Page 34 of Cursed (Decorah Security 2.0, #14)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Unable to draw a full breath, Andre kept his gaze fixed on Morgan as he waited for the logical next question.

“Tell me how,” she said.

His mouth was so dry that he had to moisten his lips before he could speak. “The priestess said that the spell would be broken if a woman who knew the full extent of the curse came willingly to Andre and gave him her love.”

He saw her features contort.

“I knew that was too much to ask of any woman,” he said.

“I thought I would live out my life alone here. Then the murders started, and I knew someone was trying to make me leave. I knew I needed help, so I started checking out detective agencies—and rejecting them—until I saw your name on the Decorah Web site, and I knew …” He stopped and ran a hand through his dark hair.

“I knew there was something about you that made it seem right. But now I realize I was just fooling myself.” He wanted to turn and escape from her.

But there was more he had to say before she left.

“But thank you for saving me from Dwight Rivers’ nasty little plan.

You did a fantastic job of detective work. I’ll mail your check to your agency.”

It was finished. Whatever had sprouted between them as they’d typed messages back and forth between Beltsville and Belle Vista had died before the roots could take hold.

Defeated, he felt his shoulders slump. Before he could make the confrontation any worse—for either of them, he turned and walked away, into the backcountry that he knew so well because he had roamed these acres every night for the past twelve years.

He stared at the graceful branches of a tupelo tree as he walked away, feeling dead inside. He’d bet everything on one roll of the dice and lost.

Morgan watched him leave her, feeling as though a vise were tightening around her heart. He had told her things she couldn’t possibly believe. Terrible things.

But she had no other alternative than to believe—not after everything that had happened since she’d arrived at Belle Vista.

She knew she should run in the other direction.

Back to Decorah where she would be safe.

And then a thought leaped into her mind, a thought that should not have evaded her.

How was this different from the men who worked for Frank Decorah, the men who could turn into wolves?

No, they weren’t cursed, but they carried the same heavy burden as Andre.

They were different from other men, but they had found a way to live in a world that would reject them if it knew their secret.

Yet many of them were married. They had found wives who were willing to accept them for what they were.

Knowing them should have helped her believe what she’d seen with her own eyes when she’d seen the jaguar. But her logical mind had made her fight the only explanation that made sense.

And suddenly she understood that on some deep instinctive level running away would be the worst mistake of her existence. For the past two years, she had felt as though her life were a hollow shell.

Now she had power to make it much worse.

“No,” she whispered.

As Andre walked past a stand of graceful blue water iris, she found herself running after him.

Reaching him, she grabbed at a broad shoulder. He went rigid, then whirled to face her.

“Don’t walk away from me again,” she whispered.

“You want me to stay—after what I just told you? Why? Are you caught in Linette’s dream?”

“No,” she answered, but she knew she sounded uncertain.

“Are you feeling her emotions, is that it?”

“Partly. And mine, too.” She swallowed, then fought to make sense to herself—to him. “Do you believe in reincarnation?” she asked.

“I … don’t know.”

“You said you dreamed of Andre. Dreams where you were him. Where you knew facts that only he could know.”

He nodded.

“And Linette came to me—with a kind of reality that was frightening and confusing.” Morgan squeezed her eyes closed, then opened them again.

“Linette taught me things I didn’t know.

I loved my husband. I clung to his memory because it was all I had.

But there were elements missing from my marriage, gaps I didn’t want to admit.

We formed a bond because we were in the same profession—the spy profession—and we could share experiences that we couldn’t talk about with anyone else.

But that was really all we had. When he died, I was left with nothing.

I mean, we hadn’t made much of a life. We could have settled down, had children. But we didn’t do that.”

She felt as though she’d made a terrible confession and at the same time as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

Reaching for Andre, she pulled him toward her and held on tight. His arms came up to embrace her, but she knew he was still afraid to believe they could break the curse together.

She pressed her face to his chest, then tipped her head up so she could meet his gaze. “Don’t turn away from me—from us. And don’t turn away from the chance to right the wrongs of the past,” she whispered, then held her breath, waiting for his answer.

His gaze burned into hers. “You have to be sure. For yourself.”

“My feelings are as real as Linette’s. What about you?”

“I knew from the minute I found you at Decorah that I had to ask you here.”

“Then stop fighting—us.”

“You don’t know me well enough … to …”

“I think I do. I came down to Louisiana because we had already formed a strong relationship. Then you did your best to push me away. Now I understand why. You were afraid of what would happen to me if I stayed. And you’re still fighting … us. Now do us both a favor and stop it.”

When he didn’t answer, she grabbed his hand and held on. She felt a shudder go through him. Then he began walking, leading her farther into the bayou, to a place where the ground was covered with soft moss and the light was filtered by tree branches.

He brought her under the shelter of a tree. When he turned to face her, his expression was grave. “We can settle things here. Or—you’re free to leave,” he said.

“Why are you still trying to push me away?”

“I’m giving you time to think rationally,” he said in a gritty voice.

“Well, I’ve always been better at action than thinking.”

Her hands weren’t quite steady as she reached for the hem of her knit top, pulled it over her head and tossed it on the ground. Then she kicked off her shoes before reaching for the waistband of her sweatpants and slicking them down her legs.

Wearing only her bra and panties, she smiled as she took in the stunned expression on his face. Because she was enjoying herself now, she reached around behind her back and unhooked the bra.

She felt her breath catch as his gaze swept over her. He finally spoke, and she thought everything would be all right. “You are so beautiful, standing there with the sunlight and shadow on you,” he breathed.

She smiled at him—in triumph and in joy. “We could use some more clothing on the moss—to make a nice bed.”

Still looking like he didn’t entirely believe they were here together, he pulled off his tee shirt, then his jeans, tossing them to join her clothing.

But then he seemed incapable of moving. Or maybe he was simply incapable of believing that she hadn’t run away from him—after he had told her the worst.

She slicked her panties down her legs, then walked toward him and grasped the elastic band at the top of his briefs, pulling them off, too. Her touch seemed to release him from a spell.

With an urgent sound deep in his throat, he gathered her to him, his mouth coming down on hers for another hungry kiss.

They swayed together, touching, kissing, sighing, neither of them steady on their feet.

“Maybe we’d better get horizontal,” she said against his mouth.

“You mean before we topple over?”

“Yes.”

They lowered themselves to the makeshift bed, and he rolled to his back, bringing her down on top of himself, his hands taking long strokes along her back.

“Lord, I can’t believe this,” he whispered.

“I know. But it’s real,” she said, adjusting herself so that his erection was nestled in the space at the top of her legs.

He cradled her against his body, then rolled them to the side so that his hands could find her breasts, shaping them to his touch, and she responded with a long sigh of pleasure. Bending, he drew one nipple into his mouth, before lavishing his attention on the other.

When he looked up, his features were taut as he winnowed his hand through the back of her hair.

“Do you feel the magic?” he asked.

“Yes,” she answered, realizing that it was true. They were caught in a bubble of golden light, the only two people in a magic world.

Tender, possessive feelings welled inside her. Not just from herself—from Linette.

“Do you feel them?” she asked.

“Andre and Linette?” he asked.

“You do!”

“Yes.”

“Why weren’t they with us before—in the bedroom?”

“Because they were waiting for me to accept you—all of you,” she whispered, knowing it was the truth.

She expected him to look relieved. Instead, his features clouded. “You’re sure this isn’t just for them?”

“Of course, I’m sure. This is for us. But they want to be here, too,” she answered. “They want to share in what we’ve found together. Don’t ask me how I know all that. I just do.”

He nodded gravely, then leaned toward her, raining small kisses over her face, her shoulders, her breasts.

“Andre, please. I need you.”

“Not yet, chere. Don’t deny me the pleasure of touching you—kissing you.”

He didn’t give her a chance to argue. He stopped her words with his lips on hers as his hand slid down her body and dipped into her most sensitive flesh.

Her hips moving restlessly as he brought her up to an almost unbearable level of desire. She reached down to clasp his erection with her hand, drawing a sharp exclamation from him.

“Please, now,” she begged again. “Do it now. Don’t make me wait another hundred years.”