Page 30 of The Curse

Chapter Nine

Nicholas

The crackling and popping sounds of Corbin casting spells woke me from my exhausted slumber. The lower part of my body, especially the ass area, ached in the most delicious of ways. It had been three days since Corbin had laid claim to my body for the first time, and to say that we were practicing under the premise of practice makes perfect might be an understatement. We’d had days and days of it and we couldn’t seem to get enough.

Ah, yes, life was good. Well, except for the whole birthday, aka death-by-suicide, looming just around the bend--in twenty-four hours, to be exact. Corbin kept assuring me that I had absolutely nothing to fear from Morgan, that her powers are virtually nonexistent in Marblehead and that as long as I stayed here, with him, I’d be perfectly safe. I’d mentioned to him that Morgan had managed to force my other descendants, including Nico who was right here in Marblehead at the time, to commit suicide, but he explained that with all the others, with the exception of Nico, Morgan hadn’t been intruding on another coven’s territory. With Nico, which was really me, since I finally had Nico’s memories, Corbin hadn’t known he would need to have protective spells to block Morgan from using her magic while projecting her image. It had never happened with another witch before. This time, he was prepared. Protective spells were woven around every inch of his territory. She might be able to project her image to me, but she would have absolutely no persuasive powers to use over my mind.

It all sounded perfectly safe and simple…but there was still a nagging fear that wouldn’t allow me to feel completely at ease. I supposed I wouldn’t feel any real peace until after my birthday hour tick-tocked over tomorrow night.

I slid my legs into some jeans and then sprinted down the steps to see what naughty magic Corbin was currently up to. His magic grew stronger by the hour, and he assured me this was due to him putting his cock in my ass. I figured that was just some mumbo jumbo nonsense he was using to get me on my knees with my ass in the air, but I was good with that. Hell, I wastotallygood with that.

When I didn’t find him in his study, where he usually worked his magic, I checked the front yard. Sure enough, he was out there, totally naked and looking fucking awesome. Fire flew from his fingertips as his hands waved seductively in the air. I felt my cock harden just from watching his graceful display of power. As I stepped closer to him, I wished that I hadn’t bothered with the jeans--I didn’t plan on keeping them on very long.

“Hey, sexy,” I said when I was standing mere inches away. “Wanna mess around?”

When he whipped his head around to face me, I gasped at the furious look marring his normally beautiful features. Taking a step back, I realized that the only other time I’d ever seen Corbin look this angry was when Nicodemus had told him about the pregnancy.

“What’s happened, Corbin?”

He looked away for a few seconds before answering, “I’ve lost touch with Alastair. We’ve been so busy and happy together I’m afraid I didn’t think of him at first, and now I’m worried about him. When we last connected, he only had the Keegan twins left to visit. That was days ago. There’s some bad blood between Riker and Alastair, but I certainly wouldn’t have thought it was enough to interfere with Alastair’s duty to the coven.”

Those words didn’t settle well with me. Alastair was my friend, and I’d witnessed, first-hand, the affection and loyalty he felt for Corbin. I was one hundred percent certain Alastair wouldn’t have allowed anything to prevent him from fulfilling Corbin’s request. I frowned at Corbin, thinking that we were probably about to have our first fight. Well, our first fight with me as Nicholas. Shit, this Nicodemus and Nicholas thing got confusing really fast inside my head.

“If there’s a problem, it’s with Riker,” I answered as calmly as I could. “Not Alastair. His loyalty to you is unquestionable.”

Corbin crossed his arms over his chest. “Easy, sweetheart,” he ordered softly. “Alastair is a member of my coven, which makes him a member of my family. The safety of my coven comes second only to your safety. I said I was worried about him, not that I thought he wasn’t performing his task.”

“No, you said that you didn’t think the bad blood between Riker and Alastair was bad enough to prevent him from fulfilling his duty to the coven. It sounds a hell of a lot like you think Alastair is shirking his responsibility all because of an old lover’s spat. Alastair isn’t like that.” I took a step back when I saw his magic bubble to the surface. I wasn’t afraid of him by any means, but as when another wolf shows an alpha its belly, I felt the immediate need to show Corbin my respect.

It pissed me off, but I couldn’t stop myself from feeling submissive.

“Send another member after that Riker guy and see what they find. I assure you, Alastair didn’t shirk his duties.”

“I’ve already done that, love. I sent someone out yesterday and Riker visited the house this morning while you were…resting. He told me that he’d thought he sensed Alastair’s presence a few days ago, but that he’d never materialized.” Corbin smiled softly. “A witch can usually sense when their beloved is near, as I can with you. Even trapped in Morgan’s mirror, I knew the exact moment you entered Marblehead.” He leaned in and kissed my lips, which were probably forming a pout. “My heart started beating again, and magic that I’d thought had died, awakened with a yearning that gave me the power to escape the mirror to join you in your dreams.”

My lips were still tingling from the sweet kiss. That, of course, pissed me off even more. I wasn’t at all comfortable with the fact that he could turn me into a puddle of testosterone just from one seductive kiss and a few sweet words…but he could.

“Stop…stop changing the subject, Corbin,” I argued. “You aren’t playing fair.” I took a step back to put some distance between us in hopes that the head on my shoulders would start working and the one between my legs would stop. Another thought crossed my mind and I felt the jealousy bug bite me straight in the ass. “First of all, were you,my beloved, out here talking to Riker while you were completely naked? Secondly, what did the asshole have to say for himself?”

I didn’t know much about this Riker dude, but I knew that if Alastair didn’t like him, then I didn’t either. I also knew that the thoughts of anyone seeing Corbin naked, except for me, pissed me off.

A cute grin tugged at the corners of Corbin’s full lips and I knew the bastard was trying not to laugh at my jealousy. Oh, yeah. I needed to fuck his ass again and it needed to be real soon. My being on my hands and knees for the past three days had turned him into a cocky bastard.

Why did that shit turn me on? I should be mad.

“I wasn’t naked when Riker visited--I save that for you, Nico,” he answered, but that damned smile was still fighting to take over his mouth. I pictured me shoving my cock between those puffy lips and it helped calm me down…somewhat.

“Fine,” I hissed between gritted teeth. “What about the asshole part? What did he have to say for himself?”

His eyebrow arched. “I wasn’t aware that you knew Riker enough to make the asshole judgment on him. Did you meet while I was mirror-trapped?”

“Didn’t have to meet him,” I retorted. “If Alastair doesn’t like him, he’s an asshole. End of story.”

“You’re loyal, anyway,” he answered.

“One thing you need to know about me, Corbin. I grew up without a family, so friends are really important to me.”

“I know, sweetheart. I was only teasing, and I’m really glad you and Alastair made a connection. But as I was saying, Riker said that he could have sworn that he sensed Alastair’s presence in his apartment building, but when he got there--nothing. No Alastair. No note. Nothing. The next day was when the other coven member visited him and Roman at their home. He came home immediately. Roman has business to attend to, but will be here by tomorrow night.”

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