Page 17 of Secrets & Curses of Crimson (Secrets & Curses Trilogy #3)

Chapter 17

Thea

I could hear harsh whispers somewhere in the room. My mind was confused when I opened my eyes and saw I wasn’t in Cerithia.

When I turned around, Haden was talking with one of the other fae, Zade; I think they had called him that before. They both stopped and looked at me for a long moment.

“Good morning, Thea.” Zade smiled.

“Good morning, Zade.”

I laughed when both of their faces fell in horror. I was not supposed to know his name, but this was well worth learning it on my scouting trip.

“You remember me,” he stuttered.

“No.” I looked up at the ceiling of the room. “We did a scouting mission a few months back, and I overheard it.”

When I looked back, he frowned at my confession. Haden chuckled and patted his friend on the shoulder. A moment later, the big fae, whose name I couldn’t remember, walked in with breakfast.

“Thank you.” I smiled. “What’s your name? I can’t remember.”

“Leer.” He raised his bushy eyebrow at me. “You recognize me?”

“Yes. I recognize all three of you.”

Their faces lit up like this was the best news they had ever heard. All three of them stayed in my room and talked amongst themselves. It was a nice distraction from the fact that I was a prisoner and that I had upset Haden last night. Better here than Cerithia, I supposed. At least they like me here. My eyes watched the storm moving in over the castle. I loved the rain and the dark gloominess it brought.

The guys stopped talking suddenly, and I looked over to see what was wrong.

Cassius was glaring at me from the doorway, dripping wet from the rain outside. I stood up and looked at the guys. They all just stared at me and then at him with big smiles on their stupid faces. Cassius leveled a glare at them too. He was mad, but fuck, I could hardly keep myself in check knowing he was my mate .

Husband.

“Leave,” he ordered, and they took off without a word. Cassius looked back at me with black eyes. His fists were clenched tightly.

“If you’re going to kill me, then get on with it.”

This seemed to snap him out of his angry glare. He blinked slowly at me and then took a step toward me. Gods, it was difficult to be near him without touching.

“Did you believe Jesper when he said you could have learned to love him?”

He was jealous.

“No.”

Something murderous flashed in his eyes as he moved toward me. His hand grabbed the back of my neck so he could pull me an inch from his face. “You know I would never let you belong to anyone else, don’t you?”

“Yes,” I whispered as I swallowed hard. He searched my eyes like he was seeing if I was lying.

“You stayed the night?” He raised his dark brow at me.

“I didn’t have a choice. Besides, Haden said it wasn’t the first time for me.” I narrowed my eyes on him. This made him chuckle to himself. “I suppose that doesn’t surprise me.”

“Haden said you were hardly hiding with your men. Practically stomped your way to the castle. Were you trying to get caught? ”

My cheeks heated, and his smile widened.

“You did want me to catch you.” He flinched as if he were in pain. I pulled back; my eyes shifted to his stomach when the drops of blood hit the floor. My eyes snapped up at him, but he looked unfazed.

“For the love of stars, Cassius, why are you flirting with me when you’re wounded?”

Grabbing his hand, I pushed him onto the bed. He looked up at me from his back. A seductive smile tugged at his lips as I lifted his shirt.

“What happened?” I traced the large gash in his side, and he winced in pain.

“I was ambushed. A soldier got a good swing with his sword,” he groaned. His head fell back, and his eyes squeezed shut.

“Shh. It’s okay; I’ll fix it.”

I put my hands on his wound and concentrated until the glow of red and orange transferred from me to him. Cassius watched me in awe. I glanced up at him as my fingers brushed against his warm skin. There was no reason to be touching him still, so why was I not removing my hands? Cassius watched me closely as I moved my hands over his warm skin. I couldn’t stop myself, and he didn’t seem to mind either.

“Do you feel better?” I whispered.

“Much better,” he whispered back. He swallowed hard as I shifted on my knees so I could see his face better. “I think I have another wound right here.” He pointed to his upper chest, and I smirked to myself as I lifted his shirt. Cassius sat up and lifted his arms so I could pull his shirt off. His face was just a few inches from mine as he smiled.

He lay back down and watched me as I inspected him for wounds we both knew he didn’t have. But I used this excuse to run my hands over his smooth skin. He hummed in appreciation as I explored.

“It’s kind of hard to see from where I’m at.” I lied as I straddled his hips. Cassius’ shadows burst from him and around us in a flash. They caressed me like they had missed me. His hands ran up my thighs and rested on my hips. I glanced at the tattoos covering him. There was a ‘T’ above his heart with a viper coiled around it. I traced the letter before moving down to the red viper coiled around his arm.

Cassius’ breathing was shallow as he watched me move toward the crown tattoo on his forearm. It looked like mine. Something about this mark on his skin made desire course through me. Fuck, what was wrong with me? It was just a crown tattoo. He called it our bond, but what kind of bond?

“Are you hurt?” he asked. “Maybe I should take a look. ”

I smiled as he tugged my Cerithia uniform off of me and tossed it to the floor. His hands rubbed against my skin slowly. Cassius sat up so our faces were close again, but this time his mouth claimed mine. Our tongues tangled as our hips rubbed against each other at an unbearable pace.

“Tell me you missed me,” he begged.

“I missed you,” I confessed.

Cassius turned us so I was pinned beneath him. His black eyes traced over me slowly, and that feeling of longing zapped up my arm again.

“I missed you too.” He smiled as he pulled my pants from me. I should feel self-conscious as I lay naked in front of a man that I couldn’t remember, but he looked at me like I was better than anything he had ever seen.

His rough hands ran over my thighs as he knelt on the floor. Cassius spread my legs and kissed the inside of my thighs. I couldn’t look away as he softly bit my flesh, making my fire magic burst from me.

Cassius smiled at me as his hot mouth clamped around me. I moaned loudly into the quiet air. Cassius hummed as noises fell from me. He wrapped his arms around my thighs and pulled me up to his face so he could devour me. His tongue licked slowly before flicking across my clit. Then he sucked me into his mouth. I watched every move he made propped up on my elbows .

Cassius acted like a starved man who just found the best meal of his life. I moaned loudly as I grabbed his hair in my hands.

“Fuck, Cassius.”

He pulled his mouth away and slipped two fingers inside of me. His thumb rubbing me perfectly.

“Gods, I’ve missed the way you sound, Thea,” he whispered. “I’ve missed watching you come apart in front of me.”

Gods, I knew we had done this before, but my mind was too filled with pleasure to think about it.

“More, my love, I want to hear more of what I do to you.”

His fingers pushed deeper into me as his mouth found me again.

“Fuck,” I moaned. I tried to close my legs because this felt too good.

“No hiding from me. You’re going to take everything I’m giving you like the good girl I know that you are.” His teeth grazed my sensitive nerves, and I bucked my hips up so that they rolled into his face. A low growl escaped his throat. He licked lazily before pulling his mouth away.

“That’s my girl. Take what you want, Thea. Use me. Fuck my mouth with that pretty pussy that belongs to me,” he said in a way that I nearly came from his words alone. I stared at him before I shoved his face back down and did exactly what he told me to. Gods, I was close. Cassius pulled away from me before lying on his back on the bed. I went to protest, but he yanked me over his face and wrapped his arms around my thighs, pulling me down to his tongue.

"Sit," he demanded.

“Fuck Cassius.” I rode his mouth with quick movements. Cassius gripped my thighs tighter and slowed down my movements, so his tongue moved across me slowly. He pulled back slightly.

“My needy girl,” he growled when I gripped his hair and circled my hips. “I want you looking at me when you cum, Thea. I want you to remember this moment and never forget it.”

Then he was devouring me again. This time he pulled me roughly against his mouth, and I could hardly breathe.

"Cassius, please,” I begged. “I’m going to cum,” I breathed heavily.

His movements became faster. My stomach coiled tightly before it finally exploded, and waves of pleasure rippled through me. My moans filled the space as my hazy eyes stared down at Cassius.

“Gods, you’re fucking beautiful,” Cassius muttered. I shuffled down his body and ripped the trousers off of him just enough to free his erection. Cassius watched me closely as I crawled back over him, sinking onto him without warning. We both moaned into the silent room.

Cassius’ hands gripped my hips tightly as I moved in steady movements.

His eyes watched where he slid into me, and he cursed softly at the sight. His eyes met mine.

“You take me so fucking good,” he whispered.

Fuck. Lust shot through me.

“I like when you say things to me,” I whispered.

Cassius smiled as he flipped me onto my back and thrust into me deeply.

“I know you do, my love. You like knowing that I can’t get enough of you, and I love hearing what I do to you. You whisper my name like a prayer. You look at me like I am your heaven and stars. I love the way your pussy takes all of me, and yet still you beg me for more. You were made for me.”

I groaned as his hips pounded into me.

“Cassius…” I pleaded. Small moans tore from my throat as I stared at him.

“Let me hear you,” he begged. “Every noise belongs to me, Thea. You are mine; you just don’t remember.” His jaw clenched tightly as I stared at him. His confession had my eyes filling with tears. “You are mine,” he whispered again. “I have missed you so much.”

I was his.

“Cassius…” I searched his eyes for understanding. Husband. Mate.

“It’s alright. You’ll remember when you break the curse this time. But you know it’s true, don’t you? You know that you are mine, and I am eternally yours.”

“Yes,” I whispered as tears spilled from my eyes.

His hips were relentless as he watched me. I felt the release building inside of me quickly, but I didn’t want this to end. The orgasm washed over me without warning. I gripped Cassius to me as he buried his face into my neck and came with a possessive groan.

We didn’t move.

We didn’t speak.

We stayed connected as tears spilled from my eyes.

After a long moment, Cassius pulled back so he could look at me. He wiped the tears from my face.

“I hate it when you cry,” he whispered.

“You know about my curse.” I wanted to have this conversation with him. Something somber crossed his features before he nodded.

“Yes.”

“My father said I have to kill the Crimson royal bloodline to free myself from it.”

This had him pulling back in shock. Something angry passed through him. I wanted to see his reaction. I would never hurt him.

“Your father is such a bastard,” he scoffed as he stood up. “That is not how you break the curse.”

My brows furrowed as Cassius stared at me.

“Then what do I need to do?”

My heart pounded as I waited for him to tell me. Cassius glanced away from me before running his hand through his hair. He let out a long breath before meeting my eyes.

“You must get your mother’s bloodstone from your father and give it to me.”

“You know my mother is a blood witch?”

He nodded.

“I know everything about you.” He frowned at me like it broke his heart that I didn’t know anything about him. “I meant what I said. You don’t remember, but you are mine, and I will always be yours.”

“You could be lying to me.” The words slipped from my mouth, but I didn’t actually think he was. I was panicking. Tell me what he’s thinking, I demanded from my magic .

Please don’t look at me like that. I should tell her I cursed her. That she can’t remember us because I killed her. I should tell her it’s me she dreams of.

I stilled at his thoughts and backed up slowly. His eyes watched me confused.

“Thea?” He frowned.

No, please don’t run. I’m trying to get you to break your curse. I miss you so much. This is the year that we break it, and you can come home.

His eyes being black always bugged me. It was wrong, and I knew it.

“Show me your real eyes,” I demanded. He swallowed hard, but the black faded into the prettiest shade of gold. No. No. Images of him dying plagued me. Tears fell from my eyes as I tried to control myself. Cassius was going to die. I felt nauseous.

“I need to go.” I needed to figure out where the bloodstone was, but now I had a bigger fucking problem. Are you going to let me die, my love? I groaned as I stumbled against the wall. There was an urgency inside of me to leave and go find the stone right this second. I couldn’t stay here even if I wanted to. The need to find the bloodstone was too much to resist.

“Please,” he whispered, and it tore at my heart.

When I looked back at him, he looked gutted .

“You’re scared.” He seemed to be convincing himself and not me.

I froze and stared at him. His chest full of tattoos rose and fell in steady breaths. I did trust him, and that is why I needed to leave. Find the stone and break this curse. We will save him at any cost. My darkness was frantic inside of me.

“I’m not scared.” I slipped on my boots.

“Are you worried that you’re a traitor because you love me?”

“No.” You are my husband, my mate.

“You look at me like you’re terrified.” He frowned.

Don’t leave me again.

This was too much. I walked around him and hurried from the castle, not giving a shit about my men. Cassius followed me, but I ignored him as I headed into the woods towards Cerithia. It took little effort for him to catch me, and when he did, I saw the tears in his eyes.

“Please, my love, don’t be scared of me.”

I couldn’t think of anything to say back to him. I was overwhelmed.

“Let me go. I’m not scared of you,” I demanded, and he immediately dropped my arm. “I’ ll see you at the meeting.”

His shoulders slumped, but he nodded and watched me walk away. I was terrified when I looked at him, but it was because I couldn’t lose him. I was leaving so I could figure out where my bloodstone was, and I needed him to be at a distance because if my father suspected anything, he would kill us. Cassius was destined to die, and I had to figure out how to stop my vision.