Damned and Cursed (Book 2): Witch's Kurse (53 page)

Jack grabbed her thumb and dislocated it.
 
Marie, tired of biting the towel, clamped her other hand over her mouth.
 
He wiggled the cuff down her wrist and over her hand, leaving burnt flesh behind.
 
She shouted once again when he popped her thumb back into place.
 
He ran the back of his fingers tenderly down her cheek as her eyes closed and her muscles went limp.

Standing up, he looked at the various silver at his feet.
 
Bullets of different caliber, an impressive set of silver restraints.
 
Rob was telling the truth.
 
They were prepared.

Marie's sudden silence caught his attention.

She didn't move.
 
Jack worried for a moment she didn't make it, that her body finally gave out.
 
Then he saw her chest rise slightly, and she shivered.
 
Cold didn't normally bother a werewolf, but with silver involved, her body was at the mercy to the elements like any other living creature.
 
She'd obviously spent most of the night running, hiding, trying to survive.

Jack left her side for a moment to start a hot bath.
 
He watched her from a distance as he left the bathroom, trying to see the scene in his head.
 
From what little clothes she had on, he assumed they surprised her, maybe after a late-night shower or while she was sleeping.
 
That didn't make sense.
 
It was difficult to sneak up on a werewolf.

"Marie," he said, moving to her.
 
"How are you feeling?"

"Better," she croaked.

"Well, you don't look like it.
 
You look like shit."

"Fuck…you."

"Stop flirting, now.
 
It won't work.
 
And please, don't take this the wrong way."

He knelt beside her and grabbed the utility knife from the floor.
 
He cut away her bra and underwear, leaving her completely naked.
 
Marie didn't even have the words to shout at him as he scooped her in his arms.
 
Her limbs went limp and her head rolled into his chest.
 
She didn't have the strength to support her weight.

"Damn," he said.
 
"You're a light little puppy."

"Don't…call…me that."

He set her in the bath.
 
She winced at first, then let out a noise that sounded like contentment.
 
She managed to give him a thumbs-up, and he smiled.
 
It took over a half hour to get her to a beginning state of clean.
 
He washed her hair and scrubbed her body.
 
The tub needed to be drained once and filled again, due to the mud and blood.
 
She started to look like the woman Jack remembered.
 
Her wounds were still ugly, but without the silver in her, the redness and swelling was beginning to disappear.

Jack knew she was on the road to recovery when he took another pass at her breasts, with the best of intentions, and she weakly pushed his hand away.

"Okay, finish washing yourself.
 
Whatever."

He stood up to look at her.
 
The color was slowly returning to her cheeks.
 
She breathed normally and was holding herself up in the tub.
 
She'd heal much faster if she had a werewolf's favorite food.
 
Meat.

"I'll be back soon," he said.

"Jack."

He turned to face her.
 
She was still uncomfortable, but her expression was no longer twisted in pain.
 
Covering her breasts with one arm, she smiled at him.

"Thank you."

He nodded, and left the room.

Jack drove to the only Walmart in Sandy Cliffs, on the far end of town.
 
It had just opened its doors when he arrived.
 
He paid a young female employee, with a similar body type to Marie's, one hundred dollars to help him pick out an assortment of clothes.
 
He also bought bottles of water and several steaks he'd have the hotel cook.

The mystery of what he was doing settled on him as he paid for the items.
 
He was helping someone, expecting nothing in return.
 
It wasn't a feeling he was used to.

After returning to the hotel, he went straight to his room.
 
He wanted to check on Marie before having a steak cooked for her.
 
The TV was still on, the pile of silver where he left it.
 
The first thing he spotted were the wet footprints on the carpet.
 
They led from the bathroom to the shattered window.
 
They were spaced evenly apart.
 
Marie had calmly walked out of the bathroom and jumped out the window, most likely into the woods.
 
Jack leaned out the window and stared at the green covering the landscape behind the hotel.

He set the water and steak in the fridge and jumped out the window himself.
 
The fall didn't bother him at all.
 
The only witness was a stray dog with his head halfway in a nearby dumpster.

Jack followed Marie's footprints into the woods.
 
Her tracks went about one hundred yards away, off a path and into the grass.
 
It wasn't difficult to see where she'd changed.
 
The grass was disturbed and matted down in one spot, the area just large enough to contain a woman on her side.

He wandered the woods for an hour, long after he'd lost her trail.
 
He could see why she liked the scenery of Sandy Cliffs.
 
Quiet and peaceful.
 
Jack could imagine camping out with Tiffany, away from mortals and the busyness of civilization, gazing up at the stars at night, cooking food by a roaring fire.

He was on a trail leading back to the hotel when the shrubs next to him shook.
 
There was barely enough time to turn his head when the wolf jumped on him.
 
He landed on his back, his head bouncing off the ground.
 
It was the first time he'd seen Marie as a werewolf.

She pinned him in place, her paws on his shoulders, claws digging in his shirt.
 
Standing eerily motionless, she kept her eyes on his, staring into them.
 
She didn't pant, barely made a sound.
 
The only movement was her nose twitching slightly.

Marie was strong, like all werewolves.
 
Jack made no effort to move.

"Hey, there," he said.
 
"You want to be a good girl and get off me?
 
I'll give you a treat."

She didn't move.
 
Instead, she leaned down and licked him across the face.
 
Her tongue left a trail of saliva on his skin.

"Whoa, hey now.
 
I'm not in to any bestiality bullshit.
 
I'm not one of those freaks who dresses up in costumes, either."

Marie lay on his chest and whimpered quietly.
 
Jack wondered what was happening, but then heard her bones break.
 
Her muscles stretched and the hair slithered into her skin.
 
The whimpering turned into a quiet, feminine moan.

Jack held her, and Marie folded her arms across his chest.
 
She blinked at him.
 
The wounds all over her body were gone.
 
Her naked body pressed against his clothes.
 
She straddled him slightly, her legs rubbing in the dirt.
 
She had no problem getting dirty once again.

"Is this better?" she asked.

"Much."

"You taste delicious."

"I've heard that before."
 
Unable to resist the opportunity, he let his hands drift down her ribs to her hips.
 
He felt the sides and backs of her legs.
 
Marie didn't object.
 
"I see what you're saying about the hair thing."

"It's nice," she said.
 
"I haven't owned a razor in fifty years."

"How did you heal so fast?"

"There's a restaurant not far from here.
 
I sneaked in through the back and stole about twenty pounds of bacon."

Jack laughed.
 
"Well, I've got water and steak back at the hotel.
 
And some clothes."

"Listen…you saved my life.
 
Thank you again.
 
I feel like a new woman."

"You're welcome.
 
You can thank me even more by getting off me."

Marie smiled and put her hands on his shoulders.
 
She fully straddled him, throwing her legs over his hips.
 
Sitting upright, she gave Jack a full view.

"And what if I don't want to?" she said, playfulness in her voice.

He ran his hands up along her hips, over her slim stomach, and finally to her breasts.
 
She smiled as she took his hands in hers.
 
They were cool to the touch.
 
It wasn't warm out, but the weather didn't bother either of them.

"I thought you said my body wasn't better than any other?"

"Eh, I lied.
 
Give me a break.
 
We'd just met.
 
I can't compliment someone I'd just met."

"Yeah.
 
Heaven forbid you say something nice."

"You still plan on running?"

"Nope.
 
I'm going to have my way with you here in the woods, then I'll find who attacked me and kill every single one of them."

"Wow, when you talk like that, that pretty much makes me ready to go."

She put her hands on her hips.
 
"Well?
 
What's stopping you?
 
Why are your clothes still on?"

Jack honestly didn't have an answer to her questions.
 
Surprise, perhaps?
 
A beautiful, naked woman was on his lap, and he wasn't making a move.

Marie put a finger to his lips.

"Jack, this isn't a trap.
 
I don't want to be your lady, don't want to meet your daughter.
 
To be honest, I'm still trying to figure out if I even like you.
 
But you and I both know you don't have to like someone to get turned on."

"You've got a point."

"Do you realize how long it's been since I've been with an older man?"

"I've never banged it out with a werewolf in the woods."

"See?
 
Fresh experiences for both of us."
 
She crossed her arms and shook her head.
 
"I've also never had to talk someone into having sex with me before."

"No more talking.
 
You've sold me."

He sat up and tugged at his shirt.
 
She eagerly helped him out of it, tossing it into a nearby bush.
 
She was the first one to start the kissing.
 
Gently, at first, until Marie let out what almost sounded like a growl.
 
The gentleness vanished in a hurry.
 
Jack met her all the way, lacing his fingers in her short hair.
 
She pushed him to the ground and reached for his belt.
 
Jack smiled at her aggression.
 
Werewolves and aggression went together very well.

"I have to warn you," she said.
 
"I've got my strength back.
 
I'm not sure if you'll be able to keep up."

Jack laughed.
 
She was in for a surprise.

Marie wasn't sure how much time she'd spent with Jack in the woods.
 
Ninety minutes, maybe two hours had passed.
 
Modesty and shyness began to settle in once again as Jack stepped into his pants.
 
She had no clothes to put on, although it was rather pointless anyway.
 
He'd already seen her without clothes more times than anyone in decades.

His back was to her, and she enjoyed the show while it lasted.
 
The curse he talked about kept him in excellent shape.
 
She wanted to lean against a tree behind her, to catch her breath, but her pride refused to let her.
 
It was all she could do to keep her knees from shaking.
 
It took a lot of effort to exhaust a werewolf, and Jack had done so.

She relived moments of their encounter.
 
She'd gotten carried away, a little too excited, and raked her claws down Jack's back.
 
Blood was drawn, but she'd left no scars.
 
He healed from them instantly.
 
Guilt came over her as she looked at the lines of blood down his back, but said nothing.
 
Jack didn't seem to mind at the time.

Marie tried to push the energetic encounter from her thoughts.
 
Now that Jack was out of her system, she could focus on other matters, such as revenge.
 
Never again would that pack of werewolf hunters hunt another creature.

Jack turned to face her.
 
He wore a half smile, and took a moment to look at the shirt in his hand.

"I won't give you my pants, but you've earned enough of my respect to let you borrow my shirt."

She rolled her eyes.
 
"Wow.
 
After what we just did, I earned a little of your respect.
 
Your pillow talk could use a little work."

"The sex didn't get you respect."

She smiled, imagining that was as close to a compliment as Jack would get.
 
A whiff of his delicious chocolate scent touched her nose as she reached for the shirt.
 
She growled in delight and grabbed him by the wrist, pulling him close.
 
He stumbled into her, and she used that as an excuse to embrace him.
 
He set his hands on her hips, which she loved.
 
Starting at his shoulder, she sniffed up his neck, stopping at his hair, trying to take his entire scent in.
 
She nibbled on his ear slightly and touched his flesh with her tongue.
 
Jack did his best to control his reaction, but she could tell he enjoyed it.