Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) (38 page)

“I’m always careful.  I should be able to go invincible again in about five minutes or so.  I always turn it on when I’m in the box with hybrids or full bloods.”

“Good.“

We start walking into the building as my breath very slowly begins rattling - a sinking feeling tugging at my gut.”

“Is something wrong?” Hale whispers as we step behind the glass.

“Something’s off.”

I stare at the snarling man they’ve already anchored to the steel chair.  His dark hair, pale eyes, and lean body do well to mask the monster lurking inside.  The cold walls behind him beg me to start the show they always love to see.  The chains rattle and threaten to slice his hands off at the wrist when he surges too violently.  My breath comes in sharply, and I shake off the nerves I’m not used to having.

Maybe it’s because I’ve been waiting on this moment for months.

Very warily, I step out from behind the safety side of the glass and move into the room that forces secrets to be expelled.

“Hybrid bitch,” he snarls out as the foaming spit forms across his lips.

Gee, haven’t heard that before.

I smirk as I shut the door, and I drop the enormous file I have on the Rising onto the table in front of him - all my hard work slightly spilling out to give him a peek.  His eyes barely pay it any attention, disinterest rocking over his brow, and he jerks his head away to avoid looking at me.  I turn my back on him to stare into the glass that mimics a mirror full of hidden expectant faces chewing their nails, tapping their feet, or shifting from side to side as they impatiently await results on the other side.

“So many of your kind have sat on that side of the table and discussed their loathsome distaste for me.  Then they poured out their hearts, their worries, and their secrets before leaving,” I murmur while turning around slowly to face him.

“I have no secrets left to tell,” he almost whimpers, and then his jaw clenches as he regains his composure.

A sniveling Rising member?  Since when?

“Why attack so close to somewhere you knew you’d be apprehended with ease?” I say with the intentions of insulting him.

“We didn’t mean to,” he almost whispers, his eyes casting shadows on the floor - a hint of pain trapped in the undertones of his words.

I’m bemused, curious, and a little taken aback by his vague answer.

“How is it possible you didn’t mean to attack?” I almost laugh out, even though I’m actually somewhat worried about what his answer could possibly be.

“You wouldn’t understand, you fucking piece of shit.  Your kind think you’re so much better,” he growls, and then he cuts his eyes away from me again.

“My kind?  Your kind spits out the air from their lungs if they have to share it with us for too long with us.  Don’t accuse my kind of being the ones to cause friction between our species.”

“Our kind only clings to what little bit of power we have left, and soon you’ll do the same.  Let me know how you feel when that time arrives.  Tell me if you can be so cavalier and smug then,” he mumbles.

“What does that mean?”

“It means, I pity anyone who dares to cross anyone the way we did.  It’s all going to go to hell.  You’ll see,” his whispered voice continues, and then I hear the snap of the cuffs before the crushing blades slice into his wrists.

Blood spews free as he drops to the ground, his knees pounding the concrete first before his body collapses in a fold.  There’s no way he can survive this, not in his already weakened state.  His lifeless corpse jerks lightly as his nerves react.  My gaping eyes can’t move away from the ghastly sight I never expected to see.  Why wait until now to kill himself?  Why survive that attack out there to kill himself in here?  It makes no sense.

As if in slow motion, bodies pour into the small room.  My eyes fall on the steel table splattered in blood.  The shiny surface offers me a bit of blurry insight to my own red speckled state.  I very, very carefully wipe the blood away from my lips.  If he’s not dead, that could cause some serious problems.  I sure as hell don’t want to blood fuck him.

Hale and Brazen both squat to examine the full blood that has just intentionally killed himself while the medics rush in with cold bags of blood to revive our once viable suspect/witness.

“It’s too late.  With the high levels uranium still in his veins, the blood he just lost is too much.  Fuck,” Hale huffs, and he stands up to walk back over to me.

“Did you understand any of what he was saying?”

He shakes his head in response to my question, and Brazen grips the back of his head as his elbows rise to the air.

“I’m about sick of the riddles and bullshit.  It’s as if we’re being played no matter what circle we step into,” Brazen growls.

Hale’s lips purse as he stares at the man encircled by his own pool of blood.

“I’m sick of it too,” I mumble, and Hale’s hand takes mine in his as Clay joins us with agitation etched into every piece of his expression.

“Damn.  He was a talker too,” he gripes while stooping to inspect the scene.

“I know.  He was so close to giving me everything since he had just lost it all.  He was dying to tell me more.  I should have let a full blood come in here instead of me when I saw how ripe he was.  I let my damn pride ruin this investigation,” I guiltily grouse while plopping into a cold, steel chair.

“This investigation is already over.  The Rising is no longer a threat, so you didn’t ruin it,” Hale soothes.

“It would have been nice to understand why they acted so wild.”

“Not everything is meant to be found out.  This will just have to irk us.”

“Can we please get the hell out of here now?” Brazen mumbles while tossing his gloves into the trash.

“I think that’s a great idea,” Clay sighs, and they lead the way out of the messy box full of the man’s spilled life.

“Araya?  Hale?  Wow.  I never thought I’d see the two of you back together after the most infamous breakup of all time,” Melody - the human gossip queen - scoffs in disbelief.

“Melody,” Hale says in acknowledgement through tight lips.

“I can’t believe the two of you made amends, but here you are in Selma again, while holding hands.”

I roll my eyes, and then I see several of our old hybrid friends coming over to gush in disbelief.

So close.  We were so fucking close to avoiding this.

“Are you two engaged?” Hank asks.

“Are you two married?” Elaine asks.

“Are you two-”

“Stop.  We’re just dating,” I huff in interruption of the incessant line of questions they plan to continue.

“I’m a fool for letting her go, and we’re about to head back to Seminole now.  I’m the captain there, and Araya is about to become the lead interrogator.”

Hank turns curiously to Brazen, and then he tilts his head back at me.  “I thought the two of you were-”

“We were.  I fucked up too, but I’ll be there when Hale fucks up again,” Brazen says with a menacing smirk.

Hale’s jaw tenses instantly as his eyes burn into the devilish pale ones taunting and daring him.

“I won’t be fucking up again,” Hale says while cracking his neck to the side, his eyes not leaving the full blood’s.

Brazen shrugs casually before walking off, his daring smirk still in play as he turns back to give me a wink.

“Well, there’s no doubt Araya has the goods,” Elaine whispers to Hank, and he stifles his laughter.

I roll my eyes at the petty nonsense I’m far too old to deal with, and I begin my stalk down the hall.  Hale rushes to catch up with me, and his fingers intertwine with mine before he kisses the back of my hand.

“I meant it.  I won’t fuck up again.”

“I hope not, or I’m really going to look stupid - not to mention I’ll be crushed,” I murmur -the last part meant to be a whisper for only my ears.

“I won’t make you look stupid, and I sure as hell don’t plan to crush you.”

Please don’t.

“Let’s just get back.  I need to do so much work.  I have so much shit to replace it’s ridiculous.  I lost everything I owned in Javeline.  Maybe they have some apartments available now.”

“I’ll take care of that.  You can live with me, and I’ll replace anything else you need.  You know you’re going to be staying with me most of the time anyways, and you know I want to marry you.”

I smile a little, and then he pulls me into his arms to dust off the remaining remnants of my uncertainties.  I kiss him as I wrap my arms around his neck, and he swirls me around in the air.

“I love you,” I murmur against his lips.

“I love you.  Let’s set a date,” he says playfully, and I laugh too hard to sustain the kiss any longer.

“You haven’t proposed,” I exasperate through my chuckles.

“I have proposed… many times,” he mutters with his own snickers rattling out.

“You haven’t given me a real proposal, and I haven’t said yes.  You’re not getting off the hook this time,” I giggle out while he opens the car door for me.

“You want roses and shit, huh?” he teases.

I roll my eyes at his faked coyness while he hops in the other side.  The car hums, and he slams it into gear.

“Yes.  I want roses, not bullshit,” I retort, and he lets his laughter escape.

“We don’t have anyone riding with us now.  I’ll stop at a flower stand on the way home,” he jokes, and I start pouting at his poking remark.

“Don’t pucker those lips unless you want mine on them,” he smolders out, and my bottom lip curls between my teeth as my eyes dare him to come get me.

“Don’t do that either,” he cautions, his eyes teeming with lust.

“Don’t do what?” I ask with mock innocence while slowly unbuttoning my shirt to reveal my see-through, lacy white bra that gleams against my barely sun kissed skin.

He smirks before glancing in his rearview mirror, and then I feel the car cutting sharply to the left to veer from our path.

“Where are we going?” I murmur while sliding my pants to the floorboard, and my devious grin only spreads.

“Somewhere I can fuck you without an audience,” he sizzles out, and I start throbbing the moment his crude promise leaves his lips.

“I don’t care if someone sees.”

He grins bigger, and suddenly the car is sliding in a circle before facing the direction we were just coming as it slingshots into a halt.  He jerks me to him by my waist, and I laugh a little at his caveman demeanor when he throws me over his shoulder.  I stop laughing when he drops me on the hood of the car, and it dents beneath the impact of my body.

His dark grin sends the most salacious chills through my body, and I shiver as his eyes burn into mine.  He jerks me to where my center thuds against his, and I hear the jingling of his belt being removed after I jolt up to envelope him in a needy kiss.

My underwear slides down my legs, and I feel the head of his erection searching for my entry before he slams into me with a violent force.  I moan out my instant arousal, and his lips cover mine as he gives my body a second to acclimate to his wonderfully filling sensation before he pulls back and slams into me more forcefully.

I cry out as he repeats the motion over and over and the incredible sensations explode inside me as his lips close over my nipple.  Each pounding thrust makes me gasp out an involuntary girly cry.  He thrashes against me as his punishing motion quickens and deepens.  His brutal force is painfully exquisite as he slams into me over and over, and I feel my legs starting to shiver in delight as the car rattles beneath our force.

His sculpted body towers over me as he stands straight up.  He grips my hips while his head pops back to stare into the dark, starry sky.  The stars turn their eyes while hiding their blushing hues as the savagery continues.  The metal wants to give way, and the ground rattles beneath us as my gift seeps out.

“Easy,” Hale cautions - a smug smirk rising to his face.

He leans back down, and I grip his shoulders to give him more stability for his hellacious thrusts.  His  left hand grabs me at my waist as his right one wraps around my throat.  My eyes roll back in my head as the erotic choking begins.  The air is just hard enough to grab that it sends the explosive ripples of ecstasy throughout me.  The fire in my veins courses as his panting breaths heat my bare skin, and his teeth almost break the skin on my shoulder as I find my release.  I almost convulse as he continues his pace, and he grunts loudly between his gritted teeth as his warmth spreads inside me.

His rhythm slows as he pulls me up from the hood, and his lips envelope mine while he holds me to his body.  I smile into the kiss, and he starts shaking his head when he feels my grinning lips.

“You’re so damn irresistible.  I swear I can’t think worth a damn around you,” he murmurs into my mouth.

I laugh lightly while he hands me my underwear, and I take a leisurely stroll in the lacy apparel to return to the car while he raises the hood to pop the dent out.  I giggle more when there is still some indented evidence left behind, and he rolls his eyes while letting a smile free.

“You might want to change before we get to Seminole,” he says with a strained tone while staring at my body still only covered by my underwear.