Page 50 of Wicked Dreams

“I’m not going to tell you that everything’s OK because what you did to me wasn’t. Youtouchedme. You tried to-to make me—” I couldn’t get the words out, my eyes burning.

“I know,” he answered softly. “I’m an asshole. I don’t really expect you to forgive me, Olivia. I only know I had to tell you. You deserve to be happy. Like I said, I don’t know what’s going on with your boy. Just go find him. If he makes you happy, I think it’s what you should do. And if it doesn’t work out, I’ll probably still be here.”

“You and I willneverhappen, Brent," I stated firmly. “I-I just can’t get over the things you’ve done to me.”

“I understand.”

“But thank you for apologizing. I don’t think many people could find the courage for such things.” I was weary. And I wasn’t sure if this was some elaborate joke he was playing on me or what. I didn’t trust him as far as I could throw him.

“Friends?” he asked, staring at me.

“How about we’ll be cordial with one another from now on and see where it goes,” I replied, giving him the best smile I could muster. My lips barely turned up at the corners though. I had much more important things to be worried about.

“Deal,” he agreed, returning the same smile I’d given him. “I’m, uh, going to go. Your boy messed me up pretty good. I probably deserved it. Either way, I think he cracked a rib, and I should go see a doctor. I hope you get yourself sorted, Olivia. You really do deserve the best.”

And with that, he walked, or rather, limped away, leaving me to stare after him confused. Donovan must have beaten him so hard that some sense was knocked into place. If nothing else, I should probably thank him for that. My last few weeks of school would probably go by a lot easier because of him.

“Are you OK?” Anita asked gently, coming up to me with Wes in tow.

“Yeah. He just wanted to apologize for everything,” I cleared my throat, my voice shaky. I couldn’t stay there. I’d told Anita what had happened with Donovan through quicks texts throughout the day, and she’d been more than sympathetic to me. She even suggested I go home and take the day off. It was looking more and more inviting as I sat there, all my thoughts on him.

“He said Donovan kicked the shit out of him. Seems to have humbled him,” Wes mused, sitting down across from me.

“Yeah,” I answered, back to staring at my hands.

“Liv, go home.” Anita sighed. “Seriously. Go take a hot bubble bath and relax. I’ll make sure I grab your homework for you, OK?”

“You know, I think I will,” I muttered, getting to my feet. I bid her and Wes farewell. I went to my locker and grabbed out my bookbag and keys before making my way outside. Stunned, I stood at the top of the steps when I saw Donovan waiting for me at the bottom.

“Please, Livvy,” he called out to me, his face grief-stricken. “Just let me explain.”

Olivia

Iwas tired — too tired to fight anymore. I decided I’d hear him out, make my decision, and go home where I could rest and put the day behind me. “Fine,” I whispered.

He reached out and took my hand, tugging me to his Jeep. I didn’t have the energy to put up a fight. I just slid into my seat and sat quietly on the drive. He kept glancing over at me, unsure if he was about to lose me or not. Even I didn’t know.

The ride was a silent one, the tension palpable. There was so much I wanted to say to him, but I didn’t know how without totally losing my mind the moment I opened my mouth.

Thankfully, it wasn’t long before we were pulling up at his apartment building. He led me inside and to his room where I sat on the edge of the bed. He paced the floor for a moment. His hair was completely disheveled, and his dark eyes appeared frightened whenever he glanced at me. Finally, he halted and gazed at me.

“Two hundred years ago, the devil caught on to our little love affair. He pulled us before the throne and delivered our punishment for disobeying him. You were cast out of Hell, left to wander. Over time, your soul would’ve withered, making you lose who you were. You’d become a wraith, just a shell. And I’d lose you forever. I have no idea how you got out. All I know is you were never seen again.”

I gawked at him, fidgeting nervously over his words. The truth of them niggled at me. A flicker of his devastated face flashed in my mind, his arms bound and me screaming his name. I winced, the glimmer of memory making me hot and uncomfortable.

He took a deep breath. “I, however, wasn’t so lucky. He cursed me to live eternity as an incubus. So, I walk through the dreams of women, fucking them and stealing their souls. For two hundred years, I’ve had to touch and fuck every womanexceptthe one I wanted. The one I love.”

His admission made my heart plummet. I asked the first question that popped into my mind. “Why didn’t you just stop?”

“If I stopped collecting souls, I would’ve faded away. Ceased to exist. I’d become the ash beneath the feet of the damned. So, I kept moving, fighting, trying to find a way back toyou. Ineverwanted those women,” his voice was pained, his eyebrows knit together tightly as he stared back at me. “I only wanted you. I love you, Livvy. I only did what I had to do so I could get back to you. Don’t you understand? The more souls I took, the more power I absorbed. That’s what got mehere, to your world.”

“What does all this mean, exactly?” I asked, staring up at him, his words a punch to my guts. I couldn’t even begin to imagine the things he’d had to do to keep existing. The thought of it made me so sick to my stomach that I had to swallow down the bile.

“The only way to break the curse is for you know what I am, what I do… and love me anyway. You have towillinglygive yourself to me in every way possible: mind, body, and soul.”

Shuddering, I rose from the bed and started pacing, the knots in my stomach growing. “You’re telling me, you’ve done nothing but fuck random women for two hundred years, and theonlyway to break this curse is ifIfuck you?”

He shook his head, frustrated. “No, you can’t justfuckme. You have toloveme despite the curse. You have to see past the monster I’ve been turned into and love the demon you fell in love with the first time. If you can’t forgive me, if you can’t love me, then having sex would do nothing.”

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