“It is an aspect of my curse. On that night, the veil between the spirit realm and the physical realm is…thinned. When it coincides with the full moon, I am granted my body, my flesh and blood, until the next day dawns and the veil is restored.”
She sat up and scooted back to lean against the iron headboard. Cruce flowed off her, remaining on the bed but severing the contact between them; she needed to know she was free of his influence in this, needed to know that she was making her own choice.
Her gaze moved over him, and Cruce studied her in turn. He took in her slender neck, her narrow shoulders, and her small, pert breasts. His eyes roved over her legs, which still glistened with evidence of her pleasure, and shifted toward the treasure between her thighs.
“You… Will you still be a shadow?” she asked.
“No. I will be as I once was…though I will possess none of my old power.”
“So…I’ll be able to actually touch you? And you…you’ll be able to touch me?” Her cheeks flushed, but she didn’t look away.
“Yes.” He slid a tendril forward and brushed it over her ankle. The teasing bit of warmth that seeped into him was almost too much to bear. “On that night, I wish for nothing more than to join with you. Flesh to flesh.”
He could hear her heart beating rapidly, but her expression conveyed anticipation rather than fear.
“I want that, too.” She ran her fingers through the tendril on her ankle. “I feel you now. You’re more…solid than before.”
How would she handle the full truth of that? He didn’t want to frighten her, didn’t want to turn her away when she was finally accepting her desires. Learning that he’d killed four humans was not likely to keep her at ease…
“The closer we draw to All Hallows Eve, the more substantial I become. In the months before you arrived here, I was barely able to interact with the physical world.”
She frowned. “So…what happens after Halloween? Will I be able to see you, to hear you?”
“For a time, yes. But eventually, I will only be able to interact with you after I feed.”
“Feed? Is that… That’s what you did to the bear, isn’t it?”
Cruce withdrew from her once again, but he remained on the bed. It didn’t seem right to maintain his touch as he spoke of such matters.
“It is. I tore the life force from its body and absorbed it into myself.”
Her eyes flared, and her lips parted. “I…I thought that was what happened, but I didn’t know for sure.”
“It is another aspect of my curse. The queen knew I drew power from my forest — from its plants and animals, from its natural balance. The cycles of life and death, growth and decay, are essential, and they feed into one another. When balanced, I am at my peak power. Her curse makes me dependent upon the life force of other beings, makes me hunger for it until it drives me mad and I have no choice but to feed. It sustains me. And, in doing so, the balance is disrupted, weakening my forest — weakening me.”
“Why haven’t you fed from me?”
He swept his gaze over her again; he desired ever more of her, but his hunger hadn’t pertained to her life force since shortly after he’d met her. “Because you are meant to be mine. Part of me recognized that even before I knew it was true.”
Fear gleamed in her eyes; he recognized it as the same fear she’d harbored when speaking of Tyler. It was the fear that had driven her to this place to begin with. He extended a hand and settled it lightly over her foot.
“I do not seek to control you, Josephine Davis.”
“What then? What do you want from me other than...” She motioned to her naked form.
“Everything.” He held her gaze, and to her credit, Sophie did not look away. “But there must be balance. If you are mine, then I am also yours…and I will give all of myself to you.”
Her brows furrowed. “I…guess I still don’t understand. I’m human, and you’re…whatever you are. A spirit, a forest lord, a shadow.” She shook her head. “And we just met.” She paused, seemed to once more take note of her state of undress, and flushed.
When she reached for the blanket, he halted her with a gentle touch on her hand. “We just met, Josephine, and yet you feel the connection just as I do.”
“I don’t—”
“You do. I have seen it in your eyes. You struggle against it even now, because you fear losing what power you have regained, but I would never take that from you.”
She pressed her lips together, jaw muscles ticking.
“You are my mate.” He moved closer, trailing a shadowy hand along her jaw and slipping his fingers into her hair as he rose over her. “And I am yours. That is why I am so drawn to you, why I cannot stay away. Why I can do you no harm.”
Sophie’s breath quickened. She raised a hand and settled it over his. “There’s no way to break your curse?”
“There must be, but it is outside my knowledge.”
She dropped her gaze. Her expression was thoughtful, determined, and anguished all at once. When she looked back at him, there was resolve in her eyes. “Then we will give what we can to each other.” She turned her face toward his hand as his shadows rippled over her. “And in three days, I will be yours completely, and you will be mine.”
Cruce hummed low and slipped a tendril of shadow around one of her knees, parting it from the other. Her desirous scent strengthened. He would have given anything to be able to truly taste her.
He slid the tendril along her inner thighs and stroked the heat of her glistening sex. “I do not intend to ignore my hunger for you in the meantime, mortal.”
A fiery thrill coursed through his being as Sophie laid back with a moan and opened to him again.
Chapter 10
The next two days passed faster than Sophie had thought possible. The morning after that blissful night with Cruce, she’d woken to an orgasm with his name on her lips, her body quivering in overwhelming pleasure. It had all seemed like a dream in those first groggy moments, just like the others she’d experienced. But she turned to discover Cruce there with her. He’d brought her to climax, not a dream of him.
It was impossibly arousing and erotic to watch his shadowy form, made faint in the dim morning light, move over her body, to have his head between her thighs. She yearned to grasp his antlers and pull him closer, to grind her sex upon his mouth and tongue, to feel him inside and out.
The entire situation was shocking, strange, and exhilarating. She’d never taken charge in the bedroom before. Not long into her marriage to Tyler, she’d wanted nothing to do with sex, whether with him or anyone else. But with Cruce…
Despite her initial fear, Sophie had been drawn to Cruce from the start. She’d dreamed of him before she’d even known of his existence. And these last two days had been wonderful. He touched her often, and whenever they weren’t in contact, she found herself craving his touch. She needed that connection with him, needed to know he was near.
Halloween couldn’t come fast enough.
One more day. Just one more day.
Then she’d be able to see him, kiss him, and feel him. She was both excited and nervous. For the first time in so long, Sophie felt…cherished. Cared for. Safe. And she wanted their joining to reflect the growing feelings she held for him.
He’d told her more about his past, about the fae court he’d never wanted to be part of, and his forest. Every time he spoke of his domain, he spoke with pride, love, and sorrow. It pained him that he had to take from his land to survive, and no amount of research on Sophie’s part had given her any leads to help him — there were hundreds of thousands of articles, blogs, and websites dedicated to occult topics that might have been relevant, but how much of it was credible? Everything she’d found on fairy curses was vague at best.
It was as he’d told her — humans had lost the bulk of whatever knowledge they may once have possessed regarding his world.
Sophie had just removed the pan of baked chicken from the oven when her laptop r
ang with an alert from Facetime. Her heart leapt. She quickly set the pan atop the stove, tossed her oven mitts down, and raced to the computer. She accepted the call.
“Kate!” Sophie grinned when her friend’s face appeared on the screen. It’d been days since they last spoke. But her smile died when she noticed the distress on Kate’s face.
“Oh my God, Sophie! Where’ve you been? I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for two days now!”
A pang of guilt pierced Sophie’s chest. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking, and I let the laptop battery die.” She’d only realized it this afternoon and had plugged it in immediately. She hadn’t even taken her phone out of her bag since the last time she was in town, so it was likely dead, too. “Is everything okay?”
Kate bit her lip, glanced at something off-camera, and shook her head. “No. I don’t think so. I…I don’t know. I’m just worried, and you have no idea how scared I was when I couldn’t reach you. You’re okay? Nothing strange going on? You’re safe?”
Unease filled Sophie. “I’m fine. Why? What’s wrong? You’re scaring me, Kate.”
“He was here, Sophie.”
“What? But he didn’t—”
“I know! But I think… Look, I’m not sure. I saw him talking to some of the neighbors yesterday, probably asking questions, and one of them might have seen us together and said something. He came here asking if I’d seen you. That you were missing, and he was worried. He was playing the concerned husband. When I told him I had no idea where you were, he insisted that someone saw you here, that I was your secret friend. I didn’t give him anything, and he got really agitated. He insisted I was helping you, and I had to scare him off by threatening to call the cops.”
Sophie dropped into her chair, heart pounding. She wrung her hands in her lap. “Did you? Call the cops?”
“No. He went home. But Sophie…” Kate leaned closer to the camera, eyes intent. “I went out to get my mail today. I hadn’t checked it in a couple days and…your card was in there. The one you sent me for my birthday. It was torn open. I know you didn’t put a return address, but it was postmarked in Raglan.”
Dread churned in Sophie’s stomach. She swallowed thickly to keep her lunch down.
“His car’s still in the driveway,” Kate continued, “but I haven’t seen him for a while. I need you to be careful, okay? If you want me to come stay with you, I can leave tonight.”
Sophie was silent, her breath rapid and shallow.
“Sophie?” Kate pressed.
Sophie shook her head. “No. No, it’s okay. I’ll be fine.” The cabin was twenty minutes outside of town, and miles away from the main road. That was buffer enough, if he decided to make the hours-long drive to get here…wasn’t it? Regardless, she had Cruce. He’d protect her.
“Okay…” Kate frowned. “But let me know if you change your mind, and I’ll be on my way.”
“I…I need to go,” Sophie said, raising a shaky hand to disconnect the call. She couldn’t have Kate coming here, couldn’t have her involved any more than she already was. And Cruce was here…
Cruce.
“Sophie, wait. Are—”
“I-I’m fine. Goodnight,” Sophie said quickly. She clicked the icon and disconnected the call.
She stared, unseeing, at the computer screen.
He knows. He knows I’m here. He’ll find me.
She pressed a hand to her chest. Her heart fluttered against her palm, beating much too quickly.
“Cruce,” she whispered. Her throat felt tight, and she struggled to take in air.
He’ll hurt me. He’ll make me pay.
Sophie got to her feet, took two steps, and collapsed as her knees gave out. She threw an arm out, slapping her palm flat on the floor to catch herself before she landed face-first, and clutched at her chest with her free hand.
He’ll kill me. Oh God, he’ll kill me.
She panted, gasping for air as hot tingles spread across her face. Darkness encroached on the edges of her vision. She tried to focus on the carpet fibers, tried to shrug off the dizziness, to cling to consciousness.
“No. I can’t…can’t. I need to…stay awake.”
“Sophie?” Cruce’s voice crashed over her, and the note of panic within it — something she’d never expected to hear from him — only heightened her anxiety.
“Can’t…breathe,” she rasped. “My heart…”
He settled over her, a cool presence, a suggestion of weight. Shadow darkened her vision further, but this wasn’t tunnel vision. This was Cruce.
“It is racing,” he said. His words surrounded her in a gentle, otherworldly whisper. “Tell me how to help you. How do I make you better?”
“Stay…with me,” she said, “and…talk.”
His body moved around her, creating delicate trails of sensation on her skin. His touch was as ethereal as ever, but there was something more to it now — a promise.
A moment later, he gave voice to that promise. “Tomorrow night, beneath the silver light of the moon, I will soothe your skin with my own hands, Josephine Davis. I will show you pleasure like you have never known, I will worship you like you are my world, my lady, my goddess.”
He pressed on her back; the increased pressure might have startled her at any other time, but as it spread over her, she found only comfort in it. He was real, and he was here. Her shadow. Her protector. Her mate.
“Breathe, Sophie. Smoothly, easily. Breathe for me, who has not lungs to draw in air. Breathe so that my first breath tomorrow night may be spent in kissing you.”
Sophie closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, filling her lungs as much as she was able before slowly releasing the breath. She did it over and over, and it grew a little easier each time. Her heart ceased its rapid beating, and as her panic eased, exhaustion bore down upon her.
She sniffled, sinuses burning with the threat of tears. She opened her eyes. Her vision had cleared, but wisps of shadow roiled around her, made hazy by the interior lights.
“I’m okay,” she said softly. “I’m okay now.”
He withdrew from her and formed himself into a more substantial shadow immediately in front of Sophie. Despite the illumination from overhead, his eyes were bright as they settled upon her.
“What happened, Sophie? What was this? Your life force was undiminished, but I could taste your fear in the air.”
“A panic attack,” she replied, easing herself down into a sitting position and leaning back against the wall. She settled a hand over her heart. It still beat faster than normal, but at least it was steady. “I never used to have them until…”
“Until him,” Cruce growled.
“Yes.”
“What caused this?”
“I talked to Kate. I think he knows I’m here. Well, not here, but in the area.” Just thinking about Tyler and imagining what he’d do if he found her had Sophie’s heart picking up speed again. “He’s looking for me.”
Cruce extended a hand, brushing his cold fingers over her cheek. “And should he come here in search of you, I will ensure he never looks anywhere again.”
Sophie leaned into his misty touch and closed her eyes. Tomorrow. Tomorrow she would actually feel Cruce.
“You are safe here, Sophie. Safe with me.”
“Hold me?” she asked. “I need to feel you right now.”
He silently glided forward and enveloped her, blanketing her in darkness and cold that had become too familiar to be anything but soothing to her now. His soft touch trailed over her body in a dozen places, chasing away her lingering tension.
“Thank you,” Sophie said, closing her eyes. Her confidence and courage wouldn’t return overnight, but she knew, in time, they’d come back. For now, she had Cruce to ease her, to calm her, to be her strength when she was weak.
“You are mine, Josephine Davis,” Cruce whispered into her ear. “Nothing will take you from me.”
Chapter 11
Anticipation thrummed in Sophie’s belly as sh
e drove along forested roads. She had shopping to do.
Tonight.
The word repeated over and over in Sophie’s head like a mantra. She couldn’t remember ever feeling so light, so giddy with excitement, so…happy. She felt like a bride on the morning of the dream wedding she’d been waiting for all her life.
And she wanted tonight to be perfect.
Now that she looked back on it, she realized that she’d never felt this sort of elation when she married Tyler. It was more proof that in some deep, instinctual part of her mind, she’d known. She’d known what kind of man he was. Had known that he…wasn’t Cruce.
For a long time, Sophie had thought something was wrong with her. Sex had been mediocre — she’d rarely orgasmed during the act, and kissing had always seemed sloppy and unappealing. She knew now that sex with Tyler had always been a matter of him taking and never giving. It was nothing like the passion lovers shared in books and movies; fictional romance was always looked down upon as unrealistic, but was it truly so unrealistic for a woman to want the man she loved to give as much to her as she did to him?
But she hadn’t been in love with Tyler. She’d just been naïve, had allowed herself to get caught up in his charm…
Sophie shook her head, shoving those thoughts away.
Not today. Today, she wouldn’t think about Tyler. She refused to let him ruin any more of her life.
She followed the highway through town; she doubted the few stores in Raglan carried what she intended to buy. Kids were already out in their costumes, trick-or-treating at the small businesses along the main road. Sophie smiled at the joy on their faces. It was Saturday — the best day of the week for Halloween — and the town was busier than she’d ever seen.
Sophie continued for another thirty minutes to her destination, Silverglade, which was popular in the region due to its large mall. The mall parking lot was packed, and it took a good ten minutes to find a parking spot that wasn’t a mile away from an entrance.
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