Cursed (Demon Kissed #2) (21 page)

My eyes glanced around cautiously. I
knew what to expect in here. I knew what my weakness was. I knew
what the Lorren would tempt me with. It would weave the perfect
illusion, so warm and inviting that I’d never want to leave. Then
the golden flowers would suck me into the wall and I’d be trapped
like the rest of them. Collin’s warning floated through my mind,
the more beautiful—the more deadly. This place was stunning,
dripping with beauty.

Dripping with death.

For hours I walked and did not hear or
see anything. No noises carried through the golden vines. No voices
resonated through the tunnels. I’d thought Shannon would call out
at any time, or I’d hear Eric’s voice, but it was silent. Moving
forward, I wound around the paths going deeper and deeper into the
maze. My friends would have to face their own hell and find their
own ways out. We were all on our own.

It was then that I heard his voice;
when I was at my weakest. The Lorren waited, learning me, tasting
my fears. It was patient. Eventually I felt the bond tugging in my
gut and pulling me through the maze. Not having a better plan, I
followed its pull knowing damn well that Collin would be at the end
of the path. What else would the Lorren do? It was a predictable
trap. It had to be. Otherwise I was totally screwed, because I
didn’t have a clue what else could possibly make me want to stay
here and die.

Death meant abandoning my friends and
forsaking my sister. Valefar or not, she was alive and I intended
to keep her that way. I swallowed the lump in my throat. Seeing her
face had been a double edged sword. She’d become the very being I
was trying to avoid—a Valefar. But, she was alive. That was all
that mattered. I had to free her from the Pool. I had to save
Collin. I couldn’t get sucked into whatever was at the end of this
path. The bond propelled me forward, turning me around corners, and
through archways of golden flowers. My steps became more cautious
and less frantic as the acidic taste of dread rose in my throat.
Swallowing it back down, I paused. I could feel it. He was around
this corner. I knew it was him. It had to be. Collin was my vice.
He always would be. Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes. I willed
myself with my entire being to be strong enough to deal with
whatever lay around the corner. Then I walked the final steps half
hoping that it would be something else. I had no idea that what I
hoped for was worse than anything I’d feared.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-ONE

My breath caught in my throat as I
rounded the golden corner. Collin stood there perfectly healthy.
His eyes sparkled that brilliant blue, and that devilish smile that
I adored spread across his lips.

It’s not
him
, I thought to myself. That thing was
the Lorren. Dim rust-colored light was spilling from the end of the
tunnel, just over his shoulder. I was near an exit!

I moved slowly. My heart pounded in my
chest more fiercely than when the dragon stood nose to nose with
me. I had the brains to resist the dragon, but Collin? Breaking the
alluring gaze he cast over me, I looked at the golden walls, the
floor…anything except him. Collin shifted his weight onto one foot
and stood blocking the path. As I neared him I slowed down
realizing that I couldn’t pass by him without touching him. My
brain immediately registered that as a horrible idea and I withdrew
a step.

Collin laughed, “After all this time,
you’re stepping away from me? No hug for an old friend?
No…kiss?”

Swallowing hard, I spit out the words
before they froze in my mouth, “You’re not him. Step aside, Lorren,
and let me pass. Otherwise, I’ll make you.” I had no idea why I
threw that threat in there. It sounded good, so I did. Too bad for
me that this Collin liked it.

He smirked, taking a step towards me,
“You’ll make me?” A smile spread across his entire face. I made the
mistake of looking up and seeing the amusement there. It was the
same expression Collin had worn so many times.

Looking into his face, I mustered the
most calloused expression I could manage. I took two steps toward
him and stopped. Confidence I didn’t own flowed out of my mouth,
“Yes, I’ll make you. Move.” I took another step toward him and
Collin stepped back. The golden light in the Lorren played off his
hair, making it appear lighter—almost as if it were kissed with
strands of gold.

The corners of his lips tugged upward,
“Then, make me, Ivy Taylor.” He folded his arms across his chest,
clearly amused with the idea. “Make me move.”

This wasn’t going the way I planned. I
just had to pass him and I’d be free. I was so close. My fingertip
rubbed my ruby slightly as I thought about efanotating to the other
side. That would be simple and effective. But I didn’t know what
powers the Lorren contained. Was it possible that it drained
powers? And I seriously doubted it masked Valefar powers. I thought
Kreturus already knew I was in Hell, but I didn’t want to send up a
flare by using my powers. He’d know exactly where I was and at this
moment, I was certain he didn’t know. If he did, this place would
be crawling with demons. No, I couldn’t efanotate past this false
Collin. I was freaked, but no powers came to me his time. My hair
didn’t flame out in purple tongues of fire. The Lorren seemed to
drain creatures of power to trap them here. No, I’d have to pass
him without using any magic.

He gestured his hands toward his body,
“Come on, Ivy.” His lips were twisted into a full smirk. “You
couldn’t make me do anything before and you still can’t now. That’s
just how it was with the two of us…unless you wanna prove me
wrong?”

He was trying to bait me. I ignored
his words, deciding that shouldering him as I passed was my best
option. I had to knock him on his ass, and not touch his skin. I’d
melt if I touched him even though it wasn’t really Collin. It made
me wonder for a second if the Lorren felt like him. If it would
treat me like Collin. The danger in those thoughts made me doubt
myself. The longer I stayed around him, the foggier my brain
got.

So, I launched my body at him,
shoulder poised to connect with his stomach. The shot connected and
I threw him across the floor. He didn’t expect that, which helped
me. But, Collin jumped to his feet quickly. Within a matter of
seconds he had me pinned me to the floor. He hovered inches above
me, trapping me in place. My heart raced in my chest, as I screamed
at him. Nothing I did made him move. He didn’t release his grip. If
anything, it made him hold me tighter. After realizing that
flailing and screaming in his face weren’t working, I finally
stopped. Breathing hard, I tried to look anywhere, except at him.
He was gazing at me. I could feel his eyes on the side of my face.
The rise and fall of his chest against mine was intoxicating. The
mental haze that was forming thickened, making it more difficult to
think.

Collin’s face loomed nearer to mine.
His warm breath slid across my cheek, as he whispered into my ear,
“That was a dirty shot. Since when do you like to play dirty?”
Every muscle in my body tensed. His words were dripping with
innuendo. His fingers slid against the side of my face, turning me
to look him in the eye. Oh God. Butterflies filled my stomach as I
gazed at him. He felt like Collin. He sounded like Collin. Every
time he spoke, every time the Lorren opened its enchanting mouth, I
felt woozier. With every moment he held me beneath him the feeling
that he was Collin intensified.

Only a very small portion of my brain
was functioning at that point. All my senses were drowning in
Collin. His scent, his touch, his beautiful face…and more than
anything I wanted to taste him. The thought of feeling his kiss
against my lips was so enticing that I couldn’t stand it. One more
word and I knew I’d kiss him. One more sexy glance from his
dazzling blue eyes and I was toast.

So, I did the only thing I knew to do.
My knee connected with his groin in one hard shot. Collin fell to
his side and staggered briefly before reaching for me. I jumped up
and ran past him, still feeling the seductive fog lingering in my
brain. Collin, no, the Lorren—stop calling him Collin—was right
behind me. My heart pounded in my chest with a mixture of passion
and fear. Every inch of me felt like it was on fire. In part, I
wanted him to catch and seduce me. That was the crazy part of me
who thought that this thing was Collin. It was like he was
polarizing my brain. The part that acted on lust and passion was
dominating. The logical, rational part that did most of my thinking
was buried under a pile of mental slush. My legs barely moved. I
meant to run, but couldn’t seem to get going. It felt like I was
running in slow motion.

I didn’t get more than a few steps
away from him before his body collided with mine. We went sliding
across the smooth floor and slammed into a golden wall. Stunned, I
shook my head and tried to get away, but I couldn’t. Collin was
faster. My head was swimming like I drank too much. My arms and
legs were moving like they were stuck in gelatin. I lay on the
floor, flailing, trying to get up. But, he moved his body over
mine, slamming his hips down on top of mine. I was pinned to the
floor so tightly that I couldn’t move. His knee pressed into my
thigh, and his hands gripped my wrists, pressing them to the cold
floor.

He breathed heavily in my face, “Do
you still want to run?” His lips brushed my ear slightly, and I
shivered. “Or did you just want me to pin you to the floor?” The
more he spoke the harder it was to resist him. I pressed my eyes
closed trying to tune out his words, but I couldn’t. The sound of
his voice was like a siren song. The more I heard it, the more I
wanted to stay and hear his rich, beautiful voice. It felt so good
to be near him. Having him so close was pure bliss. I could stay
like this with him forever. His body felt so hard and smooth, right
on top of mine. I didn’t want to free myself from his grasp. I
wanted him with me, cradling my body in his arms. A warm kiss
slowly grazed my cheek as Collin’s lips touched me ever so
slightly, teasing me.

The woozy feeling
increased. I made the mistake of opening my eyes. Collin’s lips
lingered right above mine. His warm breath washed over me. His
heart raced in his chest. I could feel it beating in sync with
mine. A seductive smile appeared on his lips. I sighed, unable to
look away from him, and buried my face in his neck. His strong arms
pulled me tighter into him. I couldn’t get close enough. It felt
like I was so far away. So far away from Collin.
Collin
. My clouded brain
was trying to communicate with my body. It was shooting off
Danger! Run!
messages,
but I ignored them. My fight or flight response was totally broken.
A giggle spilled from my lips instead.

Collin released one of my wrists, and
ran his fingers through my hair. “I love it when you laugh like
that.” He pressed his cheek to my head and inhaled deeply, before
lightening the pressure on my wrist and legs. I didn’t try to run.
Nothing could force me from his arms. I smiled, and pressed myself
closer to him completely content to lay in his arms forever. He
held me quietly for a little while, stroking my hair and kissing my
face softly. When he spoke, every ounce of desire within me burned
like I’d never known. Three simple words ignited me. “Kiss me,
Ivy.”

I liked that idea. Kiss
him. Taste him. Hold him. Turning my face, I looked up at him. His
blue eyes bore into me. It felt like he could see inside my soul.
My soul. Why did that seem weird? It felt like he could see into my
soul, but he couldn’t. Why not? That should be normal. Collin could
see inside of me. He knew what I felt and what I thought. The fog
that clouded my mind wouldn’t clear. I couldn’t think.
Soul. Save
. My brain was
fighting through the heavy haze that was obscuring my thoughts, but
I didn’t understand. The words alone confused me, but when a memory
connected to the words, I could think better.
Kiss
. The memory of Collin and I in
the old church flooded my mind. My sweat-soaked body. The stone
floor. Anger. Rejection. Collin said he wouldn’t kiss me that
night. The idea terrified him. I remembered.

“
Do you remember that
night in the old church?” I asked him. “You said you couldn’t be
what I needed. What did you mean?” Something, a thought, was
floating around in my mind just out of reach. Why couldn’t we be
together? I couldn’t remember.

His voice was smooth and deep, “I can
be what you need now. Kiss me, Ivy.” He whispered in my ear, “Kiss
me.”

I shivered and felt the mental fog
thicken again. The warnings my mind was emitting were muted.
Nothing got through. His words were so…seductive. He pressed his
forehead against mine, while his fingertip traced the bow of my
lips and then slid slowly along my lower lip. I kissed his
fingertip before he pulled his hand away. “What do I need?” The
words came out playful.

“
A man to hold you. A man
to kiss you. You need me, Ivy. I can be exactly what you
need.”

Looking into his eyes, I
stroked his cheek. His words washed over me slowly. The richness of
his voice was irresistible. His lips were so close to mine. All I
had to do was press my lips to his. Then we could be together. Then
he could be my man. Man? The mental haze was fighting to maintain
its hold. It was pressing further into my mind, but small thoughts
slipped out.
Man
.
He wasn’t a man though. Then, what was he? I couldn’t
remember.
Bond
.
The bond. Ah, I remembered that. It frightened and fascinated me.
The bond created that feeling of oneness with Collin. Where was
that now? Why couldn’t I feel it? Didn’t he lead me
here?