This Curse: (The Grace Allen Series Book 2 ) (27 page)

He pulled away first and held me at arms length, his
hands on my shoulders. “Thank you, Grace.” He met my eyes. “You saved me,
babe.”

 I took his hands in mine and scooted closer. “I just
wish I could have returned sooner.” I smiled sadly, regretting every moment
away from him. “I have no idea how long you were ill. I’m so sorry.”

“You have no idea how long you were in Hell? Well,
all I can say is that I’ve been in this bed for more days than I want to
remember. I can’t give you a number as far as days though; I was pretty out of
it most of the time.”

I frowned. “As long as you know I would do anything
for you, Lucian, I would never want you to suffer.”

He wiggled his eyebrows. “Well, I don’t know what the
heck is in your blood, but babe if you don’t get outta’ here soon I’ll be
taking you up on that.” He looked down and I goggled. Lucian had the biggest
erection I had ever seen. It was pitching a tent under the cotton sheets and I
blushed.

 “It’s been like a rock for hours,” he laughed,
turning a pretty shade of pink. He sat up straighter, adjusting the sheets to
no avail. His manhood would not be ignored.

I looked at him and suddenly felt heavy all over. My
limbs went limp and I let out my breath slowly. He met my eyes and I felt raw.
Then as if on autopilot, I got off the bed and began moving towards the door. I
reached for the handle and stopped. I took a small step back and turned. “What
if I don’t want to get out of here?” I folded my hands behind me and looked at
my feet. Then, drawn by his silence, I looked up at him.

His chest moved rapidly with his quick breaths. His
teeth clenched, working his jaw. His nostrils flared with each ragged intake of
breath.

 I met his eyes.

“Grace?” He shifted on the bed.

“I…” I looked at him and my heart filled with
emotion. “I…” I had no words. All I knew was that Lucian was in my bed and I
would die rather than walk out that door.

I went to him. My hands were shaking as he rose onto
his knees. The sheet spilled from his body and I froze. I’d seen Lucian naked
before but nothing like this. His eyes were all for me. His erection was thick
and tall, begging for my touch. I felt my knees tremble as he reached across
the bed. The air left my lungs as his warm hand closed firmly around my wrist.
He pulled, drawing me onto the bed. His eyes still searched mine as he lifted
the hem of my shirt.

My breath hitched and I held up my arms. The soft
fabric slipped over my head and he tossed it to the floor. My breath quickened.
I could feel his eyes travel over my lace covered breasts. His beautiful eyes
took in every curve. I felt my body shudder, my God, this was
Lucian
. 

His blunt nails slid down my shoulders along with the
straps of my bra. My breasts sprang free and I felt incredibly exposed. I held
my breath as his warm lips wrapped around a sensitive nipple. I grabbed his
hair in my fists and held him to me, filled with too much sensation; I bit my
lip and let a small cry escape.

He kissed along my skin, removing my clothing as he
worked his way down my body. I was a coil wound too tightly as I held him. His
skin was so hot.

He slid his body along my flushed skin and then
pressed his lips to mine. I sucked his tongue into my mouth, deepening the
kiss. He rolled me onto my back and gently ran his hand down to cup my moist
center. My heart beat frantically against my chest and I felt ready to crawl
out of my skin as he slid his fingers inside me. I watched his face, soaking up
every heated look like a starving person. He was suddenly there. The soft
thickness of his male flesh pressing at my opening made me want to die.

He pushed inside slowly, watching my face. I moaned
and he closed his eyes and surged forward. I cried out and arched against him,
wrapping my legs around his waist as he pumped his length inside me. He opened
his eyes, watching me. The hunger I saw there pushed me over the edge and I
gripped his shoulders as I shuddered my release.

I was never so loved, never so cherished as I was
with this man. Hours passed like minutes until finally, we both submitted to
delicious exhaustion.

I couldn’t believe what had happened. Lucian was finally
mine. I smiled, while somewhere in the back of my mind I remembered that at one
point I had told him that I loved him.

I woke. Warm sunlight streamed into the room,
reminding me of the joy I felt. I snuggled closer to Lucian, pressing my rear
into his erection.

It felt amazing for all of about ten seconds.

“By all means, fuck her while we watch. Betrayal is
always better when the evidence is thrown into your face. I am quite sure that
Jamie would love to see her snake of a brother pounding his cock into her best
friend.” Seth was sitting close to the bed. He had completely vamped out and
looked furious.

Lucian sat up abruptly and I sighed. With a thought,
I had us both dressed.

 Lucian was sitting at the foot of the bed rubbing
his hands over his face. “This is so wrong! You people ever heard of privacy?”
He looked at his sister and frowned. She was weeping silently; clearly, this
was not her idea.

“Seth…” She looked away, turning beat red. “Well,”
she looked at her shoes, filled with embarrassment. “He said he smelled sex and
knew you were screwing my brother.” Her red color deepened to a full out
scarlet. “It woke him and he was so pissed off that he walked into the sun.”

My jaw dropped and I spun. I reached out and he
flinched away, as if my touch was dirty. “Oh, grow up you ass-hat. Are you
burned or what? I grabbed his hands and he sighed, allowing me to examine his
skin. I looked at him and smiled. "You’re up?" I looked around the
room was bright. “You’re up in the daylight and all you care about is that
Lucian and I are together?”

Lucian stood and smiled. “Really, Gracie?”

I turned to him, completely confused. “Yeah? What did
you think this was? I told you I loved you!” I put my hands on my hips and
glared. “Hey! I told you I loved you and you didn’t say it back!” I was
suddenly angry.

Lucian swept me up in his arms and spun me in a
circle, laughing and kissing my face and hair. “I love you, Gracie!” He shouted
and Seth snorted. “I heard you say it, but I didn’t want to hope. All I could
think of was staying inside you.” He kissed me hard as Seth made gagging noises
beside us and Jamie laughed.

Lucian finally let me stand on the ground and I
beamed, my smile was so huge it seemed that was all I could do. Seth was a day
walker and Lucian loved me!

“So," I turned to Seth. “Why on God’s green
earth would you ignore the opportunity to walk outside on a beautiful morning
like this, now that you know you won’t sizzle like a sausage link?”

He looked at me, “I had much on my mind.” He frowned
and looked at Lucian. “After all that we have been through, after everything
you did to save me. I never thought that you would choose so soon.” He looked
at me again. “He will never be good enough for you, you know. He won’t be able
to accept the real you, that is unless I’m wrong.” His brows rose in question,
“Am I wrong, Sweet? Did Lucian take a
full
Madea to his bed?”

I felt the blood drain from my face and Seth smiled.
“No, I thought not.” He stood, noticeably happier. “Don’t go sending out the
invites yet, old boy!” He smacked Lucian on the back as he left the room. I sat
down hard on the bed, my heart breaking into a thousand pieces.

Fuck! 

“Gracie.” Lucian turned to glare at me, “Do you mind
explaining what the hell just happened?” He folded his arms and turned to look
at Jamie. She opened her mouth and then at my frown, she rushed from the room.

I sighed into my hands. “You’re a warlock, Lucian,
which is just as vulnerable as a mortal human.” I sniffed and cursed under my
breath.

“So? I was good enough to fuck, but because I’m not
some super man, I’m not good enough to keep?” He frowned. “You have to do
better than that, Grace.”

I watched him as he stomped around the room. “I’m not
what you see.” I began. “I’m not the same Gracie, as you already know. Hell,
you’ve been comforting me from the beginning.”

He nodded with an odd look in his eyes.

“Well.” I cleared my throat. “The reason you can
never see my true form is that my pheromones are too strong for any male that
isn’t a Madea.”

He seemed to consider that for a moment, “How do you
even know that, Grace?” He shook his head as if I were being foolish. “It’s not
like a Madea male exists to test it on.” He sat next to me.

I felt like a slug. He didn’t know. How could he?

“What?” He lowered his brows, his strong jaw worked
as he waited for me to continue.

“Well, actually, Seth is almost a full Madea.” I
spoke so low that I hoped he didn’t hear me.

“SETH?” He jumped up, his fists balled. “Fucking
Seth
?”
Lucian roared and my shoulders slumped. “How the hell did that happen?”

I swallowed. “He’s been drinking my blood.”

His eyes grew huge. “You’re allowing him to drink
from you? Still?” Lucian spun in a circle, his hands flying into the air. “Son
of a bitch, Grace!”

I had nothing to say. I had my reasons. They were
really stupid reasons, but there you go. I wasn’t about to get into the issues
I had with Seth and my blood.

“Has he seen your true form, Grace? Have you let him
see the real you?” He looked at me. “Have you?” He tilted his head to the side.

I looked him in the eyes. “Yes, Lucian, he’s seen
what I really look like, who I really am. I’m sorry.” I flinched at his wounded
look.

He paced back and forth, his anger and frustration
was suffocating. “I’m out of here. I need some fucking air.” He turned and
stormed from the room.

 I shook my head. This couldn’t have turned out
worse. I knew sleeping with him would end up slapping me upside the head.

I straightened my shoulders because at least Lucian
was back to his normal self. Too bad, that wasn’t going to be strong enough to
withstand a relationship with me.

I looked out the window, utterly miserable. Lucian
had my heart but Seth was the only man strong enough to hold it. Well, that
wasn’t entirely true, but no way was I even going to
consider
Lucifer as
a potential suitor! I stood, feeling like total shit, I entered the living
room.

The front door was wide open but no one was in sight.
Great
, everyone just abandoned me, fine! Just what I wanted, solitude to
dwell on my newest serving of shit. I went to the door and slammed it shut,
twisting the lock. I turned ready to zap myself to the roof when a soft knock
sounded at the door.

I turned and opened it, expecting to see Seth or
Jamie but it was neither of them.

Patrick Camden stood on my stoop buried to the
eyeballs behind at least five dozen white roses. They were huge and billowed
from his arms. He looked at me and smiled. His face free of burns, his eyes
filled with gratitude.

I stepped back, allowing him to enter. I swept the
flowers from his arms and buried my face in them. Their fragrant petals were
velvety soft against my skin as I inhaled.

“They’re beautiful, Patrick,” I smiled, motioning for
him to sit.

He shook his head and laughed, “I can see why.” He
looked at me.

“What are you talking about?” I busied myself with
arranging the buds and fully bloomed blossoms into a large vase.

“Why Lucifer will never give you up.”

I stopped and looked at him. “If you’re here for
him…”

Patrick held up his hands, “No, no.” He shook his
head. “God, no! Don’t you see? You gave me a second chance. You surrendered to
him for me and yet, instead of lashing out at me in anger and wailing at your
sorry lot in life, you invite me in and delight at the smell of flowers.”

I chuckled. “Oh, don’t read too much into it, I’m
still pretty miserable and probably a little crazy, too. Besides, I can kick
Lucifer’s ass on most occasions, which I think he lets me do, and all of the
rest? Well it will just have to work itself out.”

He laughed and then became serious. “Grace, I wanted
to say I’m sorry. I was a little crazy myself. I know that Voltaire was pumping
me full of lies and the feelings I had when…” He trailed off at my blank
expression. “Right, well, anyway, I wanted to tell you that you have the
respect of my entire pack, which thanks to you is pretty vast.” He smiled
sheepishly at me and then jumped. “Oh!” he held up his finger and jogged
outside. I watched him from my porch, shaking my head in wonder at what he had
up his sleeve. My jaw dropped, Patrick was bringing back my blood.

He hefted the heavy ice chest off the back of the truck
and I watched as he lugged it up my steps. Yeah, I could have helped him, but
he did steal it in the first place.

“Well,” he sighed. “Sorry that it’s not all there. We
thought we had sixty some odd bags, but there’s only twenty-two.” He looked at
his feet and then at me. “Well, Voltaire took a bunch and few went to Lucifer.
We used a bag when we gave the wolves a small taste.” At my frown, he shook his
head. “Not all of them.” He looked sorry. “What can you do? We’re assholes.” He
laughed nervously.