Soul Unleashed (Key to the Cursed Book 4) (13 page)

Kit lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling, with
Cyclops at her side. After long deliberations she was at an impasse. She had
never had to work to lure men into her bed. In fact they had been lined up at
her door. What did she have to show for it?

She never cared enough to get to know her previous
boyfriends because they were always temporary. She was the
love them and
leave them kind
. No strings. No attachments. Like the others, she knew
little about Kamen, despite him being at her side non-stop for six months. How
did he end up the Devourer? Did he do anything beyond being Asar’s bodyguard?
It shocked her to realize she wanted to know these things about him. He was so
secretive, hiding his emotions and past from her. From everyone, she imagined.

Not that she was one to talk. She had been keeping
her vision from her sisters for years, and even now in the face of war, she
kept her gifts hidden deep.

She had no idea what she would to say
to
Kamen.
He had seen what she’d done to the other men, leaving without a
note or a word goodbye. How could she explain to him, he would be different
than all the rest, even when she could not make the promise of staying? Not
when her dreams told her otherwise. Could she use him that way?

Exhausted, she pulled the bear to her chest and
curled on her side. Not quite comfortable, she flopped onto her other side. Her
back. Then her stomach.

She growled and threw another pillow across the
room. She sat up and fingered the stuffing at Cyclops’s neck. The bear needed
some serious repair. Maybe Kamen had some needle in thread. Yeah, good excuse
to go bug him and give him hell for not coming to see her. She flipped off the
bed and headed out the door. With the hallways dark at this late hour, she
slipped easily down the corridors to Kamen’s room.

She didn’t bother to knock but glided through the
unlocked door. She crept silently forward. A strange need to be with him and to
feel safe, propelled her to the edge of his bed.

It never took long for him to sense her. In fact,
he probably knew the minute she left her room. “Hi, I…” She squeezed the bear
tighter, completely befuddled. Tears welled in her eyes. God, why did she have
to lose it?

“I wanted to thank you again, for…” she cleared
her throat, “saving me.” Her hands started shaking. She’d invaded his
space—something she knew he protected fiercely. For the first time fear crept
along her spine. Her cheeks flushed with warmth, realizing how inappropriate
she had been barging into his room. “Well, that’s what I came to say.”

Mortified, she ran to the door, cursing herself.
What the hell was wrong with her? She had never in her life been this needy,
let alone afraid.

She grabbed the door handle and yanked, but the
door wouldn’t budge. She rattled the handle and jerked it. All futile attempts.
Kamen’s large hand was planted against it.

Warmth radiated against her back. His fingers
grazed the inside of her arm, coaxing her to him. She blew out a staggered
breath. Such little contact had her heart racing. He turned and guided her back
to the bed. Slipping onto the mattress, she laid her head on the pillow with
her teddy bear curled tight against her chest.

He pulled the sheet and then the heavy fur throw
over her. Looking up at his face she gauged his mood from the color of his eyes,
but she couldn’t differentiate black from brown in the darkness. At least the
flames were not flickering behind them.

Standing at the edge of the bed he stared down at
her as if he had never seen a woman in his bed before. His eyes shifted to the
couch in the corner.

“I’m sorry. For everything,” Kit said, snagging
his hand.

Pulling his hand out of hers, he abruptly turned
and disappeared into the bathroom. She sagged into the mattress and gazed at
the scrolled glyphs on the ceiling. Several of the symbols matched the
hieroglyphics carved into the sandstone at the beach. She shifted her gaze to
the bathroom door. Minutes passed before he walked back out and stood at the
other side of the bed.

“I’m making you uncomfortable, aren’t I?”

He took a deep breath and held it. “I am just not
used to sharing,” he finally spoke. The bed was huge enough they could fit
three of him before they would ever touch, but she was beginning to believe
that wasn’t the issue here.

“I can leave.” She sat up and swung her legs over
the bed.

“Kit.”

She looked over her shoulder.

“What is the real reason you are here?”

Her mouth went dry and her heart pounded in her
chest. It took all her courage to ask the question. “What’s going to happen to
me?”

He exhaled a long breath.

“I know you will tell me the truth.”

He shifted onto the mattress, his chest and
shoulders flexing as he rolled onto his back. Thin hair scattered across his
chest, down a molten six pack and disappeared below his low rise waistband.

Based on how stiff he lay next to her, he really
wasn’t used to sharing a bed. She turned on her side facing him, so she could
look at his profile. His hands rested on his chest. Her eyes traced the
silhouette of his nose, mouth and jaw. Everything about him had hard edges,
except his full lips that curved perfectly.

“Your chest will grow cold.”

Her heart stuttered, it had felt that way long
before this ever happened to her. How the hell was she going to tell? “What
else?”

He rolled his head to the side and looked her in
the eyes. “Are you sure you want to know?” His eyes searched her face.

“Yes.” Kit curled Cyclops tighter to her side and
tucked her hands under her cheek.

His chest rose and fell. “In the beginning colors
will appear dimmer. Faded. All your senses will dull. Food will lose its
flavor.”

Okay, that didn’t sound so bad, but Kamen took
another breath to continue.

“Audio and visual hallucinations will set in. Most
gods go mad before succumbing. Depends on Apep’s plans for you.”

“Is that what happened to Nebt?” At the time of
their first encounter with Nebt, she appeared to have genuine concern for Kit
and her sisters. In hindsight Nebt had been manipulating and maneuvering them
into position for the final execution of her plan. A perfect plan, but Nebt and
Kepi had underestimated the Carrigan sisters.

Kamen’s dark gaze shifted to the mound of stuffed
animal. He reached out and ran his finger over the half stitched eye. Hesitating,
he shifted his hand to her sternum. “You need not let Apep in here. He does not
own you.” His thumb traced over her heart.

Yet,
Kit finished Kamen’s unspoken message.
Tingles spread all through her chest at his touch, awakening her cravings for
him. “I need to transition, don’t I?” She already knew the answer but asked
anyway. Maybe there was a way she could avoid all this. A small glimmer of hope
wavered in her chest but failed to take flight. She knew better.

“Yes.” His tone softened with a hint of sadness.

“Can I tell you something, Kamen?”

He nodded.

“I don’t think I was meant to be with anyone.” She
went through men like toilet paper. When she ran out, she’d get another roll.
He knew that better than anyone. Despite what everyone else thought, her
destiny was written differently. There was no happy ending for her. The way she
felt right now only confirmed it.

Hell, she would be crazy not to notice the changes
he mentioned, they had already happened over the course of the last five years.
It made her wonder if she had been tainted long before now.

The darkness of his eyes remained steady, unfazed
by her disclosure. Nor did he try to convince her otherwise. Maybe he already
knew, like, he inexplicably knew every other secret about her. Except maybe her
visions. He saw her for what she was. Saw the darkness in her soul. “I left him
there,” she blurted, seemingly out of nowhere. “My father.” She rubbed her
head. “I don’t know why it’s important to tell you. I just figured you would
understand. I know my sisters won’t,” she said through the tightness in her
throat.

She had hated her father and mother for so long.
They ruined her and her sisters’ lives. Brought her to this point. A point
where she had Apep’s blood blackening her heart. “I told him about my dream of
zombies. He told me they were just nightmares. That I didn’t have to worry,
they weren’t real. He lied to me. Lied about everything.” She wiped the tears
from her cheek. “Everything I dreamt came true. My father knew and still let it
happen…” Her voice cut off by the pain. “I saw him there in Duat. Suffering. I
wanted him to suffer. So, I left him there.” She chewed on her lip, hating she
was not like her sisters.

“There is something wrong with me, Kamen. Even
before all this happened. What kind of daughter would do that to her father?”
She had seen the fear on her father’s face when she was fifteen and again in
Duat. Same as then, she had refused to answer his calls. She, wanting him to
feel the fear she had in her heart.

“Well, anyway. I just wanted you to know.” For the
first time in her life, she bared her soul to someone. Shared her secret. Her
darkness.

He shifted onto his elbow and stared down at her.
For the first time his eyes were unshielded and without judgment. A flicker of
understanding infused the dark depths of his gaze.

His silence for once was comforting. What was
there to say, really? Maybe in another life under different circumstances, he
would tell her
his
secrets.

“May I stay? Just for tonight.”

She felt the weight of his eyes on her for several
long moments before he shifted onto his back.

“Good night, Kit.”

Kamen woke to the warm press of a body against his.
Remembering Kit’s presence in his bed, he suppressed the instinctive urge to
jerk away. Somewhere in the night she had curled up next to him, tucking her
head onto his shoulder and draping her leg over his thigh, dangerously close to
another
awake
part of himself. Her slow warm breath caressed his chest,
making his cock harden to an unbearable ache.

He rubbed a hand over his face and blew out a
breath, trying to shut off the acute awareness of her breasts and core pressed
against him, separated by only the thin fabric of her shirt.
Isis
, this
was not helping matters. His emotions were still raw, the pain still acute. He
had held himself together only for the very fact Kit appeared on the verge of
breaking.

He went to bed last night wanting to erase the
thoughts Inpu had put into his head. In the morning, things would be better, he
had told himself. Maybe his senses were just amplified because of his condition,
and Kit’s soul would be back to normal.

Her arrival to his room had been completely unexpected.
He should have let her go, taken Inpu’s advice and distanced himself. He had
fulfilled his promise of bringing her back and returning her to her family.
Despite her attempts to hide it, fear and agony consumed her blue gaze. His
suffering meant nothing compared to what she might be going through.

The radiance had dulled, but he could see a woman who
had nowhere to go, reaching out—to him. He had considered retreating to the
chamber, but he could not bring himself to leave her there alone. Based on her
forlorn look, he was glad he returned to her side. Surprisingly, the beast was
silent under the protective ring of spells above the bed.

He had to find a way to stop the infection from
spreading further, for her sake and his. If the blackness spread to a level he
could no longer ignore, the beast would take her soul and destroy it. Ice ran
through his veins at the thought. She had grown to trust him, enough to share
her painful memories and her visions. If Kit inherited her mother’s gift of
sight, she would be a powerful ally in the war against Apep. A power, the Dark
Lord would risk everything to have.

Kit moaned softly, rubbing her body against his in
her sleep. From under the covers, her warm hand followed the landscape of his
chest. “Kamen,” she whispered with her eyes closed. The ache between his
shoulder blades and overwhelming desire to dominate her told him the beast
would not be so patient today. His entire body began to ache, a mix of arousal
and anger that he could not change the future.

He closed his eyes and swallowed against his now
dry throat. A twinge of guilt added to the whole body aches when he failed to
stop her exploration of his chest. No woman had ever touched him like that,
even before his sentencing. Still he should wake her. He looked down at her
face, innately curious. Was she dreaming of them together?

He inhaled sharply when her caress dropped lower
onto his abdomen. He snagged her wrist before she got to his erection that had
thrust its way out of his waist band and sat just below his navel. He pulled
the covers over him and cursed.

Kit’s head jerked up off his shoulder. He met her
wide gaze. Her eyes flicked to her wrist in his grasp, and her intimate
proximity to him. She scanned his bare chest and followed down his abdomen. Her
cheeks tinged pink.

“Sorry, normally I’m not a bed hog.” She separated
their bodies but remained just a few inches from his skin. “I can’t believe I
actually slept,” she said as if nothing happened.

Funny, he did as well. Always on alert, he usually
woke up to every noise and bump. In fact, he would have already been in the
shower and dressed by now. Although he was itching to get up and do just that,
he stalled. The big issue hidden under the blanket had yet to go away. Her
continued proximity exacerbated the problem. He needed to shut this connection
with her down on both accounts, physically and that other half.

“I could eat a horse.” She rubbed her stomach in
response to the growl that emanated from it. She turned and propped her head
with her hand. He stared at the ceiling, acutely aware of her inspection. “What
is it with you and lack of verbal speech?”

He turned and looked at her but said nothing.

“My point exactly,” she said. “What do the
hieroglyphics on your arms mean?”

“They designate me as an Underworld god.”

“Okay, that was vague. A falcon and crescent
moon?”

“Yes.”

She chewed on her lip. “What are you, Kamen?
Really?”

She knew he was the soul-eater, so her question
carried far more meaning. One, he was not sure he wanted to discuss. No one spoke
of it since the day the burden had been placed upon his shoulders and into his
body, like the family’s dirty secret, although it was well known among the
Pantheons.

“You are subordinate to Asar, but when you enter a
room it is you whom they fear more than him.”

Surprised, he turned to look at her.

“You think I don’t notice those things. The way
you clear a room when you enter. The fear I sense when others look at you.”

Her defiant gaze had returned, gone was the broken
woman. “You have nothing to say?” she teased, but he sensed the irritation in
her voice. “Why won’t you tell me when you apparently know everything about
me?”

“I do not know everything,” he supplicated.

“Bullshit and do not try and change the focus to
me.” Her tenacious attitude returned full force.

He shifted to get out of the bed. Hard on or not,
he needed a cold shower.

“Oh no you don’t.” She clamped down on his arm and
smiled wickedly. “You’re not getting out of this bed until you answer me.”

He looked at his bicep that took both her hands to
restrain. He arched an eyebrow in amusement. The feistiness in her eyes stirred
his attraction even more. The woman never took
no
for an answer. He
moved to the edge of the bed, dragging her with him. When his feet touched the
ground, she finally let go, but then latched around his neck from behind and wrapped
her legs around his waist.

She yanked him back, growling in his ear. “I’m not
letting this go, Kamen.”

“Let go, Kit.” He smirked, oddly thrilled by her
return to normalcy.

“You think this is funny, mister.” A hint of
playfulness quivered in her voice. She clamped her legs down tighter, bringing
the warmth of her core against his back. The fact that this woman never wore
undergarments made the sensation even more erotic. His heels slipped when he
went to stand.

“Ha!” she said triumphantly against his neck.

He glared at her from the side, but his gaze came
to rest on her full lips. “You need to get off of me.” His voice deepened to a
husky growl. His entire body shook as he resisted the urge to flip her onto the
bed, ass end up. Her taunts stimulated him in a way that heated his flesh to an
agonizing ache.

Those blue eyes held him as tight as her grasp.
“Tell me,” she whispered. “I want to understand why anyone would fear a god
that would be thoughtful enough to put my childhood stuffed animal on my bed at
a time when I needed it the most.”

He could not hold her stare and focused on the far
wall. To say he was the sensitive type was laughable. He had meant to take it
back to her flat, but then it sat on his bed until he rescued her. It was just
easier to return it directly to her. “It is complicated. Now, please get off of
me.”

“No.”

“So be it.” He surged up onto his feet and stalked
to the bathroom. Flipping on the cold water he entered the shower. The spray
hit them.

She squealed. Her grip loosened on his neck and
the water caused her legs to slip down his waist until she let go so as not to
fall on her ass. She retreated into the corner of the shower out of the water.
Her long black hair and white shirt clung to the fine curves of her shivering
body. “Asshole.”

“Are you done?” Kamen let the cold water douse the
heat she had created in his body.

Her chin jetted up. “No. If you think throwing me
into a cold shower is going to deter me from getting my answer, you don’t know
me well enough after all.”

“Gods, you are stubborn,” he growled and loomed
over her, hoping cornering her would dissuade her line of questioning. He
really did not want to talk about himself.

“Damn straight.” She poked him in the chest and
pegged him with her haughty stare, refusing to be intimidated by him, when
everyone else would be losing bladder control about now.
Fuck, she was so
deliciously perfect for him.

She jabbed her palms into his chest in a mocking
attempt to pick a fight. Heat reignited in his chest. Catching her wrists in
one hand, he pinned them above her head against the tile. Her eyes widened a fraction
before his lips met hers. Grasping the back of her neck, he pulled her in
tighter to his mouth.

The sweet taste had him wavering on his feet. His
chest and back burned, but he could not separate from her soft hungry lips. It
was wrong, he knew, but her tongue brushed against his, clawing at his last
reserves. Long exceeding his original intent, he pressed her against the wall
of the shower.

She caressed his chest, exploring areas untouched
for so long. Even the lightest brush of her fingertips had him groaning and
covering her lips again in a kiss. Her shirt clung to the curves he so
desperately wanted to touch. He ripped the fabric free and descended upon her
breasts. Her fingers tangled in his hair and pulled him tighter against her.

His fangs punched from his gums as he grazed her
nipple with his tongue. With restrained brutality, he nipped and sucked until
the scent of her arousal filled the shower.

Kamen’s mind buzzed with anger, frustration and
hunger. Need burned through his veins, bashing against his control. He hissed
through his teeth and dropped to his knees. He shredded her pants, seeking out
the sweet scent of her sex. Liquid heat met his tongue as he covered her with
his mouth. He lifted her leg over his shoulder, opening her wider for his
exploration.

She jerked against his mouth when he found the
small round bud. “Kamen.” She gasped and cursed.

His balls tightened at the sound of his name. Grasping
her ass, he yanked her tighter to his mouth. His mind was all but screaming—
mine
!
Pain shot up his spine, but he pushed it away. The beast would not take this
from him.

He growled and slid his fingers along her
sensitive skin. She shifted her leg open further. “Kamen, please.”

He teased the engorged tissue, fingering only the
entrance.
Isis
, she was so tight against his fingers. He slipped one
finger in deep. Her core clenched and wrapped him. He rubbed and licked her
sweet spot until her entire body shook against him. Her fingers gripped his hair
as she arched back and called out in pleasurable bliss. Just as her first
orgasm peaked, another rolled through her tight body. Kamen greedily drew her
essence into his mouth, savoring every last beautiful drop.

She pulled him up by the hair and kissed him hard.
Ravaging him, she bit his ear and neck and sent jolts straight to his erection.
She shoved him against the wall and jammed her hands down his pants.

“Kit,” he protested, but she ignored his warning.
He arched back and snarled when she wrapped his cock in her hand while the
other stripped him of his pant.

“Oh my god, yes,” Kit cursed and slid her hand
over the entire length of his shaft and back up again. She kissed the length of
his chest, driving him mad with fever.

As she rubbed the full dark plum of his head, drops
of cum glistened at the slit. His entire body spasmed when her warm mouth
slipped over him, taking him deep within her mouth.
Isis
, he was going
to explode.

“You must stop,” he croaked. Despite his need to
push her away, his fingers threaded her hair. Wanting this but fearing it all
the same, he did not know how long he could maintain control of the beast. As
he rode the pleasure to the brink, the ache is his back ratcheted to unbearable.

His legs shook with his restraint. Pain radiated
from his balls.

She looked up at him and continued to stroke his
ridged cock. “Stop fighting me. Let go.”

Let go? She did not know what she was asking. His
chest heaved, warring with the beast.
This was his moment, not it’s, gods
damn it
.

She stood up and kissed him. “Easy,” she whispered
against his lips.

He melted into her kiss, soft and gentle. Lost in
the sensation, the pain lessened and the pleasure returned. Gods, he wanted
her. Right here. Right now. He never meant it to go this far. He was supposed
to keep his distance.

Her hands found a rhythm along his cock. Dizzying.
He imagined her legs wrapped around him. Him buried deep within her sex. He
rocked against her touch, feeling the pull of the beast again.

“That’s it.” Kit gasped and rubbed her body
against him.

He cupped her sex again and delved his fingers
deep within her. Her panted breaths accelerated with his thrusts into her
skilled hands. She tipped her head back and screamed in ecstasy.

His mind snapped and his need exploded in hot
bursts. Pleasure shot through his entire body. A feral roar burst from his
lungs. Reaching the peak, ecstasy turned to agony. He jerked out of Kit’s arms
and staggered out of the shower.

* * *

Kit fell into the now empty space. Hot semen
covered her breasts and abdomen.
Holy hell
. She had never experienced
anything like this. Imagine if they had sex? She blew out a breath and followed
the wet foot prints on the floor.

Kamen planted his hands against the wall with his
forehead pressed to the stone. His back muscles bulged and a rivulet of blood
ran down his spine. The color of his skin turned ashen.