Seduced by Pain (10 page)

None of us
could believe how fast it hit and how fast it melted away, as if it had never
been.

I began to
wonder if we'd all imagined it, like a collective hallucination.

"So,
nothing at all happened to him when you used your power?"

Blood rushed
to my face. "Well, he got harder, but that was about it."

"Yum. Was
he huge? He seems like he'd be huge. Long and thick."

The memory of
his cock pressing between my legs, hardening with every thrust, made me wet. "Yes,
long and thick."

"Bigger
than Derek's?"

"Not
quite." I pushed those memories out of my mind. My time with Derek in the
cabin had been about more than just sex and lust. I'd fallen in love with him,
and it gave a deeper meaning to every experience.

"Wow.
Lucky girl. Okay so, what's the problem? Why aren't we tearing apart our
closets looking for a hot outfit for you tonight?" She stretched out on
the couch and waited for me to answer.

I had agreed
to the date, but every other minute I picked up my phone to call and cancel.
While I'd certainly been close to having sex with Blake last night, I didn't
want to lose my virginity to someone I didn't love. I wanted my first time to
be special, not just pleasurable. I wanted it to be with Derek, but I knew that
wouldn't—couldn't—happen.

Still, that
knowledge did nothing to change my heart.

Ocean stood
and pulled me up. "You don't have to fuck him tonight, just go out and
have fun. You never know, you might just fall for him as hard as you fell for
Derek."

I doubted
that, but she was right, there was no harm in going out. He'd promised not to
push me into anything. This was just a get to know each other evening.

As we sorted
through clothes, I looked more closely at Ocean and noticed a red strawberry
mark on her neck. "Looks like you had fun last night."

She flipped
her hair and glanced in the mirror. "Damn him, I told him no marks."

"Anyone
special?"

"Nope,
but he was fun."

"Don't
you ever want anything more serious? What about love?" Ocean and I were
opposite in a lot of ways, but none more so than when it came to men. While I
wanted the happily ever after romance, she wanted the hot and heavy sex.

To be honest,
lately I'd been fantasizing about both.

"I don't
know. I'm young. I don't want to be tied down to anyone. It'll take a lot to
tame my wild nature, and I'm not sure I want to."

I held up a
pleated skirt and blouse. "How about this?"

She wrinkled
her nose. "No. God, Rose, you really suck at dressing yourself."

"Last
time I took your advice on clothing options, I ended up wandering the streets
of Seattle looking like a hooker, and two rapists attacked me. I'm thinking the
old school marm look isn't such a bad idea after all. Besides, tonight is
casual."

I rubbed the
spot where the knife had sliced through my arm, right before Derek had rescued
me. He'd given me a salve that healed the wound so well, not even a scar
remained as a reminder of that night. All my scars were hidden on the inside.

She sighed
dramatically and handed me a pair of skinny jeans. "Fine, wear these, with
heeled black boots and that purple silk blouse that shows off your cleavage.
Add some dangling silver earrings and makeup and you'll be just sexy enough
without being over the top."

Once dressed,
I admired myself in the mirror and admitted she'd nailed it. "I bow to
your genius, oh master."

"As well
you should. What time is he coming to pick you up?"

I checked my
cell phone. "In two hours. What do you want to do until then?"

"Let's
talk about boys. And sex."

I laughed. "For
two hours?"

She frowned. "You're
right. That's not nearly enough time to do those subjects justice, but it's a
start."

Someone
knocked at the door, saving me from an X-rated conversation with my best
friend.

I rushed to
open it, wondering if Blake had shown up early for some reason, and stopped
dead in my tracks when I saw who stood on my porch.

"Derek."

For you, in my
respect, are all the world; Then how can it be said I am alone, When all the
world is here to look on me?

—William
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

"HI, ROSE."
HE
handed me a single,
purple rose that nature could not have created.

Stunned,
robbed of voice and thought, I accepted it. It pulsed with power and smelled
like heaven. He'd given me a rose from his family's source of power. That one
gesture sent my heart reeling into a tailspin of confusion and wonder.

"You look
beautiful." His eyes caressed me with such intimacy, such longing, that my
breath left me and my hands shook.

"What are
you doing here, Derek?" I worried that someone would see him and report
him. He could be in danger here. And why would he bring this rose to the
property of his enemy?

He fell to his
knee and pulled out a small box. "Rose, I've been an ass. A complete and
utter fool. I'm so sorry I said what I did, and that I ignored you for so long.
I wanted to forget you. I wanted my life to be simple again—at least I
thought I did. But, I was wrong. My life isn't complete without you. I need
you, Rose."

He popped open
the box and revealed the most beautiful diamond ring I'd ever seen—a
large princess cut diamond, with sapphires at each side, mounted in an antique
white gold setting.

My jaw dropped
and butterflies fluttered in my stomach.

He reached for
my left hand and slid off my glove. When our skin touched, a shiver of
electricity raced up my arm.

Thoughts of my
impending date with Blake faded into nothing, and Derek filled my world. His
beautiful wolf-like eyes begging for forgiveness, his broad shoulders and
chiseled features that my hands ached to explore, his gentle touch and the way
his voice rolled over me like a warm breeze. I wanted it all, wanted a life
with him and a future with him.

He slipped the
ring onto my finger. "Rose Wintersong, will you do me the great honor of
being my wife?"

My knees
buckled and he stood to catch me, his arms wrapping around my waist, his hands
spanning the length of my lower back. I didn't know what to say, what to do.
Five minutes ago, I'd been nursing a broken heart and contemplating how I'd
ever move on without him, and now he was proposing marriage? This was insane. I
should've pulled away, given him his ring back and told him no.

I should have
told him that he didn't get to play with my heartstrings that way, that I didn't
deserve to be emotionally yanked around like a Yo-Yo. But when I looked into
his eyes and saw the sincerity and need, and when I considered how hard this
all must have been for him, to be with the woman who'd essentially killed his
brother, my heart cracked open.

I'd known all
along he was the only one for me. My attraction to Blake had never felt real,
or substantial. The lure of being with someone immune to my powers was strong,
but wasn't the foundation for love that I needed.

Still, Derek
and I had a lot to sort out, not the least of which was the fact that he
wasn't
immune to my powers.

Destiny seemed
intent on screwing with my heart.

Before I could
object, before I could offer the voice of reason and point out all the
obstacles still in the way of our happily ever after, he silenced me with his
lips, and I melted into him.

His kiss
deepened and he tugged at my lower lip with his teeth, a wolfish growl forming
in the base of his throat as I moaned at his touch. Nothing else mattered in
that moment. All of my objections faded in the light of this love, this
passion, this all-consuming joy that surrounded me when we were together.

I'd missed him
so deeply, so entirely, that it had felt as if a part of me had been torn out.
Now, with him, my soul repaired itself, and I could breathe fully again. I
could hope and love and live.

He pressed his
head against my forehead, his hand cupping my head, as he spoke. "Rose.
God, I've missed you so much. Can you forgive me? Will you be with me? I know
we have other things to work through, and I know your power scares you, but I
have some ideas. It's not hopeless. First, just tell me we can be together
forever, because if I ever have to live another day without you, I won't
survive it."

With those
words, the last of my resistance melted and I nodded as tears fell down my
face. "Yes. I'll marry you. I don't know when or how this will work, but I
can't be without you. I tried. When you broke up with me, I tried to move on,
but all I could think about was you."

I thought of
the night before, with Blake, and wondered if I should tell him. "Last
night, I was so broken, so sad. And I did something—"

He covered my
lips with his finger. "Shh. Nothing matters now. We're together. Whatever
you did, whoever you were with, it doesn't matter. It was my fault for ever
letting you go, but don't tell me more, because my fault or not, I'd have to
kill anyone who touched you, and that probably wouldn't be a great way to
celebrate our engagement."

The weight of
my perceived sins lifted from my chest at his words, but I wondered if he too
had his own confessions. "Did you… ?"

He swiped a
tear from my eyes. "Oh, Rose. I tried. I wanted to forget you, but I
couldn't. I stopped before anything happened and got home in time to avoid the
storm."

We'd both
tasted the forbidden fruit of another and found it wanting. Even Blake, as
delicious as he'd been last night, left a bitter taste in my mouth by morning.
Nothing could be as sweet as my love for Derek.

It hardly
seemed real that I went from prepping for a date with one man to being engaged
to another. I pulled Derek indoors, realizing that we'd been standing on the
porch making out for all the coven to see, like total idiots.

"I can't
believe you came here like this. Aren't you scared someone will see you?"

He didn't let
go of my hand as I led him into the cottage. "All that mattered was seeing
you and making things right. Also, I have a lot to tell you."

Ocean joined
us in the living room, as we snuggled on the couch.

She raised an
eyebrow. "I heard everything, but I figured I'd be discreet so as to give
you your space." She flopped on the chair across from us. "Now, we
shall figure out the details. First," she looked at Derek, "let me be
very clear about this. If you hurt Rose again, for any reason at all, I will
destroy you. Second, you're not the only fish in the sea. She's a catch, and
you don't get to treat her like you're doing her a favor by being with her.
Plenty of men would gladly take your place in a heartbeat, and I'll make sure
they're lined up at the door with gifts if you so much as make her cry again,
are we clear?"

He squeezed my
hand. "Very. You don't have to worry. I'll never do anything to hurt her.
I've learned my lesson."

Ocean smiled,
then threw herself at us both and hugged us. "Excellent. Then
congratulations! Oh my, God! I get to be the maid of honor, right? Right?"

I laughed at
her enthusiasm. "Um, sure, of course. But I haven't even thought of the
wedding. We have a few things to sort out, first. Don't you think?"

She peeled
herself off of us and sat back in her own chair. "Right. Okay, so Derek,
you said you might have a way to help Rose. Let's hear it."

Derek told us
about the visions he'd received from Dean. My heart constricted at the
knowledge that I'd sent him to demon plane to be tortured.

"You said
he saw another girl there?"

"Yes."

"Did he
say her name?" It couldn't be.