Cursed by Destiny (WG 3) (32 page)

Emme yanked on his sleeve. “Misha, stop that.” He ignored her and stroked my cheek. She stamped her little foot, but I barely heard it. A strange cloud numbed my senses and reason. She tugged him harder. “Stop it, I say!”

My face melted against his hand and Emme panicked. Rather than using her
force
to push him away, she slapped his hand and broke her own in the process. She yelped and jumped up and down from the pain. It scared me and snapped me out of my stupor. I reached for her. “Emme! Are you okay?”

Hank appeared and wrapped his arm around her waist to still her. “
Querida amor
,” he whispered in her ear. “
Cálmate, mi vida, cálmate
.” His silky voice was tranquil, seductive. The prick had never used such a gentle tone with me. I didn’t even know he spoke Spanish. And what was all that “my love, my life” crap?

Hank’s calming words allowed her to relax and focus. She used her gift to heal herself. Still, once she mended, Hank refused to release her. I could smell the heat rising between them and stepped toward them to break it up. Misha grabbed my hand and pulled me back. When I turned to protest, he fell to one knee.

“Wwwhhhaaat are you
do
ing?” I sounded like I’d been zapped by too many lightning balls.

“The celebration tonight was not only about your return to health, my love.”

My already sensitive girl parts tingled with every word he spoke. “Ahhhhh.”

The surge from his power and whatever link I’d created by allowing him to feed from me threatened to disintegrate my clothes. I didn’t want Misha. I didn’t love him. But something in my mind snapped and robbed me of my will. I tilted a little from side to side, just like a human trapped in a vampire’s hypnosis.
Sweet Lord.
Misha had me within his cerebral grip. And there was not a damn thing I could do about. My soul screamed, trying to fight and gain back control.

Misha angled his head, confused by the daze I’d fallen into. Vampires couldn’t control other preternaturals and yet he had me just fine. His eyes widened when he realized I’d succumbed to his power. He passed a hand in front of my face. And just like that, my will returned and the sizzle coursing through my feminine regions dissolved.

He kissed my hand, his soft gray irises meeting mine. “Celia, you almost died for me the other night. You did so not because you are bound to me by blood, but because of the type of being you are.” His stare traveled the length of my figure. “I know that your body is ready to yield itself to me.” He sighed. “But I also recognize that your heart is not. When you are ready—in heart, soul, and body—I shall be waiting.”

Misha rose and held my face in his hands. His eyes sparkled with tears as he took in my face. The desire I’d felt just moments earlier seemed like something in an impossible dream. In seeing the extent of his gratitude, it was all I could do not to cry.

“Thank you, Celia, for coming into my world. Thank you . . . for saving my life.”

Misha took me into his arms and held me close. I returned his embrace with newfound affection. He had me for the taking. Instead he released me, choosing to prove his love.

CHAPTER 25

“Come inside, Liam. I’ll fix you something to eat.”

I’d planned an early dinner with Aric at our house in Dollar Point. I was shocked to find Liam in wolf form lying on our porch. His ears drooped against his head and he barely blinked my way. The railing did little to hide him. Since I didn’t see any police cars or animal control vehicles, I assumed the neighbors hadn’t noticed the 450-pound brokenhearted wolf lounging on our doorstep.

I lifted the charm Aric had given me, courtesy of Tahoe’s head witch. The simple pebble fixed to a leather string with wire hummed, releasing the protective ward around the house so I could pass through the door. My muscles relaxed a little. The weeks that had passed had been quiet. No attempts or threats on my life had occurred, but that didn’t mean I’d let my guard down. I constantly looked over my shoulder in public, watching and waiting for my nemesis to appear. He or she was out there. Aric was right. Virginia couldn’t have acted alone.

Liam followed me in. I breathed in the welcoming scent of my home. It felt good to know I could still be safe here.

Liam nudged my hip, reminding me of his presence. I adjusted the bag of groceries in my arm and led him into the kitchen. I threw four large steaks on the grill for him and steamed a few potatoes, then got busy preparing the roast I planned to have with Aric. Before the wolves met us, meat and potatoes were all they ever ate. Over time, their tastes broadened from eating our eclectic cooking. Based on Liam’s despondent state, today wasn’t a stuffed-peppers kind of day.

Liam whined as I finished preparing his lunch. I stopped to pet his brown furry head. “I know you miss Emme. She misses you, too.”

Liam gave me an indignant bark.

“She does
too
miss you. This was a very difficult decision for her.”

“Grrr.”

“Don’t get cranky, Liam. You might not believe me, but part of the reason she broke up with you is because she loves you.”

“Woof.”

I sighed. “Liam, not being your mate both frightens her and breaks her heart. In leaving you, she’s giving you the opportunity to find your destined partner. If that’s not love, I don’t know what is.”

“I love her, too. It’s stupid for us to be apart.”

Liam stood in front of me. Human and naked. I jumped so high I almost dropped the bowl of potatoes I was mashing. I averted my stare. “It’s not stupid if you’ll leave her one day for someone else.”

“I’m not going to dump her for another girl!”

“Even if that girl is your wolf’s mate?” Liam grew quiet, shutting his mouth tightly. “I know you love Emme as much as you can right now. But I also know in the end it may not be enough. I don’t want her hurt, Liam. And I know you don’t want that, either.”

He hauled me into a tight embrace. “But I want her back.”

“Um, Liam—”

“She’s my angel, Celia. I’ve never met anyone like her.”

“Liam, I—”

“You know how she never kissed guys on the first date?”

“Yes, but—”

“We kissed the same night we met and made love against a tree a few days later.”

TMI.
“That’s nice. You should—”

“Doesn’t that say how much we want each other?”

“Um, I—”

“And it only got better from there. I love her, Celia.” He embraced me tighter against his chest and his man parts. “I really do.”

I tried to breathe—and avoid shuddering. “I’m so sorry, Liam. But maybe you should go put on some pants now. Lunch is ready.”

•   •   •

Chad Kroeger’s strong and raspy voice sang softly through my iPhone as I slipped into a shapely burgundy dress. My lids lowered and I sighed softly at the sound of familiar footsteps walking upstairs. Aric entered my room holding a gorgeous bouquet of flowers. A dark blue sweater hugged the extra-large muscles of his chest and arms and his tan slacks covered a backside I couldn’t wait to get my hands on. He grinned and brushed his long dark hair away from his eyes, knowing perfectly well it drove me wild. The distance between us quickly disappeared. “You look beautiful,” he whispered.

“Thank you, love.”

Aric handed me the flowers and stepped toward my music system. “Good song.” He played with the playlist until he found the one he wanted. “This one’s better.”

A guitar strummed over the speakers as Aric faced me once more. He took my flowers and placed them on the dresser, then gathered me to him, encircling my waist while my arms slid around his neck. Our bodies swayed, moving to the evocative melody of “Into the Mystic.”

It took only the first lyric for the heat to rise between us.

“You’re pretty romantic, aren’t you, wolf?” He answered me with a very slow and sexy kiss, giving it the attention it deserved. I moaned, encouraging his hands to wander up my skirt. He growled deeply when he discovered my garter belt hidden beneath the stretchy fabric. The vibration in his throat sent me into a tailspin of yearning. Our passion grew. Aric practically ripped my dress yanking it off and I half strangled him when I tried to disrobe him. Our hands moved quickly. The moment my bra hit the floor his mouth found my breasts. My grunts from the pleasure turned into screams when his hands wandered between my thighs.

He backed me into the bed, refusing my touch, to taste my body. I watched his head turn in circles as he explored my most tender region. Tears of bliss streamed down my face. I wanted him and I told him so. He wouldn’t release me. His tasting became more frantic when I climaxed. Finally he pulled me off the bed.

We made love standing up, on my leather chair, against the dresser. His movements were hard and quick and his face grimaced with want and pleasure. Every ripple of emotion on his handsome face encouraged me to bear down. Sweat trickled down that perfect chest as he groaned, growled, and moaned. But when I tightened and forced him deeper inside me, he roared.

We collapsed on our bed. “I am the king of orgasms.” He breathed against my neck, mimicking Darth Vader’s voice. “Worship me.”

I laughed and pulled him against me. It felt unreal to lie with him in our bed. We continued to kiss while he played with my breasts. I swore in my head when my cell phone alarm rang reminding me it was time to return to the kitchen. Although I didn’t want to, I ended our kiss. “I’ll be right back, love.”

Aric brushed my hair aside and kissed my neck when I tried to wrap my silky robe around me. “Where are you going?”

“I have to finish dinner.”

He tugged off my robe and ran his tongue down my back. I shuddered. “Stay with me,” he said between licks. “We’ll order in.”

I faced him to give him a short, sweet kiss. “I want to do something special for you.”

“You just did,” he replied in that bedroom voice of his.

The aches from our lovemaking throbbed in the most delicious way. I smiled and stroked back his hair away from his eyes. “It’s important to me that we share a sense of normalcy. Otherwise, our lives seem too chaotic. Let me do this for you, and for us.”

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before kissing my lips. “Okay.”

I slipped the robe on again and left the room. The smell of the crown roast filled the house, but it wasn’t strong enough to camouflage Aric’s scent or the scent of our intimacy. And I was glad of it.

As I placed the baked brie onto a serving dish, an evil gaze fell upon me. I jumped. Mrs. Mancuso scowled at me from her kitchen window.

My hair was Jersey big and love bites covered my neck, but she didn’t have to look so mad. I glanced down, realizing my left breast was exposed. I covered it quickly, only to have Mrs. Mancuso reward me with a stiff middle finger.

Aric came up behind me and kissed the base of my ear. “You said you’d be right back.” Unlike me, he hadn’t bothered to cover his naked body. He pulled open my robe and cupped my breasts before I could stop him.

“
Aric!
Mrs. Mancuso is watching us!”

Mrs. Mancuso’s neck skin brushed against the windowsill when her mouth fell open. Talk about wanting to die. Aric simply smiled and waved. I backed him away from the window before I could catch her reaction. We were both still laughing when we stumbled back into our room.

I told Aric about Liam’s visit during our candlelit dinner. “Yeah, it sucks about him and Emme,” he said. “She’s such a great girl. I can’t picture him with anyone else.”

“Is there any chance she could still be his mate?”

Aric finished filling my wineglass and placed his hand over mine. “No. His wolf would have told him by now if she was.”

I turned my palm to link our fingers. “Why didn’t he tell her sooner? Or break up with her before things grew so serious between them?”

“Because Liam does love her and wants to continue being with her. It’s just not enough. As much as he loves Emme, it will pale in comparison to how he’ll feel toward his mate.”

I didn’t want to be right about them, but I guess I was. I focused on our clasped hands. Aric and I had something so special. Emme needed to have it, too. “If he weren’t a
were
, do you think they would have made it?”

“Most likely, yes. The majority of humans don’t ever come close to having the kind of relationship Liam and Emme shared, and yet they still marry and do just fine. But he’s a
were
and
weres
need their mates.” He released my hand to feed me a bite of roast from my plate. “Sometimes it takes years for mates to find each other. They may not always be on the lookout, but their inner beasts constantly are. Before the war began, most found their mates sometime during their lives.” Aric rubbed his eyes. He seemed so tired then, as if the mere mention of the war exhausted him. “We’ve lost so many
weres.
I’m afraid most won’t meet their mates until the hereafter.”

“What if Liam’s mate is no longer living? It would be sad if he never marries or has a family.”

Aric regarded me with a flicker of sadness. “It would be worse if Liam’s mate does exist and he and Emme eventually marry. There have been multiple instances of when the human side of a
were
has tired of searching for his mate and settled into a relationship with another. The results have been disastrous for the
weres
and their families when they discover their mates after the fact. Most
weres
leave their spouses heartbroken. Some stay out of obligation, living a life of misery because of their desire to be with their mate.”

I stared down at my plate. “In being forced apart, this almost happened to us. You would think the Elders would care about leaving so much emotional devastation.”

Aric leaned back in his seat. “For years they didn’t have to worry as much.
Weres
had become plentiful. The war changed everything. Now their focus is on maintaining the race. The Elders aren’t made of stone, Celia. But they won’t allow their emotions to interfere with what they believe must be done.”

I understood the Elders’ reasoning. Hell, in their place I probably would have made the same decisions. The circumstances surrounding my upbringing never allowed me to be selfish. Everyone and everything came before my own needs and happiness. But in choosing to continue my relationship with Aric, I was being selfish. Perhaps that’s why the pangs of guilt made it difficult to finish my meal. “Aric, do you think we shouldn’t—”