Page 16 of Cursed Love
He grabbed her hand and hissed, his jaw tight with pain. “Breathe… take a deep breath and breathe.” He turned his body toward her. “Look at me and focus on the cabinets.” He bit the words out through clenched teeth.
She hated that he was in pain because of her inability to control her powers. At first her mind and body could only focus on the feel of his hand against hers. It was warm and surprisingly smooth.
Ryan came off as a man who worked with his hands, but his skin said otherwise. Whenever she went to get pedicures, Greg enjoyed getting a manicure and pedicure too. She couldn’t imagine Ryan enjoying them.
“Ow!” he yelped. “Whateverthosethoughts were, can you wait until I’m not in shocking distance?”
“Sorry!” She squealed and sucked in a deep breath. Brandy closed her eyes and rubbed her thumb along his skin. She inhaled again and imagined the cabinets as they had been before her powers.
“Good,” he whispered, and she could smell his peppermint gum. “Curtains…”
She nodded and focused on slowing her breath once again. In a few minutes, she managed to right her apartment to its motionless state. It left her holding hands with Ryan in the quiet room. She watched her thumb graze back and forth across his skin, a warm tingly heat moving between their hands.
She was exhausted. The energy it took to make everything go crazy and then turn around and stop it had drained her. Her eyelids were heavy, and if not for her state, she would never have curled into Ryan’s warm body.
She sighed and let it all go.
Chapter 7
Ryan heard her sigh as her head pressed against his shoulder. Her slow, even breaths told him she’d given in to the exhaustion that came with a power surge. Unsure of what to do, he forced himself to remain still.
He should lay her down and leave, but he couldn’t force himself to walk out. Instead, he stared at their intertwined hands—hers looking so small in his larger one. His thumb ran along her knuckles, and he could feel the invisible thread connecting one palm to the other.
Looking around her apartment, he noted how much bigger it was than his. Feminine touches made the space feel like a home rather than a place to rest. Her presence alone brought out emotions he never thought he would feel.
For the longest time, he had told himself—no,liedto himself—that keeping relationships with women strictly to physical was the way to go, but everything had changed the moment he laid eyes on her. After their official meeting in the alley, he’d told himself to avoid her and her neighborhood, but he was an idiot.
“Mmmm…” she muttered and curled into him more.
Ryan scooted down and wrapped his arm around her, careful not to wake her. Brandy’s cheek rested against his chest, and he sighed. She was where she belonged, something he didn’t want to admit to anyone, especially not to himself.
Their magnetic pull was too strong. She had invaded his thoughts and dreams at every turn since the moment he saw her. It only became worse with each passing day.
Laying his head back on the top of the couch, he held her to him. His mind argued what he was doing was a big mistake, while his heart warmed with the feel of her pressed against him. Shutting down all emotions, he gave in to the feeling and closed his eyes.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d fallen asleep for. What he did know was that he was hungry, he was hard with the need to pee, and there was a hand awfully close to his hard-on. It only took him a quick peek around the room to know he was still at Brandy’s. She’d slipped down, her head resting partially on his stomach and her hand a couple inches from his now-throbbing dick.
Down, boy,he thought to himself.
After grabbing a nearby pillow, he maneuvered the switch easily enough. Once he was satisfied she was comfortable and still asleep, he looked for the bathroom and relieved himself. Ryan walked around taking in the apartment. He found a picture pinned to the fridge of a group of smiling men, sharing familial traits, huddled around the beautiful woman on the couch, and he saw a small stack of mail on the corner of her kitchen counter. The place was clean and neat, very much like its owner.
Staring at her bed, he wondered what she slept in. Did anyone share the bed with her? Did she touch herself? Ryan groaned at the last thought and shook his head. The sounds of vibration drew his attention to the living room. It was perfect timing—before he stayed in her bedroom longer than he should. Adjusting himself, he went in search of the device. He grabbed his phone and found a message from Peter.
Peter: You’re late.
Ryan: Won’t be coming in.
Peter: Everything okay?
Ryan thought about it and realized how complicated the answer was for him. He admired her sleeping form and rubbed his solar plexus. He was doing a piss-poor job of staying away from her.
Peter: You’re with her, aren’t you?
Peter: You’re fucked.
Ryan read his friend’s text and sighed. Glancing between the beautiful woman and the door, he told himself to get out of there. He didn’tneedto be there. Hell, for all he knew, a man would be walking into the apartment at any point to claim her.
The thought alone made his blood boil. She was his… no one else’s. The idea of staking his claim scared him, but the idea of losing her devastated him beyond logic.
