Curse And Craving

40

Before long, we arrived at my apartment, and Lochlan turned off the car. There was only a twinge of pain in my chest as I stood, and I wondered when I took off the bandage just how much of the wound would remain. Lochlan walked me to the door and followed me inside, scanning my small home. “Pack your things. You’re moving in with us at the Huntsman.” For a moment, I was too stunned to respond. “What?” “There’s more going on here than we know. You’ll be safer staying with us.” “But you just said there’s a traitor among you.” “You’re still safer with us.” I shook my head and tried to push past him for the stairs. “That doesn’t make any sense.” Lochlan swung me around until my backside was pressed against the back of the loveseat. One of his thick thighs pressed between mine with his body molded against me. I could feel every hard inch of him. His hands cupped my face, assertive warmth searing my skin. “You can’t run from this, Rebecca. I know it frightens you, but there’s only one way forward.” His velvet words caressed my ragged soul with assurance. I wanted nothing more than to melt into him. To fuse myself to his strength and allow him to carry me through whatever storm awaited. “I am scared, but it’s more than that,” I whispered. “Losing me would kill my parents, and I can’t … I can’t do that to them. I owe them—” His mouth slanted over mine, silencing me with a kiss that coerced and seduced. His lips and tongue laid siege to the darkest parts of my soul. His touch shattered me into a thousand pieces, then built me back stronger than before. If the reward at the end of my fight was half as sweet, I’d face an entire army without hesitation. Pleasure didn’t just coil in my belly. It crawled through my veins and turned me inside out with need. With craving and addiction. I needed this man more than I needed life itself. I clung to him, desperate for more. And then it hit me. This wasn’t right. It wasn’t normal to feel so overwhelmed with desire. He was Fae, after all—not even human. Had I forgotten? What if he was using his Fae powers to manipulate me? Stirring up my hormones until I couldn’t think beyond my intense desire for him. I’d suspected it before, but this time it was too much. I’d already had to embrace magic, save myself from being killed, and accept that I likely wouldn’t get to see my parents again for the foreseeable future. I wasn’t being forced into one more goddamn decision. I tore myself away, stumbling to the side. “Don’t you dare use that Fae s**t on me!” I seethed. He recoiled as if I’d slapped him. “What are you talking about?” “Making me s*x crazy so you can use me and get what you want. I know you were doing it, so just stop.” My voice was pure venom. I poured all my strength into my assault, unleashing every helpless frustration I’d been suffering. Lochlan’s face blanked of emotion. “You assume because you get wet for me that I must be manipulating you? You think you couldn’t possibly want a Fae monster? Maybe you need a taste of what I can really do. Then you’ll know the difference.” As he spoke, an intense aching pleasure spread through my body. A perfect storm of chaos that promised to end all my suffering with a single touch. I fell to my knees and gaped up at my tormentor. My savior. My everything. A guttural moan ripped from my throat as my hands kneaded my engorged breasts. It wasn’t enough. Only his touch would do. “Please,” I whimpered. “Please what, Rebecca?” he asked icily. Fill me, touch me, taste me. End this delicious torture. It was agony and bliss, all at once. I rolled my hips and mewled as I imagined my mouth on his c**k. The taste of his salty essence and the rewarding groan I would wrench from him as I sucked him dry. Saliva pooled on my tongue. “Please … stop.” The one single word took all my mental fortitude. I desperately wanted to beg him to take me, touch me, f**k me. But somewhere down deep, I knew I couldn’t let that need win out. I couldn’t lose this battle. And as soon as the whispered word passed my lips, the painful need vanished, leaving me panting and my c**t pulsing. My body was mine again, but just barely. “Get out.” A breathless whisper and broken accusation of betrayal. He must have realized that arguing would be futile. Heeding my command, he left my apartment without a word. Seconds later, the shattering glass of a car window broke the heavy silence, followed by the whooping call of a car alarm. Good. I was glad he was upset. I shouldn’t be the only one. What he’d done had been inexcusable. It had never occurred to me that a person could be assaulted without ever being touched, but that was what his magic had felt like. He’d taken control of my body and used it against me. I felt violated and betrayed. And the worst part was, the remnants of that need still hummed in my veins. My engorged c**t knew no right or wrong, only that it was swollen and desperate for relief. My eyes fell shut with embarrassment as I reached down to cup myself and soothe the ache. All it took was the single touch, and my body exploded in the most intense o****m I had ever experienced.

Chapter Seventeen THE NEXT MORNING, I LAY IN BED FOR HOURS AS THE SUN ROSE HIGHER AND higher in the sky. Having a night for my body to recover, my chest showed no evidence of a wound, and the scratches and black eye were gone. There was no denying that I was healing inhumanly fast. Oddly enough, that didn’t seem to weigh on me as much as the lesson Lochlan had instilled the night before. I had been so sure that his powers were to blame for my intense lust whenever I was near him. As angry as I was at him for his teaching method, I also recognized his message. He had never used his magic to manufacture my feelings. The attraction between us was entirely natural and utterly undeniable. There was no confusing my natural arousal to the blinding, allconsuming lust his power had provoked. How was I to know he hadn’t been using his powers on me until I experienced the difference for myself? I understood why he’d done it, but his vindictive use of the power had been inexcusable. I’d lashed out verbally, and he’d followed suit with his magic. We’d both been wrong, but his offense had been egregious. He’d used desire as a weapon, and the result was terrifying. It would be easy for someone to lose themselves completely when subjected to that Fae desire. Reduced to a mindless body, living for one thing and one thing alone.