Starting to turn, something in the picture caught her eye. She stopped, moved closer. A leather bound book lay on the chair. “How odd,” she thought. Pressing her nose into the glass, she tried to make out the words that were scribbled on the binding. All she could see was the word “death”. Shocked, Summer took her nose from the glass like she as if she had just been electrocuted.
Feeling the air grow cold, she briskly rubbed her arms. Glancing at the photo again, a myriad of colors discharged into her line of vision. Dizzy, she once again hit her knees. Here we go, she thought. Instead of fighting it, Summer took deep breaths, willing the vision to life. She rocked as if in meditation. She only hoped this wasn’t the nightmare coming back for her. The skeleton man’s face popped into her mind and momentarily wavered her negotiation with whatever visit was about to happen. Bearing down, she pushed the image from her mind and continued to center herself and her body. She braced against the usual onslaught of sickness and pain. But it never came.
Apprehensively, she opened her eyes. She was inside the picture. In front of her was the divine woman, standing as if still waiting for the photographer to capture her on paper forever. Summer got up from her knees, rubbing the soreness as she unfolded them from underneath her. The woman moved. Her shining halo of hair rippled, her head turning to stare down at Summer. Breathless, Summer struggled for a moment. All of these different visions were becoming confusing. This was another spirit that she could tell needed none of her help.
Fixed in her position, Summer smiled at the woman, not knowing what else to do. The corners of the woman’s mouth lifted, spreading her across her high cheekbones.
“Hello, Summer.” Her accent was French; the tone of her voice was a little deep, raspy and certainly didn’t fit her appearance. It gave a tough lilt to the delicate woman that stood there, patiently waiting for Summer to respond.
“Hello,” Summer stumbled on the greeting.
“I’m sorry to have caused you pain in bringing you here. But, I fear that if you don’t know some of what is happening, you will be lost to us forever.” She still didn’t move. Suspended in her pose, the only thing that moved was her head, her mouth and eyes.
“My name is Faline. Faline Beauvais. I am an ancestor to Cayden.” Her eyes looked sorrowful for a second, and then returned quickly to empathy. “I know of your troubles because I once had them. I was born into the Beauvais family not only as a witch, but also as a death speaker.”
Summer’s jaw dropped as the Faline continued. “I don’t have much time. I brought you here, to this atmosphere, because it was the easiest.” Her eyes circled the room and Summer could tell she was reliving fond memories. “My realm is not so easy to gain entrance to. I knew that another generation of death-speaker would once again walk the earth, though most mourned my death as the very last in existence.”
“You were a death-speaker?” Summer was floored to find herself in the same category with her.
“Yes, I was. I didn’t have the troubles you have, though. I was taught to welcome my gifts, to harness them and embrace what good I could pull from them. You, on the other hand, fight your gifts, leaving you sick, weak.”
Astounded by Faline’s knowledge, Summer nodded her head.
“You must accept yourself as you are. You must be what you are, with no shame. Be proud that you may contain the power to save not only the dead, but also the living. If Alsandair succeeds in his campaign, the death will spill over into this world.”
At the mention of the name, Summer blanched.
“As I said, I knew that you would be born, that you would struggle. And for these reasons, I bound you to Cayden.”
The fury flew in quick, simmered, “You what?”
“I bound your spirits together. The both of you are meant to be, you just have yet to realize it.”
Summer could feel her nostrils flaring. “What is it with you people and taking free will away?” She began to pace, flexing her biceps in an effort to release some of the rage she was feeling. This just confirmed it. What she and Cayden had shared was simply magic spells and curses.
“I have not taken your free will, Summer. It will still be your choice to stay and fight with Cayden or to run for the hills with your tail tucked between your legs.” Faline cocked one brow and waited for Summer to recant.
“How dare you?” Summer was about to ask if she had any idea what kind of things she had seen, what kind of courage it took for her to simply go to sleep at night, but then she remembered that Faline did in fact know what kind of hell that could be.
“Summer, we haven’t much time. Do you see the book on the chair?”
Rolling her eyes, Summer responded, “Yes.”
“I want you to take it. It’s my diary, a sort of book of shadows for the death-speaker. I wrote it for you. Cayden will teach you how to reach me, if ever you need my assistance. I don’t reside in the underworld, so you will not be able to summon me without a spell.”
The ground tipped and she felt herself falling. There was pressure on her shoulders and as she opened her eyes, she saw that strong hands were rested there were Cayden’s. Shoving him away, she yelled, “Get off of me!”
Surprised, Cayden stumbled back, “What the hell was that for?”
She was in the hallway again, standing before the photo of the mysterious Faline. What was going on? What was she going to do? Was her life even her own? How could she be certain that her choices were purely hers and not that of a spirit and her descendant?
“Stay away from me, you bastard!” Summer said, with venom dripping from every syllable.
“What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Me?” Summer laughed. “What is wrong with me? You charmed me into bed, you bring me to your house and now I’ve met your wonderful ancestor who informed me that I, in reality, have had no real choice in anything since I arrived in Harvest!” She was flailing her arms about, her temper unleashed.
Cayden’s face turned to harsh indifference. “Nobody forced you into bed with me. You did that by your own choice, I can assure you.”
“You arrogant son of a bitch,” Summer practically screamed at him.
Cayden took a step towards her, his movements calm, but calculated. “I am a patient man, Summer, but you are pushing me.”
Summer held up her chin, hands on her hips. “Is that a threat?”
Cayden snorted, folding his arms around his chest as he leaned on the wall. “Take it how you like.” He raised his eyebrows, wondering how he would tamp down her sudden outburst. He had an idea, but it would either work or go really, really bad.
He wished he could just walk away from her, leave her pissed off and alone. But, he couldn’t. As much as he wanted to throttle her right now, he also wanted to take her in his arms and lose himself in her. Never had he had been so scared when she had stiffened up and gone unconscious. They had been in bed laughing, Cayden’s skin still tingling with the beauty of what they had done one minute and the next…. Watching her like that and feeling utterly helpless was the worst thing he had ever had to endure.
He had bundled her up, brought her straight home. Once she had been settled, he left Lurleene in charge while he stormed up the attic stairs and began work on a protection spell. He hadn’t known what the vision was, but he had an inclination that it was the bony bastard, coming for her, playing with her. He had cast the spell. The effort and exertion made him tired, light-headed.
“I’m leaving and never want to lay eyes on you again and so help me; I’ll never set foot on Louisiana soil ever again!” She spat out the declaration as she charged past him.
Grabbing her wrists, he held them behind her back, stopping her escape. She wiggled, trying to break free and when that didn’t work, she took the heel of her foot and brought it down hard on Cayden’s toes. Grunting, he staggered for just a second before he pulled her back to his chest. Through her hair, he commanded, “Stop fighting me, Summer.”
All at once, she went lax. She b
egan breathing heavily as the rigidity that had her solid as an oak turned to her usual yielding posture. “I can’t do this. I always wanted answers, but these aren’t the ones I expected to find.” She let her head fall back against his chest, allowing the tears come.
“Sometimes the answers we search for turn out to be the very things we run from.” He spoke softly now, bending his head down to lay his cheek on her hair. “Don’t run from this, Summer or from us. You are a death-speaker; no amount of running will ever stop that from being a part of your life.” He disregarded tears of his own. Cayden wasn’t one to cry. But, this woman had him all in tangles, never ending knots that wound around his heart and clamped down tight. With her, he could be gentle, taking pleasure from her pleasure. He had never felt the urge to please a woman. He always had in the past, but more out of a sense of duty than a real yearning to see her eyes glaze over as she came apart in his arms. This was more than lust and it grew with every time he touched her.
His arousal sat low at the small of her back, beckoning. Summer wanted to bend over, strip her pants and let him fill her, right here in the hallway. “Are charming me again, Cayden?” Her voice sounded teary, holding back the flood that wanted to break loose.
“No, it’s just me. I swear I have no power over you right now.” He gave a chuckle, “But, wish I did.” Summer let out a sniffle mixed with a giggle.
“That’s the thing. You always do. When I heard what you were, I was so quick to assume you had put a spell on me because there was no other way I could explain it to myself.”
Cayden wrapped his hands around her waist and pushed the tips of his fingers into her hips, letting her feel just how strong his need of her was. He skimmed his hands over her belly, bringing them slowly to her breasts. “Oh,” she moaned. With the back of one hand, he stroked the underside of the creamy mass.
Summer’s knees buckled as he used his other hand to shape her nipple between his thumb and forefinger. He held her tight, clamped to his chest so that only the tips of her toes brushed the floor. He adjusted one hand to tip her neck back and used his tongue to devour the sweetness he knew was there, just waiting for him. Her sigh made him pulse with excitement. Just knowing that she felt good brought him to the brink.
He stripped her shirt off and unclasped her bra. This time, when his finger touched her nipple, Summer flinched and curved her spine, arching towards his magical hands. The other hand traveled down, pulled her pants down to pool at her feet on the hard wood. He quickly took off his shirt, unbuttoned the fly on his jeans and threw them to the side.
Placing both of his hands on her hips, he guided her to the wall. He ran his hands down to her wrists and pushed them into position on the wall, over her head. He ran their course backwards, grazing her arms with his hands, bringing them back to her waist.
Reaching down, he found her, wet and ready. Never had a woman been so wet for him. He brought his index finger to her clit and made lazy circles, building her up. Switching hands, he came to the front and continued his massage. Her strong back muscles coiled with her wriggling motions, her hands were in fists, holding her up against the wall. Her ass was slowly backing up, wanting contact. With his hand still on her clit, he located her opening with the head of his throbbing cock he pushed in hard and deep.
Summer gasped and immediately began to rock herself back and forth, impaling herself over and over again as the sweet warmth and hard length filled her. She looked over her shoulder and a state of euphoria washed over her when she saw Cayden, his biceps bulging, his legs spread apart, anticipating every thrust she gave him. One hand was on her hip to help guide her, the other still played with her most sensitive part.
Summer had the control here. There was no spell and she knew exactly what she was doing. Cayden growled letting her know she was damn good at it too. His groans made Summer even hotter and excited to know that she held him at his most vulnerable. She held power over him, not the other way around. Feeling more passion than she had ever known, she sped up with her thrusts.
Pushing herself back from the wall, their bodies joined together with a jolt, sending every one of Summer’s nerve endings to heaven. Cayden was holding on for dear life, beads of sweat dropped from his forehead and onto her back, making their coupling even more slippery. She bent over, allowing more penetration.
Cayden groaned and Summer felt herself soar, the massive cannonade rang in her ears as she dropped to the floor. Cayden had been soaring right alongside her and was now joining her on the hard wood floor of the hallway. They both leaned their heads back against the paneling and took deep breaths, their bodies smoldering.
“I swear you’re trying to kill me, woman,” Cayden said breathlessly and very seriously.
Summer laughed and slugged him in the arm. “No, you’re trying to kill me.”
“What do you say we get into a bed and see who’s trying to kill who?” He winked at her.
“Are you serious?”
Cayden got to his feet and held out his hand. “I’m as serious as a heart attack.”
They took their time through the night. Leisurely loving, whispering, touching and fondling, sleeping only when their bodies couldn’t cope with the demands any longer. Summer slept in his arms, this time not in darkness, but bathed in a glow that was so bright that every time she closed her eyes, it felt like she was on a beach, soaking up the sun’s strength.
Chapter 13
Summer woke up all at once, sitting straight up in bed, expecting some vision to be there, waiting for her, but she saw only the masculine room she had fallen asleep in a few hours earlier. She had drifted off with Cayden’s arms around her, melting her resolve and officially stealing her heart. She heard him snore slightly and looked over. God, she loved him. She hadn’t admitted to it yet, but she had to now. He was everything she had wanted. A man who knew her secrets and worshipped her because of them and who could understand what she meant when she said she might be going insane.
He rolled to his side, his arm instinctively going to the pillow next to him. Even in sleep, he reached out for her. She watched as his hand made contact with the cotton fabric of the pillowcase and saw the flash of panic before he had even opened his eyes.
“Summer?” He picked up his head as he called out for her.
She lay back down, curling into his chest. “I’m here.”
“How did you sleep?” He asked.
“Not enough,” she said.
He smiled and hugged her to him. “Then go back to sleep.”
“I don’t know if I can.” Summer brought her hand up to his chest and rubbed back and forth.
“If you don’t stop doing that, you definitely won’t be getting any more rest.”
This time, Summer laughed. “I’m just touching your chest.”
“Exactly, you can’t touch me and expect certain parts of me to behave.” He tugged at a strand of her hair.
It felt so good to just be here with a man. It was almost normal. Playing and flirting, with no nauseous jitters or migraines from the vision the night before. Summer got up to her elbow, resting her head in her hand. “What sort of spell did you put on me?”
His face twisted into hurt. She immediately regretted the way she had said it.
“Summer, I thought we went over this. I didn’t…..”
She interrupted him with a finger to his lips. “That’s not what I meant.” She rubbed the fullness of his bottom lip with her index finger and bent down to taste it. “I know you have something to do with the great way I feel this morning and I don’t mean the fact that I’m practically humming from our physical activities.” He wiggled an eyebrow at her.
Shoving him, she lay back as Cayden placed his hands behind his head and hooked his ankles. It brought back memories of that first morning they spent together.
“I’m serious, Cayden. I might be a goof, but I’m not stupid. I know you did something. I can almost feel it.”
“I cast a protection spell. I’m praying it wo
rks.”
Confused, Summer sat up, bringing her legs underneath her. “Wait a minute, why are you praying that it works?”
“I didn’t get a chance to tell you and I’m assuming that you’ve already met the sack of shit with how you were out like a light for so long.”
Summer gaped at him as she shuddered from his comment. There went normal! She was once again back to the undead. “How did you know?”
“I did a divination that first time you passed out on the sidewalk. That was how I knew your secret, knew that you were in danger.”
“You saw him? How did you survive?” If it hadn’t been for Adam, she might not have gotten away from Alsandair. But, she couldn’t be too sure about that. She hadn’t done anything to bring herself back out of the underworld and out from the demon’s grasp. That was it. Cayden’s protection spell must’ve yanked her out. It was the only plausible explanation.
“I think your spell was the only thing that saved me. I hadn’t thought about how I had gotten out. I was just so happy to be out, that I didn’t question it.” Her words came tumbling out in a rush, showing her astonishment at what she had just been told by the man she loved.
Throwing herself onto the bed, she exclaimed, “I was such a bitch! You saved my life and that was how I repaid you?” Shame had her hiding her face in the sheets as she kicked her legs and threw a tiny tantrum.
“You are paid in full after last night.” He said it with casual indifference, but she could hear that he was struggling not to laugh.
Looking up at him, she asked, “Do you think you could show me some of these spells?”
“Why?” He answered the question with a question. Summer hated that.
She sighed. “I met Faline Beauvais last night.”
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