Cursed

by Nancy Corrigan

  Eyes closed, she enjoyed the moment. The knowledge that her family was safe comforted her. For them and the countless humans who were engaging in similar activities, she had to meet the Triad’s challenge. If not, she’d fail and the barrier separating Hell from the human realm would crack more, unleashing the devastating forces of the Underworld.

  She’d also be transported back to the fairy prison. She’d lose Ian. Her breath rushed out, and her chest tightened. She didn’t want to lose him.

  “Why aren’t you with your lover?”

  Rowan’s question yanked Tegan out of her thoughts. She met her sister’s narrowed eyes. “What? Did Zeph announce it to everyone?”

  “I heard the two of you going at it.” Rowan crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, answer me.”

  “Why do you care?”

  “Because I want to know what your plans are for him.” Rowan licked her lips and glanced toward the stairs. “Is it exclusive?”

  Sharpened nails punched from Tegan’s fingers. The bones of her face rearranged in a rush, and a deep growl rumbled from her chest. She advanced on her sister. Rowan didn’t flinch. Inches away, Tegan fought her instincts that demanded she make Rowan bleed. Tegan didn’t want to fight tonight, not while Ian waited for her, but she had to stake her claim.

  With Ian’s image held in the forefront of her mind, she forced back her Hunter form. A deep breath calmed the last of her anger.

  “Yes, it’s exclusive.” She’d make sure of it.

  “Does he know that?”

  Tegan let her conversations with Ian replay in her mind. Her doubts rushed up. She shoved them back. He’d said he loved her.

  She raised her chin. “Yes.”

  Rowan huffed, gave the stairwell one last peek, then pivoted on her heel and stormed away.

  Tegan considered going after her, but she didn’t have time to play therapist for her sister. Tomorrow, she’d talk to Rowan and uncover what bothered her. Tonight, Tegan wanted her lover. She rushed up the steps.

  Ian’s bedroom stood opposite hers. She gripped the doorknob, took one last deep breath and entered. Darkness met her. Only the light from the open window illuminated the room. She closed the door behind her. The scent of cinnamon surrounded her in the confined space. Like a junkie needing another fix, she inhaled a deep lungful of the fragrance she’d become addicted to.

  Her eyelids drifted shut. “Ian.”

  A groan was her only warning.

  With his hands on her hips, he spun her. She gasped, but he swallowed her shocked cry. With a rough thrust of his tongue, he kissed her as if they hadn’t seen each other in years. She met his wild dance with a desperation of her own. Only a few hours had passed since she’d experienced passion in his arms. It had been too long. She’d forgotten the delicious rush of primal needs he stirred within her.

  Each moan he fed her reminded her of what he offered—an escape, a place where duty had no business in her life. He turned her into a woman, and with Ian’s mouth on hers, she came alive.

  Every horrid thing she’d experienced in her long life faded into the background. Ian took center stage in her heart and mind. More than that, he filled the void in her soul. She wanted to hold him close and never let him go. He calmed her even while sending her up in flames.

  She stood on her tiptoes and gripped his shoulders. With a hand on her bottom, he lifted her. Her feet left the ground. She followed his unspoken command and wrapped her legs around his waist. Too short to feel his cock pressed along her sex, she didn’t bother trying to align their bodies. There’d be plenty of time to feel his erection sliding over her cleft.

  For the moment, kissing him became her sole focus. She tightened her grip on his neck and pulled herself higher. He helped her, pushing her up with a hand between her thighs. The pressure of his palm over the mouth of her sex ignited shivers of awareness deep in her womb. She squirmed and squeezed her legs, holding him where she throbbed. He ground his hand against her. Tingles danced along the walls of her core.

  Images of their sweat-slickened bodies locked in passion filled her mind. Her lusts skyrocketed. She rubbed herself against his naked body, hoping he understood what she hungered for.

  On a moan, he abandoned her achy sex and ran his hands over her backside. He massaged her ass cheeks, and a hungry sound rumbled in his chest. She would’ve smiled at his primitive grunt of approval for her too-curvy body, but he kept exploring her mouth in a raw kiss that left her both pliant and a little crazed. All she could do was meet his invading tongue with hers.

  Time lost its meaning. She could’ve kissed him for an eternity. He had other plans. Lips still locked together, he moved. A smooth surface met her back. Sandwiched between the wall and his hard chest, a sense of vulnerability washed over her. It didn’t frighten her. Excitement seized her. She dug her fingers into his scalp and gave herself over to the sensations and the man who stirred them within her.

  He tore his mouth from hers. Glowing hazel eyes filled her vision. They captured her as they always did. She welcomed the fascination they brought.

  “You came.” The roughness of his voice quickened her breath.

  “Yes, nothing would’ve stopped me.”

  He cupped the back of her head. “Tonight or always?”

  The question demanded an answer. Well, more than that. He wanted her promise to seek him out. Her deep-rooted need for self-preservation stopped her from giving it to him. “For as long as I know I’m the only one in your bed.”

  Ian grinned. “Then always.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He set her on her feet and dropped to his knees. With nimble fingers, he released the button on her jeans. A tug on the zipper parted them. He grabbed the edges and jerked the denim down.

  Another raw sound crawled up his throat. He flicked his gaze from her silk-covered sex to her face. “I’m going to lick every damn inch of you, then fuck you until you can’t remember what it’s like not having my cock inside you.”

  “Ian.” She grabbed on to his shoulders to steady her trembling legs.

  “Did you hear me? You’ll crave me when I’m done with you. No other lover will take my place.”

  She suspected none would anyway. “You’re assuming an awful lot. Have you forgotten how long I’ve lived? I’ve fucked hundreds of humans and immortals.”

  Why she taunted him, she didn’t know, but his low growl encouraged her to push a little more. She stroked a finger along his jaw.

  “I’ve come around the cocks of kings, warriors, and incubuses.” Tegan tipped Ian’s chin and flashed him a mocking smile. “What makes you think you can capture me when they could not?”

  He brought her hand to his mouth and sucked on her forefinger. The tug connected to her womb. Only his hold on her body stopped her from slumping to the ground in a puddle of need.

  Teeth scraping her skin, he slowly dragged his mouth off her finger. A swirl of his tongue eased the sting.

  “Because none of those other men lived inside your soul.” He splayed a hand over her heart. “I’m here. Have been since the moment I first walked into your dreams. Soon you’ll allow me to join us completely.”

  She opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say. He saved her from fumbling for a safe response by slipping a finger under the crotch of her panties. His first stroke tore a moan from her. He dipped his fingertip into her opening on the second pass but didn’t breach her sex. Her muscles clenched, but there was nothing to grip. He withheld the finger she wanted caressing her achy core. On the third sweep, he pressed against the sensitive bundle of nerves at the top of her cleft. She sucked in a breath and waited for him to flick the nub or stroke it. He did neither, but the anticipation of what he’d do left her trembling.

  On a slow thrust, he pushed two fingers past her slick lower lips. Her eyelids fluttered closed on a sigh of pure relief.

  “Your body belongs to me. So does your passion.” Ian pillowed his cheek on her stomach and teased her, stroking her
cleft and swirling his fingertip into her drenched center. “Every cry of pleasure you utter is mine. I will rip them from you or deny you release as I see fit.”

  She whimpered, a sound she’d only ever made with Ian. No man, not even Bjorn, had reduced her to a mess of pure emotions and primitive needs. None had ever dared speak to her in such a way either.

  Ian curled his fingers, tearing another shaky sigh from her lips, but didn’t come close to touching her G-spot. With her panties still on and her legs trapped by her jeans, he couldn’t stimulate her the way she wanted. The hint of what he would soon do, however, hovered between them.

  “Tell me you understand.”

  “For tonight, I’m yours. It’s all I can promise at the moment.”

  He dropped his gaze to where his fingers impaled her. A shaky breath escaped his lips. He nodded. “So be it. But know this…” He focused on her face. “You’re mine. Completely, Tegan. I own you.”

  He stated the truth she couldn’t deny, but she answered him as if he’d asked permission. “Yes, take me however you want. I’m yours to—”

  He flicked her clit before she could tag on her qualifier of tonight. She moaned. He added a twist and curl of his fingers, and she careened into an orgasm that whipped through her from where he impaled her to her scalp and every inch in between. Strokes of his fingers kept the waves rolling over her. She trembled, and the world gave way, stripping her of light and sound. She hung there in nothingness for several heartbeats. His thumb rubbing her clit brought her back to her senses, but the sensation of falling still gripped her.

  She closed her eyes against the lightheadedness. It didn’t help. She was lost in an endless wave of sensation, and he’d barely touched her. Anxiety rushed up. She’d written off his claim of ownership as being a way to seduce her. The release he pulled from her with only his fingers proved his words meant more. No lover had ever thrown her into utter ecstasy so easily.

  He truly would command her pleasure. Or deny it. The latter frightened her. In a desperate attempt to ground herself, she dug her nails into his shoulders.

  He pulled his fingers free. She focused on his face. Hunger. The look stamped on his features gave him a wild edge. Lips parted, he swept his gaze down her body from her chest to her feet. With a rough jerk, he yanked off her shoes and jeans. With his fingers curled around the crotch of her panties, he tugged the satin down.

  “Beautiful.” The single word came out as more of a grunt, but she felt the adoration behind it. He shifted his hands to her bottom, tilted her hips forward, and swept his tongue through her drenched folds. She cried out.

  “Good. You taste so good.” As if to prove how much, he licked her, lapping at her spilled arousal and groaning his enjoyment.

  She sifted her fingers through his short hair and pulled him closer. The move pushed his nose against her clit. His hot breath bathed the sensitive bundle of nerves. Her muscles contracted and released, trying to capture his tongue, but he kept toying with her, prodding her opening and retreating, not giving her anything to grip and convulse around.

  Another orgasm built the longer he teased her. More arousal flowed. She squirmed and tried to coax him to thrust his tongue inside her. He gripped her ass and held her firmly in place while he slowed the pace of his licks, torturing her as much as he enflamed her. Not being able to move added to the moment.

  Her sex tightened, and she readied for another mind-blowing release, but he dragged his tongue over her cleft in a leisurely exploration, stopping her from embracing it.

  The first tears of frustration filled her eyes. “Please, Ian. I want to come.”

  She felt his smile against her lower lips.

  “You did.”

  “Again,” she demanded.

  He pressed a kiss to her opening and eased back. Head tilted to the side, he settled his heated gaze on her. She glanced from his glowing hazel eyes to his glistening chin. Her breathing quickened. He looked powerful, larger than life and slightly frightening. Only a handful of the gods had ever reproduced, and only Arawn had ever sired demigods, half-breeds with a tie to the mortal realm.

  Ian was… Tegan didn’t know what exactly, not a demigod, per se, and not a minor god. He was an abnormality—a child of a god trapped in a human body with the force of the Wild Hunt at his disposal.

  And she had given herself to him.

  “You will come again”—he flashed her a lopsided smile—“when I’m ready to give you another.”

  He bent his head and resumed his almost-reverent kiss.

  “Ian.” She dropped her head against the wall. Her eyelids drifted shut. She focused on the movement of his tongue and the stroking of his thumb over her ass cheeks and let everything else go.

  Hands on her bottom, he lifted her higher. Her toes left the floor. He gripped one ankle and coaxed her to drape her legs over his shoulders. She did and linked them at his back, spreading herself wide for him. He held her, a hand on her ass and the other against her spine, and ate at her sex.

  Growls and groans crawled from his throat. The sounds reverberated through her womb, and the first hint of her orgasm danced up her core. He changed the depth of his thrusting tongue before it could take hold. A cry of frustration fell from her lips.

  “Please, Ian,” she begged. She didn’t care. She’d do anything to careen off the edge again.

  A grunt answered her. He broke off the intimate kiss and shifted his attention to her clit. A lick over the hard bud sent a shiver through her body. A nibble, and her muscles tightened.

  “Yes, please, please,” she panted.

  He caught the bundle between his teeth and tugged. Her body seized, and she fell. The intense waves rolled over her and took the world with it. She didn’t fight it. She embraced the weightlessness and savored the release he gave her.

  Finally, it eased. Her legs slipped from his shoulders. Her head lolled to one side. She didn’t fall. He locked his arms around her and nudged at her chin. She blinked and brought his face into focus.

  “Now it’s your turn.”

  She frowned. Her sated mind couldn’t make sense of his words.

  He chuckled. “Make me come, Tegan.”

  “After the way you teased me, are you sure you want to give me control?”

  He glanced at the bed. A smile graced his lips. She followed his gaze and zeroed in on the manacles attached to the bed frame. Her breath rushed out on a shaky sigh.

  “I want you to finish what you started when you came to me.” He pinned her with his gaze. “You’re going to suck my cock, then ride me until I explode, got it?”

  She nodded.

  “Good.” He set her on her feet, climbed onto the bed, and stretched out. “Then come have your way with me.”

  Tegan glanced at his erection standing tall, ready to pierce her, and her core clenched. “Okay, on one condition.”

  One brow rose. “Yeah?”

  She pulled off her top and ripped it. “You don’t get to watch. I want you to feel.”

  And she wanted to make sure it was her name he moaned when he came. Was that jealousy? Insecurity? Whatever the reason, she had to make sure Ian loved her only. She didn’t have years to consider her options like she had with Bjorn.

  The Triad had warned her not to miss her opportunity to solve her challenge. From the moment she’d left the Underworld, she hadn’t been able to shake the feeling that her clock was ticking. Lucas’s warning added to the sense of urgency. She feared if she wasn’t careful, she’d lose Ian to another woman. Maybe even her beloved sister.

  Not happening. Ian was right. No other lover would be able to take his place. What they’d just shared proved it. He owned her. She refused to allow it to be one-sided. She knew how too—the same way he’d claimed her. She’d prove to him that only she could make him reach the stars.

  She licked her lips and crawled onto the bed. The years spent in the Haven might not have been a waste of her time after all.

  Chapter Sixteen


  Tegan grabbed Ian’s ankle and stretched his leg toward the corner of the bed. He groaned. She cut him a quick glance to ensure she hadn’t hurt him. Lips parted, he panted. His chest rose and fell with his quickened breaths, but a peek at his rigid erection calmed her worry. Drops of precum glistened on the head of his cock.

  She swallowed hard. The anticipation of having his rich taste on her tongue nearly undid her. First she had to finish binding him. Then she’d enjoy him. She snapped the cuff and crawled to his other leg. The restraints wouldn’t hold him if he wanted to get free. Made for humans, the shackles would snap with his tug. His tie to the Hunt made him stronger than any mere mortal. The illusion of control was what mattered. More importantly, though, was the knowledge that he was handing power over him to her.

  She stroked her fingers over his calf. Her fingertips tingled. She liked the contrasts of his body—smooth skin, hard muscles, and rough hair. Many immortals had little body hair. Bjorn had been the opposite—even his back had been hairy. Ian, on the other hand, had enough to tease her but not get in the way of her tongue.

  She licked his leg. The tiny hairs tickled her lips.

  “That’s not where I want your mouth, angel.”

  “Anxious?”

  “I told you, I hurt. My dick is so damn hard. Look at it.”

  Unable to resist, she peered over her shoulder and grinned. “I must say, I’m surprised. You did come not too long ago. I watched you bring yourself to release.”

  “It was damn hot having you watch me.” His voice dropped to a low growl. “But it only made me hungrier for you.”

  She turned her back on him and affixed the last cuff. “Is that so?”

  “Yeah. One time inside you and nothing else will do.”

  She sat on bent legs between his thighs and faked a pout. “But I thought you wanted my lips wrapped around your cock?”

  He tugged on the bindings. The wood groaned. He relaxed his arms before he cracked it. “I do. Suck my dick.”

  With one hand pressed to her breasts to hold her bra in place, she undid the clasp with the other hand and let the straps slip down her arms. He watched her in silence, but he wasn’t unaffected by her teasing. The heat in his gaze told her exactly how he felt. She dropped her hand. The satin cups fell.