Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy)

by C. M. Owens

  “Yeah, I am because you’re going to get there first,” Brazen says with a mischievous smirk before giving me a wink.

  “Captain Mordel,” Clay calls.

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Ms. Emmerson needs someone to go with her. I don’t want anyone riding alone. We’ll be picking up some of our human officials along the way, so we need all the vehicles.”

  Hale stifles a grin, and Brazen rolls his eyes while climbing out of the backseat. Hale’s hand slides over to find mine, and I squeeze it tightly as the engine starts to roar. My head pops back for a second in response to the jolting start, and then I feel a devious plan coming to mind.

  “You look tense,” I murmur mildly while strolling my fingers up his arm.

  “Just a little. I wasn’t expecting to shift directions so quickly. How much do you know about the Rising?”

  I smirk a little, and then I press my lips against his arm very subtly.

  “They’re a group of full bloods that wish to live like people did before we found out how to dilute the blood to safely feed them.” I pause while sliding my lips a little softer up his arm. “I think I can help you out with your tension.”

  “How’s that?” he asks with a naïve mannerism.

  My knees press into the seat as I lean over to his lap. His eyes pop open the second he sees my new plan of seduction, and one hand tangles in my hair when he doesn’t refuse my offer. He exhales loudly as I unzip his pants, and then my lips stroll over his instant erection once I pull it free.

  “Like this,” I seduce while covering it with my mouth.

  He groans as I slowly slide my mouth up and down, and then he grips the back of my head with one hand while using the other to drive.

  “Fuck,” he breathes, and I quicken my rhythm.

  “Hell no,” he snaps while jerking me up, a popping sound following the abrupt detachment, and my eyes almost sting from the rejection.

  “What?”

  “You’re not getting three ahead of me,” he growls, and then he jerks me to be on top of his body. “Fuck me,” he murmurs as his lips attack mine.

  My smile returns against his lips, and then I move over to pull my pants off. I jerk his jeans lower, and then I move back on top of him as he continues driving. My lips scale up his neck as I lower myself onto his erection, and I gasp as he slides into me with such a filling, rapturous motion.

  He grips my ass with the hand he can spare, and then he jerks me against his thrust. I keep my head out of his line of view as I begin moving up and down with a slower, more drawn out motion to fight his hasty thrusts. I peel my shirt off just before unclasping my bra, and he almost wrecks against a boulder when it falls to the floor.

  “You’re so amazing,” he murmurs while bringing my lips back to his.

  I continue smiling as the incredible road sex gets rougher - Hale jerking me harder and harder against his thrusts. The cars become visible behind us, ensuring we’ll have an audience if we don’t hurry this up.

  My teeth almost break the skin on his shoulder, and he moans louder to let me know how fucking turned on he is. His hand grips my hair to jerk my head back, and I feel the quickening within me as my nails dig in.

  “Come for me baby,” he urges, and my nails dig in deeper.

  My legs stiffen slightly as the heat of my adrenaline brings my temperature up a few degrees. My panting breaths become more and more erratic as I try to fulfill his demand. His delicious scent engulfs me, making me desperate to take his blood in my mouth.

  I scream out my release, and I feel his warmth immediately following my climax. He pulls me to him, and my quivering body rests against his pounding chest.

  “Fucking shit. You never cease to amaze me,” he pants out.

  I smile against his chest, and then my lips start strolling over his collarbone - the thought of breaking his skin still dancing around in the back of my mind. Then I see a car getting dangerously close.

  “Fuck,” I mumble in a huff.

  I pull my shirt back on before sliding back into my pants, and I plop back down into my seat with a bit of a pout. Hale chuckles a little, and then he gasses the vehicle. I can see Brazen driving the hummer that is closing in, and I’m worried this is about to become a competition. I’m glad he didn’t see the sexploit going on in here.

  “I love you,” he murmurs while kissing the back of my hand.

  “I love you,” I giggle out.

  “Marry me, please,” he breathes as his lips find mine.

  I pull back with wide eyes, and then I shake my head.

  “I want a real proposal. You got out of it last time. I’m not going to say yes after sex this time,” I playfully scold, my heart beating too quick for me to keep all the nerves out of my voice.

  “I’ll give you a real proposal, baby. I just want to know you still want to marry me.”

  “That’s what you find out when you give a real proposal. Stop trying to cut corners. You can be romantic for one night when the time comes.”

  “I can be anything you want me to be. I’m just dying to make you mine,” he says so sincerely.

  “Hale, please don’t do this. I want to be with you. Isn’t that enough?”

  He kisses the back of my hand once more just as Brazen and Alex catch up with us and begin driving along side us.

  “It is for now.”

  I smile affectionately, and then I see Alex waving as they start to drive on to take the lead.

  “Wow. You’re letting them pass?” I gasp.

  “Let him have this one. I got the girl,” he says with a casual delivery.

  I lean against him, and he kisses my forehead as we drive a little less like hell-raising-teens. Selma isn’t too far away now. I can see the tops of the castle-edged buildings peeking out over the stone walls of the compound.

  I dread returning there. When I left, I was in tears over this man. Now everyone will see me back in his arms, and they’ll all ask a ton of questions I don’t feel like answering.

  “We’ll rest when we get there, and then we’ll start working the lead you’ve got.” His plans stop when he sees my sudden discomfort beaming out. “Are you okay?”

  “I just dread seeing all these faces again. The last time-”

  “I know. I’m sorry, baby. I’ll announce to the whole compound that I’m the stupidest son of a bitch there ever was as soon as we get there,” he sighs out, and I laugh lightly at his idea.

  “I’ll just let them think I’m begging for punishment.”

  “Araya, I’m not going to hurt you again,” he coos, and he pulls my hand up to kiss it once more.

  I hope that’s true. I won’t be able to handle it a second time.

  I just smile in response, though it is obviously a forced smile not fully reaching my eyes.

  “There it is,” I huff out, and Hale smirks as he presses a button that forces a hidden compartment to emerge from the console.

  He tightens my seatbelt before giving me a sneaky wink, and then he flips the switch that had been hiding in secrecy. The hummer surges forward so fast it feels as though all gravity has accumulated to sit on my chest.

  I try to laugh, but the air in my lungs is too constrained to be expelled. Brazen smirks as we blaze by him, and he must flip the same switch because he’s suddenly keeping up. Hale’s grin grows as he lines up with the opened gate of Selma. Brazen tries his best to get out in front, but he’s slowly tasting defeat. He’s no match for Hale-on-wheels. Hale cuts the wheel just as we enter the compound to slide into the parking spot perfectly while skidding to a halt.

  I finally catch my breath enough to let a chuckle out, and Hale wraps his hand around my waist to jerk me against his lips. His heated touch pulls me to his lap before he kicks the door open.

  “I thought you were going to give him that one.”

  “I decided I wanted the girl and the win too,” he playfully retorts, and then he kisses me harder while lifting me to get out of the hummer.

  Brazen s
lams the door, but he tries to hide his agitation for having lost the not-so-friendly competition. He shakes his head as he stalks toward the central building in the compound.

  “I love pissing him off,” Hale menaces.

  I need to chastise him for being so insensitive, but it’s hard to do when he’s this fucking cute. I can’t stifle my grin, so I give up on the very idea of scolding him in any manner.

  “I know you do. You ready to go to bed and rest for a while?”

  “I’m ready to go to bed, but resting isn’t on the agenda, Ms. Crush,” he smolders.

  He grips my ass before jerking me in close enough to feel his erection digging into me.

  “That sounds like a plan, Captain Banner,” I sizzle out, and his lips consume mine as we head into the safety of the walls.

  Chapter 9

  Proposals and Promises

  The sun peers through the blinds as I finish cooking breakfast. I smile as I hear the shower we’ve fully desecrated being turned off, and I sit down to sip my coffee. Hale steps in wearing only his boxers while drying his hair. I smile as I swish over to join him - his shirt being the only thing covering my body.

  “I love you,” I murmur against his lips, and he smiles so big the moment the words escape my mouth.

  “Then marry me,” he breathes.

  I smile now, and then I shake my head.

  “No. You know what I want, and I don’t want it right now,” I tease, and then my lips stroll down his chest briefly before I strut away.

  “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted to go another round this morning.”

  “I guess you shouldn’t think you know any better then because that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” I seduce while slowly unbuttoning his shirt I’m wearing.

  “That sounds good to me,” he sizzles out while grabbing me up and sitting me on the table, his hands jerking my legs around him.

  Just as he’s about to answer my quivering plea, his phone rings. He grumbles under his breath as he looks at the number, and I huff in frustration as I hop off the table and finish setting out the breakfast that I had planned to let grow cold.

  “Hale,” he snaps into the phone.

  “It’s me. My phone is fucked, so I had to borrow one,” Clay says with a chuckle, and I’m sure it’s because he can hear the agitation in Hale’s tone.

  “What’s up?” Hale asks with a smile, his tone changing.

  He gives me a small wink while crunching on a piece of bacon, and then he walks into the bedroom as Clay answers, “We’re going to be meeting in the conference room in an hour. I just wanted to give you plenty of time to get ready.”

  Hale starts laughing as he walks out with his pants on, but I smile when I see he has left the button at the top undone. I skip over to him, and my lips begin softly pressing against his glorious chest.

  “We’ll be there,” Hale says while picking me up with one arm to wrap my legs back around his waist.

  “Good.”

  Hale drops the phone to the couch so that he can hold me with both arms, and my lips play on his until someone starts pounding against the door.

  “Really?” he grouses, and I roll my eyes as he lowers me to the floor.

  I sluggishly return to the kitchen, and pick my coffee back up while he answers the interruption. Coffee sputters from my lips, and I almost drop my cup when I see Brazen walking into the kitchen without so much as a word.

  “Just come on in,” Hale scoffs.

  “Sorry,” Brazen murmurs while staring tediously at the photos in his hands - some of the photos from the Rising investigation. “I got a name to this face, and I’ve been trying to research it. I was going to see if it means anything to Araya,” he chirps.

  His eyes finally look up to find me in the shirt that screams out, I’ve just had sex. His expression changes to a painful wince, but he tries to play it off.

  “Wow. I’m glad I wasn’t interrupting anything,” he mumbles.

  “You were,” Hale retorts, and then another face enters unannounced.

  “I’m sorry too, but I’ve also got some information,” Alex adds while her eyes run up and down my hybrid.

  I will tear you apart, full blood Barbie.

  Hale buttons his pants while rolling his eyes, and then he walks into the bedroom to leave me alone with the full blood bitch, and the beautiful pale eyes of Brazen as he stares at me with desire oozing.

  Her eyes take notice of Brazen’s gaze on me, and I see a slight scowl forming on her perfectly red lips. I’d like to stain her whole body as red as those damn lips, and let her drown in her own blood. Bitch.

  “What do you want to ask me?” I say to Brazen to break the awkward silence.

  He takes a step closer, and I sit down on the stool as Hale returns with a shirt on. He walks over to wrap his arms around me very possessively, and Brazen tightens his lips before speaking in his more serious voice.

  “Herman Snakes. Have you heard his name before?”

  “I have, actually. He’s one of their mercenaries. I didn’t know we had a picture of him,” I murmur while taking the photo from his hand.

  “How do you know that?” Hale asks curiously while staring at the picture.

  “Because they sent him after me when I got too close.”

  “What?” Brazen gasps. “When? Why didn’t I know?”

  “It was about four months ago, but I didn’t want you to know because I knew you would take a leave. I didn’t want you fucking up your career to stay at home with me.”

  “What happened?” Hale prompts.

  “Brazen was out on a two week detail, and I was at home reading a book. This fool was hiding under my bed just waiting on his chance. I pretended to be engorged in the book, and the moment he emerged I went invincible. He shot three times, and he freaked out when they just ricocheted off me. I arrested him, and he stayed locked up for three months until the Stringham prison break. He was one of the five not recovered.”

  “And you didn’t think to mention this until now?” Brazen growls in a chastising tone.

  “I have compiled a file on everything I have that wasn’t destroyed in Javeline, and I planned on passing out the copies during the meeting. See, there they are,” I mutter casually while pointing at the table beside the door.

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Did you tell me about everyone that tried to kill you while we were together?” I counter.

  “No, but-”

  “But nothing. I’m an officer of the United. Shit happens, and I’m badass enough to handle it when it does. Now, I’m going to go put on some clothes.”

  I start to walk out, and Alex takes a seat between the smoldering Hale the fuming Brazen whose eyes are still scolding me.

  “I need to know what this symbol is. It’s similar to your hybrid tattoos, but it’s different as well,” Alex murmurs while letting her breath trail on Hale’s arm.

  I roll my eyes as I shut the door, and I hear whispering behind the door. Why are they whispering?

  I stare in the mirror at the laser tattoo between my shoulder blades that I can barely see from this angle. My sparrow separates me from so many, but Hale’s matching one connects us. The sparrow is given to the gifted only. I smile lightly at the mark that proves me different before slipping into a pair of pants and a strapless top. I open the door to rejoin the whispered conversation, and I catch concerned, secretive eyes looking away.

  My tight, dark jeans are tucked smoothly into my black boots, and my tight, strapless shirt reveals just enough cleavage to draw Hale’s eyes to a popping motion, leaving his secretive gaze in the back.

  “What are we whispering about?” I murmur while strolling my lips over the back of Hale’s shoulder blade where his matching sparrow lays hidden under the soft fabric of the shirt.

  He smiles when he feels what I’m doing, and then his hand strokes the place where mine rests. He pulls me into his arms, and then I stare down at the sparrow emerging from a c
ocoon.

  “That’s odd,” I muse.

  “We’re keeping it quiet in case anyone is listening in,” Alex whispers.

  “You don’t trust the walls here?”

  “I don’t trust anyone,” she asserts. “You shouldn’t either.”

  “There are three people within the United I would trust my life with at any time,” I counter, and Hale and Brazen both smirk.

  If Clay was here, he’d be smirking too.

  “I’m not talking about the United. I’m referring to the people of Selma. We don’t want to spook your lead.”

  “Oh. This apartment’s outer walls are soundproof. It’s my old place from when I lived here. They never rented it out to anyone else because they were hoping I’d return.”

  “When did you soundproof it?” Hale snickers out.

  “While you were still living here. I just didn’t tell you because you liked everyone to know what we were doing,” I chuckle out, and I see Brazen scowling lightly before looking away.

  My laughter fades quickly, and I feel a little guilty for that moment of over sharing. Hale is very pleased with my slip, and he pulls me tighter into his embrace before Brazen starts stacking the pictures back up.

  “We’ll see you guys in the meeting,” Brazen mumbles, and then Alex nods before following him out.

  “Where were we?” Hale asks while pulling me into his body.

  I smile as I push him back, and I hand him his very cold breakfast plate.

  “You were going to eat your food, and I’m going to fix my hair and makeup. We’ve got to be there in less than forty minutes now.”

  “We can skip foreplay,” he bluntly adds while ripping my shirt over my head.

  I start laughing as he grips my ass and jerks me to be around his waist before dropping me on the bed.

  His lips trail down my stomach as he undoes my jeans, and then he slides off my pants while his eyes stare into mine. His body hovers over mine, suspense taunting me, and I finish undoing his shirt before his lips consume mine. I hear the jingle of his pants slapping the floor just before I feel the very thin boxers being the only thing separating me from his incredible erection.

  His breath tastes like heaven pouring into my mouth as he slides my underwear to the side enough to put the head of his erection into me. I gasp at the teasing entrance when he refuses to give me more. I try to thrust my hips forward, but he holds them down as he continues his barely-there floorshow.