A Deal with Death

by Carrie Pulkinen

  He lowered his mouth to her breast and took her nipple between his teeth. Tugging gently, he released her and moved to the other side. He teased her with his tongue, roaming his hands across her body, the roughness of his palms reminding her what a strong, capable man he was. His deep, woodsy scent. The way he touched her. The appreciative growls rolling up from his chest as he caressed her… He was everything she’d dreamed he would be.

  “Are you on birth control?” His lips moved against her skin.

  “Of course.”

  “Then we only have one problem.” He pressed a kiss between her breasts and rose onto his elbows to look at her.

  “We do?”

  “You’re still not naked.” Sitting up, he grasped her panties and slid them down her legs. “I like black lace, but it’s time for these to go.” He dropped them on the floor and lifted her leg, running his hand from her ankle up to the center of her inner thigh.

  Her pulse sprinted as he settled between her legs. She was completely naked, on her back. Vulnerable.

  But that was okay. It was her choice to let him take the lead, so she was still in control. She could do this.

  He rubbed his cheek against her thigh, the scruff on his skin tickling her. His breath warmed her center, and a war waged between her body and her mind. She wanted him to touch her—to lick her—like she’d never wanted anything in her life. But to allow him to do that to her. To let him take her to the edge, at his pace and not hers, would mean completely letting go.

  She was about to die anyway. For once in her life, she could do it. Just this once. With James.

  He slipped out his tongue and tasted her, the sensation of warm velvet enveloping her as a moan vibrated across his lips. He licked her again, and a shudder ran through her entire body.

  “I can feel your magic getting stronger.” His lips moved against her. “It’s incredible.”

  Incredible didn’t begin to describe the way he was making her feel, but…

  Her heart pounded, icy panic flushing through her veins. She couldn’t do this. Couldn’t lose control. She’d made a promise to herself. “Please stop.”

  He froze, his mouth hovering above her center.

  “I can’t do this.” She sat up, scooting back to lean against the headboard.

  Confusion contorted his features as he rose onto his knees. “Did I hurt you?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I just can’t.”

  Pressing his lips together, he blew out a hard breath. “Should I leave?”

  “No. Stay please.” She pulled up the sheet, covering herself.

  He rubbed his forehead. “If I did something wrong…”

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. Everything you’ve done has been amazing. It’s…” How could she explain this?

  “Wait…are you a virgin?”

  She laughed at the dumbfounded expression on his face. “Of course not. Lie down with me. Come here.” She pulled back the sheet and patted the space next to her as she lay on her side.

  He settled near her, face to face, but not touching. She needed his touch. If she didn’t explain her little freak-out quickly, she would ruin the night. Taking his hand, she reached a leg to his, planning to drape it across him. As soon as she touched him, he moved, entwining her leg between his. Holding her.

  “What’s going on?” Concern filled his eyes, making her heart ache.

  She felt like such an idiot. She’d never put herself in this position before. The few men she had slept with had been much more passive than James, allowing her to take the lead. They also didn’t have as much interest in her pleasure, none of them protesting when she’d made sure all the focus went to their orgasms and not her own. “I’ve never let anyone do that to me before.”

  “Why not?”

  She bit her bottom lip and searched his eyes. His puzzled expression morphed into one of compassion, and her reservations dissolved. She could trust this man. It was time to tell him the truth about her past. Some of it anyway. “I’m a bit of a control freak.”

  He chuckled. “Really? I couldn’t tell.”

  “I have a good reason.”

  He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and scooted closer to her. “What does that have to do with what we were just doing?”

  “I felt…vulnerable. Exposed. Letting you do that to me…you were in control of my body. That’s scary.”

  Gliding his fingers down her side, he rested a hand on her hip. “I wasn’t trying to hurt you. If I did, I’m very sorry.”

  “You didn’t hurt me.” She was doing a terrible job of explaining this. Tell the man. He’s not going anywhere. “Losing control is something I haven’t allowed myself to do since I was a kid. Since I moved away.”

  “What happened when you were a kid?”

  She bit her lip, hesitating. “It’s a long story.”

  “I want to know.”

  Sweet Spirits, she was going to tell him. Lifting her head, she propped it up with her hand. “My dad is Catholic. Completely mundane.”

  He moved to mirror her posture. “I never would have guessed you didn’t have magic from both sides.”

  “When my mom died, my dad wanted me to continue with Voodoo, but he didn’t have a clue how to teach me. So, he sent me to stay with my uncle on the weekends. He had a place out in the swamp.” She inhaled deeply to calm her sprinting heart.

  “This is your mom’s brother?”

  She nodded.

  “Why did he live in the swamp?” He looked at her intently, his eyes gleaming in the dim light.

  “He was a traiteur. An extremely powerful faith healer.” She stared at their hands entwined on the sheet as the memories came flooding back, and she swallowed the thickness from her throat. “He claimed to be a traiteur anyway. Turns out he was much more than a healer, though I didn’t know it at the time. My mom had died. I was weak, and he preyed on my weakness, using my powers in ways Baron Samedi never intended them to be used.”

  “You can do more than communicate with the dead.” He continued to hold her gaze, his silence willing her to elaborate.

  A normal person, even a werewolf, would turn tail and run if he knew the extent of Odette’s power. Her aura alone intimidated most, leaving her with few friends and a distillery full of employees who walked on eggshells.

  James was different. He was the first person who wasn’t afraid to stand up to her. Even when she’d allowed her power to build, and he’d felt it, he didn’t run. She hadn’t scared him off yet, and if she planned to spend the rest of her life with him, no matter how short that life may be, he deserved to know her.

  “I can control the dead.” The words rushed out like a river breaking down a dam, and as the last one left her lips, the constant pressure building inside her for years flooded out with it.

  He blinked. “Control?”

  “Bend them to my will. Make them do whatever I want them to. My connection to the spirit world is constant. I’m like a conduit. I can channel the energy from that realm and feed it to spirits that are trapped here, giving them abilities dead people shouldn’t have. I…”

  She inhaled deeply, trying to quell the nausea churning in her stomach. He hadn’t recoiled yet. Not that he could have with the vise-grip she had on his hand. She relaxed her fingers and continued, “My uncle was a bokor.”

  “He practiced black magic?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t know it at the time. I was doing what I was told. I didn’t…”

  “Hey.” He traced his fingertips down her cheek, lifting her chin so she looked at him. “You don’t have to defend yourself to me. We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of. You were a kid.”

  “It’s very rare to be crowned by Baron Samedi. If I hadn’t died the day I was born, I…” She shook her head. Now wasn’t the time for what-ifs. “My uncle recognized my power. He used me to…” She brushed the hair from her forehead, giving James ample time to mull over her words. To get the hell out if he wanted to.

 
When he didn’t move, she continued. “He used black magic to take a piece of a person’s soul. But once the soul fragment was severed, he couldn’t do anything with it. It would pass on to the spirit realm, and the sick person, who had come to him for help, would die. But I could control the spirit energy. He forced me to put the soul pieces in ouangas, jars created to hold spirits. He told me it was for safekeeping. That the people were sick and storing part of their soul would keep them alive.”

  She lowered her head to the pillow. “I thought it was wrong, but I did it anyway. I mean, they were dying if I didn’t store their souls, so why not? And using my power feels so good. It’s like a…spiritual orgasm. Stress, worry, all my earthly emotions dissolve, and I feel nothing but bliss.”

  “I’ve felt that coming off of you. Why is that?”

  “Baron Samedi, and all the loa of the Ghede family, understand that death is the one guarantee in life. All the things we stress about really don’t matter, because we’re all going to die one day. So we should live life to the fullest. Enjoy every minute of the time we have here because that time is borrowed. When I use my magic, their philosophy fills me, and it’s the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt.”

  “But you seem to live in opposition to that philosophy.”

  “Because my uncle wasn’t helping the people by storing their souls. He kept them so that when they died, he could control their spirits. He wanted my power, but since Baron Samedi wouldn’t grant it to him, he found a loophole. Own a piece of the soul, control the spirit. He was an evil man, and I helped him.”

  She rolled onto her back and squeezed her eyes shut, the shame of what she’d done raising heat in her cheeks. “But I stopped. Baron Samedi was angry with me, and I stopped. I got away. I…” A shudder ran through her body, and she clamped her mouth shut. He didn’t need to know all the gory details.

  “How old were you?”

  She stared at the ceiling fan whirring above, her gaze latching onto a single blade and following it on its dizzying, circular path. “Twelve.”

  “That must have been scary.” He rested a hand on her shoulder, the warmth of his skin pulling her from the memory and into the present.

  “You have no idea. Anyway, I begged my dad to take me away from New Orleans. I wanted nothing to do with Voodoo, my powers, or Baron Samedi ever again.”

  He scooted closer, pulling her body to his. “So you ran away from everything?”

  She’d been on the verge of tears, ready to make a beeline for the bathroom so he wouldn’t see her cry, but the warmth and firmness of his embrace grounded her, giving her strength. She didn’t need to hide from this man. “I turned my back on my religion and my home, but I couldn’t run from myself. My magic follows me wherever I go. Spirits will always be drawn to me.”

  He kissed her forehead, her cheek, her lips. “I’m glad you came back.”

  “I had to. The Baron came to me in my dreams. The distillery was about to go under. I owe my life to my met tet, and I’d abandoned him. I thought coming back and making his distillery successful again would put me back in his good graces, but I was wrong. He’s been appeased, but he’s still not happy with me.”

  “Because you’re so uptight?” One corner of his lip tugged into a tentative grin.

  She opened her mouth to argue, but what could she say? She was the most uptight person she knew. It was a miracle this rough-around-the-edges werewolf found her attractive at all. “I’ve been in total control of every aspect of my life for as long as I can remember, and it’s worked for me. Then you came along and started chipping away at my façade, restoring the real me that I’ve kept suppressed all these years. It’s terrifying, but I also kinda like it.”

  And it was time she went with it. She trusted James down to her bones. Relinquishing a little bit of control with him would be good for her; she could control her magic with him. She traced her finger down his nose to his lips, tugging the bottom one down before pressing her mouth to his.

  Sliding his hand to her hip, he opened for her, tangling his tongue with hers. He leaned into her, the evidence of his desire pressing against her thigh, sending a flood of warmth through her core. As he broke the kiss, she couldn’t stop the moan of protest from escaping her throat.

  He twirled a curl around his finger and glided the back of his hand down her cheek. “I would never try to control you or to make you do anything you didn’t want to do.”

  “I know.” She kissed him again, trailing her lips across his jaw and down his neck, inhaling his intoxicatingly masculine scent. His pheromones were tuned specifically to her senses, and each inhale brought on a fresh wave of desire. “James?”

  “Hmm?” He slid his fingers into her hair and tilted his head, giving her better access to his neck.

  That small gesture made her breath catch and pressure build in the back of her eyes. For a werewolf to willingly expose his neck, to make himself even slightly vulnerable, showed a level of trust she would never deserve.

  When she didn’t move, he pulled back to look into her eyes. “You were going to say something?” Did he even realize what he’d communicated with his body language?

  It was time she did the same for him. “Do you think we could try that again? I promise not to freak out this time.”

  A crooked, kissable grin lit on his lips. “I would like nothing more than to make you come, my dear.” He rolled her onto her back, his gaze locking with hers as he ran his hand down her body. If he was looking for signs of fear or panic, he wouldn’t find them. She was ready this time.

  His eyes smoldered as he settled his shoulders between her legs. “Where were we?” His breath tickled across her center, tightening her core.

  She was so ready.

  As he flicked out his tongue to lick her, she gasped at the electrical sensation pulsing through her core. He paused, giving her plenty of time to change her mind, but there was no turning back now. She was in this, and they were going all the way.

  An mmm vibrated across his lips as his tension eased, and he licked her again, gently sucking her into his mouth and working her in circles with his tongue. Goose bumps pricked at her skin, every nerve in her body firing on overdrive as she allowed the enthralling sensations to overcome her.

  She let go, giving in to the passion as her soulmate took her to the edge. He slipped a finger inside her, and she moaned. When a second finger slid in, she screamed his name. Her orgasm exploded inside her, unraveling her senses, tearing down her walls, making it impossible for her to hide. Her body was his to command, and he was a master. Sweet Spirits, was he good.

  He slowed his pace, gently bringing her down from the wave of sheer ecstasy. Her breathing under control, she opened her eyes to find him watching her, a hunger in his eyes so palpable she could taste his need.

  He growled as he mounted her, and with one swift thrust of his hips, he filled her, sending another explosion of fiery energy flowing through her veins. Nuzzling into her neck, he began moving, slowly at first, the delicious friction sending a shock of electricity through her core.

  His pace quickened, and she clutched his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his waist and giving herself to him. His magic caressed her skin, seeping into her core to mingle with her own. For the first time in her life, she didn’t hold back. She let her power build, the peaceful emptiness of the spirit world channeling through her, vibrating in her aura.

  James moaned and pressed his lips to her ear. “God, this feels so good, Odette.”

  The thick, raspy tone of his voice sent her over the edge again. As her climax ripped through her, James moved faster, harder, until he found his own release and collapsed on top of her, panting.

  They lay there, holding each other, a tangle of pounding hearts and liquid limbs, until their breathing slowed and he rose onto his elbows. “You are one amazing woman, Odette Allemand.” He rolled to his side, tugging her body to his. “That was…wow.”

  “Wow is the perfect word to describe it.” A bubbl
y, giddy sensation rose from her stomach to her chest, and she smiled as he moved to his back and held her even closer. She had let go, surrendered control and let James take her to a place she thought she’d never experience in her life. She’d put her trust and faith in him, and he did not disappoint.

  Of course he didn’t. He belonged with her.

  Snuggling into his side, she let his warmth and his woodsy scent envelop her, calming her. They were perfect together, and if they got along this well in the bedroom, surely, they could work together to defeat the monster. She’d been resigned to her tragic fate before, but for the first time, the hope that she could change it lighted in her heart.

  Chapter Thirteen

  James lay on his back, nestled in the center of Odette’s bed, listening to the melodic rhythm of the rain falling against the window panes. With her leg draped across his, her head resting on his shoulder, he could’ve lain there all day, basking in the afterglow. It was Saturday morning, so he just might. He kissed the top of her head.

  Making love to her had been more intense than he’d ever imagined. No doubt they had a soul-deep connection. Once they’d begun, his wolf hadn’t interrupted him with visions of the dream woman…until the very end as Odette fell asleep in his arms. He’d pushed the image aside, and he would continue to do so until his wolf relented and would be satisfied with one mate. With Odette.

  With a sleepy sigh, she snuggled in closer and pressed a kiss to his chest. Lightly grazing his skin with her fingertips, she tilted her head toward his. “If this is what it’s like being mated to a werewolf, I think I’m going to like it.”

  His heart missed a beat before slamming against his chest. He wasn’t ready to officially become mates. Not when his wolf’s heart was still divided. Scrambling through their conversations, he searched for anything he might have said that would give her an idea like that. She’d called them soulmates, but he’d been careful not to confirm it. Shit. He needed more time.

  She propped her head on her hand and smiled. “Normally it would be way too soon for this, but considering the circumstances, I’m going to say it. I love you, James.”