Lifted Curse (Curse Trilogy)

by C. M. Owens

  He smiles as he slips it into his pocket, and then he pats it through the fabric. He gives me that adorable wink before cranking up the beast, and I take a step back as he heads toward the open gates awaiting his departure.

  A warm touch and loving arms embrace me as Hale’s lips stroke the back of my head. I smile as I lean back into the arms of my husband.

  “How’s he taking it?”

  “Better than I hoped, which is great. How do you feel about being married to me?” I ask anxiously.

  “Like the luckiest man in the world. I’ve come to steal you away from all of our guests because that dress has been driving me crazy for far too long. I know what you’re wearing under it too,” he smolders.

  “Would you like to see what’s under it a little better?” I scandalously provoke.

  “Desperately.”

  I giggle as he scoops me up, and everything around us blurs as he moves through the compound to the room without giving me a second to catch my breath. The door swings open, and his eyes stare lovingly into mine as he carries me over the threshold.

  “I love you,” I utter so softly as he places me on the bed.

  “I love you, baby,” he coos while slowly untying the corseted front.

  His soft lips find my neck, and they trail down to my chest as he starts pulling the dress up to slide it over my head. I smile as he stares down at the sexy, red lace bra and panties while the garter belt across my waist ties up the stocking.

  “Damn, that’s so fucking hot,” he breathes.

  I smirk as his hands slide over the belt, and the two clasps holding the stockings pop free. His lips stroll over my hip as he pops the other two free, and then he gingerly slides the stockings down my leg, kissing the inside of my thigh, my knee, my calf, and the instep of my foot when he frees it completely of the soft fabric. He repeats the motion on the other side, letting his lips stroll back up their path before reaching my stomach where the garter belt rests.

  He slides it off, and I grip his tie on the way back up, coiling it around my hand as I draw his lips to mine with a passionate entanglement only ever witnessed by the divine. His hand slides up the inside of my thighs until it reaches their apex, his fingers gingerly strolling over my most intimate of areas.

  His lips smile against mine, and his amusement confuses me as his hips slide in between my parted legs.

  “What?” I muse with a breath of laughter.

  “It’s just… it’s nothing,” he says with a bashful grin.

  “No, Hale, you have to tell me now,” I giggle as his lips graze my neck on their way down to my chest.

  I can feel his smile only growing as I run my fingers through his soft, tousled hair. He shakes his head, and I can almost see a blushing hue rising to his adorable cheeks.

  “I’m about to make love to you as my wife for the first time.”

  My heart melts, and I dissolve instantly under the heat of his breath and the soul of his words. I can’t even speak as I pull his incredible lips back up to mine. He grips my sides harder, his desire growing as his erection digs into me through the lacy underwear.

  “Mmm,” he murmurs. “You taste good Mrs. Banner.”

  I giggle lightly behind the kiss upon hearing my newly acquired name slithering across his lips as soft as a rose petal. His heated touch continues to trail over my body, sizzling against my skin as he slides my underwear free from me. He strips me down completely, his eyes salaciously soaking in every inch of my naked body, and then in a blink, he’s out of his clothes. His body lies on mine - skin on skin - and his lips take me hostage, though I’m a willing captive.

  “It wouldn’t be right spending our wedding night sober,” I seduce, and his eyes darken as the twisted wheels of his brain begin turning with menace.

  “I agree. It wouldn’t be… us.”

  I smirk as his lips stroll down my neck, finding the spot which lies between it and my shoulder, and then I moan as his blood bringers break the surface. Erotica bursts free and burns through my veins. My whole body sizzles with passion and drunken desire as the need for his body inside mine starts to throb.

  The wind leaves my chest with his first incredible thrust slamming into me with such force it forces out a grunt. My eyes close as my teeth cling to my lower lip, and he frees it as his tongue dances in my mouth. He pulls back to let his head fall as he watches his body moving in and out of mine. I can’t help but feel myself growing hotter as the carnal exhibition makes me grip his skin to the point of bringing blood.

  His violently sublime thrusts continue as our bodies bash together, and I wrap my legs around his waist when he jerks me up from the bed to slam me against the wall. My head flops over on his shoulder, and my teeth graze his skin teasingly before my set of blood bringers unsheathe.

  His delicious taste floods my mouth, bringing more desire and need with it. He gasps as ecstasy floods his veins with a more electrifying charge, and he grips my ass as he continues his merciless pounding inside me. The passion behind his blue eyes doesn’t try to hide. It displays itself with pride, pushing me all the closer to the peak I love to fall off of.

  His ragged breaths pant into my ear as our melding bodies stick to each other against the dampened skin. My hands find his hair, and again his lips consume mine as he owns me with too much ease.

  I’m his - completely and utterly his - at last.

  I can’t hold back the screaming climax as it shatters my strength, my languid body becoming dead weight in his arms as he continues to search for his own release. He effortlessly holds me tighter, as if I’m weightless, and his hands tangle in my hair as he pulls my head back, his body still charging into mine with a force no one else can ever feel. It’s so surreal, amazing, and I love him for every move he makes inside of me.

  He finally stiffens as he thrusts into me one last glorious time, and his warmth spreads through me like the full glow of the sun. He leans back with me still firmly attached to his waist and collapses to the bed. We both grunt, pant, and almost giggle. I can’t seem to be close enough to him right now… my husband, and it’s not just because of the blood fuck. It’s because he’s finally mine, completely mine.

  “I never cease to be amazed by you,” he murmurs into my ear.

  “Good, because you’re stuck with me for quite a while,” I chuckle out.

  He flips me over to my back, his fingers strumming through my hair, and his grin only grows.

  “You don’t know how happy I am to have you for quite a while. You mean everything to me. I love you, baby.”

  His sincerity and seriousness melt me to my core, and my girly grin spreads to the point my cheeks sting.

  “I love you.”

  He smiles before kissing my forehead, and then his lips stroll over my belly as he whispers, “And you little one, I love you.”

  A tear jerks free from the corner of my eye, and he wipes it away before his lips close over mine.

  Our life. Our child. Our love.

  Epilogue

  A Better Life For All

  “Aralia-Rose, Uncle Clay and Aunt Symphony are here,” I call out to the small, dark-haired beauty with soft blue eyes bearing a purple hue.

  “Yay!” she squeals while running through the field of grass and flowers, her ringlets dancing under the glistening glow of the sun.

  “There she is,” Clay exclaims while sweeping her into the air and swirling her in a circle.

  “What did you bring me?” she rudely asks.

  “Aralia!” I lightly scold.

  Clay chuckles and Hale joins him in his laughter while shaking his head. Clay kisses the crown of her head when he sets her back down. Hale joins me in the lush green comfort I’m casually lying in, and his arms wrap around my waist before his lips find mine.

  “I actually did bring you a surprise,” Clay continues, and Aralia squeals out her delight.

  He hands her a small package decadently wrapped in a crisp purple paper with a black bow she doesn’t even appreciate bef
ore shredding it to reveal the treasure within. She gasps when she pulls out a glass globe holding a rose suspended inside.

  “How did you do that?” she gushes.

  “Magic,” he teases.

  Her wide eyes and gaping mouth continue to admire the beauty in her hand, and Clay smiles as he curls into the grass beside his wife, his hands sliding around her protruding belly as he kisses her cheek. Symphony smiles while glowing the shine of a mother-in-waiting.

  Aralia takes off sprinting to the other side of the field the second she sees her other aunt and uncle strolling across hand-in-hand.

  “Auntie Angel! Uncle Grayson!” she screeches in excitement, her sundress curling up as she swishes away.

  Grayson grabs her up when he flashes in front of Angelica to scoop Aralia-Rose away from her grasp. I laugh at the joking rivalry for my daughter’s affections, but in truth, she loves everyone in our circle. Our family has blossomed, and with Clay’s child on the way, it’s also growing.

  “Where’s Uncle Brazen?” she pouts when they make it back over to us.

  Hale laughs at her puckered lips while shaking his head.

  “So much like her mother. I swear I’ll keep the full bloods away when she hits puberty if it kills me.”

  I playfully slap his chest, and he grabs my hand while pulling me into his lips.

  “Did someone say my name?” a long missed voice smoothly rattles out from across the field.

  She squeals again before charging headfirst into the arms stretched out and waiting on her. I turn to smile as Brazen carries her toward us, his beautiful smile intact and as perfect as ever.

  He leans down to kiss the top of my head before taking a seat on the luxurious ground beside me.

  “It’s really amazing out here,” he says while looking at the sea of green decorated by the pops of color growing naturally.

  “I know,” Hale says proudly. “With some of Araya’s unlocked gifts, we’ve almost rid the world of the toxins we never thought possible to filter out. Now that the sky’s tinter can be used to simply block out the harmful rays, the earth is steadily returning to its once magnificent glory. Even the human life spans are growing by the hour.”

  “I never thought I’d see it like this outside of old magazines,” Clay sighs while lying back.

  “Any word on the forgotten still not adopted?” I ask softly.

  “Most all of them have a home now. Some of the teenagers have gone to live with Gabe and his clan. They needed some youth in that place,” Clay chuckles.

  “Hey, Mom?” Rex asks while running up.

  “Yeah,” I answer with a smile. “So, there’s a group of guys going out to watch some old movies tomorrow, can I go?”

  Rex, the small boy who saved the lives of so many, has aged five years to be an eleven-year-old visionary with a heart of gold and a love for our daughter to prove she’s his sister despite the untied bloodlines.

  “Should be fine. For now, come, sit, hang out with us old ones,” I tease.

  He smiles very large, and he plops down beside Hale who wraps an arm around his shoulders.

  “I knew you were going to say that,” he laughs out.

  “I knew you knew.” I laugh back.

  “Are you going to adopt anymore?” Brazen asks while Aralia leans back into his chest, enjoying the sunny day and windless sky leaving the puffy clouds still over us.

  “That’s the plan. Araya wants a houseful,” Hale murmurs while kissing my forehead.

  I smile affectionately at my beautiful hybrid, and then I turn to face Brazen.

  “I think it would be great to bring in some we suspect will be gifted. I think Hale and I could help them understand control early on so they don’t have to endure the struggle by themselves,” I quickly add.

  “I agree,” Clay says with a growing smile. “You two have always been damn good trainers.”

  Brazen muffs my daughter’s ears with his hands while giving a disapproving glance to Clay for his use of inappropriate language. I laugh lightly when Symphony elbows him in the stomach, and he shrugs innocently.

  “I suppose we’ve got some work to do before our child is born,” she playfully scolds.

  Everyone chuckles as Clay’s face reddens, and Rex just shakes his head with a smile. He sees the words before they come out, so there’s not much sense in trying to shield his ears. He has lived the life of a forgotten though. Even though it has been five years since we adopted him, he spent six years as a child of the ward and has heard far worse than damn.

  “What about you, Brazen? Any kids on the horizon?” Angelica asks very suggestively.

  “One day. I’m sure I will one day,” he says softly with a secretive smirk, his eyes careful not to find mine.

  Hale grumbles under his breath, but I lean into him to remind him I’m still his… just his… for now. My counter, my love, he’s all I need. I’m free from the indecisiveness that once burdened me, and I refuse to think of the future despite the visions Rex occasionally sends my way - visions of me and Brazen in each other’s arms, picking up where we left off in so many ways. There are some visions such a young kid shouldn’t have privy too, and I’m mortified he has pried so far into the future.

  “I need to make a few calls,” Brazen says while standing to his feet. “I’ll be back before the food is ready.”

  I smile as he gives me that Brazen wink, and Aralia moves over to her father’s lap, curling into him like the daddy’s girl she is. I kiss her head when she leans against me, and her peaceful eyes smile. Rex comes to lay his head in my lap, and I stroke his hair as Grayson fires up the grill, sending the fragrance of charcoal and woodchips our way to stir the growling bellies.

  “Rex will be one heck of an officer one day. The control he has over his gift is surreal. How have you been teaching him?” Clay muses.

  “It’s not hard to teach someone control when they’re as good of a student as Rex,” I say adoringly, and he smiles up at me with eyes full of gratitude and appreciation.

  “She’s patient. It makes it easy to learn when someone is patient and not barking,” he says as he shrugs. “I can pretty much see whatever I want to now. I even help mom out on some of her interrogations when she lets me. I tell her what questions to ask.”

  Clay smiles and gives me a wink. A forgotten with hope. He seems to think that’s my legacy.

  “And Aralia? I hear her gifts have started showing themselves. Her blood is far more complex than yours, and she has the same immortality as you,” Clay says with a smile.

  “She’s not quite as studios, but we’ve kept her from tearing down the house when she has a tantrum,” Hale laughs out, and Aralia blushes.

  “Mom always stops things from flying through the air, so that helps,” Rex adds with a devious smirk.

  She sticks her tongue out at him, and he blows her a kiss which just makes her smile.

  “I can only imagine the things she’ll be able to do when she’s older. Do you worry at all?” Clay whispers, keeping his voice below the range of the children’s ears.

  “Not really. She’s a lot like Araya,” Hale says with a smirk. “Her heart is too big to hurt anyone who doesn’t need to be hurt. I’m actually a little excited to see what she’ll bring to the world.”

  I smile at him, my eyes thanking him for his words, and then he kisses me sweetly on the head as a comfortable silence falls over our happy group. The wind finally stirs, sweeping the top of the high grass and making it dance against our bodies in a relaxing tickling sort of way. Until the past two years, grass was just a ghost of a memory for anyone outside the wetlands.

  “I love your house. I’ve never seen one outside a compound before,” Angelica murmurs while staring at the home meant for a family of ten rather than four.

  “The compounds are more military now than necessary for living. Hale and I go to work during the day at Seminole, the kids go to school there, and then we come here to our home away from all the troubles that once plagued us. I
love this field. It’s the whole reason we built here.”

  “Well, you’re about to have neighbors. Grayson and I are starting to build next week on the patch of land you gave us,” she adds with a squeaky rattle coming through to relay her excitement.

  “Good. I miss having you around,” I say softly, staring into my sister’s eyes.

  She looks away smiling, knowing we’re only growing closer. I’ll fulfill Nicholas’s dying wish. For all he sacrificed, I can do that for him.

  Hale nestles his head against mine, his lips strolling over my cheek until they find my lips.

  “Gross,” Rex grumbles while moving over beside Angelica, and Aralia quickly disappears too when Hale’s hand tangles in my hair.

  That passion, that burning, feverish love will never fade. He’s mine, and I’m his. Our life has only gotten better with each passing day. Our love continues to burn with a passion so hot, the sun is envious.

  Everyone starts groaning when the kiss becomes a little too deep, and he chuckles lightly while reluctantly pulling away.

  “Later?” he whispers.

  “Later,” I shakily agree, and he gives me a wink before going to aide Grayson in his grilling endeavor.

  My eyes stroll over my hybrid’s perfection as he walks away, and my girly grin spreads all the wider as my bliss shines through.

  “Will they always act like that?” Rex scoffs in mock disgust.

  “Yes. Yes we will,” I whisper to myself, and he rolls his eyes when he hears the sentiment I hadn’t meant for anyone’s ears but my own.

  The world changing, our quality of life bettering, hybrids, full bloods, and humans can all move forward to brave a new way of life… a better way of life. One that I will personally pave the way for.

  A Glimpse into the Past

  The tinted sky agitates me as it gloomily hides the sun’s true warmth behind it. The damn full bloods think they own the fucking world. The humans think they’re second in command. They’re all pathetic next to my kind, so why in the hell do they think they’re superior?

  Arrogant sons of bitches.