Twice Cursed (5 page)

Running her fingers over the white
gauze, she thought about how bandaged up she was when Sean had
first brought her here, after Jerard’s attack on the cliffs outside
the town of Ogunquit. A little over eight weeks, that’s all it had
been since her life had changed irrevocably.

The Council’s debate had broken after
her little display. In all honesty, she was a little surprised they
hadn’t tried to stop her, but then again, it was still early. Sean
had showed up at her door a little while after, but she had refused
to see him. She knew if he asked her to stay, she didn’t stand a
chance.

Her bags were packed and stacked in
the corner near the door. Not that she had much, but whatever she
had, it was coming with her, except for the red velvet gown she
wore the night of the Wolf Moon Ball. Had it only been days since
Sean twirled her around the dance floor? Their new world had seemed
so full of hope and magic—that is until Edward Parr ruined it for
them, again. She had reason to hate him before, but after tonight,
the gloves were off.

Stretching, she tensed and released
every muscle in her arms, legs and torso. Opening her senses to
their shared mind link, she felt for Sean, but only sensed the
wind. He was in animal form. A soft whoosh always replaced the
usual onslaught of thought whenever Sean phased, and he always took
to the woods whenever he needed focus.

A slight tapping against
the window broke the silence, and Lily turned toward the darkened
glass. An owl was perched on the sill, its large eyes peering in at
her from the gloom.
Sean
.

She shivered getting out of bed, and
padded across the cold floor to open the window. A blast of icy air
gusted in as she did, and she crossed her arms in front of her
chest in a feeble attempt to ward off the chill. “Sean, what are
you doing? Are you crazy?”

The owl hooted low, spreading its
wings. The majestic bird launched itself from the sill and did a
single lazy pass around the ceiling before setting down on the bed.
In a snap of electricity and ozone, it was gone. “And I thought
you’d be happy to see me, especially now that you’ve calmed down,”
Sean replied, stretching his full six foot, three inch frame out on
the bed.

Still standing with her arms folded,
Lily smirked. “Aren’t we a little old to be playing cat and mouse?
Sneaking into my room like a horny teenager isn’t exactly your
style.” Turning, she closed the window and grabbed a throw blanket
from the chair in the corner. “And it’s not going to do any good.
I’m still leaving in the morning,” she added, wrapping the blanket
around her shoulders, waiting for him to reply. But the battle was
lost before it had even begun.

“
You know,” he said, with
his head cocked and a suggestive smile on his lips. “I can do a
better job of warming you up than that blanket ever will. And in
case you didn’t notice, it’s morning already.”

“
Well then, you can just
morph into a sparrow or some other innocuous day bird, and fly out
the way you came. I guarantee the Council had no clue what they
were getting themselves into when they gifted you with the power to
shift into any form, wolf boy.”

“
They knew exactly what
they were doing.”

“
Hmmph. Like they know what
they’re doing now?”

“
Different times, different
circumstances. Besides, I’m still in control, remember?”

“
Sean…”

“
Shhh… I am the Alpha
Council, Lily. No one is going to question me regarding you. Trust
me.”

“
But…”

“
Lily…” he said, pushing
himself up and off the bed. “I’m not going to just let you walk out
of my life.” He stood there in all his naked glory, purposefully
not having manifested any clothes when he phased back to human
form.

Lily couldn’t help it, she licked her
lips. He walked toward her, lean muscled, and as predatory and
graceful as ever, and her heart skipped a beat.

“
I did a lot of thinking
out in the woods tonight. I’m done with trying to bend just to be
politically correct. If Parr wants things to be the way they used
to, then so be it. Whether he likes it or not, I’m the Alpha. My
will must be obeyed or otherwise challenged, so if it’s a challenge
he wants, then bring it on. Now, the only bending I plan on doing
is bending you over till that gorgeous ass of yours is in the
air.”

With one long stride, he was face to
face with her. Taking Lily’s chin in his hand, he raised her face
to his and kissed her. Running his tongue along the edge of her
bottom lip, he whispered. “Besides, why should I resist what’s mine
for the taking?”

“
But…” Lily shivered, but
not from the cold. Sean’s hands dropped to her waist. In one swift
motion, he separated her from her blanket and nightgown, and left
her standing in front of him covered in nothing but gooseflesh.
Pulling her to him, he pressed his body against hers, and his heat
and desire flooded her, chasing away the cold along with any
lingering reluctance.

His hands skimmed her waist, cupping
each breast, grazing his thumbs across her nipples. They hardened
under his touch. Stepping back slightly, he lifted her, and Lily’s
legs wrapped themselves around his back. With a growl, he had her
back against the cold glass, his cock hard enough to cut diamonds
as he entered her with one thrust.

The window rattled in its pane,
threatening to splinter as he impaled her over and over. Rough and
untamed, Sean ravaged her body, his mouth sucking and biting,
reveling in the taste of her like a man starved. His fingers bit
into the soft flesh of her hips. The glass cracked, a long, thin
sliver running the length of the pane, jerking his attention away
from her for a moment. Without missing a beat, he spun them around
toward the bed.

Lily’s feet knocked over the lamp on
the nightstand, sending books and an empty tea cup crashing to the
floor, but neither of them cared. Throwing the rest of the covers
back, he lowered her to the edge of the bed. Holding her ankles
locked together, he drove into her grinding her down, his hips
relentless. Lily screamed as she climaxed, but Sean just grunted,
flipping her onto her stomach. Pulling her back by her hips, he
drove into her from behind, his inner wolf snarling for him to mark
her.

Baring his teeth, his lips pulled back
over his canines as they elongated both top and bottom. With a
possessive howl, he bit down on her shoulder. Lily’s back arched in
pain and pleasure at the feel of his teeth on her flesh. Her inner
walls convulsed, squeezing against Sean’s cock as she came over and
over, her fingers between her own legs, working herself even
further into a frenzy. Sean’s hips reared back, thrusting hard and
fast, his balls high and hard. Throwing his head back, he yelled.
He was primal, burying his cock deep within her as he came, his
hands locking her hips to his.

He held her against him as the last
spasms rocked his body. Then together they slumped forward on the
bed. Four tiny rivulets of blood trickled from the four puncture
marks on her shoulder. Pushing himself up on his forearms, he
leaned his head down and licked them clean, healing them with his
saliva.

At the raspy feel of his tongue, Lily
stiffened. “Sean? What did you do? Please tell me you didn’t just
turn me! You know how I feel about the whole ‘against my will’
thing.”

Sean chuckled, giving her shoulder
another lick. “It didn’t seem as if things were ‘against your will’
a minute ago, but no, I didn’t turn you. I marked you. There’s a
difference.” Still buried deep inside her, he slowly rasped his
tongue across the wounds once more. Her breath hitched as heat
flooded her body making her lower belly clench in another
aftershock of her climax.

“
Jesus
, will you stop with the tongue? I need to think!” She jammed
her elbow into the middle of his chest, but all she got was quick
jolt to her funny bone and his lips curving into a smile against
the nape of her neck. “What do you mean you marked me?”

Rolling her over so she could face
him, he answered, running his hand over the curve of her hip.
“You’re leaving in a matter of hours, Lily. Did you honestly think
I would let you go without marking you as mine? I know in your mind
it sounds archaic and makes me something of a Neanderthal, but it’s
necessary.” Leaning down, he nipped her bottom lip.

She pulled back, shaking her head.
“Necessary? For whom?” she asked, a little defensive.

“
Necessary for you, that’s
who. You’re going back to Manhattan with a hell of a lot more
knowledge about the supernatural than you had before you left. Did
you really think I would let you go without giving you even the
slightest bit of protection? Marking you lets any Were that comes
within five feet of you know you’re under my guard. Trace amount or
not, you have Were blood in your veins, and when the moon is at its
fullest, it will call to any male in your vicinity. Your scent will
draw them. They won’t be able to help themselves…” He hesitated,
meeting Lily’s eyes. “…and regrettably, neither will
you.”

Pushing herself up, Lily sat on the
edge of the bed with her knees tucked under. Turning toward Sean,
she smirked. “Yeah right, nice tap dance. Now tell me the real
reason why you bit me.” But when he didn’t say a word, her mouth
went slack. “Wait a minute. Are you saying I’ve become some sort of
lunar driven nymphomaniac, who sniffs around at the full moon after
anything with a pulse and a penis? A monthly Were-magnet, bitch in
heat?”

Grinning, Sean propped himself up on
one elbow. “Hey, some women would give their eyeteeth to be that
irresistible!”

“
Eyeteeth? Yeah, well, I
prefer mine blunt. Or is that part of the package too? No wait,
don’t tell me. I grow incisors the length of my pinky as soon as
the full moon crests.”

“
You haven’t become
anything like that, although, in the future it’s going to make
things quite interesting for us when we’re together. But apart,
without my mark, males will positively come sniffing around after
you, or worse. Now you won’t have to worry about that. My mark
mutes your scent and says I’ve claimed you. You’ll be as safe as
kittens.”

“
Just when were you going
to tell me about this little character enhancement? Is there
anything else I’ve inherited from Jerard’s bite I should know
about, or are you planning to surprise me again? What about a
sudden urge to bay at the moon, or an uncontrollable craving for
dog chow?”

“
No, no surprises. And no
self-respecting Were would be caught dead eating dog chow, or
anything else Purina makes. But I need to tell you, Cochran will be
accompanying you back to New York. My orders.”

“
Jack? You’re sending Jack
with me? What’s his deal, Sean? And don’t you dare lie to me. Is he
there as pack liaison for when I need to go back and forth to see
Dr. Volkmann, or have you planned for him shadow me?”

“
Both.”

Lily stiffened, pulling away from
Sean. Getting up, she took the top sheet with her, wrapping it
around her body like a protective cover. “Like I said to your idiot
Council, don’t you know me at all? Are you out of your mind, Sean?
A babysitter? Haven’t we been through this before? Because I’m
getting a dizzying sense of déjà vu.”

Sean sat up, running a hand through
his hair in frustration. “Why do you always have to go to extremes?
Jack is not a babysitter. This thing with Parr is not going away.
You know that. It goes much deeper than just what we see on the
surface, and my hands are tied until I can find out what’s behind
it all.

“
For Christ’s sake, Lily,
there are Weres out there who want to harm you! Edward believes his
political maneuvering would be easier if you were out of the
equation, though, for the life of me, I can’t understand why. But I
will. In the meantime, cooperate for once in your life. I for one
wouldn’t put it past Parr to arrange a little accident for
you.”

“
So what else is new? I
think I’ve more than proven I can take care of myself. Christ,
Sean, some of your people still think I’m a bounty hunter with all
the supes I’ve killed, and that includes a few vampires. Did Jack
volunteer for this, or is this another one of your mandates? He has
no idea what he’s getting himself into. I work cold case files
constantly. Do you know how hard it is for a psychic to gain
credibility with the police? They trust me, and I’ve built a
business on that trust.”

She frowned. “That’s if I have a
business left, I’ve been gone so long. Besides, my apartment has a
strict no pets rule,” she said petulantly, plopping back down on
the bed next to Sean. “This is completely unnecessary and utterly
unfair.”

Tilting his head to one side, Sean
looked at her, his eyes serious. “Which part, my marking you or
sending Jack to watch out for you?”

Lily pursed her lips, a sarcastic
retort primed and ready, but seeing his expression, she realized
what was truly behind his question. She reached out and ran her
fingers along his cheek and their eyes met. “I just wish it was you
coming with me.”

Sean chuckled, pulling her into his
arms. “Difficult, dangerous, and utterly unreasonable. And people
wonder why I love you.”