Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) (29 page)

“She said she always screams for me,” he murmurs softly.

“She does,” Brazen huffs out, his eyes closing momentarily.  Hale pulls me to be completely in his lap as Brazen continues.  “She told me you gave her hope to keep breathing.  They forced her to drink blood daily, and they denied her any other drink or food, trying to force her to be a beast.  I didn’t understand what that meant at the time, and she never elaborated.  She said she knew you would come, and she kept breathing because she didn’t want you to find her dead.”

Hale’s grip tightens on me again, and then I snuggle into his embrace.

“She’s responding sooner than normal.  That’s a good sign,” Brazen says, noticing my reaction to Hale’s embrace.

He forces a straw into my mouth, the plastic scratching against my dry, now cracked lips.

“Please drink this.  It’ll help.”

I can’t drink though.  My mouth is on fire just like always, but I’d rather feel the burn than taste anything right now.  It will feel too much like the blood they force fed me to keep me healed.

“Please drink baby,” Hale coos.  “Please talk to me.”

I’m frozen stiff.  I’m terrified this is the dream and the reality is the nightmare I just jarred out of.  So many times I dreamt I was in Hale’s arms only to wake up to thousands of volts of electricity surging through me with merciless force.

Hale sighs when I refuse to respond or react, and Brazen comes over to kneel in front of me.

“Her eyes are very weak.  She may need blood to recover from this one.”

“No,” I cry out, and then my body starts convulsing violently once again.

I feel blood running from my mouth after my tongue is sliced by my teeth, and Hale grips me tighter to keep me from doing further damage to myself.  The vehicle starts swerving wildly when my gift seeps out.

“Pull the fuck over,” Brazen yells, and I feel the fresh air slapping me in the face as Hale rushes me outside to keep me from tearing the vehicle apart.

“Fuck,” Brazen breathes, and I feel liquid oozing into my throat.

“What the fuck happened?” Hale barks.

“It must have been the blood dream.  Fuck.  I’m sorry, Araya.  I’m sorry,” he says so soothingly, and I feel more liquid being forced into my throat as it mingles with the taste of my own blood.

I begin spitting out the liquid along with my blood, and I feel my tongue’s wound closing up as it heals.  I gasp for air, and very gradually the numbness subsides to allow my true reality to become clearer.

“Did I hurt anyone?” I whimper while clinging to Hale.

“No, baby.  No one was hurt.  Please tell me you’re okay,” he coos.

“I’m fine.  I’m hungry, but I’m fine,” I murmur while checking my body over.

I finally exhale in relief when I see the rods really aren’t there, and my hand grips my side where one of the many had been forced in.  Hale’s hand covers mine, and his eyes stare so pitifully and helplessly into mine.

“I’m sorry baby.  I didn’t know how bad they got,” he murmurs so guiltily.

“I never wanted you to know because you would look at me like you are right now.”

Brazen sighs as he drops to the ground in relief, and then he stares at me with the same pitying look.

“I didn’t know it was a blood dream.  I’m sorry.”

“How could you have known?  I’m okay.  Thank you.”

“What’s going on?” Alex mutters with fear etched onto her face.

“Araya has traumatic scars that haunt her in a way you’ll never understand,” Clay inserts as he walks up.  “We should get back on the road if you’re okay to travel.”

“I’m fine now,” I grumble in embarrassment, and Hale takes my hand as we make our way back in.

“What happened to her side?” Alex asks Brazen when she takes notice of my hand clinging to it.

“It’s the last rod I removed from my body after it had fused itself to me.  It felt like fifteen rounds of uranium being driven in before a bomb exploding inside of me,” I mumble, and she gasps slightly at my very vivid explanation.

“I’m sorry.  I didn’t know that was you,” she stumbles out.

“It was,” I growl.

It still is.

“Stop talking about it, Alex,” Hale barks.

“Sorry,” she mutters in an embarrassed tone.

I flop back onto the bunk, and Hale joins me to wrap me up into his arms.  I’ve always needed him after waking up from one that severe, but this is the first time I’ve ever had him.  It feels so much better to have the comfort I’ve always sought.  I nestle into him even more, and he kisses me so softly on my head.

“We’ve got all sorts of food we picked up from a market earlier.  What do you want to eat?” Brazen asks.

“I don’t care.  Nothing with tomatoes though.”

My nose turns up when I mention the red, juicy things with too much flavor for my taste.

He smirks lightly and says, “I remember,” while walking off.

“You don’t eat.  How can you cook?” Alex asks curiously while following him to the kitchen area.

Stalker bitch.

“My sense of smell allows me to gauge when to stop cooking.  Seeing Araya’s reaction to my cooking for over two years allowed me to perfect my technique,” he boasts.

Hale rolls his eyes, and then I feel the brakes being pressed before the pan even starts to sizzle.

“What’s going on?” Hale asks the driver.

“We’ve got fresh tracks, Sir.”

“Do you feel like getting out?” he asks so lightly, as if he’s afraid I’m a crystal vase about to break.

“Not really.”

“The full bloods need to stay in the tinted hideaway as well,” Alex murmurs.  “The sun will be in full glow in less than five minutes.”

“I’ll stay too,” Hale says while holding onto me.

Clay steps in and walks over to us.  His eyes soften so pitifully as he stares at my trembling state.

“Hale, I’m sorry, but I really need you to come see if you can get anything off these tracks.  It’s the first solid proof we’ve had that we’re on the right track.”

“Find someone else.  You see her,” he growls.

“You’re right.  Stay with her, and I’ll see if we can get a lead,” Clay sighs.

“Go,” I mumble reluctantly.  “I’m fine now.”

“I’m not going anywhere ever again,” he soothes while kissing my forehead.

“You promised I wouldn’t hinder your field duties, and that’s exactly what I’ll be doing if you stay.  I’ll look like I’m incapable of working alone,” I almost whisper.

“I don’t give a fuck.  I’m not going out there.”

“Please go.  I’m already getting more attention than I want, and your eyes showing me mounds of pity… just go.  I promise I’ll be fine.”

He sighs out loudly, and then he kisses me much harder to push away my lingering fears.  I smile against his lips, and he pulls back with a quizzical look.

“Why are you smiling?”

“Because it feels good to kiss you right now.”

He smirks, and his guilt subsides when he sees I’m over the worst of the aftershock.  He kisses me again, leaving me with a pulsing desire for more when he pulls away.

“I’ll be back to kiss you more very shortly,” he murmurs against my lips, and then he climbs up to join Clay.

I can smell the eggs Brazen is working tirelessly on, and it brings back my memories of all his kitchen exploits.  I go to join him, and I hop up on the bar area next to Alex who seems to shiver when I join them.

“Obviously you don’t have a problem with hybrids, so I can assume it’s only me you don’t want to be around,” I snark, and I see Brazen choke back his laughter.

“No… I don’t… I never…” she stammers, and Brazen turns to face me.

“She doesn’t have a problem with you necessarily, she’s fucking terrified of you just like the other full bloods are - besides me of course,” he smolders out, and then he gives me his Brazen wink before turning back to his task.

I roll my eyes, and then I lean back while crossing my arms over my chest.

“I don’t fucking bite,” I snarl, and then Brazen’s laughter finally escapes.  “Well, not unless I want to,” I continue while stifling a grin of my own, and she finally excuses herself to the back room when my taunting becomes more than she wishes to endure.

Brazen’s laughter fades and his eyes narrow as moves the eggs to a plate.  He pulls out a fork before handing me the breakfast omelet.  He looks completely lost in thought, but I’m scared to ask what’s on his mind.

“Why didn’t you?” he asks curiously.

“Why didn’t I what?” I ask while forking a mouthful.

“Why didn’t you ever bite?” he asks while stepping dangerously close to me.

I swallow hard against the food I’m wishing I had waited to dig into now that this conversation has taken a fucked up twist.

“Oh.  Wow.  I wasn’t expecting that,” I murmur with a flushed face.

He doesn’t flinch or crack a grin.  He stares very intensely and expectantly while leaning in all the closer.

“It’s fairly obvious you like it now that you’re with him.  I always assumed you weren’t into it.  Why didn’t you ever do it with me?”

Fuck.  This is so not an omelet conversation.  This is a conversation to have after fifty shots of tequila.

“Because you couldn’t do it back,” I mumble vaguely, and then I guzzle the orange juice set aside for me.

“So.  It’s not like both people have to bite in order to enjoy a blood fuck,” he says so casually, and I almost strangle as the orange juice sputters free from my mouth.

He smirks as he hands me a napkin, and he stares expectantly as I dry my mouth from the expelled citrus traitor.  I finally sigh in defeat, and then I look around to make sure no one is close enough to hear.

“We’re alone,” he says mildly.  “Tell me.”

“Because you’re a full blood.  You crave the vein.  I didn’t think it would be fair to make you watch me take your blood in my mouth knowing you couldn’t do the same to me,” I explain, quickly breaking the uncomfortable eye contact.

He smirks, and then his hands rest on the countertop beside me as his body hovers over mine.

“So you wanted to blood fuck me?” he smolders, his eyes dancing dangerously as salacious fantasies swirl through his mind.

Oh hell yes I did - so, so, so badly.

I swallow hard against the imaginary knot in my throat as I stare into the pale eyes daring me to try and look away again.

“Yes, but I didn’t want it to torture you.  It wasn’t worth it.”

“It wouldn’t have
tortured
me, Araya.  I don’t crave the vein the way you think I do.  I’ve never had it from a human, so it’s easy to deny.  Since it’s only human blood that affects me, I wouldn’t have been the least bit jealous.  I could drink straight from a full blood’s vein anytime I want to, but it’s nothing that interests me.  I would have
loved
it if you had blood fucked me, and I regret having never asked you about this sooner.”

He’s sexy tone is in full stride, and I’m doing all I can to stay composed.  I’m not used to this bold, dirty-talking Brazen.  Where has he been all this time?

“I never thought you were into that sort of thing.  The roughest you ever were was after I fed you blood from my mouth.  I just thought the human blood transfer turned you on the way it did me.  You were always so…
gentle
the rest of the time,” I hesitantly stutter.

He smirks more menacingly, and he steps in between my legs before jerking my hips to him.

“That’s only because I thought that’s what
you
wanted.  I can be rough, baby - as rough as you want me to be,” he seduces, and I’m fucking throbbing right now.

What the fuck?

“I’m with Hale,” my dry mouth quivers out.

“I don’t give a fuck.  You’ll always be my girl, and one day I’ll prove to you I’m not just gentle.  The night after you saved me, your teeth were so close to breaking my skin, and I just knew you were finally going give yourself to me in that way.  That’s what turned me on - that’s why I got so rough.  I lost it for a minute, desperate to feel your blood bringers pierce my skin.  I should have fucked you in the backseat of the damn car, but I thought you were just acting irrationally because of how close I came to dying that day.  I had no idea that’s the sort of kink you were into.”

I suddenly feel a little turned off by his phrasing.  He really does think I’m like the early ones of my kind, and the stigma that has haunted our kind for centuries continues to plague me even in his eyes.

“So you
do
think I’m some fucked up sex freak because I’m a hybrid,” I huff out, and then he tilts my head back up so that my eyes meet his.

“No.  I think I let you stay caged up when you’re one fearless woman.  I find your kink incredibly hot, and I feel like a complete dumbass for not capitalizing on it sooner.  I’ll have my chance though, and shit will be different.”

Fuck my life.

He backs away just as Hale comes back on board.  I feel a little off now to say the least.  Brazen and I lived together for two years, and we barely knew each other.  I don’t know how we managed to learn so little about the other.