The Curse Keepers (Curse Keepers series)

by Swank, Denise Grover

  It was a lovely thought, but I didn’t have access to a boat. But perhaps that explained why Collin seemed so much stronger than me.

  We stayed like that for several minutes, me watching the ocean and resting against the balcony railing, Collin pressed against my back, his arms on either side of me. I knew I should be thankful for this moment with him, but I was greedy. I wanted more of him, not just this.

  Collin’s arms dropped and he turned around and went into the room. When he left, it was as though a piece of me went missing. Just as I was about to chide myself for being overdramatic, I realized the truth of it: Collin and I were equal halves of a whole. Perhaps we could have simply done our job, combining our power when needed in the ceremony, but last night had bound us in a way that I was sure Collin didn’t anticipate. Did he feel it too? If he did, why did he fight it so?

  I not only needed Collin Dailey, I wanted him. I could try to ignore it for the rest of the time I had left with him and regret until my dying breath that I never seized this opportunity. Or I could go through it and have my heart broken when he left, because I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he would.

  My heart would be broken no matter what choice I made.

  The door to the room was still open, but I wasn’t ready to face him yet. Besides, I wanted to see if he had a point about the water. I headed down the stairs and kicked off my shoes, carrying them in my hand as I trekked across the fifty-foot beach toward the water. The closer I got to the water’s edge, the stronger the pull. When my feet hit the wet sand, I curled my toes and waited for a wave to wash over me. My knees almost buckled at the rush of power and I gasped out loud.

  My eyes sank closed as I absorbed both the power and what it meant. As well as the potential disadvantage it gave me. Collin was a fisherman, but he spent a lot of time on the land. The ceremony would most likely take place on the land, possibly miles from water. There was nothing I could do about that. Would I be strong enough to be useful?

  I decided to ignore what I couldn’t control—Collin, my power or lack thereof—and enjoy this moment. The realization that I did have a purpose: Elinor Dare Lancaster, Curse Keeper. I walked deeper into the waves, the water crashing into my legs as I tilted my head back, my face absorbing the sunlight. My skirt flapped, the hem soaking up saltwater, and my hair blew around my face. I could almost feel the Manitou of creatures around me, just a tickle of their presence. I had been right the day before in the warehouse. This wasn’t just a curse. It was a blessing.

  I wasn’t sure how long I stayed there, straddling both worlds, but it was long enough to become cold from the water and the wind. My long hair had become hopelessly tangled, and I reached up to brush it out of my face as I turned around to go back to the room. I stopped mid-turn, surprised to see Collin standing ten feet behind me. The raw desire in his eyes stole my breath. Collin Dailey wanted me as much as I wanted him. The knowledge knotted my stomach and caused an ache inside, an ache that I needed him to touch. To fill. I took a step toward him and stopped as he backed up several paces, then turned around and returned to the room without me.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Collin didn’t say a word when I returned. He sat in a chair by the window and watched a game show on the television.

  On the walk back to the room, I decided I could go about this one of two ways: I could sulk the rest of our time together or I could figure out a way to break Collin Dailey. The second option held much more appeal. On so many levels.

  I flopped on the bed next to him. “What are we doing tonight?”

  He kept his attention on the television, an obvious ploy to get me to leave him alone. There was no way Collin was that interested in a tampon commercial.

  “I don’t know. I guess eat dinner.”

  “I want to go to the street fair.”

  His eyebrows slowly rose as his mouth parted. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope.”

  He shook his head. “No. No way.”

  We’d see about that. I stood up and walked toward the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower.”

  That got his attention. “That’s not a good idea. You might screw up your mark.”

  I gave him a saucy look. “Then I guess you’ll just have to redo it.”

  “Ellie.”

  I set my bag on the bed and unzipped it enough to pull out my cosmetics bag. “I haven’t had a shower in days, Collin. I’m sure the mark has set by now. Have mercy on me.” But I didn’t want him to show me mercy. I wanted—I stopped the thought before I attacked him. I had no doubt he would eventually cave, but there was also no doubt that Collin was stubborn. Too bad for him he’d met his match. But I didn’t want to smell like sweat and lemons when I seduced him and that meant I needed a shower.

  He slumped in the chair, rolling his eyes in disgust. “Do whatever you want. You do anyway.”

  The sooner he accepted that, the better off he’d be.

  I was in the bathroom long enough to steam up the mirror. I had to make sure I was ready for shenanigans with Collin Dailey and that included shaving. Plus I hoped he was out there thinking about me. Naked.

  When I opened the door, he jerked upright, purposely trying to ignore me and shifting in his seat. He cast a glance my way, which turned into a double take when he realized I’d come out wrapped in the flimsy terry-cloth robe. His eyes stayed on me. Collin Dailey looked like a starving man, and he wasn’t hungry for food.

  “Do you want to check my back? To make sure I didn’t screw up my mark?” I partially turned my back toward him, dropping my robe off my shoulder.

  He looked away. “No,” he responded more gruffly than necessary.

  I almost chuckled and went back into the bathroom. I towel dried my hair and found a blow-dryer to help with the rest. When I was done, it was a frizzy mess. I sighed.

  Since Claire had packed my bag, I wasn’t sure what she’d included. Thankfully, she’d had more foresight than I had. I pulled out a black lacy shirt and a gauzy skirt, along with a lacy black bra and panties buried underneath.

  I dressed and put on a little makeup. It was too hot to wear much more than blush, eye shadow and mascara, and lip stain. Next I plaited my hair into a soft, messy braid over my shoulder that reminded me a bit of Rosalina’s. That gave me pause. I didn’t want to remind Collin of Rosalina. I stared at myself in the mirror to get the full effect. I’d never be the beauty that Rosalina was, but I could manage pretty. Tonight I wore slightly more eye makeup than usual. I still passed for pretty, but with a bit of maturity.

  When I emerged from the bathroom, Collin was pacing the floor. He turned toward me, and froze.

  “Do you need to get ready?” I asked.

  He nodded, then swallowed.

  I smiled. Imagine that. A speechless Collin Dailey. Someone needed to mark that down for posterity.

  He pulled a set of clothes out of his bag and moved past me. I purposely made it difficult. He looked like he was in pain when he closed the bathroom door. The sound of the shower soon followed. Collin didn’t linger under the water long. He was in and out of the bathroom in less than ten minutes.

  He picked up his wallet and truck keys off the dresser. “No street fair,” he growled, stuffing the wallet into his back pocket. Lucky wallet. I’d love to be that close to Collin’s ass. Good Lord. When had I become this person?

  He glanced up and saw where I was staring and got flustered. What was Collin afraid of? Was he as worried that I’d break his heart as I was that he would break mine? What a joke. It was more likely he worried I’d pull some hysterical woman freak-out when he left.

  Collin opened the door and held it for me. “You look very handsome,” I said in a slow, sexy voice as I walked by him. He was more than handsome. I couldn’t imagine how People magazine hadn’t put his picture on their cover as the sexiest man alive.

  Even though Collin had tried to keep his distance in our room, outside he fell in step beside me, his hand on the small of my back
. I hid my smile. I didn’t want to spook him. When we got to the truck, he opened the door for me. Unlike that morning, I didn’t comment. I realized this wasn’t something Collin did—open car doors for women. What exactly did it mean that he did it for me?

  It took us less than ten minutes to get downtown. The streets were crowded and several were blocked off. Collin parked on a side road and was over on my side of the truck as I got out. I loved that Collin had told me no street fair, but then drove us there anyway. The boy was breaking.

  “What are you hungry for?” I asked in a husky voice.

  It took him several seconds to answer. “I don’t care.”

  “Do you want to walk around and see what’s here?”

  “Sure.”

  I almost felt badly for him. Almost. I still hadn’t figured out why he was resisting me so hard, but at least I wasn’t making a fool of myself. He wanted me. Bad.

  We stopped at a bar and grill and sat in the patio area on the sidewalk, watching the people pass by. Collin leaned back in his seat, uncharacteristically quiet. It occurred to me that if he had a reason for not acting on his feelings toward me, maybe I should respect that. He was clearly uncomfortable.

  “Collin,” I said, putting my hand on the table surface in front of him.

  His eyes darted to mine.

  “I didn’t sleep with Drew last night. He’s Claire’s fiancé.”

  “I know.”

  That caught me by surprise. “You didn’t look like you knew when you showed up this morning.”

  “Not at first I didn’t, but the minute Claire arrived, I saw the way they looked at each other.” He still scowled.

  I thought clearing our misunderstanding would make things better. “We can go. If you want to get something to go, we can just take it back to the room.”

  He watched me for several seconds, then shook his head. “No. I want to be here.”

  I released my breath.

  “I need a beer.” He motioned for the waitress to come over and ordered a pale ale.

  “I’ll take one too.”

  He smirked.

  “What?” I asked when the waitress left.

  “I thought you preferred men who were stout.”

  I smiled. My Collin was back and had accepted my challenge. “No, I said I took you for a stout man.” My eyebrows rose. “Was I wrong?”

  A slow sexy grin spread across his face. “I’ll let you figure that out for yourself.”

  My body flushed.

  He leaned forward and waited for my response. Score one for Collin. He slid his hand across the table and reached for my hand, slowly turning it over. His fingertip traced the lines in my palm and I shivered. He grinned at the small victory. “Did you know I can read palms?”

  I shook my head.

  His finger traced a long line from my thumb to my wrist. “This is your life line.” He bent over it. “Yours is quite long and bold. You’ll live a very long and very large life.” He found a line that ran down the middle of my hand. “This is your fate line.” He studied it and grinned up at me. “You are destined for the best night of your life, Ellie Lancaster.”

  I wasn’t sure how it was possible, but this was the second time Collin had got me hot just holding my hand. I could only imagine what it would be like when we finally slept together. There was no doubt we would. At this point it was a game of who would cave first.

  His finger moved to a line on the other side of my hand. “This is your love line. It, combined with your fate line, says you will meet a dark, handsome man who will make you beg for mercy for toying with his principles.”

  I lowered my voice. “And does it say where I’ll meet such a man?”

  He lifted my hand to his mouth and licked the tip of my ring finger. “The Romans thought there was a direct connection from the left ring finger to the heart. But I think it goes somewhere else.”

  I tried to suppress a moan as my eyelids fluttered. Oh God. I wasn’t sure I’d make it through dinner.

  A languid smile lit up his face. Collin was in his element and our roles had been reversed.

  Collin sucked on my fingertip. “Do you want to read my palm?”

  The feeling shot right to my groin and I sucked in a breath. “What?”

  He chuckled. “You seem distracted, Ellie.”

  “No.” My voice wavered. “I’m fine.”

  He opened his left palm and traced his love line with my finger. Dear God, even that turned me on.

  “This is my love line. Do you know what it says?”

  “No.”

  “It says an incredibly sexy, but totally infuriating redheaded woman will barge into my life and drive me insane.”

  His sentence made me pause. “But insane in a good way?”

  His smile was genuine. “Insane in a way I never thought possible.” Then his wicked look returned, and he moved my finger to his fate line. “See how long and bold this line is? It’s an indication of my sexual prowess.”

  I burst out laughing.

  He leaned away, taken aback. “What’s so funny?”

  “Your sexual prowess?”

  His eyes narrowed. “Is that a challenge?”

  I grinned. “Oh, you have no idea.”

  The tables had turned again, and he was the one who looked like he was about to strip me naked right there on the table.

  His voice lowered, and he leaned close. “You said you like it on top. I spent all day imagining it.”

  Oh. Shit.

  The waitress came back with our drinks and asked to take our order. We hadn’t even looked at the menu yet. Dear God. We still had to sit through dinner. I’d be begging Collin to screw me in the bathroom at this rate.

  “I just want an appetizer.” I shoved the menu at the waitress.

  Collin grinned, keeping his eyes on me.

  “Which one?” the waitress asked.

  “Uh…”

  “How about crab cakes?” Collin asked. “And the grilled shrimp.”

  I nodded. I’d eat raw carrots if it would speed this up and get us back to the motel, and I hated raw carrots.

  She took the menus and left.

  “Where were we?” Collin asked.

  Torturing me for playing with your principles.

  He continued his torture until the food arrived. As the waitress started to leave, Collin called her back, asking for the bill. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only impatient one.

  We’d barely eaten the last shrimp when Collin stood and reached for my hand. He pulled me into the crowd, his right hand wrapped tight around my left as though I would disappear. The sounds of a live band in the street caught my attention.

  “Collin, I want to dance.”

  He shook his head. “I don’t dance.”

  I pulled him toward the music, making our way through the crowd. He didn’t resist, in spite of his protest.

  I stopped a comfortable distance away so that we could hear the music but still converse. I swayed in time to the beat. “Why don’t you dance?”

  His gaze wandered to my hips. “I dance. Just not this kind.”

  “You know another kind?”

  A wicked smile lit up his face. “How about you teach me how to dance your way, and I’ll teach you how to dance mine.”

  Oh. Shit. “Deal.”

  He looked amused. “So tell me what to do.”

  I hadn’t eaten much at dinner and the beer had gone straight to my head. I gave him a sexy look. “You don’t strike me as the kind of guy who likes to be told what to do.”

  “You’d be surprised.”

  I took a deep breath. Focus. “We can either stand apart or we can be together.”

  Collin’s hands settled on my waist. “Always together, Ellie. Always.”

  I placed my hands on his chest, but kept several inches between us.

  “Now what?” Collin asked.

  “Now you move to the music.”

  We danced, a slow seductive swaying of our hips. Coll
in’s heart beat fast under my hand. I searched his eyes, finding evidence that Collin Dailey wasn’t immune to me. “So far I don’t think our dances are all that different.”

  Collin pulled me flush to his body, his hands still on my waist. “I need you closer.”

  My stomach fluttered. “I thought I was teaching this dance.”

  “From what I’ve seen, mine is so much better.”

  “You’re not giving mine a chance.”

  “I’ve been giving yours a chance for hours.” Collin slid his hands underneath the hem of my shirt, his fingertips skimming my back above my waistband. “Are you a witch, Ellie Lancaster? Have you cast a spell to entrance me?” He looked half serious and leaned his forehead down to mine, then whispered, “Or are you an angel sent to save my soul?”

  I closed my eyes. If he didn’t kiss me soon, I would combust.

  His hands slid up my back, outside my shirt, his hands splayed and digging in as they moved. “You have no idea how much I want you.”

  “I want you too.”

  He groaned, and one of his hands found my neck, traveling up to cup the side of my head, our bodies moving to the slow tempo of the band. His mouth leaned close to mine, so agonizingly close. “Don’t trust me, Ellie. You can’t trust me.” His voice cracked with pain.

  How many times had he told me that? “I know who you are, Collin. I’m going into this with eyes wide open.” I reached for the back of his head, trying to bring his mouth to mine, but he held back. What was he waiting for? What did he need from me? “No man has made me feel even a fraction of what I feel with you, Collin. I know this is short term. I know you’ll be gone once the gate is closed. But I still want you.”

  His eyes closed, and his hold on my head tightened.

  “What do you want from me, Collin? Do you want me to beg?” God help me, I was willing to do it.

  “I’ll hurt you, Ellie. I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “I know you won’t stick around. You’ll hurt me so much more if you reject me, Collin. Please.”

  He groaned again.

  I stood on my tiptoes, pressing my lips to his. He stood still, his chest rising and falling against mine. My tongue ran along his bottom lip, finding an opening, then exploring his mouth.