The Curse

by Ts McKinney

  From the spot inside my head, I heard Corbin’s husky laughter. I’m excited, too, my love. Come to me.

  “Well, stop hiding then, asshole,” I answered loud enough for him to hear, regardless of what space Morgan had locked him in.

  The laughter grew louder.

  It was strange how I was already in love with Corbin Hargreaves. I’d never really seen him face to face, never held him except in dreams, but I was in love. Madly in love. Like, fairytale love. The kind of love I’d never believed in before setting foot in Marblehead. That was the love I felt for Corbin.

  I love you, too, Nico. The voice answered. I’ve waited so damned long for you to find your way back to me again.

  “Stop getting inside my head!” I yelled. “That’s rude. I might be thinking inappropriate thoughts.” I opened his bedroom door for the second time that night and peeked inside. Everything was exactly as it had been the first time I’d scoured it from head to toe…the same as it had been a hundred years ago. And a hundred years before that. Corbin was meticulously tidy. There wasn’t even any dust, because of the spell Morgan had cast.

  I hope you’re thinking inappropriate thoughts. The voice answered and was accompanied by yet another husky chuckle. It’s been a while and I’ve missed your body. I miss how well you fuck me. I miss those lovely sounds you make right before you come. I miss how your bright blue eyes turn midnight blue when you’re wanting me to touch you. Hell, Nico. I miss everything about you. I’m so sorry for the things I said. I didn’t mean them. I was angry. Hurt. Confused. I never stopped loving you. Not that night and not in the thousands of nights since then.

  I felt my blood rush straight to my cock. Straight. To. My. Cock. I’d never had sex with a man in my life, never really thought I would want to. I fucking wanted to have sex with Corbin.

  Now.

  I searched the entire room again, looking in places where common sense told me there was no reason to look. Seriously, did I really think Morgan had trapped Corbin under the bed for a hundred years? Nah, probably not. Nearly an hour had passed since I’d entered the bedroom and I’d made zero progress. And with every minute that passed, I was growing closer to death at the hands of Morgan Goodheart.

  No! She will not win, Nico. Don’t even think it. I won’t allow Morgan to hurt you. This time the voice in my head was even louder. So loud, I looked around the room, expecting to see Corbin standing there.

  So, he knew of the curse. She’d probably flaunted that in front of him, mocking him every time she killed a Bailey descendant. I remembered then that he’d been through this twice before with other reincarnated versions of Nico. They had found their way to him too, only to eventually be thwarted by Morgan again.

  Third time’s a charm, they say.

  My head turned to look at the large mirror that covered one entire wall—the wall adjacent to the bed. Smiling, I wondered if Nico had ever watched Corbin fuck him through that mirror. Had Nicodemus been a kinky slut like me?

  My eyes widened. What better way to torment Corbin than to make him spend eternity looking at the bed where he and Nico had made love over and over again. Well, I guess we had. Other than the visions Corbin had put inside my head, I had no recollection of Nico’s time spent with the high witch. I only knew that Nico loved him. That I loved him, too.

  Then. Now. Forever.

  Slowly, I walked to the mirror, concentrating on trying to see if there was an illusion there, hiding the man I loved. No, trapping the man I loved. There was nothing though. Only my own sad reflection gazing back at me. I tilted my head. I looked like Nicholas, not Nicodemus. Was I a disappointment to Corbin?

  Never. I see only your heart, my love. Another breathless laugh. Okay, I see more than your heart. You’re even more beautiful than before.

  “I bet you say that to all the Nico’s,” I teased to the empty room. I was only a foot away from the mirror, and I began to realize my energy level was spiking. My fingers tingled and sparkled.

  I watched myself in the mirror as a smile curved my lips. “Nico never betrayed you, Corbin. It was a vicious spell. One of Morgan’s witches cast a spell on him and made him have sex with her. There was no betrayal. He wasn’t even aware of what he was doing. I swear it.” I raised my hand and placed it flat against the mirror. I took a deep breath. “Around and around we go, Corbin. Come back to me.”

  I felt warmth touch my hand and then the mirror exploded into a million pieces. Every instinct inside me begged that I try to protect my face and body from the shards of glass that flew through the air, but the newfound energy that accompanied all things magic assured me I wouldn’t be injured. One second I was standing there, hand flat against the mirror, and the next minute, Corbin was standing in front of me. His hand was flat against mine, causing sparks to flicker and then erupt into flames. I’m not sure how long we stood there, hand to hand, eyes locked together, with magic flowing through the air between us and all around us. The only thing I was certain of was that I’d spent my entire life waiting for this moment. For this touch.

  Even in crowds or with friends, I’d always felt alone, and now I knew why. As my hand rested against Corbin’s hand, I knew I’d never be alone again.

  When the glass finally settled, and the flames stopped flickering, I saw Corbin, standing there in his old-fashioned clothing and looking as young and alive as I was. He really was blond, like I had thought, and he had the same jewel-toned purple eyes as in my dream. Corbin murmured, “Hello, Nico. Welcome home, my love.”

  My heart exploded. All the things wrong in my life suddenly turned right. Where there hadn’t been love, love now existed. I felt…shy.

  “I’m…I’m not Nico,” I countered, trying to keep gazing into those incredibly intense eyes. He was beautiful, so fucking beautiful. He was too beautiful for the likes of me. “I’m Nicholas.” What I felt for Corbin was so all-consuming and so powerful. But I didn’t want me to be madly in love with a man who thought I was someone else. He needed to know that while parts of Nicodemus might reside deep inside of me, I was still ninety-nine point nine percent Nicholas.

  Corbin’s hand dropped away from mine, causing a wave of loneliness to wash over me, nearly drowning me. “Ah, my love. I know who you are,” he said softly. “I also know that my Nicodemus is inside here,” he tapped the side of my head. “But, more than that, I know that you’re Nicholas, the beloved that I’ve spent years waiting for. I can’t wait to learn everything about you, Nicholas Jeremiah Bailey.” After he uttered those words, he reached up, gripped the sides of my face, and his lips crashed against mine. Splinters of light and sound exploded in my head. Peace and happiness wrapped a loving cocoon around my heart. I felt loved and cherished. Warm. Content. Every fucking good word I could come up with. That’s what Corbin’s kiss did to me.

  He broke off the kiss but didn’t remove the hands that held my face captive. His smile was seductive and held a promise that made me want to collapse against his strength. “That kiss, my love, was to show you all the love I feel for you, and how much you mean to me. It was my way of laying claim to your heart.” He winked. “When I kiss you again, it’ll be to show you how much I crave you physically. I’ll lay claim to your body then, as well.”

  “Oh…okay. That sounds…good.” Fuck, I sounded like a total idiot. If I didn’t snap out of it and show a dab of intelligence, he might try climbing back into the mirror. “I mean, fuck, yeah.”

  His eyebrow arched and his eyes widened. I was afraid I’d offended him, but then a huge grin split his face. “My goodness,” he remarked. “Yes, you are a bit different that Nicodemus. I like it. I like it very much. He was always quite shy and never cursed.”

  He was laughing at me but not in a bad way. Still, he was definitely laughing.

  “Yeah, I might be a little shy, too,” I mumbled.

  “I suspected as much.” He stepped closer and pulled me against him. When he wrapped his arms around me, I felt so fucking safe.
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  I felt Corbin’s body tense up and then relax again. What had I done wrong? Had I already fucked it up?

  “What?” I demanded. “Did I do something wrong?”

  His grip on me didn’t loosen in the least.

  “Absolutely not, Nicholas,” he answered quickly. “The power of your magic surprised me for a moment. I suspected there had to be a small amount residing inside in order for you to have found your way back to me, but the witchery inside of you is…amazing.” He frowned. “I heard what you said earlier about Morgan using one of her witches to cast a spell on Nicodemus to force him to have sex with her. I can’t imagine that Morgan would have risked using a powerful witch, but your magic rejects that theory. You’re strong.” His frown deepened. “High witch, strong. Unless…who was your mother, Nicholas?”

  “Her name was Rosalie Banks. From the Banks family of witches in Easthampton originally. That’s what I discovered lately anyway.”

  “The Banks family,” Corbin answered with a smile. “An old and revered coven. Nathaniel Banks and I were friends after a fashion. He was incredibly strong.”

  “My research said that Rosalie was his descendant.”

  “Ah. A high witch, then?” His eyes widened, and I thought how sexy those eyes of his were. He smiled and said, “You’re, um…sexy too. If I understand the term.”

  “Okay, let’s not do that anymore. Can you stop? I want you to stop. When we have conversations, they need to be vocal. Don’t dig around inside my head. It makes me feel weird, and I don’t like it.”

  “Of course, Nico. I’ll refrain from digging inside your head. I apologize.”

  “Apology accepted,” I said. “High witch, eh? I doubt that. I mean, she couldn’t save herself or my dad from Morgan. As for me, I didn’t even know I had any powers at all until two days ago. I can’t imagine it would be possible for me to have high witch powers tucked inside of me and not have known it. Surely some of it would have shown up at some point in my life, right?”

  “Not necessarily. It could have taken you coming back home or interacting with the coven to awaken your power. Without proper training, witchcraft can lie dormant in a person. As for your mother, the spell Morgan used was too dark to fight. It was drenched in blood.”

  He took my hand and led me over to the bed. “Enough talk of Morgan for now. I need to regain my powers so I’ll be able to destroy her before the hour of your birth on your twenty-fifth year.” He motioned toward the bed and my cock twitched. “Will you lie with me?”

  I gulped. Literally gulped. “Uh…yeah…sure. I mean, I would have expected you to buy me dinner first, but I’ve put out for less before. Sure, this will work.” I started ripping off my clothes and toeing off my shoes, in a hurry to get this over with so we could get to the main event. I climbed on the bed, knowing my attempt at a joke had sounded above and beyond stupid. I was nervous, though, at what he would think about my body. Incredibly nervous. Yes, I wanted to have sex with him, more than I wanted it to be the day after my twenty-fifth birthday with me still alive. I wanted it…but I was afraid of it. No, apprehensive might be the better word. I’d never had sex with a man except for that time in my dream. I looked around the tidy room. Was there lube here? That was important, right? Had lube even existed a hundred years ago, and had Nicodemus and Corbin used it? And maybe condoms? Though considering the man had been locked up behind a mirror for over a hundred years, it wasn’t like he’d had a lot of dates. And I was babbling in my own head. Nice.

  Corbin’s eyes widened appreciatively as he climbed onto the bed and gathered me in his arms. “God, you’re so gorgeous. All these muscles—Nicodemus’s body, though beautiful, was very different. But I wasn’t asking you if we could engage in carnal relations, Nico. I just want to feel your body against mine. Still—since you seem to be all right with it…”

  “Um, yeah. I-I’m fine with it except…I’ve never exactly…I mean, this will be my first real time with a man.”

  His face changed, and his eyes became moist and so sweet as he looked down at me. He took my hand in his and kissed the back of it. Yeah, I guess it was hokey, but damn it felt good. I’d never had anyone look at me like they loved me before and it took my breath away. I closed my eyes, slightly overcome and he leaned down to kiss the side of my face. “Thank you, love, for trusting me. I promise I’ll take care of you, just like the time before in your…your water closet. Only this time it will be real.”

  “My water closet? You mean the bathroom? With the shower? You’re going to have to get up to speed on all the modern conveniences, but it will be fun to teach you. Wait till you see television. And video games. You’re gonna love those.” I was babbling away, I think, to try to handle the intensity of my emotions, but Corbin saw right through it.

  “It’s going to be fine, darling. We won’t do anything you’re not ready for. I promise.” Then he bent down and claimed my mouth in the fiercest, filthiest kiss I’d ever experienced. And I thought some of those sorority girls had been dirty. I had a feeling I was about to get schooled.

  He slid his tongue inside my mouth, and there was something about me being naked and him being fully clothed that my dick really appreciated and what the hell was that about? I had no idea I was so kinky. Still kissing me, he made a little motion with his hands and suddenly, his clothes just fell away, like all the seams had come out of them at once. He pushed them aside, and I feasted my eyes again on that same strong body I had admired in my shower. He had muscles everywhere, though not in an over-exercised, bulky way. He was lean and athletic looking, with the body of a runner and the thighs of a rugby player. Damn, he was hot as hell. He put his fingers up to my mouth and whispered to me.

  “Get them wet, love.”

  I opened my lips obediently and sucked his fingers into my mouth. He even tasted good. He pulled them out after a moment and reached around behind himself, looking at me with an arch smile. “I want to watch your face while I ride you, sweetheart. I want to see you come apart.”

  The air rushed out of my mouth, and I could only stare at him. He wanted me to fuck him. Unbelievable.

  “I don’t—I’ve never done this with a man.”

  “It’s not all that different,” he said, trailing his fingers down my throat. “Just let me do all the work.” He lifted himself onto me and sank down over my cock in one swift move that left me gasping and him groaning with pleasure. God, the heat of him! Velvet soft and so tight and hot I thought I’d die now and be a happy man. And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, he reached up and twisted my nipples with his hands, and I almost flew up off that bed with him still wrapped around me. How come no one ever touched me there before? I didn’t even know my nips were an erogenous zone, but I began to buck up and down so hard as he teased and twisted them so hard I almost threw him off me.

  He smoothed his hands up my sides then and murmured to me. “Slow down, love. We have all night.” He scooped up some of the cum leaking from his cock then and smeared a little of it on my lips before claiming them again in what had to be the most sinful kiss in the history of Salem. The taste of his cum in my mouth made me moan and thrust my hips again into all that heat. I felt almost out of control, and so close to coming I was embarrassed. “Corbin,” I said urgently. “Corbin, I’m gonna…I can’t…”

  “Shh,” he said in my mouth, soothing me and passed his hand over my head. “Now you won’t come until I allow it.” Until he allowed it? Well, if that wasn’t the fucking most hot thing I’d ever heard I didn’t know what was. In just a few minutes, he’d reduced me to his moaning little bitch, and I fucking loved it. What the hell was wrong with me?

  Nothing, I heard him say in my head. There’s not a thing wrong with you. We were made to be together. I only want to pleasure you, darling.

  He raised himself up until just the tip of my cock was kissing his hole, and then he slammed back down on me all the way to his balls. I could feel the weight of them with his
soft hair on my thighs. I thought I was dying—I wanted to come so bad. He began to writhe on my dick, rocking his body over me. He leaned over and fisted my hair to kiss me again and finally, finally, he made that little pass on my forehead again and said, “Come for me, love. Come harder than you ever have before.’

  He didn’t have to ask me twice. My body bowed up in an arch until only my shoulders were still on the bed. My toes curled, and I screamed at the top of my lungs as my orgasm exploded out of me. I bucked and strained against him and he held onto me, his ass hot and tight around my cock. I think I may have bitten into pillow beside my head and ripped it with my teeth. He had come at the same time and I felt his molten cum splash on my stomach. Again, he scooped up some of it and fed it to me. He fell off on the bed beside me, and it was a long time before either of us had the energy to speak. I actually may have passed out. When I was aware of my body again, I realized he was wrapped around me, his leg slung over mine and his arms around my waist. It was where I wanted to be forever.

  Eventually, we had to move though, and Corbin was the first to drop a kiss on my forehead and get up. He went to his cabinet thing that my history degree told me was called a chifforobe and pulled out some clothes. I lifted up on one elbow. “How are those things not rotted by now?”

  “The house was under Morgan’s spell to be frozen in time. She wanted me to know all my things were here waiting on me. Part of her torture.”

  “I’d like to torture that bitch,” I said, sitting up. “I’ve never wanted to kill somebody before, but in her case, I’d make an exception.

  He smiled and started to say something when we heard a loud voice calling to us from the front yard.

  “Nicholas! Are you in there? Answer me! So help me, if you’ve gone and killed yourself, I’m going to…shit, I don’t know what I’ll do. Nico!”

  I glanced over at Corbin in surprise. “It’s Alastair. He must have come looking for me. He’s really been helpful since I got here. He’s been trying to look out for me.”