Page 105 of The Curse of Redwood

“I think you’ll see them come alive again.” I moved my gaze to the barren branches of the trees. “Someday.”

Chapter Nineteen

Halloween

I woke that morning to kisses on my cheek. I smiled and turned my face more into the pillow. Warm hands smoothed down my arms and over to my stomach.

Wait. Warm?

I opened my eyes and nearly fell out of bed. Zeke looked exactly as he had last Halloween—color in his cheeks, a spark of life in his blue eyes, and skin that was still pale but more humanlike.

“Good morning,” he said, before tilting my chin up for a kiss. He moaned against my lips and rolled on top of me.

“A very good morning,” I said between kisses, gripping his back as he ravaged me. I had forgotten what it was like to be held in warm arms instead of cold ones.

“I missed your scent,” he said, pressing his face to my neck. He glided his nose along my skin and softly shuddered. “Like flames kissing wood in a crackling fire.”

“You’re saying I smell like ashes and smoke?”

“Not quite.” He smiled. “More like a cold winter’s morning. There’s crispness in the air, you see, and a sense of calm. I used to sit by the fire on such mornings, thinking about my life.” He kissed my throat. “Your skin smells of snow and your inner fire warms me, calms me.”

“Okay, so I’m like Frosty the Snowman. I see now.”

Zeke snorted and peered down at me. Physically, he was different. Less ghostly. More real. However, the most drastic change of all was the smile he wore. It touched the depths of his eyes that were usually reserved for a deep sadness I could never reach.

“You’re so beautiful,” I said, caressing his cheek before twisting a strand of his hair around my finger. The mark over my heart ached and reminded me of the day. The defense sigil would only last until nine o’clock that evening, exactly a week from when it was placed on me.

Zeke put his hand over the mark. His mind was there too.

“Do you want to go into town today?” I asked, forcing a lighter tone. “We have time before… before we need to be back for the ritual.”

“It matters not what we do or where we go.” Zeke rested his cheek on mine. “I only wish to be with you.”

While we still can, I wanted to say. But I didn’t need to. The way he held onto me so tightly told me he was thinking the same.

“Then let’s make the most of today,” I said, brushing my fingers through his hair. “Starting with another kiss.”

We did much more than kissing.

I rolled Zeke to his back and straddled his hips. We were still naked from the night before when he’d taken me fast and hard before I fell asleep. I was still stretched and only had to lube up his cock before I came down on it. The warmth of him took me by surprise. I was so used to him being on the chilly side when we first started having sex.

“Does it feel different to you too?” I panted, as I rolled my hips on him.

“Yes.” His big, beautiful hands gripped my waist as he thrust up into me. “It’s more intense. Touch for me is different than it is for you. I feel you when we make love, but the sensation is weaker.” He broke off into a soft groan as I took him deeper into my body.

“And now?” I asked. “Is it still weak?”

“God, no.” His blue eyes lifted to mine, and he watched as I rode him. “I feel every part of you, little dove.”

He gripped my bobbing cock and stroked me as I continued moving on him. When I whimpered in the back of my throat, he smirked and jerked me faster. His other hand was planted on my hip and helped guide my movements as I bounced up and down. The headboard banged into the wall, beginning with light thumps and growing stronger as we chased orgasm with more urgency.

I came hard, stimulated by both his hand and cock. My release splashed on his smooth stomach as my ass clamped down on him. I unleashed a string of incoherent murmurs as my orgasm drew on and on.

“Carter,” Zeke groaned, as his eyes rolled back and closed. The sounds coming from him were ones I’d never heard before. He was no stranger to vocalizing his pleasure, but this was different. His fingertips dug into my hips as he grabbed me and pounded up into me faster, harder. I didn’t even have to move anymore.

“Fuck yeah,” I said, looking down into his euphoric expression. “Take what you want, baby.”

Faster than my brain could process, Zeke flipped me to my back and took absolute control. He pumped into me so hard I wondered if the headboard was going to put a hole in the wall. And then, his orgasm hit. His teeth grazed the base of my throat as his muscles tensed. A deep moan left him as he rocked his hips slower before stopping all together.