The Trouble With Curses

by Anara Bella

  Okay, that wasn’t something you heard everyday. “I can see why it threw you, but there’s no way the prophecy can be about me. There’s nothing special about me. In fact, I’m not even your typical vampire. Other vampires shun me because I’m so different.” Her mind flashed back to Ambrose scorning her because she wouldn’t kill to feed. She saw Rafe hide a smile.

  “I’d think a vampire who’s so special she’s prophesied about would likely be considered different in some way from most vampires.”

  The obviousness of that statement made her blush.

  He continued, “Look, I realize how improbable all of this sounds. I grew up with this stuff and I still find it hard to believe. But as much as I don’t want to accept its veracity, the fact that you have that mark has got to mean something. As you said, not all vampires have it. It’s unique.”

  Maybe it meant something, maybe it didn’t. She just didn’t know. This whole stupid prophecy thing was too bizarre for her to buy into. And even if the prophecy itself were somehow true, it couldn’t possibly have anything to do with her.

  Then another thought hit her. Was her possible connection to the prophecy the only thing that had saved her life? Without it, would Rafe have been able to kill her? And if she was right and the prophecy wasn’t about her, would he turn around and try to kill her again? She was very much afraid he would.

  Rafe broke into her thoughts. “I have to go. I need time to think, to sort everything out.”

  The rapidity with which anger and rage washed through her shocked her. He needed time to sort things out? This whole thing was so unfair. She wasn’t the one going around killing people, he was, even if they did happen to be vampires, and yet somehow she was the evil one.

  Not only was it unfair, it was completely unacceptable. “Unbelievable. I’m the one who was almost killed tonight, not you.” She bent down and picked up the offensive stake and shoved it at him. “Here. Take this revolting thing and get out of my sight. You’re not the only one who needs time to sort things out. And right now, I can’t even stand the sight of you. Get out, and don’t come back. Ever!”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Rafe ran faster than he’d ever thought possible.

  Terrifying images flashed past him with frightening speed. He wanted to stop, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to do it.

  He tried closing his eyes, but he couldn’t do that either. And the horrible images wouldn’t stop. A raven swooped by his head, almost pecking a piece out of his scalp. Vampire fangs loomed, then swooped, grazing his neck, drawing blood, until everything around him was covered in it.

  Saturated in it.

  The Crystals floated within sight, but just out of reach. They glowed and burned in front, behind, all around him, until they set his very skin on fire, the flames rising higher and higher, surrounding him. Scorching him.

  He tried to scream. Wanted desperately to scream, but to no avail. He couldn’t get away from the horror, no matter how much he wanted it because he was now standing still. His feet simply wouldn’t move.

  When he looked down to see why, he realized he was sinking. Drowning in a quagmire of blood and emotion, fire and fury, lust and despair.

  When he thought he could take no more, thought he would explode or disintegrate from the pain, he suddenly became lighter. Up he went, higher and higher, floating towards something that both terrified and yet called him. He didn’t want to go where he was headed, that much he knew, but he had no control over it. And then, as suddenly as it had all begun, he stopped.

  He was still floating, but when he looked below, there was Selena lying in bed, naked and splayed out before him. Her hands restlessly explored her body, just like he wanted to do. Fondling her breasts and playing in her nether curls. His cock hardened and he wanted nothing more than to touch her himself. Taste her and bury himself in her hot nakedness, feel her contracting around him, squeezing him dry.

  And then he was there. He could feel her heat. Smell her arousal. He could actually feel himself thrust into her tightness. It was pure magic, perfection, how it was meant to be.

  Selena looked at him with total trust and love as the flush of completion washed over her and through her. Only for him.

  Only for him.

  He couldn’t believe his good fortune. That this incredible woman was his. He leaned towards her and with complete awe and reverence, brushed her lips with the lightest of kisses. And when he raised his head she smiled.

  Or was it a smile?

  Something changed in that instant and the smile turned into a grin of triumph. A triumph for the vampire within her. She had him where she wanted him and she bared her fangs with glee. Before he could react, her razor sharp incisors buried themselves deep into his jugular. He couldn’t stop it and shockingly, didn’t want to. Somehow the horror of that was worse than what had gone before, because everything that had happened since meeting Selena was meant to be. He couldn’t stop it. He had no control over it.

  And off in the distance he heard the cry of a child. A child he knew was his.

  Was theirs.

  With a harsh gasp, Rafe shot straight up in bed. Sweat poured off him, his sheets were soaked, his heart pounded with an unbelievable fury. He was breathing so hard if he’d been standing he’d have been doubled over in pain.

  All of this would have been the predominant thing on his mind, except he was also experiencing a moment of such clarity it physically hurt.

  Everything suddenly made perfect sense. Everything that had happened in the past few days—the images the Crystals had inundated him with, even his fear—all of it was piercingly clear now. And underlying it all was one very singular thought.

  He was a damned fool. And he’d probably managed to ruin the best thing that would ever happen to him.

  He glanced at the clock and saw he’d slept almost the entire day away. After everything that had happened yesterday, it wasn’t surprising but that didn’t mean he was happy about wasting so much time.

  Without delay, he untangled himself from the sweat-soaked sheets and headed for a much-needed shower.

  He knew what he had to do now, and he was on the road to Selena’s in record time, hoping she’d be there, because he had to talk to her. Had to get her to understand that he knew he was a complete moron and didn’t deserve a second chance, but he was begging for one anyway.

  Pounding on her door, however, proved a waste of time. He kept at it because he was desperate to see her, but he knew she wasn’t there. He could feel it.

  Now what?

  Where the hell could she be?

  Realizing the futility of standing there willing her to be home, or trying to guess where she was, he decided his best course of action was to head to the office. Maybe Larke would be there and could help him find Selena and even if she wasn’t, it would be quiet and he could catch up on some paperwork while he figured out what to do next.

  For whatever reason, it seemed as if things were destined not to go his way today. And maybe that was all he deserved.

  ***

  Selena glanced around the dark, smoky club, chewing voraciously on her swizzle stick.

  Damn it all. Even that made her think of Rafe. He’d said that particular habit of hers drove him wild. And she had to admit, she liked turning him on. A lot. Even now, when she was hurt and royally pissed at him, a tiny part of her gloried in the knowledge she could affect him that way.

  She must be certifiable.

  The raucous dance music pounded through her brain, practically rattling all the teeth in her head, but she still couldn’t shut her thoughts off from what had happened with Rafe earlier.

  This club was the absolute last place she wanted to be. What she’d wanted was to sit at home crying and licking her wounds, but Anne, as usual, had refused to take no for an answer and put the kibosh to that plan.

  In Anne’s opinion, Rafe had been an ass and Robert hadn’t called her and therefore was equally an ass. So, what they both nee
ded was to forget about men in general and these two guys in particular and go have some fun.

  So, here they were pretending to have fun.

  What Selena was really doing was looking around and noting that all the men around her didn’t even come close to measuring up to Rafe.

  She was such an idiot. Even when she thought Rafe was a pig, maybe even a monster, he still managed to look better than every other guy around.

  She leaned over to Anne and raised her voice to be heard above the blaring music. “This was a bad idea. I’m going to split.”

  Anne threw her a forbidding look, grabbed her by the arm and dragged her all the way to the ladies’ room. “Like hell you are. You promised me we’d go out, and I’m not letting you go back on your word.”

  “It’s not like I’m good company anyway.”

  “That’s true, but then that isn’t the point, is it?”

  “What is the point? Torturing me?”

  “What else?” Seeing the face Selena pulled, Anne continued, “Sitting around at home isn’t going to make you feel any better.”

  “I hate to break it to you, but neither is this.”

  Anne sighed then relented. “Maybe not, but at least your headache will be from the loud music rather than from crying your eyes out.”

  She had a point. “I’m done with crying. Men aren’t worth it.”

  “Very true. Thus the brilliance of my idea to get you out.”

  Anne’s cheeky grin dragged a half-hearted smile out of Selena. “I just don’t know what to do, or even how to feel. The only man I’ve been even remotely interested in for years is duty-bound to kill me.”

  “He didn’t though, did he?”

  “But what about the next time? The worst thing is, now that I’ve had time to think, I’m torn about everything. I’m hurt and angry that he can’t see I’m different, yet I really don’t blame him. I’m sure he knows, as well as I do, that vampires are the greatest deceivers and manipulators around. How could he not want to kill me? Hell, I’m a vampire and I think killing is too good for most of them.”

  Anne moved to primp in front of the mirror. “Well, here’s a thought, he could at least get to know you instead of staking first and asking questions later.”

  “In a perfect world, yes. If he hadn’t found out what I was so soon, maybe he’d have had the chance to see for himself that I’m not evil. Maybe then things would be different.” Selena sighed and felt that sick, sinking, doomed feeling wash through her again in waves. “Anyway, it’s far too late for that now.”

  And even if it wasn’t, could she ever trust him again?

  ***

  Once at the office, Rafe was happy to find Larke there, but then she spent way too much time at the office since her husband had died. He wished he knew what to do to help her get past her grief, but time was probably the only thing that would help.

  When Larke turned around, he took one look at her face and knew what she was going to say before she opened her mouth.

  “You had a vision.”

  Disappointment flashed across her fine features. “How’d you know?”

  Rafe chuckled. She honestly didn’t realize her face was like an open book. “Good guess. So, what did it tell you?”

  “That there really is such a thing as a Sasquatch.”

  “What?”

  Larke giggled. “Kidding. You have another chance to slay a vamp tonight.”

  His heart started to pump double-time. It was Selena. It had to be. Rafe couldn’t keep the excitement from his voice. “Where?”

  Her eyes narrowed, studying him. “You think it’s the same vamp as the other night, don’t you?”

  He wasn’t interested in discussing this with her. “Where?”

  She hesitated but finally shrugged. “Libertine’s.”

  Without a word, he spun on his heel and ran back out the door with Larke’s questioning voice chasing after him.

  Even though it was clear across the city, he made it to Libertine’s in record time, breaking more than one traffic law to do it. He didn’t care either because he was willing to break however many laws it took to find Selena.

  The moment he opened the door, the club’s energy smashed into him. Deafening music pulsed through him, adding to his excitement. If Selena was here, he had a chance to make her listen to him. To give him another chance. And something deep inside told him she was.

  Looking around it was difficult, if not impossible, to see any one person in the poorly lit club. The pulsating lights flitting across the raucous crowd of dancers only made it worse. Everyone seemed to gyrate as one enormous entity, throbbing to the incessant beat of the latest dance beat.

  But Rafe had one thing in his favor. He may not be able to sense Selena as a vampire, but as a woman, every fiber of his being was attuned to her as he’d never been attuned to anyone before.

  He’d noticed it ever since their intense sexual encounter. Like when he’d gone to her door later that night, he’d known she was home even though she hadn’t answered right away. He’d felt she was there. And earlier tonight, he’d known she wasn’t home but had wanted to see her so badly he’d foolishly kept knocking anyway. How else could he have known she wasn’t there? It was like some freaky kind of telepathy, or psychic connection.

  Magic.

  It was the only word he could think of to describe it. A magical connection he’d felt growing steadily.

  Trusting in that magic, he let his instincts take over and before he knew it, he honed in on Selena at the far edge of the dance floor.

  Something inside him relaxed. He’d found her and she wouldn’t get away from him this time. He’d never be foolish enough to let her out of his sight again. At least not until they’d worked things out between them.

  Never taking his gaze off her, he worked his way over to where she danced in carefree abandon with some guy who was obviously hoping to go home with her tonight. The man was all but drooling over what he no doubt hoped was a sure thing, but Rafe knew better. It wasn’t happening.

  He’d make sure of it.

  But as he got closer, he realized she wasn’t dancing with Mr. Drool-a-lot after all. Rather, she danced with her best friend in what looked like a free-for-all between the three of them, and somehow that reassured him. She hadn’t already paired off with another guy.

  He kept his gaze on her and knew the precise moment she became aware of him watching her. Elation raced through him. The connection between them was there. Indisputable. With great relief he realized, it wasn’t just on his side. She felt it too.

  Her gaze locked with his. She stopped dancing and her arms dropped to her sides. After a moment, she started to move towards him.

  He couldn’t help but hope she’d fall into his arms, but something in her bearing told him that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. “We need to talk.”

  Selena stood with her feet firmly planted, hands on hips. “Why?”

  “You know why.”

  “Explain it to me.”

  His frustration mounted. They were shouting to be heard over the music. This wasn’t the place to try to talk. “Not here.”

  “After last night you expect me to go somewhere alone with you?”

  When she put it like that, he realized she had a point. She didn’t know he had no intention, nor desire, to kill her. However, they needed to talk and this wasn’t the place to do it.

  Without thinking his actions out, he grabbed her in one smooth move and threw her fireman-style over his shoulder.

  She immediately started pounding on his back, and with her augmented vampire strength they were far from insignificant pats, but it felt great to him. He had her in his grasp and he would get things sorted out between them.

  “Put me down!”

  “No can do.”

  Despite her continued efforts to break free, he winked at an open-mouthed Anne and worked his way out of the club. When he reached the car, he put his squirming bundle down and waited for the in
evitable explosion.

  She pushed away from him. “How dare you manhandle me like that!”

  “It was the only way to get you out of there. Hell, my ears are still ringing from the racket. We couldn’t talk in there.”

  Her pause as good as acknowledged he was right.

  “Well, maybe not. But still…”

  “Look, I promise on my mother’s life I won’t hurt you in any way, but we need to talk.”

  “About what? How you tried to kill me mere hours after having sex with me?”

  “Yes, that. Everything.”

  She scowled while she considered what he’d said. Next thing he knew she was patting him down like a cop with her latest perp. “What are you doing?”

  “What do you think I’m doing, I’m checking for weapons.”

  Since having her hands on his body in any capacity was just fine with him, he didn’t object, but rather enjoyed the moment. “Satisfied? I’m clean. Not a stake in sight.”

  She glared at him. “Fine. We’ll talk. But we go to my place. At least there I know there aren’t any weapons stashed anywhere.”

  He hid the grin of triumph that welled up in him. “Whatever you say, beautiful.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Selena unlocked her door, wondering if she was the biggest fool on the planet, or just had a serious death wish. Neither of them had said much of anything on the ride over, as if they’d both been afraid to break the truce between them. But now that they were here, she couldn’t wait another moment to find out what Rafe had to say.

  Throwing her keys on the hall table, she rounded on him, jabbing her finger at his chest. “Okay, we’re here. Now talk.”

  She’d barely gotten the words out of her mouth before he cupped her face in his huge, warm hands, and kissed the living daylights out of her.

  For a split-second she didn’t react, shocked beyond thinking or reacting, and not at all sure if she wanted him to kiss her after last night’s fiasco. But he tasted so good, and felt so right, she just couldn’t fight it. And, if she were honest, didn’t want to anyway. She wanted this, in the worst way. As if by getting a taste of him, she was now addicted and couldn’t get enough.