Raisonne Curse (15 page)
He shook his head, tugged at the neck of his T-shirt. “Who’s to say the curse wouldn’t move on to that child? And if each of us adopted there would be at least three. I certainly can’t have a child and not let my brothers have that. It’s better if there is no chance whatsoever.” An owl hooted somewhere close to the window. “Elita, you can have kids now. Your curse is gone.”
He was right. She could. Everything had changed. Or had it? She shook her head. “Do we know that? I could have a child and the stupid curse could snap right onto him or her.”
“Not if we take care of the rest of your family. Not if we take it all the way back to your grandmother.”
“And at what cost to you three?” She buried her face in her hands a moment and let out a frustrated sound. “This is a damned mess, is what it is.” She looked up. “And you know what? I called Ava last night while I was waiting here for you guys to get back. She never answered and my grandmother probably told her to come here. I’ve got to call her again. Tell her to stay away.”
“Let her come. With all three of us here, we can help her and it won’t be as hard.”
“Do we know that, Pryor? Do we really know that?” She walked to him. “If your brother is right, it’s grown stronger on the ones left. That’s Ava, Audrey and Ma’man.” She placed her hands on his chest. “But besides all that, do you truly think what we’re feeling could be something lasting?”
He nodded, raised his hands to place them over hers.
“Then don’t worry about children. Not now.”
“Not ever. I won’t change my mind about that.”
“And neither will I. I couldn’t watch my sons go out there like that. I don’t want to be another ghost crying in this house. But I do know that I care about you, that I’m in love with you and everything in me is saying that will only grow stronger as time passes.”
“What would you do here?”
“I didn’t say I’d be moving right on in.” She smiled. “I think I need a bit more time before I let that happen. But I could find a place in town. A place and a job—hopefully a good one because I still plan to pay for the repairs on that room—and we’ll see what this becomes. This thing between us feels pretty damned special. Too special to just let go.”
He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers. “I wasn’t going to let you go anyway.”
“Yeah, you were. I heard you.”
He chuckled and kissed her nose. “That was all talk.” He straightened up to his full height, his expression going serious. “I couldn’t have let you go, Elita. You walked in and changed everything.”
“Freaked out the ghosts in this house.”
“Crawled right into my heart and took over. The ghosts just instantly knew it was gonna happen. You know what? They kept saying that you’re Bernaux. I understand what they meant now.”
She stared up at this man, knowing in her heart that eventually she would be a Bernaux, that she would marry him. And she even knew that she’d probably fix things so she couldn’t accidentally get pregnant because no method was one hundred percent foolproof and Pryor would always worry. It was something he wouldn’t want her to do. She stood on her toes and kissed him—just as she had that first time outside his guest room.
And just like then, he wrapped his arms around her and took over the kiss until she felt the answering heat in every inch of her body.
He groaned and pulled her up on her toes, tugged her close to his body, making his response to her obvious against her stomach. She pulled her head back, to take in air, breathing hard. She couldn’t help grinning at him as she asked, “How long do you think your brothers will stay outside?”
“Not long,” Wyatt said from behind her.
She closed her eyes, her groan coming from hot embarrassment. “How long were they standing there?”
“Don’t worry, we only caught the kissing part. Looked good! We came in to let you guys know that someone is driving up the road.”
“Oh! It’s probably Ava.” She pushed out of Pryor’s arms. “I’ve got to stop her from asking you guys to help her. At least until we figure out a few things. Maybe do some research on curses? Yours and the Raisonne one. Maybe the smudge man could be a clue?”
“Smudge man?” Mercer asked.
“We’ll fill you in after we welcome her cousin,” Pryor said, taking her hand and squeezing it. “Let’s go get her. She can have some food, hang around here.”
Mercer and Wyatt walked ahead. She and Pryor followed as something occurred to her, making her frown.
“What?” Pryor asked, stopping in the entryway as his brothers went through the front door.
“Please tell me that the three of you don’t have to give her a lime bath. Together.”
He burst into laughter and tugged her hand, pulling toward the door.
“Pryor? I’m serious here? I don’t think I like the idea.” She was muttering as she followed him onto the porch where she was faced with the brilliant orange of the setting sun over the trees, the night sounds of bayou creatures getting ready for the coming dark, and her petite, dark-haired cousin climbing from her VW and looking over the Bernaux brothers with as much interest as they looked back. Especially Mercer.
“Great,” Elita muttered. “She is so going to want that lime bath.”
About the Author
Rinda loves unusual stories and credits growing up in a family of curious life-lovers who moved all over the country. Books and movies full of fantasy, science fiction and romance kept her amused, especially in some of the stranger places. For years, she tried to separate her darker side from her humorous and romantic ones. She published short fiction, but things really started happening when she gave in and mixed it up. When not lost in fiction, Rinda loves making wine, collecting music, gaming and spending time with her husband and two children.
She’s represented by Miriam Kriss of the Irene Goodman Agency.
You can find Rinda at
relliott4.wordpress.com
and
www.deadlinedames.com
.
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This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
11821 Mason Montgomery Road Suite 4B
Cincinnati OH 45249
Raisonne Curse
Copyright © 2015 by Rinda Elliott
ISBN: 978-1-61922-893-1
Edited by Holly Atkinson
Cover by Leah Kaye Suttle
All Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
First
Samhain Publishing, Ltd.
electronic publication: July 2015
