Seduced by Pain (8 page)

When my
fingers found that swollen nub, I had to bite back a moan. My imagination
carried me far away to my lover's bed. I tried not to focus on the face, afraid
of whose face I would see, so instead I imagined the hands touching me,
stroking me, taking me past my pain and into ecstasy.

I came quietly,
the explosion ripping through my mind, and lay panting on the bed that still
smelled like Blake.

The orgasm
gave me temporary relief, but did nothing to give me real answers.

I could choose
a man I loved, who didn't want me.

Or a man I
wanted, whom I couldn't yet love.

What angel wakes me from my flowery bed?

—William
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

SUNLIGHT, MADE
BRIGHTER
by the white
world that lay outside, filled the cramped bedroom as I straightened the covers
on Ocean's bed.

I hadn't slept
a moment last night, imagining Rose as she'd looked under me, lips swollen from
my kisses, eyes glassy with lust.

Her power
simmered in me, dissipating by morning, but fed by the demon inside. It didn't
weaken me. On the contrary, I felt energized by it, as if I could use that
power to stay longer in this flesh, before a greater sacrifice was required.

I had relieved
my own sexual frustration to the sounds of her quiet moans in the next room. If
she hadn't poured her energy into me, I would have suffered much more without
feeding properly. As it was, I could endure the need until she was ready.

At least she'd
agreed to a date. Now, I would need to find a way to dampen my seductive powers
so she could see the real me clearly, without overactive pheromones clouding
her mind.

I knew of a
spell that would work, but I'd need the right ingredients. As much as I loathed
being around Rainbow, the witch might prove useful in helping me woo her
daughter.

There were
matters of business we needed to discuss regardless, now that I had a renewed
purpose in staying in this form.

Rose slept peacefully
on the blankets in front of a dying fire, her chest rising and falling as
steadily as the snow had last night. With lips slightly parted, she inhaled
deeply, shifted to her side, and fell back into her dreams.

I pulled a
fallen blanket over her and stoked and fed the fire to keep her warm.

The electricity
had come on in the night, and I made sure the heat was on before I left to dig
her out of her icy prison.

While I worked
on the property, freeing cars and clearing lanes with the snowplow we had, the
county workers cleared the roads beyond our property. The sun burned hotter
than anyone expected today, melting away the blizzard that had surprised us
all.

With work out
of the way, I went in search for the coven leader and found her in the kennel
with a newly born litter of pups.

Her cold eyes
sliced through me as I walked in. "Where have you been?"

"How and
where I spend my time is none of your concern."

Her lips
tightened into a straight line. "Then why are you here now?"

"I need a
few supplies for a spell, and I need an update on our timetable for the ceremony.
This body won't last long otherwise."

I handed her a
list of ingredients to collect for me.

She scowled. "So
now I'm
your
lackey?"

"You are
if you want the power you've been lusting after."

Shoving the
paper in her jacket pocket and pulling out a key, she walked to a locked
storage space and opened it.

An assortment
of bottles filled with strange concoctions lined the shelves. She began puling them
down and dumping them into a canvas bag hanging on the wall. "We're on
schedule. Everything is worked out, as soon as you acquire something that can
give us an edge against the Druids."

I ticked off
the list in my head as she chose from the bottles, making sure she didn't
forget anything. I needed this to work if I was going to seduce Rose honestly.

The only way
she'd ever recover from Derek long enough to fall in love again, was if it
really was love and not magically induced lust.

"What
about the sacrifice?" Falling in love with Rose had changed something
inside of me, as much as possessing Blake's body had changed him. The blood
required for demon magic to work never fazed me before. However, I no longer
wanted to go through with the sacrifice, but I had to if I wanted to stay with
Rose.

But if she
ever found out what I'd have to do to keep this form, she'd never love me.

"Who have
you chosen?"

Rainbow thrust
the bag at me. "Why does it matter to a demon which human will be killed
to give him life?"

Dark magic
rose in me, spilling out of my eyes as I stared her down. "This is not a
ritual to be taken lightly. Everything must be perfect. The sacrifice must be
chosen with care, or it will not work, and we will all lose that which we want
most."

Her lips
curled into a sinister smile. "Oh, don't you worry. She is well chosen."

"And she
is pure?"

"As pure
as that snow was before you defiled it."

I stepped
forward, fear stirring in me. "Who is she?"

"Why,
Rose, of course. Who else?"

Blood filled
my ears, and fire filled my eyes. "I forbid it. You may not use her for
this."

"We have
no other choice. Her powers make it impossible for her to be with a man, thus
ensuring her purity for the ritual. Because of her, you will stay human
forever, and I will be the most powerful witch in the world."

"She is
not the only virgin to walk this plane. Find someone else. I won't perform the ritual
if you use her."

There would be
no point. Without her in this world, I may as well go back to my own prison. If
I could be with her in any other way, I would. If there were any loopholes to
this ritual, I'd know of them, but there weren't. It always required a human
virgin sacrifice.

Always.

And so we had
to find a different virgin, someone who didn't have Rose's laugh and beauty.
Someone who didn't make me want to be a better version of myself, just so I
could come closer to deserving her.

"Why are
you so intent on protecting one human?" When I didn't answer, she
continued. "I have other reasons for choosing her."

"Such as?"
She didn't need to know the depths of my feelings for Rose.

"There's
much you don't know about my history, and about how Rose was conceived and who
her real father is."

I stood in
shock as she revealed Rose's darkest secret, a secret even Rose didn't know.

"So you
see, she is the fitting choice."

Before I
destroyed this evil bitch for using her own flesh and blood this way, before I
ripped her apart and fed her to the demons of hell where she belonged, I turned
and walked away.

Fists
clenching, breath ragged from rage, I weighed my choices.

If I followed
through with my plans to seduce Rose slowly, to gain her trust and her love
without my own magic, I risked losing her forever.

But with my
powers, I could seduce her on our date. By tomorrow, she'd no longer be a
virgin, and her mother could no longer use her for the sacrifice, regardless of
anything else.

Rainbow wanted
this as badly as I did. She'd find someone else to take Rose's place. Maybe the
gain wouldn't be as great, but it would still work.

I tossed the
bag of potions in the trash and went back to my room to prepare for that night.

Whether Rose
loved me or not, tonight I would make love to her. I would give her the most
incredible sexual experience she could ever have, and, in the process, I would
save her life.

I have had a dream, past the wit of man to say what dream it
was.

—William
Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream

IF I BELIEVED
in cosmic retribution, I would have
thought the storm my punishment for slipping into my old ways and trying to
forget about Rose.

Needless to
say, that never works.

"Nothing
happened, not really," I told my sleeping brother, hoping he could hear my
confession. "I had a few drinks, and this chick hit on me. Just the type
of girl I would have gone home with before, but last night she didn't appeal to
me."

The monitors
beeped, low and steady, as Dean breathed in and out, but he gave no indication
that he could hear.

"I just
wanted to go back to when it was simple and I didn't have to choose between
family and love. So, I went home with this girl, and we made out for a while,
but I couldn't even get hard for her. Finally, I blamed it on the alcohol,
which had long since worn off, and made it back here just in time to avoid the
storm. If I'd stayed, I would have been stuck with her all night."

Outside, the
trees dripped off the remnants of the snowfall as the sun melted the world back
to its proper colors, shedding off the white cloak of winter.

Inside,
everyone in my family kept to themselves, locked in their own private journey
as they struggled to find a way to free Dean and neutralize the threat the
witches posed.

I paced the
bright room, tossing out flowers that had died while Dean slumbered on, unaware
that there had been any flowers here at all. We'd of course tried using the
roses in every possible way we could think of to break him free, and while that
gave his skin a healthier glow, it did nothing to revive him.

Modern
medicine had failed us.

Magic could
not help us.

Neither our
ancient wisdom, nor massive wealth, could buy this answer, and so we were lost.

I sat on the
side of his bed and held his hand. "If you can hear me at all, Dean,
squeeze my hand. We need you back, Bro."

My eyes
shifted into the eyes of a hunter, wolf-like and powerful as I sent my Druid
energy into him through our physical connection, willing him to life, willing
him to give me some clue as to how to bring him back.

Time ticked by
in a crawl, his hand limp and cold in mine.

I relaxed my
fingers and was about to pull away, when his fingers twitched.

I gripped his
hand, my body shaking with emotion. "Dean, can you hear me?"

His
consciousness slammed into my mind, and I saw everything.