The Curse Keepers Collection (87 page)

“You can read each other’s minds?”

“No, we can just tell how the other person feels without knowing why. I knew he wanted me before we slept together, but he also felt tremendous guilt.” I took a quick breath. “I thought it was because he felt bad about dragging me into this curse mess accidentally. But it turned out not to be accidental at all, of course.” My stomach tightened and I felt nauseated. “I . . . I was the one who pushed him to sleep with me.” I felt so ashamed to admit to it.

“Hey,” his free hand cupped my cheek, his thumb stroking my cheekbone. “Don’t be embarrassed. I’ve slept with other women, some I regret. We’re adults. We have a past.”

“I wish that’s all this was.” My eyes filled with tears.

A soft smile lifted his lips. “It can’t be that bad.”

“It is.” A tear fell down my cheek. “It’s worse.”

“What is it?” He didn’t look worried, only patient.

“Once . . . ” This was so embarrassing, but I had to be honest. After all the deceptions and lies with Collin, I needed David to know everything. “Our marks . . . the more we use them, the more they seem to attract each other.” I took a deep breath. “One time when we were having sex, we touched marks.”

“And what was the significance of that?”

My chin trembled. “Our souls were bound.”

He was perfectly still for several seconds. “And what does that mean exactly?”

I blinked and more tears fell down my cheeks. “I’m not sure. I didn’t know it would happen, but it was my fault. I . . . I’m sorry.”

He tilted my face upward. “Why are you sorry?”

“I can’t be . . . that person for you.”

“What person? I’m still not sure what’s happening here, Ellie. Unless I’m greatly mistaken, you’re attracted to me and want something more. So do I. What’s the problem?”

“I don’t know if I can love you. I don’t know if I can love anyone. The night before the ceremony, Collin told me that one day I’d hate him. Stupid me, I thought he meant because of his past and the mess with Marino. I told him he was wrong, of course. We touched marks again, and he told me that he had ruined me for any other man. That no other relationship would ever compare to what he and I had.”

Anger darkened David’s face. He climbed off the bed and grabbed the bedpost with one hand as he looked out the window. “What a goddamned egotistical motherfucking wanker.”

My chest tightened at his outburst. I’d never seen him so angry.

He turned to face me. “Don’t tell me you believe that bollocks.”

“I . . . ”

“We both know he still wants you back. That was his way of ensuring he could always get you back. And look, Ellie.” He shook his head as his voice softened. “It’s working.”

I didn’t know what to say.

He sat on the bed next to me, his anger fading. “If you were ruined for all other men, would you still feel something for me?”

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

His hand slowly slipped behind the nape of my neck, pulling my face closer to his. My insides tingled with anticipation. “You’re breathing more rapidly, Ellie. Does that mean you feel something?”

I closed my eyes.

His free arm encircled my waist, his hand slowly sliding up my back. His breath was hot on my face, his lips hovering over mine. “Do you feel this?” His mouth pressed softly to mine, and he ran his tongue along my bottom lip.

My chest burned with desire that shot straight to my core.

He placed gentle kisses along my cheek and down my neck, finding the spot that made me squirm. “How about this?”

My hands gripped his back, holding him in place.

He returned to my lips, his tongue exploring my mouth. My tongue joined his and an explosion of need erupted inside me. My grip on him tightened.

David lifted my tank top over my head and pushed me backward on the bed, leaning over me on his elbow. His free hand cupped my breast, his thumb softly brushing my nipple through my bra. His mouth hovered over mine, making me desperate for him to kiss me again, while his eyes watched my face. “You feel this, Ellie. I can see it in your eyes and the way your body is reacting to me. You want this and so much more, but I’m not Collin. I won’t coerce or cajole you into anything you don’t want. I want this to be just as much your choice as it is mine.”

He placed a soft kiss on my lips and then got off the bed.

I rose up on my elbows, confusion replacing lust. “Where are you going?”

He picked up his bag and smiled softly. “To bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”

I stared at him in disbelief as he left my room, my body crying out for more. Was David right? Was there a chance I could feel something with someone else? To my surprise, I realized how badly I wanted it to be with him.

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-T
WO

I went into the bathroom to brush my teeth, glancing at the closed door on the other side of the hall. David’s demonstration had left me wanting more. I considered going into his room to finish what he’d started, but I’d been the pursuer in my last several relationships, and I liked that I was the one being seduced this time. David was taking things slow, so I’d wait for him.

When I headed back to my room to get my bag, I looked down the long hallway, my gaze inexorably drawn to the place where my mother had died. I squeezed my eyes shut as the memories of her ragged dying breaths filled my head. I stepped back into the bathroom and flipped on the light, leaving the door cracked open. I knew it was babyish to need a night-light, but there were too many memories in this house.

I stood in the doorway to my old room, wrestling with whether I should get my bag and move into another room. But maybe it was time for me to face the demons of my past as well as the demons of my present. After I changed into a pair of pajamas, I left the door to my room open so I could see the bathroom light. I pulled the dream catcher from my bag and hung it on the bed over my pillow. I lay there for several minutes, listening to the wind blow tree limbs against my window as I began to get drowsy.

I thought about David in the other room, probably happy to be sleeping in a real bed for the first time in several nights. I wondered what it would be like to be curled up next to him, his mouth on mine, his hands roaming my body.

Fatigue had taken over and my mind hovered in the purgatory between wakefulness and sleep. A bird squawked repeatedly outside my window. My foggy mind struggled to identify the creature. I blinked and tried to focus, then gasped.

Wapi was sitting on a tree branch watching me through the window, a ghoulish smile on his face.

Had I put fresh markings on the doors? Was there still salt on the window ledges?

I tried to sit up, but the tentacles of sleep refused to let go, pulling me deeper. Panic exploded as I was pulled under. This was no normal sleepiness. Somehow, supernatural forces were controlling me. “David,” I called out, but the sound was drowned out by Wapi’s cries.

“Witness to creation, Okeus is ready for you,” Wapi said, and then everything turned to darkness.

I came to in a dark earthen tunnel, the smell of dirt and mildew flooding my head. I lay on my side, and tiny rocks poked my legs and arms. I sat up, feeling groggy and unsure of where I was or what I was doing. A dim light shone at the end of the tunnel.

This was a dream.

I climbed to my feet and held onto the wall to right myself.

A scream echoed through the tunnel, and I pressed my back against the earth wall, my heart racing. This felt more real than any of my other dreams, even those with the spirits and the ones about my mother.

The scream echoed again and I had two choices: find a way to escape, or help whomever was screaming. I really wanted to leave, but I couldn’t live with myself if I made the decision to walk away. Still, I wasn’t sure I could purposely make myself go toward the screams either. Especially after the way Ukinim had tricked me at the lighthouse.

But I took one step forward and then another. The light grew closer and closer as I moved toward it. The end of the tunnel opened into a big room, and when I was only a few feet away, I stumbled on a pile of bones. I covered my mouth to hold back a cry of fright, while another scream came from ahead. The smell of decay and blood hung heavy in the air.

I was in the badgers’ lair.

Trying to stay in the shadows, I pressed my back against the wall and edged closer to the entrance. A woman stood in a corner, her feet spread in a defensive stance, her face a mask of terror. The badgers paced in front of her. Each time she tried to slip by, one of them would slash at her with their claws.

I couldn’t stand here and watch this. I held up my palm and began to recite the words of protection, keeping my voice low.

“
I am the daughter of the sea, born of the essence present at the
—”

Nothing happened.

The badgers heard me and slowly turned around, their eyes glittering in the moonlight that streamed through a hole overhead.

“Witness to creation,” Ukinim growled, his eyes enlarging.

The woman saw me and became frantic. “
Help!
”

The badgers slowly advanced on me, and I caught sight of another opening on the other side of the room. I took several steps backward, and the woman began to sob.

“Don’t leave me. Please!”

Squatting, I reached into the pile of bones and grabbed a long one with a jagged point, trying to ignore the muscles and slimy bits that were still attached. “Go!”

She headed for the opening, but the smaller badger blocked her path. Her sobs echoed off the walls.

“Let her go,” I said, rising again, my voice shaking with fear. “I’m the one you want.”

“Wrong,” Ukinim said with a growl. “We want you both.”

Ilena trapped the woman in the corner as Ukinim advanced on me.

I raised the bone in my hand, ready to strike.

Ukinim lunged and I jumped to the side, barely escaping his claws as I jabbed the bone into his eye with as much strength as I could muster. The badger shrieked and rushed toward me but veered sideways and bumped into the earthen wall, jamming the bone deeper and eliciting more shrieks. I scrambled backward and grabbed two more bones while keeping my eyes on my enemies, staying on Ukinim’s blind side.

Hearing her mate’s distress, Ilena turned and growled, hunkering low to the ground.

“You must die, witness to creation.”

“Not if I can help it,” I mumbled as I approached her and her intended victim.

Ukinim squealed behind me, violently shaking his head.

Ilena crouched lower and then pounced. I jumped out of the way, but her claws sank deeply into my upraised forearm.

I cried out in pain.

The woman continued to sob in the corner, even though the exit was clear.
Why was she still here?

“Go!” I shouted.

Ilena lunged at me again, swinging high. I scrambled backward, trying to determine how to use the bone in my right hand as a weapon. It was shorter than the one still protruding from Ukinim’s eye, and I would be risking significant injury if I got close enough to strike.

Ukinim’s cries had quieted and I noticed movement at my side. He was advancing toward me. “I will make you pay, witness to creation. I will take your own eye.”

Blood ran down my arm, and my wound throbbed.

Now I was trapped between the two of them, and the woman was still in the corner.

“
Run!
” I shouted.

She finally ran for the exit, but Ilena spun around to chase her. Anxious to save the woman, I jammed one of the bones in the badger’s ear. She squealed, but the bone fell to the floor. The wound wouldn’t incapacitate her, but I had bought the woman enough time to escape.

The sound of Ilena’s cries of pain caught Ukinim’s attention, and a low, menacing growl filled the cavern.

Now I was alone with two very angry badgers. Fantastic.

But during the struggle, I noticed something: when Ilena cried out, Ukinim’s good eye rested on his mate for a good second before returning to me, and Ilena had stopped tormenting the woman when I injured Ukinim.

I’d just discovered their weakness.