The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series)

by Swank, Denise Grover

  His shackles fell off and he took over, his tongue joining mine, giving me what I wanted, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. He pulled away, his breath coming in tight bursts. “Time for my lesson.”

  I nodded, but he was pulling me through the crowd toward the truck. He lifted me up and shoved me through the driver’s door, following close behind. I lay on my back on the seat, and Collin leaned over me. His mouth was on mine, his hands up my shirt. I pressed my hips to his, needing more.

  He growled, his body rising and denying me his mouth. I reached for him, intending to pull him back down. Dear God, please don’t let him change his mind.

  “Ellie, I’m not going to fuck you in this truck like a couple of high school kids where anyone can see us.”

  Good point.

  He sat up and started the truck, throwing it into reverse. The drive to the motel took half the time it took to get downtown. From the look on Collin’s face, a couple of times I wondered if he was going to change his mind and pull over to the side of the road anyway.

  When he pulled into the parking lot, he had the door open, sliding me out the driver’s side before the engine died. He shut the door and pushed me against the side of the truck. “I’ll never make it upstairs if I don’t kiss you now.” His mouth found mine before I could answer, kissing me so thoroughly my knees buckled.

  His arm wrapped around my waist, snugging me close. “Ellie, what the hell have you done to me?”

  His mouth continued its onslaught, his tongue giving me a preview of what was to come. I moaned. I needed more.

  He broke away, his breathing labored. “Upstairs. Now.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  He wrapped his hand around my wrist and he dragged me toward the stairs, practically running up the steps. His legs were longer than mine and I had trouble keeping up. “Collin, wait.” This Collin Dailey surprised me. I always took him as a man in total control, even with sex. Especially with sex. To see that I made him this way made me even hotter.

  He stopped on the first landing and pulled me against his chest, his mouth on mine again. “You’re too slow.”

  I slid my hand up the back of his shirt, my fingertips soaking in the feel of him. “You don’t like it slow?”

  “I love it slow. Right now I want you fast.” His lips and tongue worked a magic on mine I never thought possible. When he stepped away, my legs trembled before he grabbed my wrist again, pulling me up the next flight of stairs to the third floor. How did he expect me to run up stairs when I could hardly stand?

  We’d barely reached the landing when he pushed me against the wall of the building, his lips and tongue paving a path from my ear to the pulse point on my neck. I grabbed the back of his head, resisting the urge to push him lower.

  “Our door is less than fifty feet away,” he growled against my chest, “yet I want you so much I’d fuck you right here if I thought no one would see us.”

  My stomach tightened and I groaned, urging his mouth back to mine. “Collin.” I took control with my tongue, showing him how much I wanted exactly the same thing he did.

  He leaned back, and he glanced around with a worried expression. “It’s dark. I need to get you inside.” He led me toward our room, his hand trembling with the plastic card key.

  When he pushed the door open, I took the lead, yanking him inside and stripping my shirt over my head and tossing it to the floor.

  He pulled me in his arms again, his lips over mine, his hands roaming my back and shoulders. “Wait.” He moved away from me and toward the dresser, picking up a piece of what looked like charcoal and returning to the door.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Protecting you.” He began to draw symbols around the door as fast as his hand would move.

  That was the sexiest thing anyone had ever done for me.

  “What do they mean?” I asked, standing behind him in my skirt and bra.

  His hand paused, then his sketching resumed, slower this time. “The stars and moon ask the ancient force of night to protect you. I put them in each corner to make sure every side is sealed. On either side of them is a sun.” He sketched out a sun with an arrow. “The sun is asleep, but its power is far reaching. This asks the sun to join with night, adding its power.”

  Next he drew a lightning bolt on the left side of the suns and something that looked like raindrops on the opposite side. “The air which is ruled by the wind gods. Placing them between the power of the sun and night, prevents the wind gods from using the air to harm you.”

  Tears filled my eyes. I had no idea.

  “The mountains represent the land.” He drew a zigzagged line. “My power.” His voice was husky as his hand etched the symbols eight times on the door. “All forces join together to protect that which should be protected above all else.”

  He drew waves in the center of each side. “The sea.”

  I studied the door and symbols, speechless. “What protects you?” I finally choked out.

  He turned around to face me, raw lust in his eyes. “Nothing can protect me, Ellie. I was a goner the minute I meet you.” He tossed the charcoal on the dresser as he took two purposeful steps toward me, his hand reaching for my waist. “Are you sure? Are you really, really sure?”

  How could he ask me that after what he’d just done? My heart was forever lost to this man. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

  “Then you have too many clothes on.” Collin quickly unfastened the button on my skirt. It puddled to the floor as I lifted the hem of his T-shirt and pulled it up. Collin tugged it the rest of the way over his head and let it drop. He gaze wandered up my legs, over my black lacy panties, lingering on my bra until settling on my face.

  “God, you’re beautiful.”

  He reached for my face and brought it to his, his earlier frenzy seeming to have dissipated. Mine had settled into a deeper level. A primeval concoction of lust and need and something more significant, a feeling I couldn’t name, but that was stronger than the other two combined. I knew I’d never experience this with anyone else ever.

  His tongue sought out mine, a slow dance of heat and desire. I pressed my body to his, needing to touch him. Every part of him. I reached down and pressed against his crotch.

  Collin released a long groan. My other hand fumbled with his belt, but he brushed it away, making quick work of the belt, button, and zipper.

  I pulled him to the bed and sat on the edge. I slid my fingers into the top of his waistband and eased them down over his thighs. A thrill ran through my blood at the sight of his dark briefs. His jeans hung at his knees as my hands skimmed his outer thighs, moving toward the bulge in his underwear. Within a few strokes, Collin grabbed my hands and pushed me back on the bed, kicking his jeans off in the process. He used his body to pin mine, his hands holding mine over my head.

  “You drive me crazy.” His frenzy was back as his mouth devoured mine, then moved down to my chest, licking the tender skin over the top of my bra. “You still have too many clothes on.” His hand reached under my back, unsnapping the bra strap with expert fingers. He pulled the straps down my arms and had barely tossed it aside when his mouth found my breast and his hands reclaimed mine.

  I arched, wanting every part of me closer to him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, rolling my hips into his.

  A low rumble filled his chest as he moved to my other breast, my hands still pressed to the bed. “Collin, I want to touch you.”

  He released my hands and shifted positions, sitting back on his knees and staring down at me.

  “I can’t reach you now.” I propped up on my elbows.

  “I want to look at you.” His gaze landed on my panties. His fingers hooked the lace on my hip and dragged down, his face lowered, his lips planting kisses in the silk’s wake.

  My head dropped back as I released a moan. “Collin, please.”

  His mouth moved up to my breast, his eyes on mine.

  I grabbed his head and
pulled his mouth to mine. “I want you.”

  He was frenzy and fire again, his hands and mouth everywhere. He rolled us over and I was on top, straddling a key part of him still covered by underwear. I sat up and trailed a finger down his chest to the band of his briefs, giving him a sexy smile. “You have on too many clothes.”

  “What are you going to do about that?”

  I loved seeing him like this, flat on his back, hunger in his eyes, the sign of his desire for me hidden only by a piece of fabric.

  I reached for his waistband, but moved too slow to suit him. He sat up, pushing my legs down around his thighs. He kissed me long and slow, one hand finding my breast while the other delved lower. I gasped and he leaned back, his eyes dark with wanting. “I see the appeal of you being on top.” He kissed me again, his hands working a magic that had nothing to do with the curse or the power in our blood.

  “Collin, please.” I pleaded.

  “Don’t move.” His hands left my body and he leaned forward to pull his jeans off the floor, digging in his pocket to remove a foil package. He grabbed my hips and pulled me up to my knees, giving him enough room to remove his underwear and put on the condom.

  We sat there for several seconds, staring into each other’s eyes, indecision flickering in his.

  “Collin, I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you right now.”

  He grabbed my hips again and guided me over him and slowly pulled me down. We groaned together as he filled me, and when he was sure I was okay, he began his dance. He was the puppet master, and he controlled my every move. I was climbing, climbing, so close to the edge, and we’d only just begun.

  “Not yet, Ellie. Wait for me.” He stopped and kissed me thoroughly, his tongue showing me what the other part of him waited to continue.

  He released my hips, and my body found its own rhythm. His hand slid up my bare back, his fingers digging, claiming. Didn’t he know I was already his?

  “Collin,” I gasped.

  “Not yet.” His hips began to move against mine, and we began a new dance, his movement more hurried, needy.

  “Collin.” I was wound so tight I wasn’t sure I’d ever become untangled.

  His left hand grabbed my right one, placing it over his mark and his hand found mine on my back.

  I cried out, shattered to pieces at the assault of power and sex. Collin pushed deep, using his free hand to pull me closer, releasing a loud groan as he arched up.

  We fought to catch our breath. I opened my eyes to see his face inches from mine, his eyes still dark with lust and need. “Are you an angel or an enchantress, Ellie Lancaster?”

  I kissed him long and slow, nipping his lower lip and licking behind it. “I’m whichever you want me to be.”

  I felt him stirring again.

  “You must be an enchantress. You have me under your spell.”

  He kissed me this time, making my pulse rise.

  “And what does that make you?” I teased.

  “Yours.”

  Collin had to be joking. There was no way he’d say that to me. Unless he was playing me, but why would he? I’d already told him I expected him to leave when the gate was closed. I didn’t have time to think about it because he kissed me again, and I lost all conscious thought expect for what he was doing to me at that moment.

  We made love again, Collin on top this time. Afterward, he lay next to me, bringing the side of my body flush with his stomach and chest. He propped up on one elbow and brushed several strands of hair plastered to my cheek and forehead. “I’d suggest we take a shower, but it would probably be a waste.”

  Just the mention of having sex with him again made my body flush.

  Collin grinned. “You are insatiable, Ellie Lancaster. You’ll kill me with sex.” His mouth lowered to mine, placing soft kisses at the corners. “Maybe you’re a succubus.”

  “Those aren’t real,” I murmured closing my eyes.

  “Don’t be so sure about that.” The tone in his voice told me he meant it.

  My eyes flew open. “You’re serious.”

  He stared into my eyes.

  “What else is out there?”

  “I’m not sure. Everything. Anything. But just like there are good and bad people, there are good and bad spirits. The bad ones will seek you out specifically. You’re a Curse Keeper and you have a pure soul. Tomorrow we have to work on teaching you to protect yourself.”

  I laughed. “I think I just proved I don’t have a pure soul, Collin.”

  “What we just did had nothing to do with the pureness of your soul, Ellie.”

  He was serious. I scooted backward and propped a pillow under my head. “Why do you think I have a pure soul?”

  “The first time we linked, in the warehouse, I felt it. Your aura shined many times brighter than all of those around me. Honestly, I didn’t expect it. Pure souls are rare.”

  “You see auras when we’re linked?”

  “You don’t?”

  “No. I feel their presence. Almost like omnipotence. Do you?”

  “No.” His eyes darkened with worry. “But the Manitou gives each person their own gifts.”

  “So what makes a pure soul?”

  “Everything and everyone has a Manitou. When a being dies, its Manitou returns to the collective, if you will, and gets recycled. Unless it’s consumed by a god or demon and then it’s lost forever. But sometimes something or someone is born with a fresh Manitou. That makes them a pure soul.”

  “So why would someone be born with a fresh Manitou?”

  “The world becomes tired and stale. So the larger forces release beings with pure souls. People and animals. Often around the same time or same life cycles, usually hundreds of years apart. According to the legends of my ancestors, anyway. My grandmother said that the Manitou of pure souls were present at the creation of the universe.”

  “By larger forces, you mean like night and day? Like the symbols you posted on the door?”

  “Yes, and water and land. Everything has a counterpart. A yin and yang.”

  I picked up his left hand, lacing our fingers. “Like you and me.”

  His eyes darkened. “Yes, like you and me.” He sounded so serious. And worried. Why would that worry him?

  “Does the fact I’m a pure soul have anything to with the curse and closing the gate?”

  His hand tightened around mine, his voice even tighter. “No. It’s a coincidence.”

  “But the gods will know that I am a pure soul?”

  His eyes were full of regret and worry as they looked up into mine. “Yes.”

  “You said I need to learn to defend myself, but why would I need to learn if we close the gate? Won’t they all go back? Won’t I be safe?”

  He pulled his hand from mine and began to stroke the skin on my abdomen with his fingertip. His mouth followed his fingers.

  My stomach tightened, and I released a low moan. “You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Learning to defend yourself is a fail-safe.” He found my breast, and I gasped. “In case we don’t close it.”

  “Why wouldn’t we close it? We’re getting the bowl tomorrow night.”

  He captured my mouth with his, sending me into a dizzy tailspin. How could this man set my body alive? Would it still be like this without the magic in our blood? His face hovered inches from mine. “You’re a pure soul, Ellie. I don’t want to take any chances. Humor me.”

  If humoring him included what we were doing right then, I’d humor him the rest of my life.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  I woke to sunshine and Collin’s mouth on my face and knew immediately this had to be a dream. My bedroom window faced west. When I opened my eyes, Collin was planting kisses along my jaw and working his way down to my neck. I closed my eyes again. “I had the most wonderful dream.”

  “Oh, yeah?”

  “I dreamed that I had wild, mind-blowing sex with the most gorgeous man alive.”

  “And who might th
is sexy, gorgeous man be?”

  “Oh, I never said he was sexy.”

  “The two usually go hand in hand. And you didn’t answer my question.”

  “I think his name was Collin.” I grinned. “Colin Firth. I love a sexy British accent.”

  He threw a pillow at me and I laughed.

  His eyes widened. “Colin Firth? You really think that old man is capable of giving you what we had last night?”

  I sat up. “Well, to give an accurate answer, I’d have to give the old man a chance.”

  “Or I could give you another demonstration.”

  “Careful, Collin. I’ll think you’re an incubus.”

  His smile fell, and he cupped my cheek, leaning close to kiss me. “I’ll do everything I can to protect you.”

  My shoulders tensed at his sudden change in mood. “You already do, Collin.”

  He shook off his frown. “There was a purpose to your wakeup call. I was going to give you a surprise, but now I’m not so sure if you’re going to insult my sexual prowess.”

  I giggled. “It’s hard to take you seriously when you use that word.”

  He raised his eyebrow in an exaggerated waggle. “I believe the stories of my sexual prowess are known far and wide.”

  I leaned back on my elbows, letting the sheet drop to my waist. “Oh really?” I shook my head. “I never heard a one of them.”

  He got to his knees and pulled me to mine, our naked bodies flush against one another. “I don’t remember any complaints last night, Miss Lancaster.” His hands slid slowly down my back and down to my ass. “Do you need a demonstration?” He lowered his head to my neck and nipped the tender skin.

  “That might be necessary.”

  “Maybe later.”

  “I’ll break you down, Collin Dailey.”

  He turned serious. “You already did.” He kissed me again, a toe-curling kiss that left me lightheaded and dizzy. Then he got up and left me kneeling in the middle of the bed. “Maybe you’ll think next time before you try to besmirch my reputation.”

  “Come back. I’ll apologize.” I lingered on the last word.