Gifted Curse (Curse Trilogy) Read online

  Damn it. I wish Brazen was here to bring me back to sanity.

  “I’ve only begun to tease you,” I mock, and my teeth graze the side of his chest that doesn’t have blood drizzling from it.

  “Fuck,” he huffs in tortured exclamation, his will breaking under my touch. “It’s Stackham. The name is Stackham,” he quickly releases, and I walk over to uncover the name hidden inside the envelope on the table.

  I hold it up for all to see I’ve just cracked the captain of the Seminole, and then I hear gasps ringing out from behind the glass.

  I almost gave them a lesson in voyeurism as opposed to educating them on the art of interrogation.

  “That was so fucking hot,” one girl whispers, but they don’t know how adept our hearing is at our age.

  Newbies.

  The glass offers a reflection to show me a twenty-three year old woman at most. The years I’ve lived through stay hidden under my very slowly aging skin. My dark hair sweeps across my chest, falling just below my bra, and the stains of a tortured past etch themselves in every expression and look they can. How can anyone want me with all the scars hiding so close to the surface?

  Hale is released from the wall, and he does his best to shrug off the remaining jitters I’ve left him with.

  “Thanks. I love a good tease before an important meeting,” he whispers into my ear. “Everybody important within the United will be there, and here I am sporting a very obvious erection.”

  “I suppose there’s probably someone here to actually give you a blood fuck,” I snark, my mind finally coming back down from the lustful hypnotizing.

  “I haven’t done that, you know? Not since you,” he says so genuinely, his eyes swearing he’s being honest.

  I remove myself from the physical contact immediately. It’s too hard to do this. It’s hard enough without seeing him. I swish out of the room to the applauding students, and Hale walks up with forced smile as he joins in on the clapping.

  “We have some teaching strategies to run through right now, so you guys will be escorted to the arena to practice your gifts in private and absolute secrecy,” Clay announces to the students.

  I cordially smile while walking away, and the breeze stirs when Hale is suddenly at my side again.

  “So what was that?” he asks softly, seriousness very clearly pronounced in his tone.

  “That was a damn good interrogation,” I joke, trying to veil the truth with humor.

  His eyes stare at me expectantly as he steps in front of me to halt my retreat. His hand slides on the wall beside my head, his body inches in closer, and I’m so worried I’m about to kiss him out here… in the real world. In that box it’s not wrong, but out here it would be. Brazen would hate me.

  “Hale, I’m eng-”

  My announcement is cut short when I see the face that has been missing from my life for two very long months. His pale blue eyes are verging on white, and his light brown hair is a messy piece of delicious artwork. He’s talking very fervently with a group of people when his eyes lock on mine, and in a blink his lips are on mine, claiming me as he completely disregards the hybrid’s eyes still on us.

  “Hey,” he murmurs breathlessly through our kiss.

  I ignore the pleasantry, my carnal desires bypassing the need for anything else. My hands grip him tighter, tangling in his hair until I can hear Hale grumbling.

  “Oh,” Brazen says with an embarrassed grin as he pulls back. “Sorry. I haven’t seen my fiancée in a couple of months.” His eyes dismissively cut away from Hale to turn back to me before saying, “I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

  “Fiancée?” Hale asks in disbelief.

  I feel a pang of guilt when I see the aching consume him. I never meant for him to get hurt. I never meant for things to get carried away in the interrogation room either.

  “Yes. I’m Brazen Mordel. And you?” he prompts while proffering his hand.

  Hale sighs out loudly while accepting the handshake, his eyes darting to me once before returning to him, and then he mutters, “Hale. Captain Hale Banner.”

  Their eyes now become locked in an entirely different way, and the handshake becomes more of a strength test when they both begin squeezing tighter.

  Oh good grief.

  “Okay. Hale, now you’ve met my fiancé, and Brazen, now you’ve met my ex fiancé. Let’s go to the meeting,” I grumble.

  Brazen’s eyes gauge Hale’s busted shirt, and then he stares at the dripping trail of blood from the already healed wound on his chest. He glances to me, and then shakes his head, his mind running amuck with terrible visions of what could have transpired.

  “Interrogation? Did you-”

  “Of course not,” I snap. “It was just a show for the newbies.”

  Hale smirks deviously, and I know he’s wanting so badly to say something to start a fight between my full blood and me. I scold him with my eyes as a girl walks up with a fresh shirt for him.

  “Thank you, Wendy,” he says very gingerly.

  “You’re welcome, Captain,” she giggles out, and I have to roll my eyes at her lingering gaze.

  “I didn’t realize you were engaged,” Hale murmurs while pulling off his tattered shirt.

  Wendy giggles more when he hands it to her, and then he leisurely buttons his new one up while keeping the stare-down standoff with Brazen.

  “You didn’t see her ring?” Brazen snarls.

  “I did, but it doesn’t look much like an engagement ring,” Hale scoffs.

  I stare down at the onyx opal with a scarlet red rose in the middle. It was the perfect engagement ring for me, and I can remember how incredibly excited I was to receive it. I smile a little, and I can feel Brazen’s cool touch nearing when he sees my reminiscing moment at work.

  “It seemed to suit Araya better than a plain diamond,” Brazen smolders, and my eyes look up to stare into his pale blue ones without waver.

  “So, you’re a full blood in the United. Why haven’t I seen you around before?” Hale remarks coldly.

  “Because I work exclusively with the Javeline in most matters, and before that I was a liaison for the Minatians up north. Mostly I’ve been solely undercover, so my anonymity was necessary, as you’re well aware. I took a new position a few years before I met Araya,” he answers briskly, and then Clay walks up to interrupt the standoff.

  “Thank you for coming, Captain Mordel. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you Araya was going to be here, but it was imperative to keep all phone conversation minimum. Did you bring the information from your side?” he asks Brazen.

  “I did. My people are all here if you’re ready, Commander,” Brazen asserts, and Clay nods.

  “I believe the humans have assembled already as well,” Hale interjects, and Brazen has to take a deep breath to control his discomfort.

  “I see the two of you have already met,” Clay pokes.

  “It would have been nice to know he existed,” Hale fumes, and Clay stifles a smirk.

  “I tend to stray from conversations pertaining to Araya when speaking to you. I thought her engagement was her own personal business,” Clay answers, and then I roll my eyes before turning to walk away from the ridiculous reunion I’ve tried so desperately to avoid.

  “So how far did that interrogation demonstration go exactly?” Brazen growls in a whisper when he joins me at my side.

  “You saw how far it went. I didn’t blood fuck him if that’s what you’re asking,” I huff out.

  “I wasn’t asking that. I would hope you wouldn’t blood fuck him considering you claim that’s all the two of you ever did. I believe you said it became a drug for the two of you, and you couldn’t stand it anymore,” he scolds, and I roll my eyes.

  It was a drug, and we were both emphatically addicted. That was never a problem though, but I dare not reveal that to Brazen. I can’t blood fuck him because I’m the only one who can taste the blood. Mine would kill him, and it wouldn’t be fair to make him watch something he want
s to do but never can.

  “I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen you in two months, and we’re going to fight,” I mumble pitifully.

  He halts his stride and pulls me into a room off to the side. He leans to be almost sitting on a table while holding my engaged hand in his.

  “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’ve missed you so much,” he murmurs while pulling me into his parted legs.

  “I missed you too,” I puff.

  I give him a small pout, and his eyes dance menacingly while his lips begin playing on mine. I feel the cool and heat exchanging between our breaths, and he pulls back when my hands stray from the safe zones.

  “We’ll have resume this after the meeting,” he strains out while adjusting his pants.

  “You don’t want to go into the meeting fully relaxed?” I seduce, and I daringly begin rolling my lips across his neck to make my way to the base of it.

  My tongue plays over his collarbone, and he gasps a little when my hand grips his belt to loosen it. He grabs my hand in his, and his lips fold over mine while pulling me into his firm erection begging to be set free inside me.

  “We can’t,” he grouses with heavy reluctance. “As soon as it’s over, though, you’re mine,” he promises.

  “I don’t want to wait that long,” I seduce, and I begin undoing the fragile buttons on my low cut shirt.

  His lips find mine again, and he gently pushes me against the table surface while stripping me free of my pants. I can hear the jingling of his belt being undone, and the obnoxious buzzing of his phone.

  “Ignore it,” I plead in a desperate whisper, and his lips suction themselves back to mine when he pulls free his erection.

  I slide against him, and then there’s a pounding against the fucking door to interrupt the moment I’ve been dying to feel for two months. Two months!

  “Captain Mordel?” a voice inquires. “Commander Jude is looking for you and Ms. Crush, Sir. The meeting is about to begin.”

  “We’re coming out right now,” Brazen grumbles, and we both reluctantly begin reassembling ourselves.

  “Damn it,” he huffs.

  Now I’ve been thoroughly teased twice today, and the throbbing is so absurdly painful. I feel tortured by my raging hormones, and this meeting could take hours.

  “You should have fucked me the second you got here,” I grouse.

  He chuckles a little at my overly frustrated state, and then his lips softly caress mine once more before taking my hand. We head out into the hallway, and he speaks lowly so as not to let prying ears overhear our conversation.

  “I wish I had known you were here. I would have fucked you as soon as I arrived,” he seduces, and my throbbing becomes damn near overwhelming.

  “Really? We’ve been together for two years, and you pick now to start talking dirty?” I grumble to the sweet full blood.

  “I wasn’t aware you liked dirty talk,” he smolders out, and I have chills flowing over my skin.

  His perfect body is hiding behind those fragile clothes, and this fucking meeting is the only obstacle obstructing my path to the torrid throes I wish to beseech.

  “I like anything that comes out of your mouth,” I sizzle out, and his eyes darken at my seductive taunt.

  “I’ll talk dirty to you when I don’t have a room full of people noticing my arousal,” he gripes, and the bulge in his pants his so fucking hard to let go to waste.

  “It’s been too long,” I gripe, and he snickers a little more.

  He ushers me into the room, and he makes sure to hide his arousal with my body as he keeps one hand around my waist. I inconspicuously brush my rear against his still pulsing center, and he narrows his eyes at me before finding a seat and pulling his affected area to hide under the very long table in this massive conference room.

  “I need ice or something,” he grumbles.

  “I’ll give you something wet,” I tease, and he shakes his head with blushing cheeks attached.

  “I can’t believe you,” he scolds playfully.

  “Sorry. It’s been two months,” I exasperate, and our whispers are almost too low for us to hear in the stuffy room full of refined business suits with a trio of species.

  “Here’s what we know,” a human asserts, and apparently we missed the cue where the meeting was starting.

  Brazen’s hand tightens on mine, and he leans to where he’s a little closer as he listens attentively to the short, pudgy man addressing the room. I look over to see Hale’s eyes turning from me to find the human’s voice, and chills ensue.

  This is so hard to deal with right now. I should be over Hale enough to sit in the same room with him by now. I love Brazen. Hale may be my counter, but Brazen is my soul mate. He’s so much better to me than Hale ever was, but damn… the passion Hale and I always had was undeniably stronger than my passion with Brazen. Damn him for being here, and damn him for looking so fucking good.

  “We’ll hear from the full bloods now,” a man announces, and Brazen stands while adjusting his tie.

  Shit. I missed the whole human input on the situation. Fuck.

  I was too busy stressing over this foolish nonsense that I completely tuned out everything the human representative was saying.

  “For the past two months we’ve been tracking this group. At first, we thought it was our kind due to the scents left behind, but then we found food at the compounds. We thought then it had to be hybrids with a strong scent. There were empty blood packs there to support the theory, but we didn’t find any proof of someone being hurt. Human scents lingered behind later, and it just messed up every theory we had. Whoever it is, they continue to stay a step ahead of us, and here’s some of the damages they’ve left behind.”

  He dims the lights, and the projector begins the slide show. Hale’s eyes are burning into mine when my focus accidentally strays, and he looks away when Brazen starts talking again.

  “This is the Lankton compound. As you can see, it was smaller, but it was still a strong facility.”

  I take notice of the large castle-like compound surrounded by intricate mazes of walls for separation. The full bloods don’t usually attack humans anymore, but safety is still an issue to prevent an infectious outbreak.

  Full bloods officers in the United are allowed to mingle with them because of their high status and rank. I forget Brazen is a full blood most days, but there’s always that one divide that stands between us - my dangerous blood near his perfect mouth.

  “This is what it looks like now,” Brazen says, and I snap out of my trance to see the flattened valley that used to be a proud facility.

  Several gasps emerge, and one slips through my lips as well.

  “This is after they hit the first arsenal. We believe they did this as a demonstration of power. They’re after something, and this is them showing they’ll stop at nothing to get it before they even start making demands. We’re adding security to all the compounds in the region, and we’ve reached out to the other divisions to do the same. Until we find out what they want, no one without our security clearance can leave the compounds. They may have moles, so this will force them to contact them via phone, email, text, or some other electronic form of communication that we can easily listen in on.”

  Brazen removes himself from his commanding position at the head of the room and comes back to take his seat by me.

  “The humans are confined to the compounds at all times anyhow in case one of your kind goes rogue and forgets the law,” the pudgy man growls to Brazen.

  My eyes darken when I feel my protectiveness burning through my veins. The room threatens to shift, but Brazen pulls my hand back in his to calm me down before I rip things apart, starting with Mr. Pudgy.

  “Easy, Cavine. We’re called the United for a reason. Humans with the right gene roam freely,” Clay asserts.

  “It should be them that are locked up,” Cavine interjects, and his eyes point to my man.

  “No one would be locked up if the humans had
n’t toyed with things outside their realm of knowledge. You created all of us by playing God, and now we all need to work together to survive,” I growl, and the walls lightly begin to rattle, cautioning the pompous man to stand down.

  “Easy, Babe,” Brazen coos in my ear.

  Cavine slinks back into his seat, fear etching itself into his eyes, and then Clay cracks his neck to the side before continuing.

  “Araya is right. We all need each other to survive, so let’s stop fighting and start working together. If no one stops rogue full bloods from feeding on a vein, the humans will become infected by the multitudes until they’re extinct. If humans become extinct, full bloods will starve to death. If both species cease to exist, our kind - the hybrids - will eventually fade as well since we’re the only ones incapable of bearing children. There are good and bad people in all of our species. I would like to think the best of all three are in this room right now,” he admonishes, and everyone squirms uncomfortably at our childlike scolding.

  I glare at the pudgy man who dared to insult our stronger breeds when he depends on us to keep him safe. He slinks down even farther in his seat as my eyes threaten the blood in his veins. Brazen can’t touch him, but there’s no law stopping me.

  “Please calm down, Araya. I don’t want this place to fall apart,” Brazen whispers into my ear, and I sit back while taking a deep, calming breath.

  “He shouldn’t have said anything like that to you,” I grouse, and my eyes continue to taunt the foolish bastard on the other side of the table.

  He almost snickers at my rage. I can’t believe he’s taking this so casually in stride. This fat piece of shit has the audacity to provoke my full blood, and he’s just going to laugh it off.

  “I love it when you act so protective,” he murmurs against my ear as Clay sets up the next slide show.

  “I can’t believe you’re finding humor in this,” I huff.

  “I love you,” he soothes, and I can feel the anxiety inside me melting away with those three magical words.

  I stifle an unwelcome grin, and he sits back in his chair when he sees he has successfully defused me. His hand tugs mine into his lap, while Hale walks up to take his place at the head of the room to join Clay at his side.