Page 52 of Cursed Touch
Vanessa sucked in a harsh breath and moaned at his words. He realized his mistake before she sat up. “See… When you say shit like that but stop us every time from having sex, it sends mixed messages.”
Carter clenched his jaw. She was right and he was an asshole for doing it, especially for doing it to her. The magical thread tying them was one thing, but with each passing day, he fell deeper.
“Yeah, great. More fucking silence!” Vanessa snapped, waving her hands around before she pushed to her feet. She crossed her arms over her body, standing naked yet shielding herself from him.
“Sweetheart,” he said as he sat up.
Vanessa squatted to pick up her panties and waved one finger in his direction. “No, don’t fucking sweetheart me!”
He opened his mouth and closed it as she shimmied the scrap of fabric up her thighs and into place. Carter stood and took a step toward her, but she put out her hand.
Vanessa grabbed her night shirt from the couch’s armrest. “No. Please don’t touch me. All you’re going to do is make this more confusing, and I just can’t handle it right now.”
His shoulders slumped. He wanted to comfort her but respected her need for space, even if it sucked. “Okay,” he said and ran a hand down his face. “My intention is not for you to feel—”
“I’d say used, but oh wait, all you’ve done is give me a ton of orgasms. Thanks, by the way,” she called over her shoulder as she paced the space in front of the TV.
He should not find her sexy as hell as she paced the floor, her anger directed at him, but he did. He always knew he needed a strong, smart-mouthed woman in his life. The mild-tempered ones had been fine when he needed to get off, but they would never satisfy him in the long haul.
Vanessa was not afraid to tell him what she liked or if he had pissed her off.
She froze, her eyes glued to the news playing quietly in the background. “What did they just say?”
“I don’t know. What’s wrong?” Carter asked and grabbed the controller to his DVR and rewound the clip.
“We’ve just learned the body found early this morning at the Mandolin Apartments belongs to Tyler Babcock. The police are asking the public for any information that will help solve his murder.”
She gasped. “Tyler’s dead?”
It took Carter a second for his brain to catch on. “Tyler? Your neighbor Tyler?”
Vanessa faced him, her eyes wide with shock and tears brimming. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, and he could not sit back any longer. He pushed to his feet and rushed to her. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly as the first sob escaped.
“Oh my God, who would kill Tyler?” she mumbled into his chest, her hot breath against his skin as her fingers dug into him.
He did not know what to say. Carter kissed her hair and lay his cheek on the top of her head. “I don’t know, sweetheart, I don’t know…”
His mind flipped through varying scenarios, starting with the first and only time he had seen Tyler: nearly dead from lycan venom poisoning him with each passing second. It was clear to Carter the man had been a witch, but Carter knew nothing else about him except where he’d lived.
Had Tyler attracted more attention? Had he been killed in an attempt to get to Vanessa? Was his murder completely coincidental?
Carter did not have answers. All he could do was hold Vanessa in his arms, their argument tabled for the time being as she grieved the man’s passing.
Vanessa swayed in his arms, exhaustion from her orgasms combining with her crying. Carter shut off the TV and scooped her into his arms. He maneuvered through the darkened living room, only the moonlight streaming through to guide him as his eyes adjusted.
“What if they’d broken into my apartment instead?” she whispered.
“But they didn’t,” he said. “And now you’re here with me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.” Vanessa meant too much to him to allow a single hair on her head to be hurt. Once Vanessa realized they had his family and their magical arsenal at their disposal she wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed.
“I don’t want to be alone tonight…” she said against his chest, her voice whisper-soft. “Hold me. This once, will you please hold me?”
His knees threatened to buckle at her words. Never had a woman’s innocent request affected him. “I’ll hold you for as long as you let me,” he muttered against her forehead. Retracing a few of his steps, he decided that if he were going to hold her, it would be in his bed.
Carter set her on her feet before pulling the covers back. Vanessa crawled into the center of his bed and turned on her side, facing away from him. He dropped his jeans, leaving on only his underwear, and slipped in behind her. Pulling her flush against him, he placed his hand over hers and their fingers interlaced.
Needing to comfort her, he kissed the spot where her T-shirt exposed her neck. “I’m so sorry,” he stated before hugging her tightly.
“So am I…”
