The Curse Breakers

by Denise Grover Swank

  For the first time since the gate had been opened, I felt like I had some sort of plan. I hadn’t figured out how to defeat the spirits yet, but it was something. I closed my eyes and felt some of the tension slip away. I was so exhausted from lack of sleep that I decided to let myself rest for a moment.

  When I awoke, something warm and comforting was pressed against my cheek. The overwhelming feeling that I was safe seeped through my skin, rolling through my entire body. I turned my head to the side, drawn to whatever was next to me, and then opened my eyes.

  This had to be a dream.

  Collin stood outside the open truck door, his face only a few feet from mine, awe and wonder in his eyes as they traveled across my face. His hand cradled my cheek, and I sensed the desperation and the need in his touch.

  I felt the same way.

  “Ellie.” His mouth lowered to mine as his hand slid behind my head, lifting me toward him.

  It felt so right, like a missing piece of myself had been replaced . . . and yet it wasn’t enough.

  His tongue parted my lips and explored my mouth, coaxing my tongue to join it.

  My arms wrapped around his neck. My heart exploded with urgency, and hot desire rushed through my body. I needed more.

  His other hand grazed up my leg and under my skirt, skimming my ass. He turned me sideways so that my legs hung over the side of the seat. He moved between them, pressing me against his crotch. I wrapped my legs around his waist as his mouth and tongue drove me crazy with want. Lifting the bottom of my T-shirt, he pulled it up and over my head, his mouth breaking contact for only a second before claiming mine again. The lack of contact was agony to every nerve ending in my body that was crying out for more.

  My body craved his with an unnatural, unstoppable need.

  One of his hands tangled in my hair as the other lifted my skirt to my waist, exposing my panties.

  I wanted him like I’d never wanted anything in my life.

  His hand cupped my breast before his fingers dipped inside my bra to caress my nipple. I moaned as a jolt shot straight to my core. I reached for the button of his jeans, frantic for more . . . frantic for him to fill the missing part of me and make me whole.

  He pushed me back on the seat, pulling my panties off and throwing them to the floor of the truck. I watched him strip off his shirt and his jeans, the sight of his strong shoulders and rippling abs rushing heat through my veins, making my skin feverish. His underwear were next, and then he was standing there in the open door of his truck, stark naked and ready to claim me on the side of the deserted road. Both of us were so frenzied we didn’t care.

  This is wrong.

  But the insane part of me pushed the thought aside. I needed this man. I was empty without him.

  He leaned over me, moving between my legs, lifting my thigh to his waist as he paused.

  I stared into his agonized face. Nothing had ever felt so right, had made me feel so complete as when we were joined, body and soul.

  His right hand reached for mine, ready to press our marks together as he prepared to enter me . . .

  Something in the back of my head screamed: stop!

  My body resisted the warning, desperate to see this through.

  No!

  My conscience clawed to the surface, pushing past the raw physical and supernatural urgency, begging for my attention.

  This was the man who betrayed me.

  My body stiffened. What the hell was I doing?

  Claire’s words echoed in my head. Don’t let him fuck you. That’s exactly what I was about to do.

  Confusion flickered in his eyes as he saw the change in me, but he still lowered himself over me, our palms inches from touching. I jerked my hand away, surprised that it was so hard. Our hands were being physically pulled toward each other by a force that wasn’t from either of us, like a strong magnet clinging to its polar opposite.

  I pushed on his body, my tattooed right palm landing square on the tattoo on his chest. A raw energy filled my hand, shooting through his body. We both gasped.

  I fought my overwhelming desire and pushed him hard. “Collin, stop.”

  “Ellie.” His mouth found mine and I was lost in a sea of longing, but I regained my senses as he began to enter me.

  “No!” I scooted back and took several quick breaths to regain control. My body and soul screamed in protest, desperate to have what I knew only he could give me.

  Hurt replaced confusion on his face for a mere second before his trademark cocky look returned—the one I’d first seen when we met at the New Moon.

  The day he’d come in to purposely break the curse.

  I scooted back more. “You owe me answers, Collin.”

  “Now?” He lifted up, panting.

  I realized the absurdity of it. We were both naked in the front seat of his truck, millimeters away from giving in to what we not only wanted but apparently supernaturally needed. The implication of that thought scared me, but I couldn’t focus on it right now. “Yes, now. You owe me answers.”

  Collin still hovered over me, his face close to my waist, and my treacherous body reminded me how close his mouth was to my crotch. My eyes rolled back in my head as I suppressed the desire to lift myself up to him. But I knew myself enough to realize that if I went through with this, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.

  Collin lowered his body onto mine, driving me crazy with the skin-to-skin contact. “I tried to give you answers, Ellie.” His voice was husky as his mouth traveled up my neck to my ear, pulling my earlobe into his lips. “You didn’t want to hear them then.” His hand slid between my legs and my head shot back as I arched my spine, my body begging me to give in.

  Still, that persistent part of me screamed for attention. Listen to what he’s saying, Ellie.

  I focused on his words, a tiny flame of anger sparking to life.

  He’s using you now, just like he used you to open the gate.

  My anger exploded into fury, replacing my desire and bringing me to my senses. “Are you fucking serious?” I pushed on his chest to get him off of me, but he resisted, his lower half still pressing me down on the seat, the evidence of how much he wanted me hard against my thigh. “I had just watched my father die, after you betrayed me and released hundreds of creatures that vowed to torture me for hundreds of years. How could I listen to you then?”

  He watched me for a second, and I could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he tried to figure out how to play me.

  How had I never noticed that before?

  Contrition filled his eyes, and one of his hands cupped my cheek. “You’re right.”

  I waited for him to continue speaking, but he merely watched my face while his thumb stroked my cheek in slow circles.

  “I’m not one of your whores, Collin. You can’t use me and then toss me away when you’re done.”

  His eyes widened. “Is that what you think I did? You think I tossed you aside? You were never like any other woman in my life, Ellie.”

  “I’m sure of that. No other woman could help you break a four-hundred-year-old curse.”

  He sighed, his shoulders slumping.

  “You walked into that restaurant and thought, ‘Stupid Ellie doesn’t remember anything about the curse. I can play her like a fiddle.’”

  His head lifted. “It wasn’t like that.”

  “It wasn’t like that?” I pushed hard, and he finally got off me. I scrambled back until my spine was pressed up against the passenger door as he took a seat behind the steering wheel.

  “You knew damn good and well who I was the moment you walked through the door. How long had you known?”

  He closed his door and leaned his forearms on the steering wheel, looking out the windshield. The moonlight swathed his naked body like a blanket, and I wanted to cry at the irony. The most gorgeous man I’d ever hoped to be with had probably only slept with me to get what he wanted. Just like the way he’d dealt with every other woman in his life.

/>   “How long, Collin?”

  “A couple of weeks.”

  A couple of weeks. Why did it shock me? “And you came in planning to break the curse?”

  His jaw worked and his shoulders stiffened. “Yes.”

  He’d already told me that, of course, but I still didn’t get it. “Why? You were the one who took it seriously. You were so pissed that I didn’t remember anything. You said I didn’t deserve to be a Keeper. You were all about the commitment and responsibility . . . I mean, you have a goddamned mark tattooed on your chest. Why did you do it?”

  His features hardened, but he still didn’t look at me. “The fucking curse destroyed my family. I just wanted it to end.”

  “You really think it’s over? You’ve opened up one huge can of worms. And you destroyed my family in the process. Was that what you wanted? To get even?”

  “No.” He closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll admit that I didn’t give a lot of thought to how it would affect you before we met.”

  “That’s obvious.”

  He turned to me. “But when I took you to Marino and you started crying in the truck, I realized I actually cared about what happened to you. And that night . . . when I put the henna tattoo on you, I realized I was in trouble.”

  “You were in trouble? Are you fucking kidding me?”

  He grabbed my left hand. I tried to pull back, but he held firm. “We may have bound our souls together outside of Morehead City, but I lost my heart to you that night.”

  I jerked my hand out of his. “You fucking liar.”

  Hurt flashed through his eyes. “I’ve never been this honest with anyone, Ellie. Ever.”

  I shook my head in disgust. “You wouldn’t know honesty if it bit you in the ass. You used me, tricked me, screwed me, and then screwed me over. Tell me what I’m missing here.”

  His eyes narrowed. “You know we can’t hide our feelings from each other when our marks touch.” His left hand grabbed my right wrist. “We can touch them together now, and you’ll know I’m not lying.”

  I tried to jerk my hand from his grasp, but his fingers tightened around mine. “No! You know what happens when we touch.” Which was exactly why I was sure he was pushing the matter. Pressing our marks together is what got me here in the first place.

  “Ellie,” he whispered, his right hand reaching for mine now. “We’re meant to be together. You know it. Let me show you how much you mean to me.”

  “No!” I jerked my wrist hard, panicked. “If you do this, I will hate you forever.”

  He glanced into my face and his mouth dropped open in shock. “You really are afraid of me.”

  “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” I finally pulled my hand from his grasp. “You killed my father! People I cared about died because of you. No, you didn’t personally do it, but you purposely freed the things that did. And now they’re after me, Collin. They’re appearing in the flesh and coming to my door each night. The dead birds they left on my front porch before? That’s nothing compared to the mutilated animals they’re leaving for me now. They killed my neighbor’s dog.”

  “Why would you think they killed your neighbor’s dog?”

  “Because as Police Officer Tom Helmsworth pointed out, normal animals don’t rip open a dog’s guts and eat its heart.”

  His confidence fell away. “If you just wait it out, the spiritual world will stabilize and we’ll all be able to live together as one. This is the way it’s meant to be.”

  “You truly believe that?” I asked, incredulous.

  His face hardened. “I have to.”

  “Well, bull fucking shit. I don’t have to believe that. In fact, I don’t. Those motherfuckers won’t stop until they’ve tortured me for eons.”

  He shook his head. “No.”

  “They come to me in my dreams.”

  That got his attention. “What are you talking about?”

  “The animals come every night begging me to help them, and each night one of the escaped spirits visits me in my dreams and tells me that Okeus is waiting for me to be ready.”

  “Be ready for what?”

  “To kill me? To suck my Manitou? How the hell would I know!”

  “Is your henna tattoo still on your back?”

  “It’s fading.”

  He looked panicked. “You need a new one.”

  I didn’t answer. That much was obvious.

  “I know you’re reluctant to get a permanent mark. Let me give you another henna one.”

  I snorted. “Are you kidding me? I trusted you before, and you painted Okeus’s mark on my back.”

  “Ellie,” he grabbed my hand again. “If you willingly choose Okeus, you’ll save yourself.”

  “And I’ll condemn my soul to hell. No thank you.”

  “He’ll provide you riches greater than you ever imagined.”

  “So where the hell are your riches, Collin?”

  He paused. “You heard Okeus. I lost my reward because I helped you.” He reached for my face. “Doesn’t that prove how much I care?”

  “Are you serious? You found out after you helped me. You didn’t give that up for me.” I smacked his hand away and sagged against the passenger door. “Besides, I don’t think that would work anyway. The curse is based on duality. The sea and the land. Ahone and Okeus. Good and evil. You can’t have one without the other. You’ve chosen Okeus and Ahone has chosen me.”

  “So why haven’t you put his mark on your skin?”

  “Because I don’t know what it is. Do you?”

  He closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them again, he looked me in the eyes. “I don’t know either.”

  Anger surged through my veins. “You liar.”

  He reached for me, but I backed away. “I swear to you, Ellie. I don’t know.”

  “How could you possibly know Okeus’s but not Ahone’s?”

  He scrubbed both hands over his short, dark hair. “I don’t know. It wasn’t passed down. We pledged ourselves to Okeus so that we’d be protected from his wrath when he was freed.” He grabbed my left hand before I could snatch it back. “I put Okeus’s mark on your back for the same reason.” He pulled me closer, but I resisted. “Please don’t be so stubborn. If you pledge yourself to him now, you’ll be safe.”

  “You know I can’t, even if I wanted to.”

  Agony covered his face. “Then you’re as good as dead.”

  “And whose fault is that?”

  He dropped his hold on me and looked out the windshield.

  “I want the map.”

  He shook his head as if trying to clear it. “What are you talking about?”

  “The map we stole from Marino. You remember our field trip to Buxton? Marino’s men were at the Kill Devil Hills Pawnshop asking Oscar if he knows who I am and where they can find me.”

  “You’re shitting me.”

  “You have no idea how much I wish I was.”

  He shook his head. “No. There’s no way. I told them you were from Greenville.”

  “But I told him I had a guy in Kill Devil Hills when I was negotiating.”

  He groaned.

  “I’m surprised all the women you’ve screwed since you left me haven’t thrown him off.”

  His face contorted with rage and he leaned toward me, his body shaking with anger. “Say what you like, Ellie, but the minute I joined my soul with yours, I became yours. Completely. You’re the one who ran away. You’re the one who doesn’t want anything to do with me.”

  “Can you blame me? You’re just a man whore who uses people to get what you want. You told me so yourself.”

  “Goddamn it, Ellie. I tried to resist you. I tried not to sleep with you. You’re the one who taunted and tempted me. I’ve never put so much effort into not sleeping with a woman in my life.”

  “Finally!” I shouted. “Your first truthful answer since I showed up here tonight.” His desire for me had been so evident when we joined our marks, yet gu
ilt had kept him from following through until I drove him crazy enough to cross the line. “But you’re right. I coerced you into sleeping with me. I just didn’t realize what the consequences would be.” I laughed, but it was a bitter sound. “Everyone who fucks up says that, huh?” I turned to him. “Isn’t that what you keep telling me? You didn’t mean to screw up my life?”

  Hope filled his eyes. “Exactly!”

  “And yet I’m stuck in this hell, and you get to live your life like nothing ever happened.”

  His eyes glittered with rage. “That’s bullshit and you know it. You know what you mean to me. You’ve felt it, Ellie . . . and I’ve felt it with you. If you want to sit there and pretend it doesn’t exist, then go ahead and do it. But who’s the liar now?”

  “What we have between us isn’t real, Collin!” I shouted, balling my fists. “What we have is hormones and magic. Nothing more and nothing less.”

  “Not real? Are you kidding me?” I’d never seen him so angry. “This is the most real thing either us will ever experience, but if you want to throw it away out of pride and immaturity, go ahead. I’m done begging.” He opened his door and jumped out of the truck, grabbing his underwear off the ground and stepping into them. He glared at me as he pulled them over his hips. “You must love this. You think I’m a man whore, and I’m standing here groveling. I bet you’re eating this shit up.”

  “Screw you, Collin!” I shouted. “Don’t you go and act like I’m the one who hurt you!”

  “You think you’re the only one with feelings?”

  “I don’t think you’ve ever felt a goddamned feeling in your life.” As soon as I said the words, I regretted them. They hung in the air, and I watched the last bits of hope and softness slide out of Collin’s body.

  “Yeah, you’re right, Ellie.” He pulled up his jeans and fastened them, flashing me an ugly sneer. “You were just another fuck. I’ll admit that you were a good one, which is why I hated for things to end. I wasn’t bored with you yet, but if you want to move on first, I can live with it.”