The Curse Keepers Collection (32 page)

Collin sucked on my fingertip. “Do you want to read my palm?”

The feeling shot right to my groin and I sucked in a breath. “What?”

He chuckled. “You seem distracted, Ellie.”

“No.” My voice wavered. “I’m fine.”

He opened his left palm and traced his love line with my finger. Dear God, even that turned me on.

“This is my love line. Do you know what it says?”

“No.”

“It says an incredibly sexy, but totally infuriating redheaded woman will barge into my life and drive me insane.”

His sentence made me pause. “But insane in a good way?”

His smile was genuine. “Insane in a way I never thought possible.” Then his wicked look returned, and he moved my finger to his fate line. “See how long and bold this line is? It’s an indication of my sexual prowess.”

I burst out laughing.

He leaned away, taken aback. “What’s so funny?”

“Your sexual
prowess
?”

His eyes narrowed. “Is that a challenge?”

I grinned. “Oh, you have no idea.”

The tables had turned again, and he was the one who looked like he was about to strip me naked right there on the table.

His voice lowered, and he leaned close. “You said you like it on top. I spent all day imagining it.”

Oh. Shit.

The waitress came back with our drinks and asked to take our order. We hadn’t even looked at the menu yet. Dear God. We still had to sit through dinner. I’d be begging Collin to screw me in the bathroom at this rate.

“I just want an appetizer.” I shoved the menu at the waitress.

Collin grinned, keeping his eyes on me.

“Which one?” the waitress asked.

“Uh . . . ”

“How about crab cakes?” Collin asked. “And the grilled shrimp.”

I nodded. I’d eat raw carrots if it would speed this up and get us back to the motel, and I hated raw carrots.

She took the menus and left.

“Where were we?” Collin asked.

Torturing me for playing with your principles.

He continued his torture until the food arrived. As the waitress started to leave, Collin called her back, asking for the bill. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only impatient one.

We’d barely eaten the last shrimp when Collin stood and reached for my hand. He pulled me into the crowd, his right hand wrapped tight around my left as though I would disappear. The sounds of a live band in the street caught my attention.

“Collin, I want to dance.”

He shook his head. “I don’t dance.”

I pulled him toward the music, making our way through the crowd. He didn’t resist, in spite of his protest.

I stopped a comfortable distance away so that we could hear the music but still converse. I swayed in time to the beat. “Why don’t you dance?”

His gaze wandered to my hips. “I dance. Just not this kind.”

“You know another kind?”

A wicked smile lit up his face. “How about you teach me how to dance your way, and I’ll teach you how to dance mine.”

Oh. Shit
. “Deal.”

He looked amused. “So tell me what to do.”

I hadn’t eaten much at dinner and the beer had gone straight to my head. I gave him a sexy look. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who likes to be told what to do.”

“You’d be surprised.”

I took a deep breath.
Focus
. “We can either stand apart or we can be together.”

Collin’s hands settled on my waist. “Always together, Ellie. Always.”

I placed my hands on his chest, but kept several inches between us.

“Now what?” Collin asked.

“Now you move to the music.”

We danced, a slow seductive swaying of our hips. Collin’s heart beat fast under my hand. I searched his eyes, finding evidence that Collin Dailey wasn’t immune to me. “So far I don’t think our dances are all that different.”

Collin pulled me flush to his body, his hands still on my waist. “I need you closer.”

My stomach fluttered. “I thought I was teaching this dance.”

“From what I’ve seen, mine is
so
much better.”

“You’re not giving mine a chance.”

“I’ve been giving yours a chance for hours.” Collin slid his hands underneath the hem of my shirt, his fingertips skimming my back above my waistband. “Are you a witch, Ellie Lancaster? Have you cast a spell to entrance me?” He looked half serious and leaned his forehead down to mine, then whispered, “Or are you an angel sent to save my soul?”

I closed my eyes. If he didn’t kiss me soon, I would combust.

His hands slid up my back, outside my shirt, his hands splayed and digging in as they moved. “You have
no idea
how much I want you.”

“I want you too.”

He groaned, and one of his hands found my neck, traveling up to cup the side of my head, our bodies moving to the slow tempo of the band. His mouth leaned close to mine, so agonizingly close. “Don’t trust me, Ellie. You can’t trust me.” His voice cracked with pain.

How many times had he told me that? “I know who you are, Collin. I’m going into this with eyes wide open.” I reached for the back of his head, trying to bring his mouth to mine, but he held back. What was he waiting for? What did he need from me? “No man has made me feel even a fraction of what I feel with you, Collin. I
know
this is short term. I know you’ll be gone once the gate is closed. But I still want you.”

His eyes closed, and his hold on my head tightened.

“What do you want from me, Collin? Do you want me to beg?” God help me, I was willing to do it.

“I’ll hurt you, Ellie. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I know you won’t stick around. You’ll hurt me so much more if you reject me, Collin.
Please
.”

He groaned again.

I stood on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his. He stood still, his chest rising and falling against mine. My tongue ran along his bottom lip, finding an opening, then exploring his mouth.

His shackles fell off and he took over, his tongue joining mine, giving me what I wanted, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. He pulled away, his breath coming in tight bursts. “Time for my lesson.”

I nodded, but he was pulling me through the crowd toward the truck. He lifted me up and shoved me through the driver’s door, following close behind. I lay on my back on the seat, and Collin leaned over me. His mouth was on mine, his hands up my shirt. I pressed my hips to his, needing more.

He growled, his body rising and denying me his mouth. I reached for him, intending to pull him back down.
Dear God, please don’t let him change his mind.

“Ellie, I’m not going to fuck you in this truck like a couple of high school kids where anyone can see us.”

Good point.

He sat up and started the truck, throwing it into reverse. The drive to the motel took half the time it took to get downtown. From the look on Collin’s face, a couple of times I wondered if he was going to change his mind and pull over to the side of the road anyway.

When he pulled into the parking lot, he had the door open, sliding me out the driver’s side before the engine died. He shut the door and pushed me against the side of the truck. “I’ll never make it upstairs if I don’t kiss you now.” His mouth found mine before I could answer, kissing me so thoroughly my knees buckled.

His arm wrapped around my waist, snugging me close. “Ellie, what the hell have you done to me?”

His mouth continued its onslaught, his tongue giving me a preview of what was to come. I moaned. I needed more.

He broke away, his breathing labored. “Upstairs.
Now
.”

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-T
WO

He wrapped his hand around my wrist and he dragged me toward the stairs, practically running up the steps. His legs were longer than mine and I had trouble keeping up. “Collin, wait.” This Collin Dailey surprised me. I always took him as a man in total control, even with sex. Especially with sex. To see that I made him this way made me even hotter.

He stopped on the first landing and pulled me against his chest, his mouth on mine again. “You’re too slow.”

I slid my hand up the back of his shirt, my fingertips soaking in the feel of him. “You don’t like it slow?”

“I love it slow. Right now I want you fast.” His lips and tongue worked a magic on mine I never thought possible. When he stepped away, my legs trembled before he grabbed my wrist again, pulling me up the next flight of stairs to the third floor. How did he expect me to run up stairs when I could hardly stand?

We’d barely reached the landing when he pushed me against the wall of the building, his lips and tongue paving a path from my ear to the pulse point on my neck. I grabbed the back of his head, resisting the urge to push him lower.

“Our door is less than fifty feet away,” he growled against my chest, “yet I want you so much I’d fuck you right here if I thought no one would see us.”

My stomach tightened and I groaned, urging his mouth back to mine. “Collin.” I took control with my tongue, showing him how much I wanted exactly the same thing he did.

He leaned back, and he glanced around with a worried expression. “It’s dark. I need to get you inside.” He led me toward our room, his hand trembling with the plastic card key.

When he pushed the door open, I took the lead, yanking him inside and stripping my shirt over my head and tossing it to the floor.

He pulled me in his arms again, his lips over mine, his hands roaming my back and shoulders. “Wait.” He moved away from me and toward the dresser, picking up a piece of what looked like charcoal and returning to the door.

“What are you doing?”

“Protecting you.” He began to draw symbols around the door as fast as his hand would move.

That was the sexiest thing anyone had ever done for me.

“What do they mean?” I asked, standing behind him in my skirt and bra.

His hand paused, then his sketching resumed, slower this time. “The stars and moon ask the ancient force of night to protect you. I put them in each corner to make sure every side is sealed. On either side of them is a sun.” He sketched out a sun with an arrow. “The sun is asleep, but its power is far reaching. This asks the sun to join with night, adding its power.”

Next he drew a lightning bolt on the left side of the suns and something that looked like raindrops on the opposite side. “The air which is ruled by the wind gods. Placing them between the power of the sun and night, prevents the wind gods from using the air to harm you.”

Tears filled my eyes. I had no idea.

“The mountains represent the land.” He drew a zigzagged line. “My power.” His voice was husky as his hand etched the symbols eight times on the door. “All forces join together to protect that which should be protected above all else.”

He drew waves in the center of each side. “The sea.”

I studied the door and symbols, speechless. “What protects you?” I finally choked out.

He turned around to face me, raw lust in his eyes. “Nothing can protect me, Ellie. I was a goner the minute I met you.” He tossed the charcoal on the dresser as he took two purposeful steps toward me, his hand reaching for my waist. “Are you sure? Are you really, really sure?”

How could he ask me that after what he’d just done? My heart was forever lost to this man. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

“Then you have too many clothes on.” Collin quickly unfastened the button on my skirt. It puddled to the floor as I lifted the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up. Collin tugged it the rest of the way over his head and let it drop. He gaze wandered up my legs, over my black lacy panties, lingering on my bra until settling on my face.

“God, you’re beautiful.”

He reached for my face and brought it to his, his earlier frenzy seeming to have dissipated. Mine had settled into a deeper level. A primeval concoction of lust and need and something more significant, a feeling I couldn’t name, but that was stronger than the other two combined. I knew I’d never experience this with anyone else ever.

His tongue sought out mine, a slow dance of heat and desire. I pressed my body to his, needing to touch him. Every part of him. I reached down and pressed against his crotch.