Nico's Cruse

by Jennifer Kacey

  Instead he carried her into the shower, holding her close while he waited for the water to warm up.

  He bathed her, soaping up her body, washing her hair with shampoo that hadn’t ever been there before.

  Panic welled inside him as he finished with her and rinsed off quickly.

  His hands continued to shake as he wrapped a towel around his waist, then he dried her, being very careful with her tender bits he already wanted to take again.

  He tried to ignore her scared glances but he caught them all. He left her standing in the bathroom and he stepped into the bedroom so he could grab the laptop. He put it on the bed and booted it up, catching sight of Rose from the corner of his eye, wrapping a towel around her body as she stood in the doorway to the bathroom.

  “What did you do?” he asked as calmly as he could muster.

  “I came to let you go. There’s nothing for me back there—”

  “You closed the laptop, Rose.” He pulled up his browser, logged into Crossroads and her icon was expectantly dark. “It breaks the connection. Since you’re not there anymore you can’t answer if I call you because you can’t get me the password. You severed the only link we had to getting you home.”

  He hit the connect button, knowing it wouldn’t do any good, then he clutched the top rail on his footboard.

  “I know,” she said in a soft voice.

  “What the fuck do you mean you know?” His fear and rage exploded out of him as he stood and faced her. “I wouldn’t wish this on my enemy, much less the woman I love.”

  Tears fill her eyes and he grabbed a handful of his hair, feeling like a total and complete ass for being a jerk and yelling at her.

  He paced in front of the bed, listening to the white noise of the video chat dialer whirling away beside him. He wondered what in the world he could give the witch so she would send Rose home. He’d give up his week, which he was already going to do. He’d give up his phone, the laptop, everything connecting him to the outside world. If that’s what it took, he’d give up his very life for her.

  Laughter yanked him out of his inner panic attack.

  Rose had her arms wrapped around her middle, laughing her ass off.

  “What in the hell are you laughing at?”

  She tried to cut it off, but she just couldn’t. Snickers kept popping out as she tried to explain. “Not exactly the way I thought my first declaration of love would come out.”

  He stared at her, having no clue what she was talking about. “Huh?”

  She went to him, hugging him tight. “You just told me you loved me, while cursing at me.”

  “Oh, that.” He hugged her tight, placing his cheek on her head. “Of course I love you, but—”

  “Nope, no buts. I love you, too. That’s all that matters.”

  “But it’s not. You work—”

  “From my apartment just like you work from here. Phone, text and email works obviously, so I could still work, write my books. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Would you listen to yourself? You’re willing to give up everything. Everything—”

  “I’ll still have a roof over my head, food, and a way to make a living. Which is more than some people have and you know it.”

  Exasperation bled off him in waves and he stepped away to pace some more. “What about sex? Every year you would only have a taste of what you could have.”

  “Don’t want it.” She shook her head as if to emphasize her point. “After being with you, falling for you, I don’t want anyone else, Nico. It’s you or nothing for me, I’m afraid.”

  “Be reasonable.”

  “I could say the same.”

  “What you want to do isn’t reasonable, it’s ridiculous.” The video connection timed out and he hit it again, not knowing what else to do. “I won’t let you do this. I—” Between one blink and the next, Rose’s bedroom popped up on his laptop screen. It answered somehow with no password. “It’s open.”

  She moved slowly to stand next to him. Both of them were completely silent, terrified to speak and ruin the connection. He was mortified to think he was going to disappear and leave her stranded.

  He put his hand through the screen, snatching it back out, terrified he’d get stuck and be taken from her forever.

  A bucket of adrenaline hit his bloodstream as she tucked her small hand in his.

  Rose smiled at him, trying to be brave. “I think this is your stop, Nico.”

  “Oh, hell no. I’m not leaving you here stranded.” He reached up to close the laptop lid but she snagged it off the bed before he could get to it.

  “This may be your only chance. You’re not blowing it.” She walked around the bed, keeping her front to him.

  She genuinely smiled when she saw something on screen.

  “What is it? Let me see.”

  She set the laptop on the bed again close to the pillows and swiveled it around so they could both see.

  Her pure white cat walked in and out of view on her bed several time and his jaw dropped. “How long have you had your cat?”

  “A few weeks. Why? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  He backed up until he hit the dresser. “That’s Priscilla’s cat. It was always around when I was with her for that week. Did you get it before we started talking?”

  “Priscilla…you mean the witch?”

  “Yes. When did you get the cat?”

  “Umm…a little while before I met you? I found her at the pound several weeks ago. She was filthy but beautiful somehow. She meowed at me and I just knew I had to take her home. I found the site and got signed up just a few days after that. Something just told me it was the site I needed to use.” Her voice trailed off at the end putting two and two together.

  “But why? Why would she help you find me or me find you? Why would she send you to me? She’s the one who cursed me.”

  The cat faced them and leapt through the screen in one bound, hopping over both sets of keyboards and landing perfectly on Nico’s mattress. She went directly over to Rose, who petted her head automatically and he heard the purr from across the room.

  She meowed once, jumping off the bed and before she hit the floor she’d completely transformed into a beautiful woman. Her chocolate-brown skin shone with some kind of otherworldly glow. Her flowing white hair still reached midway down her back, which was covered by a brilliant-white gown.

  Her dual-colored eyes glowed like a cat’s for a few seconds and then she blinked, completing her change into a human form. The key still dangled around her neck.

  Rose’s jaw hit the floor and Nico grabbed her, tucking her behind him, keeping himself between the witch and her— to protect her.

  Priscilla must have heard him because she answered his question immediately. “I cursed you because you didn’t care about anyone but yourself. No one’s feelings or thoughts or dreams ranked higher than your own.” She nodded toward Rose. “They didn’t even rate on your scale of giving a shit.”

  “But why would you help her find me, just to have her trapped here?”

  “I’ll admit to being a bit…rash when I cursed you a few years ago. I am only four hundred and eleven, so I’ve got a lot of learning still to do. It’s why I decided to help her find you. And you needed all the help you could get. You’ve got enough ego to drown a whale.”

  He hated that her explanation made sense. “But she’s perfect and wonderful and doesn’t deserve this life. I’m sorry for how I treated you. You didn’t deserve it and I have no excuse for it, but she doesn’t deserve this either. Please send her back—”

  “No!” His pissed-off female walked around in front of him with fists on her hips. “I choose you.”

  “But you deserve better than this, than me.”

  “No, I deserve love and sex and happiness with the man I love. And you deserve all of that too.” She focused on the witch again, saying something so low he couldn’t hear her.

  The witch smiled, moving closer to her.

 
; Nico put a protective arm over her shoulder, staring down the witch, daring her to hurt Rose.

  Priscilla ran her hand along Rose’s hair and kissed her forehead. “No, child, you don’t have to take his place.” She removed the key off the collar handing it to Rose, who stared it, not understanding any more than he did.

  “But—”

  “No he doesn’t have to live here either. Your love and devotion, along with his love and apology have paid the debt he owed me.” She glanced over at him. “And because you chose so well, you’ll be able to travel between worlds anytime you want. No matter which portal you’re at the code on the key will always be the right one. Any laptop will work for you or desktop for that matter. If you need to login to Crossroads—which will now only be accessible to the two of you—it will be there, waiting for you. Both of you must travel together. That is my only rule.”

  She moved away but Rose followed, giving her a hug.

  Priscilla seemed surprised but closed her eyes, returning the gesture with obvious affection. He was pretty sure he heard a tiny purr.

  “I’ll miss you,” Rose admitted and then she stepped over to Nico’s side.

  He pulled her in close and nodded to Priscilla. He couldn’t be angry at her. He’d treated her poorly and he deserved at least part of what she gave him.

  “And I you, Rose. Be happy.” Without another second to ask more questions she transformed back into a cat then disappeared.

  As soon as she vanished, the energy changed in the house—along with the windows. The still life screens came to life in front of all of them. Tree limbs blew in a gentle breeze, birds flew by, and vehicles moved along at a slow pace out on the street next to the beach he hadn’t seen change in years.

  Waves gently washed along the shoreline less than two hundred feet from his home and he could hear them again. He couldn’t believe he’d lived so long without hearing that sound. It was one of his favorite things about living on the coast.

  His most favorite stood next to him, smiling up at him.

  He stepped up to one of the windows, holding his breath. He flicked the lock, like he’d done a million times, grabbed onto the bottom of the window and lifted it. A warm breeze rushed in the room as he opened it as high as it could go.

  He didn’t say anything, his throat clogged with emotion, and Rose must have known. She came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist and her cheek on his back, holding him close until he got his emotions under control.

  He held her close just as a ray of sunshine shone through the window onto their intertwined fingers.

  A salty breeze came in off the ocean and it was perfect weather. He took a deep breath and extended his hand out the window into the warm sunshine. He flipped it over, warming his entire arm.

  He swiveled around in the cage of her arms, clutching her to him, choked again with emotion. “Thank you. I’ll never be able to love you enough to say thank you.”

  He had no idea how long they stood there, how many tears they shed, but he’d never been so happy in his life. He looked up out of his bedroom door into the space that held all of the BDSM furniture he hadn’t been able to use.

  His cock filled, getting hard for her in as much time as it took him to scoop her up into his arms and walk into the other room.

  It made him wish he carried her across the threshold after getting married. He kissed her, wondering how long it would take him to convince her to be his wife.

  “Aren’t we leaving?” She laid her head on his chest, rubbing her cheek on his skin.

  It made him think of Priscilla, and for the first time, it wasn’t a bad thing. “No. I want you here. In my house.”

  “Didn’t you have me in your house already?” She licked his flesh and his cock jerked against her ass.

  “I thought you were a dream.”

  She lifted her head, kissing his jaw, his lips. “And the bathroom? Did you think that was a dream too?” She slid along his body, moaning as she felt his erection as he set her on her feet.

  “Possibly.”

  She untucked the edge of his towel keeping it in place, and giggled when it fell to the floor, revealing how ready he was for her again.

  Nico pulled the towel from around her body, revealing her one sexy inch at a time. He lifted her head with his knuckles, making sure she heard every word. “I want to take you, knowing it’s the first time, but not the last. I want to show you exactly what I’ve been dreaming of doing to your body, and not just with a few cuffs and my hand.”

  She went to grab his thickness, but stopped, turning the key Priscilla had given her over in her palm. “I wonder if it actually goes to something or if it’s just symbolic.”

  The noise the key made as Rose laid it on the glass case standing up next to them stole his breath. “Fuck.”

  She jumped, peering at him, following his gaze to the key.

  “Look at the lock on the case. Look at what’s engraved on it.”

  Rose reached for it, holding it in the light. A pair of cat eyes watched them. Her intake of air said it all.

  Priscilla’s lock had taunted him since the day he’d walked into his house so many years ago. He knew her key would fit before he even inserted it.

  “It feels like Cinderella doesn’t it?” she asked him with near reverence in her soft voice.

  “But I don’t believe in fairytales.” He opened the top of the case and the front lifted on hinges on the far side. He touched the black leather, lifting it off the red satin material, holding it in place, keeping it safe until he found the person who was destined to wear it.

  “You should.”

  Without a single word from him, Rose knelt in front of him, giving him the honor of collaring her while on her knees. For him. He faced her but hesitated before placing the stamp of his ownership around her throat. “Is this what you want, Rose? Are you certain this is what you need?”

  She peeked up at him with love and respect shining from her pretty face. “I was willing to give up my freedom for you. To walk away from everything I’ve ever known because you meant that much to me. I’d say that should answer your question with a fair amount of certainty. On my knees for you is exactly where I want to start our journey together. In some ways the collar is my freedom…and yours.”

  Her words echoed what he already knew. She was his, and he was hers. They belonged together. Wherever they were would be home.

  She held her hair up while he clasped his collar around her neck. The leather was thin, dainty, and feminine, just like her. It was perfect. The lock fit snugly at the back of her neck, and he used their key to lock her in it. The key fit on a small D-ring on the front of the collar. There was no reason he should understand that’s where it belonged…but it just did. He closed the case then helped his Rose to her feet.

  A full-length mirror stood off to one side and he stood her in front of it so she could she herself, and him, full of pride, standing behind her. “I will love you and protect you with every breath I take. I will care for you, take you, and use you to your limits and beyond.” Her skin flushed and he kissed her shoulder. “I have never been more pleased with a woman in my life and in my bed. I love you.”

  She twisted around, beaming at him. She stood on her tiptoes, placing her lips against his. It was her oath to him, and he heard every word.

  He rotated with her in a circle, searching his furniture for the perfect piece to break her in on. A shiver overtook her body and he knew she realized exactly what he was looking for. “Hmm…so many possibilities.”

  “Should I be scared…Sir?”

  His fingers found one of her nipples and pinched it, hard. “Absolutely.”

  Her pupils dilated and her head moved as if she listened to the most beautiful symphony. “Face the back wall, close your eyes, and clasp your hands behind you. I don’t want you to know what’s coming. Well, before you do, obviously.”

  “Obviously,” she repeated with a bit of fear and a healthy dose of arousal heat
ing her skin.

  She followed his instructions and he set to work.

  Chapter Ten

  “Don’t open your eyes until I tell you to,” he ordered as he walked her to the middle of the room.

  “Okay.”

  He flipped her around, swatting her ass, making her eep, then twisted her around again. “Okay?” he asked next to her ear.

  “Yes, Sir,” passed her lips as naturally as air filled her lungs.

  “I’m going to have my hands full with you, aren’t I?”

  “Mmmm. I hope so, Sir.”

  He stopped her in the spot he needed her in, shaking his head knowing she couldn’t see him. He loved how free-spirited she was, and how she submitted just enough to make him crave more, and more. “Bend at the waist. Feel in front of you to help guide you down.” She followed his instructions and pretty soon he had her bound on all fours on a modified spanking bench.

  Her knees and ankles were cuffed to a padded section of the bench, her stomach lay flat across the highest piece of the bench, and her wrists were cuffed on the far side where she grasped handles below her shoulders. It put her mouth and her pussy, along with her ass at very opportune heights. He scrutinized every inch of her, memorizing just how beautiful she looked, spread out for him. “How do you feel?”

  “Exposed,” leapt from her mouth.

  “Why yes, pretty girl. Yes you are.” He dragged his knuckles along her spine all the way to her tailbone, dipping into her slit, finding her wet and ready. “I believe my little slut likes the bench.”

  She arched her back as far as she could, which wasn’t much, as he fingered her pussy, getting her nice and ready to take him. “Keep those eyes closed.”

  He walked over to a cabinet and opened both doors wide, letting her see the massive collection of whips, and clamps, and other deliciously naughty toys he had ready to use on her. He already had several things tucked beneath the bench but he wanted her mind in the right place for him to take her.

  Empty-handed he walked up to her head, and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He grabbed the base of his cock and tickled her lips with it. “Make it good.”