I hated it.
It was weird, though. Part of me felt like WUP had abandoned us.
The other part, though, knew they’d done exactly what they had to do.
Pax and I had both been well aware of the risks involved in being a WUP agent and part of that risk was maintaining the agency.
I suppose I’d never considered being bitten by a wolf.
“Do you have family?”
I hadn’t even heard Lucian enter the bothy, but he had; he now stood just in the recesses of the shadows of the room. I’d not noticed the storm that had begun raging outside; it was there, scratching and clawing the windows of the cottage. “No,” I answered, sitting up. “Not really.”
“What do you mean?” he asked, his voice strangely seductive, raspy, deep.
I strained to see him. “Foster kid. You know, in the system? A ward of the state. I was shuffled around from one foster home to another until I was eighteen. Then, I was on my own.”
Lucian was quiet for some time before answering. “It’s better if you’ve no family, no one to miss you,” he said, and moved closer. I could see nothing more of him than an outline; yet I felt his gaze hard on me. “No previous life ties.”
“What’s it like?” I asked out of nowhere, intensely curious about what my body was going through.
Again, Lucian was quiet. “As your body changes, your senses will heighten. Your hearing mostly and sense of smell. You’ll gain mortal strength – which you’ll have to learn control over – as well as your wolf self.”
I considered that; it was hard to take in.
A myriad of random thoughts hit me at once.
“Where am I supposed to live?” I asked. “How the hell will I earn money? Support myself?” Those along with a million other thoughts crowded my brain.
“This is insane,” I muttered under my breath.
“Not happening.” I rose and walked to the single window facing the moors; a red hue illuminated the night sky.
Then, Lucian was there, behind me, not touching but so close I could feel the heat radiating off his skin.
“Aye, ’tis happening,” he said, his voice low, and his breath brushed the side of my neck and made me shiver.
“You will say goodbye to your old life, Ms Slater, mourn its loss, and get over it.” His hands grasped my shoulders and turned me around.
His eyes flashed silver in the filtered light. “This is your life now.”
The way Lucian’s illuminated gaze bore into mine mesmerized me.
I know it sounds crazy, but I felt as though I’d known him my whole life.
And, as strange as it sounds, even before then.
We stood in the shadows of the bothy – I had no idea what time it was – and stared.
I’m not sure if he waited for my acceptance, or a reaction, or if we were simply trapped in a powerful moment.
I didn’t care. There was a palpable, physical attraction – so strong it felt feral and unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
He hadn’t released my shoulders, but his grip loosened and now, it felt intimate and hesitant at once.
I wasn’t sure if my new senses had kicked in, or if it was because we stood so close, but I could hear Lucian’s heart beat.
It was a strong, steady sound that reverberated inside my head and overpowered every other sound in the room.
His hands slid from my shoulders to the column of my throat, then cradled my face. My heart beat quickened.
“You weren’t supposed to be here,” he said again, his brogued, raspy voice low and strained. “But once you were, I knew I could never let you leave.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I wanted to touch him, but I kept my hands balled into fists, hanging at my sides.
His thumbs grazed my jaw. “MacLeod wolves mate for life,” he said, his head lowering.
“We’re marked from birth, as are our mates.
Sometimes, the pair never encounters, and they spend eternity at a loss,” he nuzzled my neck with his chin, whispering in my ear.
“The mark at your left shoulder blade,” his lips brushed the shell.
“I’ve an identical one. Destiny brought you here, Gin, to me, and I’m verra sorry – I couldna let you go. ”
I stared up at him, entranced, excited, completely drawn to him. “You bit me on purpose,” I said softly, and I knew the answer before it came.
“Aye,” he said against my ear. “I did.” He nuzzled me again, his cheek to mine. “’Twas the only way to make you mine.”
Timidly, I lifted my hands to rest against his chest, and then slipped them higher, to encircle his neck. Gently I tugged him closer.
I didn’t have to ask for anything else.
Lucian’s mouth found mine, settled there and lingered; he breathed deeply, and his heart’s pace quickened.
With a gentle nudge, he pushed my lips open with his, our tongues touched, and a low groan escaped his throat as he pulled me hard against him and kissed me.
Desperation laced every taste; agonizing, intense sexual attraction raged within him – I could feel it.
It raged within me, as well, and I fell against him, dying to be closer, feeling as though we were already one, needing more.
Lucian, as though he could read my thoughts, walked me backward, our mouths never parting and together we fell to the bed.
My clothes burned me, I wanted them off, and Lucian obliged.
I felt out of control, and I grasped his shirt and yanked hard; buttons flew, and I pushed the material off.
He managed his jeans, and barely fast enough.
Finally, nothing separated us and Lucian moved on top of me, his weight pressing into my body; I revelled in the feel of it.
He looked down at me, his face sharp planes and shadows.
Bracing his weight with his elbow, his other hand lifted to my face.
With his fingers, he traced my lips, my chin, my throat.
“You’re mine, Ginger Slater,” he said. He lowered his head and brushed my lips.
“Mine,” he whispered hoarsely against them, and my heart raced, my breath quickened, and I shoved my hands into his hair and kissed him hungrily.
Lucian groaned and kissed me back, starving, his touch desperate and everywhere, and I wrapped my legs around his waist and opened for him; he took me, pushed deep inside of me, filled me.
“Lucian,” I whispered against his mouth. “You’re mine.”
He sighed, whispered – a language I did not know, words unfamiliar to my ears, then kissed me and began to move; slow at first, then becoming frantic, as though he couldn’t get enough, and I matched his rhythm with my own frenzied moves.
The orgasm started deep within my core, slowly built through every sensitive nerve-ending in my body, and then shattered within me; a thousand shafts of light splintering into tiny specks behind my eyes.
I held on to Lucian as he followed. I felt his orgasm grow, explode, and he wrapped both arms around my body and held me as our releases calmed, our heartbeats slowed.
He rolled on to his back and dragged me atop him, my breasts resting against his chest, our skin melding into one.
He lifted a hand to my cheek; his thumb grazed the line of my jaw, then he slid his hand around my neck and pulled my mouth to his and kissed me long, slow, erotic.
His other hand slipped over my buttocks, my back, and settled in the lower curve there, holding me firmly in place.
Then, he broke the kiss and looked at me for several moments.
“I couldna just let you go,” he said quietly.
I traced his full lips with my index finger. “I wouldn’t have wanted you to.”
We needed no more words; just our bodies melding, our hands exploring, our mouths tasting. We joined again, slower this time, so much slower, seductive, both of us silently claiming the other. Finally, we slept.
It was the only night I slumbered without nightmares of Pax.
* * *
Over the course of the next week, Lucian slowly introduced me to my new world, my new body, my new senses.
I’d not be able to master them all for some time; my hearing was exaggerated and sometimes hurt my ears and insides.
My sense of smell was so good, it overwhelmed me and I couldn’t determine one smell from the other – except for Lucian’s scent.
His was unique and solely Lucian’s and I could detect it a mile away.
My strength and speed was immature but growing fast; almost too fast. I tripped, I fell, I hurled myself to speeds which my old body couldn’t handle yet.
I busted my ass more times than I could count.
But Lucian was right there to help me up.