Persephone’s Curse

by Sandra Bats

  His thrusts sent shivers over my body, both of us moaned in unison and I could feel that point of shattering release hovering just out of reach. Involuntarily, I muttered Jayden’s name, over and over and he smiled, catching my lips with his. I moaned against his mouth, a jumbled mess of words. Small whimpering sounds he coaxed from me, expressing how good he made me feel.

  He bent to kiss the tender skin on my throat — I was wound so tightly, but everything was so new I couldn’t let myself fall completely.

  “I’ve got you, sweetheart. Take a breath. Let go.” Jayden’s mouth was close to my ear, voice all raucous and vulnerable.

  He slipped his hand between us, did something amazing with his fingers that had my eyes falling closed. He moved so steadily and my heart nearly skipped a beat there and then I shuddered as shivers raced over my body and I clutched at Jayden’s back to hold onto something. I heard myself give a raspy, whimpering shout before Jayden covered my mouth with his. His rhythm skipped into almost frenzied and he held me even tighter, I wasn’t sure how that was even possible. His muscles clenched under my hands as he groaned against my lips. His movements grew unsteady, before his muscles relaxed again.

  He breathlessly eased me back onto the mattress and held himself on his elbows on either side of my face. For a moment, the only things audible were our shaky breaths. His eyes sparkled as he rested his forehead against mine. We both sighed at the same moment, it was a sigh of excitement and the tension that had fallen off. He smiled his boyish smile, making me burst into giggles.

  He rolled onto his back, ever so softly kissing my cheek. I moved to settle in his arms but flinched when my leg touched something wet. Had I not been so relaxed and hazy-minded I might have been embarrassed to tell Jayden about it. He lifted his head for a moment, checking what I meant and then gave a lazy chuckle.

  “Yeah, nobody ever talks about all that stuff, do they?” Jayden muttered as he gently pulled me closer to him, my head rested on his chest and our legs were intertwined. “Better now?”

  My mind only slowly cleared. Sudden dread descended on me.

  “Wait. Did the condom break?”

  He rubbed his hand down my back. “No, don’t worry. It’s probably from … you know … removing the condom.”

  He sounded quite embarrassed at the topic himself. I found it downright endearing. He exhaled a tense breath and I cuddled a little closer as he drew idle patterns on my back. I sighed against his chest, listening to his heartbeat until he raised his voice again.

  “Did I hurt you? I want the truth.” His voice was tender with concern and hesitation. There was worry in his eyes and I stayed quiet for a moment, choosing my words wisely.

  “A little, at first, but I expected that. And after that it was pretty great. It was better than I thought it would be and it just felt so … we felt so close. Is it always like that?”

  “How?”

  “Well … This emotional and like we’re one and at the same time I still want to get closer to you …” My voice trailed off because words weren’t adequate.

  “No,” he smiled, kissing my hair. “No, at least for me it’s not. Being with you is … something, definitely. I never felt like this before. This was …”

  “Love making?” I questioned, using the old word he’d once mentioned and he chuckled at it.

  “Yeah, I guess.” He chuckled softly.

  “So, you liked it? I mean, with me?” I asked, and my voice was a little too high and shaky. Jayden smiled and brushed some hair out of my face.

  “Yeah. I loved it. You’re perfect.”

  Calmly, I closed my eyes and sighed against his chest. I felt him move his head and then he chuckled again, whispering that there was no way he’d hand over the sheets to Jonah for laundry. Lazily I patted his chest.

  “I’m sure we’ll manage cleaning them on our own.”

  Thirty-Two

  Jayden

  Elin. I smiled at the thought of her while she burrowed closer into my side. Her hair was fanned out on my chest. The candles had burned down quite a bit. It’d been an hour or two.

  Elin. Man, she was beautiful. I ran my hand down the curve of her body, her skin soft under my fingers. I marveled at the tiny giggle that left her lips. I kissed her soft cheek. She was mine, my future. Never before had a woman made me feel the way Elin did. Sleeping with her hadn’t just been about sex. I’d been worried that she might not like it, but in the end, it had felt just right. Just the thought of how she’d moved against me and how she’d run her hands over my body had my heart speeding up again.

  “Elin,” I whispered.

  “Mhm?” She lazily lifted her head to look at me.

  “We need to get up. We’ve got to head out soon.”

  “Or we could stay in bed all day. Play hookie.”

  I laughed. It was tempting. Especially when she rolled onto her back not caring that she was fully naked. I placed a kiss on her shoulder. “Come on, I should probably have a shower before we head into town.”

  I kissed her once more before sitting up and reaching for my clothes.

  “Hey Jayden?” I twisted to look at where she’d sat up on the bed. “Thanks.”

  “What for?” I asked.

  “Today. All this.” She made a sweeping motion, pointing out the candles. “You waited, and dealt with my nervousness and all that.”

  She’d moved over to my side of the bed to gather her clothes. I snatched for her hand and stood in front of her. Pressed my lips to her forehead. When I pulled back I tilted her face up to look into her eyes.

  “You deserved every moment of that. Because you’re perfect and lovely. I take one look at you and I’m making plans for the future. The whole candles thing? That wasn’t just for you. It was because I needed to do this right. I wanted to look back one day and know that this, between us, is real.”

  “I love you, Jayden.”

  She wrapped her arms around me, nudged her head under my chin. I held her there, not really saying anything. Words wouldn’t have been sufficient to describe what I felt anyway.

  ◆◆◆

  Elin had joined me for a shower. Purely for the reason of conserving water, of course. As we walked back through the hallways I already saw Cam and Martin lurking in front of our room. Apparently, they’d just knocked.

  “Guess that’s it,” I whispered to Elin. “One for the road?”

  She smiled and leaned in for a quick kiss.

  “You looking for me? Did all hell break loose in the last couple hours?” I called out to Cam.

  They turned towards us. “Something like that,” Cam uttered.

  That was it. No jokes about us both obviously coming from the showers together. No winks or snide remarks. I pointed towards the office. It was a better setting. I wasn’t going to let them into our room. It was far too obvious why we’d been hiding away in there.

  “Martin might have info on Rowan,” Cam started. I glanced over at Martin.

  “I was downtown at a bar, trying to hook up with that girl from last week. Anyway, I saw one of Rowan’s guys. The brown-haired one who rarely leaves his side. What’s his name? Like the author from that creepy book in the library?” Martin said.

  “Bram?” I asked, confused.

  Bram was Rowan’s right-hand man. If he was in town, that suggested Rowan was still there, too. “I asked the bartender if he’d been there before. He comes there every other night,” Martin said.

  Bram would never travel far from Rowan’s headquarters. He was an odd one. A loner, never close to anyone. I wasn’t even sure Rowan liked his company. But he always stayed close to his boss. If he was a regular at that bar, their headquarters must’ve been close by.

  “Which bar?” I asked.

  “The Airstream. Right by the labs.”

  Chills ran down my back. The Airstream was so close to the labs it suggested Rowan might’ve switched sides again. With him, you never knew. He’d never made it a secret that he was willing to work for whoever
paid him most. Or was he planning to attack the labs directly? Or maybe this was to get more information on Abby. Too many possibilities that could turn out horribly for us.

  “Maybe he knows someone in the labs and wants to free them?” Cam suggested.

  I scoffed. “The day Rowan cares about anyone but Rowan is the day hell freezes over and gets an ice rink put in. He doesn’t care about casualties; we saw that with Chris and Elin. He could put my sister right in the middle of his chaos.”

  I glanced at Elin. Our last confrontation had gone so wrong. I wasn’t sure what she’d think about me seeking him out again. She gave me a grim smile.

  “Well, guess we know where we’re going tonight,” she said.

  I had no time to recover from my shock at her being on my side before she spoke again. “I hope you know I’ll come with you. Martin as well, I’d say. He already knows the place and we better have backup.”

  I smirked.

  “She’s calling the shots now?” Cam joked.

  I met Elin’s eyes for a few seconds. “I guess so.”

  ◆◆◆

  I scuffed the toe of my left boot against the seat of the old bleachers behind the school. I stared out over the large, overgrown field towards the forest. I was attuned to Elin’s steps; I knew it was her walking up next to me without having to look. Her small hand slipped into mine. I worried about taking her into town with me. About her being that close to the labs again and the impact it could have on her. She reassured me she’d be fine, but I heard that slight tremor of vulnerability in her voice.

  Elin, Martin and I drove to the bar. The lab loomed over it — a dark reminder of the horrible things people were capable of. Elin stared up at it, arms glued to her sides and hands clenched. I had chills running down my back, myself.

  The building was just over forty stories high. The stainless steel exterior reflected the streetlights. There was only one row of windows on each side, vertically dividing the front into two sections. Each section consisted of long, windowless corridors lined with cells and labs. The only link to the outside world was one window at the end of each floor. I tried to remember how it felt being up there. Humans appearing small as ants beneath you.

  I used to be one of them. I’d stood all the way up there on the roof once and fired at Rowan when he had attacked the building. They called it an impossible shot. It was the main reason Rowan had been interested in acquiring my help. I closed my eyes for a second and shook my head.

  Elin exhaled deeply. She straightened up a bit and squared her shoulders, letting me know she was ready to go.

  Inside the bar, lights were dim despite it being one of the more upscale joints in the city. The one where I’d first met Elin had nothing on it. The place was packed with guards, government officials who drank on their nights off and occasionally their spoiled kids who needed to kick back after a night of studying.

  We sat at a table, ordered drinks. With our clothes and youth, we could pass as rebellious students, dressing down to upset their old folks. At least we blended in enough that nobody gave us a second look. Bram wasn’t there. Neither in the corner where Martin had seen him, nor anywhere else. Two hours later, we got lucky when Bram sauntered in and ordered a drink.

  Bram knew me from when Rowan had tried recruiting me. Skipping the pleasantries, I picked up my drink and walked over to his table.

  “Mind if I sit?” I didn’t wait for an answer, but his annoyed look spoke volumes.

  “What do you want, Quinn?”

  “Come on, you know why I’m here,” I said as the waitress brought his drink. I put down money to pay for it. He shoved the money back towards me and dug out his own.

  “No need to wave white flags for me. It’s Rowan who wants your head. After all, you tried killing him.” Bram chuckled. He took a sip then leaned forward in his chair. “Even if I knew anything about your sister, he’d kill me if I told you. Plus, I don’t like you.”

  “I don’t believe that. Not for a second. Everybody likes me,” I objected.

  Bram rolled his eyes. “If I were you, I’d go. One call and Rowan sends someone here to kill you. Or I could kill you and deliver you to him. Don’t think your pathetic little backup over there is going to stop me,” Bram sounded serious.

  I got up from the table and threw him a stern look. “You still sour about Rowan offering me your position?”

  “I like my life the way it is. I’m not stepping down to be behind the Mighty Quinn. I strongly advise you to get out of here and leave me alone.”

  I grimaced. “Oh, sorry. My track record of taking advice from sore losers isn’t the best.”

  That got him out of his seat. I held my hands up in a non-threatening, though mocking, gesture. I retreated to our table without turning my back, as I was sure I’d get shanked otherwise. As Martin put money down for our drinks, I didn’t let Bram out of my sight. Before we left, I stopped at Bram’s table once more.

  “Before I forget; the right information could change my mind about working for Rowan.”

  It was a blatant lie. But Bram was so keen on keeping his job, that sentence was my insurance. If he wanted to keep his job, he wouldn’t tell his boss about my offer.

  ◆◆◆

  “So, what are you going to do about Rowan? It’s been two weeks since we first went to the bar and we’ve made no progress. We go every night, but that won’t change anything,” Elin said, rolling onto her stomach in bed. I looked at her and laughed.

  “Oh man, you suck at post-coital cuddling, you know? Talking about some guy who wants me dead.”

  She stuck her tongue out at me and rolled her eyes. “What? You’d rather talk about how great the sex was?”

  Rolling onto my side I stroked my hand over her leg and then rested it right over the curve of her ass.

  “Great, huh? Is it now?”

  “Oh, shut up. You’re just fishing for compliments,” Elin said, then shyly added: “It’s pretty good.”

  I loved her furious blush and I loved that she felt comfortable enough with me to joke about sex. That she trusted me with those vulnerabilities.

  “Anyway,” she drew my attention again, “We’re not making any advancements, so I thought maybe it might help if I spoke to Bram. Maybe he’ll be more talkative with me cause I’m not a threat.”

  I groaned and shook my head. “I’m not using you to get information.”

  “It’s not using me if I’m doing it willingly.”

  We were at a dead end with Bram. We’d tried everything from bribing him to following him, but somehow, he always disappeared without us being a step closer to Rowan.

  Elin’s eyes had taken on a stubborn look. “Come on. I want to help you find Abby. Besides, I want to get back at Rowan for nearly blowing me to bits and pieces.”

  Well, that memory didn’t help me feel better about her being near Bram. I understood where she was coming from. But I still didn’t like it. She managed to talk me into it. Telling me she’d be safe and that I’d be right at the next table in case anything happened. I told her I’d think about it, then kissed her. She pulled back once more and emphasized how much she wanted to help and I sighed in fake annoyance.

  “Seriously, we need to establish some ground rules here. When we’re kissing, stop talking about stuff that might get you killed. And after sex no talking about flirting with other guys. Even if it’s to help me. It really bothers me.”

  “Aww, you’re jealous.”

  I cut her off by really kissing her this time and pulling her body on top of mine. If I was supposed to let her rush headfirst into danger I was first going to show her how much I loved her.

  ◆◆◆

  There we were, sitting at the bar again. After two weeks, I knew the place like the back of my hand. I even felt less tense about seeing the labs outside. Still, I’d gladly never return. Cam tagged along for backup. It wasn’t like I didn’t trust the others, but this was about Elin’s safety. There were only so many people I was willing to
trust with that.

  Elin had dressed in a short skirt and shirt that made me want to just drag her to bed when she’d shown it to me. Instead, I sat at a table while my beautiful girlfriend walked herself right over to some sketchy guy. Wasn’t that every guy’s dream?

  I watched as she ordered a drink. Watched every move Bram made. When he leaned forward to listen to her. When he handed her the drink from the waitress’s tray. A big part of it was jealousy. Especially when she casually put her hand on his arm during the conversation. Man, I was about to jump from my chair. Cam kicked me under the table making me look at him for a second.

  “She’s fine. Relax. And please don’t break the glass.”

  Only then did I realize I was gripping my glass so tightly my knuckles were white.

  “So, things are good between you guys? You’re less edgy. Have you …”

  I knew Cam was just trying to distract me so I wouldn’t blow a fuse. But I wanted to keep my attention on Elin.

  “None of your business,” I responded. Couldn’t help grinning a little wider than usual. I guess Cam put two and two together. Next thing I knew he held his fist out for me to bump it.

  “Really? Aren’t we a bit old to brag about sexual conquests?”

  “But dude, this isn’t sexual conquests. This is the story of Jayden Quinn, notorious womanizer, settling down and becoming a one-woman man. That’s worth talking about. I didn’t think I’d live to see the day. I really don’t know how she did it.”

  I smiled and took another sip of my drink before looking back towards Bram’s table. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something seemed off. Like Elin was putting more effort into concentrating on what she was saying. Cam thought it was just me being jealous, but he didn’t know her like I did.