Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) (33 page)

“He’s not worth it, baby.  He’ll spend the rest of his days in a cell just praying for death,” he murmurs softly.  “That’s a far more suitable punishment.”

I let a wry smile cock up to one side as I drop him to the ground.  He starts heaving for air while grabbing his throat, his prayers only thought to be answered.

“Prison?” a woman I can only assume is his full blood wife spouts.

“Yes, prison.  He just attempted to attack an officer of the United while in one of our facilities.  The punishment is life in prison without release,” Brazen says with a triumphant smirk spreading across his face to emphasize his gloating moment.

I lean over to the full blood still gasping for air, and I whisper, “You’ll be in a prison where ungifted hybrids also dwell.  Do you know what they do to full bloods like you?  They break out their whips, and they fuck you up until the guards break it up.  Then they wait for you to go to sleep before they do it all over again.  Those kids will finally feel freedom, but you… you’ll be suffering the torture you forced them to endure from now until forever finally ends.”

Hale’s hand takes mine when I start walking away, and Clay walks over to one of the United hybrid officers.

“Until I can find a new captain to take his place, I’d like for you to stay here and clean this mess up.  Make sure these kids are cared for,” he murmurs softly.

“You know I will, Sir,” the man obliges, and then he walks off to start directing the capable men where to go and how to start.

“You’re leaving?” the small boy asks as he tugs on my pants.

I smile as I kneel down, and I hand him my card.

“This is my number.  You can call me anytime at all.  I’ll be here if you need me, but this man isn’t like your old captain.  He’s like us,” I say, making sure to whisper the last part.

The boy smiles big, and then he jumps to me.  I pull him up in a hug, and a tears sting my eyes when I lower him back down.

“Don’t lose that,” I say while stroking his hair, my eyes pointing to the card.

“I won’t,” he says with his adorable dimples shining through from the smile he so rarely has a reason to display.

“Let’s get going,” Hale murmurs against my ear.

I smile as we head out, and I lean over to rest my head on his arm.  I can feel his proud breaths coming in and burning out as they brush across my face.

“I love you so much right now,” I say when we escape the crowds.

“I love you, babe.”

He jerks me to his body before his lips attack mine.  I want so badly to jump up and throw my legs around his waist.  It wouldn’t take much to make my dreams come true.  All I would have to do is break the skin with my two devious little blood bringers.

Hale.  Definitely Hale.

“Don’t even think about it, vixen,” he whispers into my ear.

My salacious smile grows, and I roll my eyes when he narrows his at me.

“I have to stay focused on this damn girl with a hood and her mysterious caretakers,” he grumbles.

“We’re probably too far behind them now, and our rides have been thoroughly fucked up.  Any chance we can go by air?” I ask while dropping my seductress antics.

“It’s too risky.  It would be far too easy for them to shoot us out of the sky.  Besides, our drones haven’t been able to pick them up yet despite the direction we gave them.”

“They could have deliberately left those tracks to throw you off,” Brazen interjects as he walks up.

“If they did, then they’re damn good pros at it.  I usually catch a fake trail pretty easily no matter how good the falsified tracks.”

“How are we going to get out of here with our rides being destroyed?”

“We’re not going after the hooded mystery people,” Clay asserts as he walks over.

“Why?” Hale and Brazen ask in unison.

“Because the storm took them out.  One of our drones finally caught up with them, and now we’ve got these.”

He hands us his phone, and we look at the shots of the dark sedans and the armored truck left shredded in pieces.

“They couldn’t have survived that,” Hale murmurs while staring intensely at the pictures.

“Exactly.  That’s why we’re going to jump in on Araya’s case.  The Rising has just struck again, and this time they killed an entire colony of hybrids caring for a colony of humans.  Both colonies were outside our jurisdiction, but now everyone else is panicking.  I’m getting calls from every unaligned compound pledging allegiance to us if we bring our forces to aide them.  I’ve already instructed an army to set up near the next two human colonies.”

“Was there an infected outbreak?”

“A bad one.  The fires have taken care of the corpses.  We need to stop this massacre from happening again.

This doesn’t sound like the Rising I know.

Everyone turns to face me, and I suddenly feel a little on the spot.  Hale takes a step away so he can join everyone in their expectant waiting.

“I had a lead before I left Javeline, but I don’t know how cold that trail has gone now.  There’s a man at the Selma compound who might can put names to the faces my suspect drew for us.  I’ve got them all saved to my files.  We can start there,” I murmur a little bashfully.

Hale smirks as he rejoins me, and then several hummers emerge from under the ground as the secret hatch opens.

“We always keep extras on hand in every compound,” he whispers.

“Let’s go,” Brazen urges while climbing into the back seat of the one we’re getting into.

“Are you really going to ride with us?” Hale huffs.

“Yeah, I am because you’re going to get there first,” Brazen says with a mischievous smirk before giving me a wink.

“Captain Mordel,” Clay calls.

“Yes, Sir.”

“Ms. Emmerson needs someone to go with her.  I don’t want anyone riding alone.  We’ll be picking up some of our human officials along the way, so we need all the vehicles.”

Hale stifles a grin, and Brazen rolls his eyes while climbing out of the backseat.  Hale’s hand slides over to find mine, and I squeeze it tightly as the engine starts to roar.  My head pops back for a second in response to the jolting start, and then I feel a devious plan coming to mind.

“You look tense,” I murmur mildly while strolling my fingers up his arm.

“Just a little.  I wasn’t expecting to shift directions so quickly.  How much do you know about the Rising?”

I smirk a little, and then I press my lips against his arm very subtly.

“They’re a group of full bloods that wish to live like people did before we found out how to dilute the blood to safely feed them.”  I pause while sliding my lips a little softer up his arm.  “I think I can help you out with your tension.”

“How’s that?” he asks with a naïve mannerism.

My knees press into the seat as I lean over to his lap.  His eyes pop open the second he sees my new plan of seduction, and one hand tangles in my hair when he doesn’t refuse my offer.  He exhales loudly as I unzip his pants, and then my lips stroll over his instant erection once I pull it free.

“Like this,” I seduce while covering it with my mouth.

He groans as I slowly slide my mouth up and down, and then he grips the back of my head with one hand while using the other to drive.

“Fuck,” he breathes, and I quicken my rhythm.

“Hell no,” he snaps while jerking me up, a popping sound following the abrupt detachment, and my eyes almost sting from the rejection.

“What?”

“You’re not getting three ahead of me,” he growls, and then he jerks me to be on top of his body.  “Fuck me,” he murmurs as his lips attack mine.

My smile returns against his lips, and then I move over to pull my pants off.  I jerk his jeans lower, and then I move back on top of him as he continues driving.  My lips scale up his neck as I lower myself onto his erection, and I gasp as he slides into me with such a filling, rapturous motion.

He grips my ass with the hand he can spare, and then he jerks me against his thrust.  I keep my head out of his line of view as I begin moving up and down with a slower, more drawn out motion to fight his hasty thrusts.  I peel my shirt off just before unclasping my bra, and he almost wrecks against a boulder when it falls to the floor.

“You’re so amazing,” he murmurs while bringing my lips back to his.

I continue smiling as the incredible road sex gets rougher - Hale jerking me harder and harder against his thrusts.  The cars become visible behind us, ensuring we’ll have an audience if we don’t hurry this up.

My teeth almost break the skin on his shoulder, and he moans louder to let me know how fucking turned on he is.  His hand grips my hair to jerk my head back, and I feel the quickening within me as my nails dig in.

“Come for me baby,” he urges, and my nails dig in deeper.

My legs stiffen slightly as the heat of my adrenaline brings my temperature up a few degrees.  My panting breaths become more and more erratic as I try to fulfill his demand.  His delicious scent engulfs me, making me desperate to take his blood in my mouth.

I scream out my release, and I feel his warmth immediately following my climax.  He pulls me to him, and my quivering body rests against his pounding chest.

“Fucking shit.  You never cease to amaze me,” he pants out.

I smile against his chest, and then my lips start strolling over his collarbone - the thought of breaking his skin still dancing around in the back of my mind.  Then I see a car getting dangerously close.

“Fuck,” I mumble in a huff.

I pull my shirt back on before sliding back into my pants, and I plop back down into my seat with a bit of a pout.  Hale chuckles a little, and then he gasses the vehicle.  I can see Brazen driving the hummer that is closing in, and I’m worried this is about to become a competition.  I’m glad he didn’t see the sexploit going on in here.

“I love you,” he murmurs while kissing the back of my hand.

“I love you,” I giggle out.

“Marry me, please,” he breathes as his lips find mine.

I pull back with wide eyes, and then I shake my head.

“I want a real proposal.  You got out of it last time.  I’m not going to say yes after sex this time,” I playfully scold, my heart beating too quick for me to keep all the nerves out of my voice.

“I’ll give you a real proposal, baby.  I just want to know you still want to marry me.”

“That’s what you find out when you give a real proposal.  Stop trying to cut corners.  You can be romantic for one night
when
the time comes.”

“I can be anything you want me to be.  I’m just dying to make you mine,” he says so sincerely.

“Hale, please don’t do this.  I want to be with you.  Isn’t that enough?”

He kisses the back of my hand once more just as Brazen and Alex catch up with us and begin driving along side us.

“It is for now.”

I smile affectionately, and then I see Alex waving as they start to drive on to take the lead.

“Wow.  You’re letting them pass?” I gasp.

“Let him have this one.  I got the girl,” he says with a casual delivery.

I lean against him, and he kisses my forehead as we drive a little less like hell-raising-teens.  Selma isn’t too far away now.  I can see the tops of the castle-edged buildings peeking out over the stone walls of the compound.

I dread returning there.  When I left, I was in tears over this man.  Now everyone will see me back in his arms, and they’ll all ask a ton of questions I don’t feel like answering.

“We’ll rest when we get there, and then we’ll start working the lead you’ve got.”  His plans stop when he sees my sudden discomfort beaming out.  “Are you okay?”

“I just dread seeing all these faces again.  The last time-”

“I know.  I’m sorry, baby.  I’ll announce to the whole compound that I’m the stupidest son of a bitch there ever was as soon as we get there,” he sighs out, and I laugh lightly at his idea.

“I’ll just let them think I’m begging for punishment.”

“Araya, I’m not going to hurt you again,” he coos, and he pulls my hand up to kiss it once more.

I hope that’s true.  I won’t be able to handle it a second time.

I just smile in response, though it is obviously a forced smile not fully reaching my eyes.

“There it is,” I huff out, and Hale smirks as he presses a button that forces a hidden compartment to emerge from the console.

He tightens my seatbelt before giving me a sneaky wink, and then he flips the switch that had been hiding in secrecy.  The hummer surges forward so fast it feels as though all gravity has accumulated to sit on my chest.

I try to laugh, but the air in my lungs is too constrained to be expelled.  Brazen smirks as we blaze by him, and he must flip the same switch because he’s suddenly keeping up.  Hale’s grin grows as he lines up with the opened gate of
Selma.  Brazen tries his best to get out in front, but he’s slowly tasting defeat.  He’s no match for Hale-on-wheels.  Hale cuts the wheel just as we enter the compound to slide into the parking spot perfectly while skidding to a halt.