Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) (34 page)

I finally catch my breath enough to let a chuckle out, and Hale wraps his hand around my waist to jerk me against his lips.  His heated touch pulls me to his lap before he kicks the door open.

“I thought you were going to give him that one.”

“I decided I wanted the girl and the win too,” he playfully retorts, and then he kisses me harder while lifting me to get out of the hummer.

Brazen slams the door, but he tries to hide his agitation for having lost the not-so-friendly competition.  He shakes his head as he stalks toward the central building in the compound.

“I love pissing him off,” Hale menaces.

I need to chastise him for being so insensitive, but it’s hard to do when he’s this fucking cute.  I can’t stifle my grin, so I give up on the very idea of scolding him in any manner.

“I know you do.  You ready to go to bed and rest for a while?”

“I’m ready to go to bed, but
resting
isn’t on the agenda, Ms. Crush,” he smolders.

He grips my ass before jerking me in close enough to feel his erection digging into me.

“That sounds like a plan, Captain Banner,” I sizzle out, and his lips consume mine as we head into the safety of the walls.

Chapter 9

Proposals and Promises

The sun peers through the blinds as I finish cooking breakfast.  I smile as I hear the shower we’ve fully desecrated being turned off, and I sit down to sip my coffee.  Hale steps in wearing only his boxers while drying his hair.  I smile as I swish over to join him - his shirt being the only thing covering my body.

“I love you,” I murmur against his lips, and he smiles so big the moment the words escape my mouth.

“Then marry me,” he breathes.

I smile now, and then I shake my head.

“No.  You know what I want, and I don’t want it right now,” I tease, and then my lips stroll down his chest briefly before I strut away.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you wanted to go another round this morning.”

“I guess you shouldn’t think you know any better then because that’s exactly what I plan on doing,” I seduce while slowly unbuttoning his shirt I’m wearing.

“That sounds good to me,” he sizzles out while grabbing me up and sitting me on the table, his hands jerking my legs around him.

Just as he’s about to answer my quivering plea, his phone rings.  He grumbles under his breath as he looks at the number, and I huff in frustration as I hop off the table and finish setting out the breakfast that I had planned to let grow cold.

“Hale,” he snaps into the phone.

“It’s me.  My phone is fucked, so I had to borrow one,” Clay says with a chuckle, and I’m sure it’s because he can hear the agitation in Hale’s tone.

“What’s up?” Hale asks with a smile, his tone changing.

He gives me a small wink while crunching on a piece of bacon, and then he walks into the bedroom as Clay answers, “We’re going to be meeting in the conference room in an hour.  I just wanted to give you plenty of time to get ready.”

Hale starts laughing as he walks out with his pants on, but I smile when I see he has left the button at the top undone.  I skip over to him, and my lips begin softly pressing against his glorious chest.

“We’ll be there,” Hale says while picking me up with one arm to wrap my legs back around his waist.

“Good.”

Hale drops the phone to the couch so that he can hold me with both arms, and my lips play on his until someone starts pounding against the door.

“Really?” he grouses, and I roll my eyes as he lowers me to the floor.

I sluggishly return to the kitchen, and pick my coffee back up while he answers the interruption.  Coffee sputters from my lips, and I almost drop my cup when I see Brazen walking into the kitchen without so much as a word.

“Just come on in,” Hale scoffs.

“Sorry,” Brazen murmurs while staring tediously at the photos in his hands - some of the photos from the Rising investigation.  “I got a name to this face, and I’ve been trying to research it.  I was going to see if it means anything to Araya,” he chirps.

His eyes finally look up to find me in the shirt that screams out,
I’ve just had sex
.  His expression changes to a painful wince, but he tries to play it off.

“Wow.  I’m glad I wasn’t interrupting anything,” he mumbles.

“You were,” Hale retorts, and then another face enters unannounced.

“I’m sorry too, but I’ve also got some information,” Alex adds while her eyes run up and down my hybrid.

I will tear you apart, full blood Barbie.

Hale buttons his pants while rolling his eyes, and then he walks into the bedroom to leave me alone with the full blood bitch, and the beautiful pale eyes of Brazen as he stares at me with desire oozing.

Her eyes take notice of Brazen’s gaze on me, and I see a slight scowl forming on her perfectly red lips. 
I’d like to stain her whole body as red as those damn lips, and let her drown in her own blood.  Bitch.

“What do you want to ask me?” I say to Brazen to break the awkward silence.

He takes a step closer, and I sit down on the stool as Hale returns with a shirt on.  He walks over to wrap his arms around me very possessively, and Brazen tightens his lips before speaking in his more serious voice.

“Herman Snakes.  Have you heard his name before?”

“I have, actually.  He’s one of their mercenaries.  I didn’t know we had a picture of him,” I murmur while taking the photo from his hand.

“How do you know that?” Hale asks curiously while staring at the picture.

“Because they sent him after me when I got too close.”

“What?” Brazen gasps.  “When?  Why didn’t I know?”

“It was about four months ago, but I didn’t want you to know because I knew you would take a leave.  I didn’t want you fucking up your career to stay at home with me.”

“What happened?” Hale prompts.

“Brazen was out on a two week detail, and I was at home reading a book.  This fool was hiding under my bed just waiting on his chance.  I pretended to be engorged in the book, and the moment he emerged I went invincible.  He shot three times, and he freaked out when they just ricocheted off me.  I arrested him, and he stayed locked up for three months until the Stringham prison break.  He was one of the five not recovered.”

“And you didn’t think to mention this until now?” Brazen growls in a chastising tone.

“I have compiled a file on everything I have that wasn’t destroyed in Javeline, and I planned on passing out the copies during the meeting.  See, there they are,” I mutter casually while pointing at the table beside the door.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“Did you tell me about everyone that tried to kill you while we were together?” I counter.

“No, but-”

“But nothing.  I’m an officer of the United.  Shit happens, and I’m badass enough to handle it when it does.  Now, I’m going to go put on some clothes.”

I start to walk out, and Alex takes a seat between the smoldering Hale the fuming Brazen whose eyes are still scolding me.

“I need to know what this symbol is.  It’s similar to your hybrid tattoos, but it’s different as well,” Alex murmurs while letting her breath trail on Hale’s arm.

I roll my eyes as I shut the door, and I hear whispering behind the door. 
Why are they whispering?

I stare in the mirror at the laser tattoo between my shoulder blades that I can barely see from this angle.  My sparrow separates me from so many, but Hale’s matching one connects us.  The sparrow is given to the gifted only.  I smile lightly at the mark that proves me different before slipping into a pair of pants and a strapless top.  I open the door to rejoin the whispered conversation, and I catch concerned, secretive eyes looking away.

My tight, dark jeans are tucked smoothly into my black boots, and my tight, strapless shirt reveals just enough cleavage to draw Hale’s eyes to a popping motion, leaving his secretive gaze in the back.

“What are we whispering about?” I murmur while strolling my lips over the back of Hale’s shoulder blade where his matching sparrow lays hidden under the soft fabric of the shirt.

He smiles when he feels what I’m doing, and then his hand strokes the place where mine rests.  He pulls me into his arms, and then I stare down at the sparrow emerging from a cocoon.

“That’s odd,” I muse.

“We’re keeping it quiet in case anyone is listening in,” Alex whispers.

“You don’t trust the walls here?”

“I don’t trust anyone,” she asserts.  “You shouldn’t either.”

“There are three people within the United I would trust my life with at any time,” I counter, and Hale and Brazen both smirk.

If Clay was here, he’d be smirking too.

“I’m not talking about the United.  I’m referring to the people of
Selma.  We don’t want to spook your lead.”

“Oh.  This apartment’s outer walls are soundproof.  It’s my old place from when I lived here.  They never rented it out to anyone else because they were hoping I’d return.”

“When did you soundproof it?” Hale snickers out.

“While you were still living here.  I just didn’t tell you because you liked everyone to know what we were doing,” I chuckle out, and I see Brazen scowling lightly before looking away.

My laughter fades quickly, and I feel a little guilty for that moment of over sharing.  Hale is very pleased with my slip, and he pulls me tighter into his embrace before Brazen starts stacking the pictures back up.

“We’ll see you guys in the meeting,” Brazen mumbles, and then Alex nods before following him out.

“Where were we?” Hale asks while pulling me into his body.

I smile as I push him back, and I hand him his very cold breakfast plate.

“You were going to eat your food, and I’m going to fix my hair and makeup.  We’ve got to be there in less than forty minutes now.”

“We can skip foreplay,” he bluntly adds while ripping my shirt over my head.

I start laughing as he grips my ass and jerks me to be around his waist before dropping me on the bed.

His lips trail down my stomach as he undoes my jeans, and then he slides off my pants while his eyes stare into mine.  His body hovers over mine, suspense taunting me, and I finish undoing his shirt before his lips consume mine.  I hear the jingle of his pants slapping the floor just before I feel the very thin boxers being the only thing separating me from his incredible erection.

His breath tastes like heaven pouring into my mouth as he slides my underwear to the side enough to put the head of his erection into me.  I gasp at the teasing entrance when he refuses to give me more.  I try to thrust my hips forward, but he holds them down as he continues his barely-there floorshow.

“I want you,” I breathe.

“Marry me,” he counters, and I smile against his lips as he goes in just a little deeper.

“Fuck me,” I murmur, and this time he’s forced to smile.

“Please say you’ll marry me,” he says while threatening to pull out.

“You know I can make you fuck me,” I murmur while pulling his index finger into my mouth to suck.

His eyes narrow as my teeth threaten to break the skin, and he thrusts all the way in once before pulling out.  I’m throbbing painfully from the desire that has overwhelmed me, and he smirks before his lips lean back down to mine.

“Marry me,” he grunts as he thrusts in so hard it’s painfully arousing.

“No,” I moan, and he pulls all the way out before thrusting in with even more power.

I gasp louder at the incredible sensation, and my teeth tug at his lower lip.

“Yes,” he argues, and I’m seriously considering saying
yes
at this point just to end the torture.

“No,” I groan, and this time I rise up to sink my teeth into his shoulder before taking his blood into my mouth.

“Fuck,” he gushes, and then his lips cover mine as the erotic burning heats our veins in unison.

He rips the underwear off my body when he’s unable to continue his teasing, and he pounds into me with relentless force as his lips consume mine again.  I wrap my hands around his neck as he lifts me to throw me on top of the dresser.

I drop my head back to see the mirror showing me the show in full view - his body pounding into mine, his muscles flexing as he uses his ungodly force, the perfectly toned color of his skin pressing against mine… all of it.  His teeth bite into his favorite bleeding spot on my body, and then I feel the erotic currents electrifying me as he continues his punishing force.

I feel the wall against my back when we shift locations, and now I can see into the far mirror as his glorious body holds mine up while fucking the hell out of me.

“I love you,” I breathe into his mouth.

“I love you,” he strains out, and then I feel the building starting rattle beneath my feet.

“Easy baby,” he says while forcing his way in all the harder when he gets turned on by my accidental show of power.

I scream out, and he smiles even bigger before I feel his warmth spreading throughout me.  I collapse into his arms, and he holds me tightly to his body as we make our way back to the bed.

“I can’t believe you just bit me without permission while sane,” he snickers out, and his fingers begin stroking my hair.

“You wouldn’t stop teasing me, and I don’t like being teased,” I murmur casually while strolling my lips over his.

“I just want you to say you’ll marry me.”

“I told you I want a real proposal when the time is right.  It’ll do you no good to use sex as a weapon,” I chuckle out.

“I can’t give you a real proposal until we have a minute to breathe, and who knows how long that will be?  I want you to say you’ll be my wife right now,” he mutters in a pouting motion.

“I thought I was worth waiting for,” I tease.

“You are.”

He leans back, his arms behind his head, and I snuggle up into his chest to find the closeness I need.

“Hold me,” I almost plead, and he smirks while moving his arms around me and kissing my forehead.

“I’ll hold you as long as you want me to.  Fuck the meeting.  I’ll call Clay and tell him you’re sick or something.  He can swing by and get the folders.”