Sinful Instincts (Woodland Creek) (17 page)

Emma

I can’t feel my ass. Or my legs, for that matter. Has anyone ever been permanently paralyzed by sex before? Sin has yet to release me, still trying to catch his breath. I think about how we have had amazing sex twice now. Well, technically, more times, if I count all my orgasms.
One, two, five
—

“What is going through that pretty little head of yours?” Sin cuts into my thoughts. He places his forehead to mine, that playful smile I can look at all day displayed across his handsome face.

“Oh, just how beautiful you are,” I admit, not embarrassed at all.

Sin’s expression turns serious. “Emma, women are beautiful. Men are handsome, sexy, and godlike. Not beautiful,” he retorts, trying to look insulted by my comment. I reply by wrapping my arms tighter around his neck, bringing his mouth to mine. I take the lead kissing him, gently working my way to his upper lip. I feel the growl rattling up his chest. I know I’ve got him, and it empowers me.

It’s not long before he snaps and takes control. Sin is back to being aggressive, already growing hard again inside me. “God, what are you doing to me, Emma?” His mouth travels down my neckline, placing kiss after kiss along my heated flesh. Too many unfamiliar emotions are storming through me, and my heart is beating in frenzied waves at his confession. My body needs him. My life feels like it was meant for him. His words cause my throat to thicken with emotion.

“I don’t know,” I breathe, my voice ragged. “But you are doing the same to me. I think worse.”

Sin freezes, pulling away to do his signature eye thing. I think he senses my true emotions by my sight. His need to make complete eye contact with me during these moments confirms it. “Emma,” he murmurs, and that’s it for him. He is off like a wildcat, taking me against the wall again. Our hands are crazy, trying to get closer to one another, if that’s even possible. Every time he pushes me into the walls, they rattle, causing random paintings to fall from their hooks. Sin’s aggressiveness is intense, but I embrace it. I know it’s me who does that to him.

I allow him to take me, both mentally and physically, proving his intentions clear as my voice goes hoarse from pleasure.

Exhaustion turning into a three-hour nap, we’re still in bed, me lying on my stomach while Sin rests on his side. His fingers are grazing up and down my back. I feel content. And happy. A smile spreads across my face at what we both just experienced. I have no idea about what is to come of my future—
our
future—but it feels right. It feels like this is where I am supposed to be. I flip over and jump up, pushing Sin onto his back. I straddle his solid waist, dipping down and spreading kisses all over his face. His hands waste no time grabbing around my hips, allowing our bodies to grind.

“I see someone is in a good mood.” Sin’s playful tone is matching mine.

“I am. I feel good. Little sore.” I wink. “But happy. I’m happy, Sin. And I haven’t felt like that in a very long time, if ever.”

The look in his eyes flickers. If I wasn’t looking so deeply into them, I may have missed the small glimpse of sadness.

“Emma,” he begins, but I cut him off. I’m not ready to have any serious discussions just yet. We have plenty of time to work out the details, because there probably is a lot to know about dating a shifter. I jump off his lap, throwing my legs to the ground. “Let’s eat breakfast, I’m starving! I know Melanie has food, so we don’t have to worry about—”

Sin is behind me without me hearing him move. His body heat seeps into my back, and I melt into him. “Okay, so if you’re going to convince me to order in again, that’s fine, too. We both might eat and survive,” I kid. He doesn’t say anything, but he releases me. I grab for the pair of shorts I’d borrowed the night before and slip on a tank top. I turn to see Sin is already dressed.

“Wow! That was fast. I didn’t even hear you move.” I smile and turn, walking toward the door. “And I can get used to you being around. I slept like a baby. It may have been because I didn’t have any of my nightmares, either. The wizard, I think he may have given me the closure I needed.” I stroll toward the door. Grabbing for the knob, I turn, continuing, “What he told me was pretty far out, I mean, who would have thought I was some ancient descendant of mermaids?”

I begin to laugh, but it’s cut short when Sin has his fingers around my throat in seconds, slamming me into the hallway wall. My back hits the surface so hard picture frames are thrown from their hooks and shatter to the floor. “Sin,” I choke out. “What are you doing?”

His grip only gets tighter, his eyes blazing yellow. “What did you just say?” His voice is pure venom.

“Sin…” I struggle for him to release me, but he doesn’t. “Sin, please. What— what are you doing?” I’m starting to feel faint. He’s scaring me, and I’m afraid that I may have read him all wrong.

“What did you just call yourself, Emma?” His voice breaks through the fogginess again.

“A mermaid,” I croak. “He told me I was a mermaid from some Sirian descent. Sin please, you’re hurting me,” I barely finish struggling to breathe. The glazed over look in his eyes flash at the realization of his actions. Horror sets in and he immediately releases me as my body falls, hitting the ground. I land on my back, knocking the wind right out of me. I grab for my neck while I cough, trying to coax my larynx to relax.

Sin twists away from me and launches his fist over and over into the wall. In fear, I’m a silent witness as he destroys the plaster, taking out human-size chunks of the wall and baseboard. “Sin, stop!” I yell, not sure what’s happening.

He turns to me, his eyes on fire. I’m about to say something, but the words are lodged in my throat. There is a thickness permeating in the air; the hairs on my arms stand. Sin prowls toward me as I scurry backwards, trying to escape. “Sin, please. Don’t hurt me! I’m sorry, what did I say?” I flip on my hands and knees and prepare to take off, but he’s on me, enclosing his bruising grip around my shoulder blades.

Lifting me back against the wall, he shakes me, my vision connecting directly into his. “Tell me you are lying to me,” he demands. His jaw is so tight, I almost hear the grinding of his teeth.

My voice is rough from his attack. “Sin, what did I say wrong?”

“What did that wizard tell you?”

“He told me who my parents were. He told me they were of an ancient descent of some Sirian race. That of mermaids,” I finish, struggling to form the words due to his strong hold on me.

“No… No… NO!” he wails, the primal roar that leaves his lungs sears my eardrums. He releases me, and I slide down the wall. I’m frightened at his change, not sure what I’ve done to cause this reaction.

He is now pacing up and down the hallway like a madman. He stops every couple of feet and destroys anything in his path. With his quickness, it is only minutes before he has demolished the entire hallway. I begin to shake. I don’t know what to do, but running sounds like the best option here. I stand up slowly, hoping not to get his attention, since he seems in deep battle with himself.

I take one step toward the bedroom and he turns. “It’s you,” he begins, his voice cold and void of emotion.

I halt, turning toward him. “Me what?” My voice is shaky.

“You’re the final item,” he confesses, his face filled with pain.

“What? How can that be?”

“The wizard told me I would find my last item within the heart of the sea. The Sirian Sea. I didn’t understand it before. But now, I do. It’s you. Your heart is the last item to complete the scroll.”

I stare in disbelief. It can’t be.
I
can’t be. “There has to be a mistake. Maybe we should just go back to the wiz—”

Another punch to the wall, breaking through to the studs. “It’s NOT!” His roar is so deafening, I stumble back. “It’s not,” he repeats, sounding less angry and more defeated.

I don’t know what to do. What to think. I want to comfort him. I want to make him not hurt or feel pain. But to do that, it would be giving him me. My life. I take a step toward him, but he puts his hand up. “Stop. Don’t come any closer to me,” he orders, and I stop in my tracks.

“Why? Why can’t I come to you?” I need to know what he’s thinking.

“Because I can’t have you close. Not anymore.” His denial stings. It pains me to know he doesn’t want my comfort. I thought we had shared something. I thought we were the missing links to one another. But then I remember his whole purpose. The reason why he landed in Woodland Creek: to save the soul of the woman he truly loves.

His words come back to haunt me. How he will stop at nothing to complete his mission. Sacrifice anything to do so. And that sacrifice is me. My face is void of hurt, refilling with anger. “So, it’s me then. I’m the one.” I laugh, but with no humor in my tone. “This whole time. You’ve had what you’ve been searching for right under your nose this whole damn time.”

His expression is pained. I can tell the truth is tormenting him, but the real truth is that he’s made no effort to tell me his plans have changed. He hasn’t taken his eyes off mine. “So, are you going to kill me?” I ask boldly, unsure I really want to know. But it’s a question he doesn’t answer. In the fairytale version of this story, I hoped he would confess his love for me and choose me. But how silly does that sound? I guess about as silly as thinking he would just forget his five-year vendetta to save his dead girlfriend for someone alive. Like me. I begin to laugh to myself, shaking my head, my vision glued to the floor.

“Why are you laughing?” Sin finally speaks, his tone angry.

At his question, I look up. His gaze is searing into me, like a knife cutting into my soul. “Oh, nothing, just me being a stupid, naive girl.”

His movement is lethal; he is in front of me instantly. “Explain. What does that mean?”

“It means I’m foolish. I seem to fall for the worst men. I mean, God!” I laugh cynically to myself. “I let Scott talk me into moving to this dump of a town after three months.
Three months
! And look where it got me? And then you. It took me a solid three
hours
to somehow fall for you. God forbid you let me live out the day, because I’m sure I’ll let the paper guy convince me to marry him.” I end in a laugh, but it’s more of a choking sob. I am so stupid. I can only blame myself for this. I shake off my regrets and set my hard eyes on Sin.

“So, what’s it gonna be?” I challenge him. “I’m not quicker than you, so I’m not going to wind myself to try and get away. It would be pointless. At least when I die, I don’t want to look like a hot mess.” My anger’s rising. “Are you going to just rip out my heart here? Or will you kill me first then do it?” I continue to poke at him, but he stays rock-still and silent.

“I mean, do I get a final meal first? Even inmates on death row get to pick their meal. I mean—”

“ENOUGH!” he bellows. His voice sends a vibration through the walls, more frames knocked to the ground. “Enough!” His body goes rigid.

“Why? I want to know,
Sin
. I want to know how you’re going to kill me and take my heart so you can fulfill a promise to a fucking dead woman!” I scream. I scream so loud, I’m afraid I tore something inside.

I open my eyes back up to the sound of the door slamming. I look around and notice the chill setting in the air. He’s gone. He just left. Taken back by his actions, I stand frozen in the same spot for what seems like hours. I finally move and head toward the living room. To my surprise, the entire living room has been torn apart. The door to the outside barely hangs on its hinges. I feel like I’m going into shock. The absence of Sin’s heat causes my body to shake. I wrap my arms around myself, trying to warm my skin, but it’s useless. I look around at the destruction, unsure of how I’m going to explain this to Melanie. But then again, I remember I might not even be around long enough to do that. Because Sin, the one person I think I just fell crazy in love with, is going to be the end of me. Literally. I feel my knees give out, and I fall to the ground. I cover my face with my hands and begin to cry.

How can life be so unfair to one person? How can I live a life so lonely to find the one who finally made me whole, just to be the one to tear me apart? To get a glimpse of the family I could have had, but learn the reasoning of why I was given away. This is all too much for me, and I begin to cry harder, the sobs tearing through me.

I don’t know how long I stay on the floor; it could have been minutes or hours. The sound of someone knocking on the door brings me back to reality, lifting my head in hopes Sin has returned. I look up and see Officer Bellaire standing outside the crumbling doorframe.

“Oh, my. Emma, are you all right?” He comes in, examining the wrecked apartment. He bends down in front of me, lending me his hand. I take it and allow him to help me to stand.

“Are you all right? Are you hurt?” he asks, looking me over.

“Yes, I’m fine.” I wipe the wetness from my cheeks. “I just... I just…” I can’t even finish my sentence without breaking into a fit of sobs. Aaron brings me into his arms, cradling my body as I cry into his chest.

“Shhh, it’s going to be okay. Did he hurt you? Where is Sin right now?”

I pull away from his chest. “Sin?”
Did he just call him by his first name?
“Wait, how did you know his name?” I break fully out of his grip. My senses on guard, I feel like something is not right. “Aaron, how did you know his name? I don’t think I’ve ever spoken his name to you.” I continue to back away.