10. Chapter 10 （Hailey）

CHAPTER 10 (HAILEY)

C lean and refreshed from the not-too-cool lake water, I walk back to the cabin wearing only the towel. Suddenly, I’m a little apprehensive about going to bed with Nick. The curse doesn’t bother me. We’ve all been young and stupid. It was just bad luck that he was unusually arrogant and stupid when he encountered a fae.

I step out of my shoes by the front door, tighten the towel around my chest, and pad into the bedroom. My breath catches at the sight of Nick on the bed, leaning back on his elbows. He’s tied his hair back in a ponytail and wears only a pair of jeans. No shirt, no socks, no shoes.

Strangely fascinated, I stare at his strong, bare feet. Is every part of his body hot? I’ve never been attracted to a guy’s feet before.

He clears his throat, and his piercing blue gaze travels from my feet to my head, lingering on my breasts where the damn towel is coming loose.

My nipples tighten as appreciation shines in his eyes and a seductive smile plays on his lips. “I like your outfit.”

I have to look away to hide the blush covering my cheeks. “Thank you” I hesitate, not sure of what to do next. Seduction is not my forte.

He pats the spot next to him. “Come here. Let’s continue our conversation.” His smile turns smoldering.

Heat pools low in my belly and between my legs as I walk toward him. “I’m a little nervous about what we might talk about.” I stop when I reach the bed.

The sheets rustle as he leaves the bed, and then his warm body presses against mine, his hands covering my shoulders.

“Then let’s not talk.” His breath caresses my ear, moving down my neck, where he peppers my skin with kisses.

A small sigh escapes my lips, but my nerves get the best of me. “Maybe we should rethink this,” I whisper.

“Why?” His hands travel down the length of my arms, cross over my chest, and rest on top of my hand, gripping the towel. “Are you having second thoughts?” He punctuates the short sentence by lightly kissing my neck, just below my earlobe. “Tell me to stop if you do.”

My knees weaken, and I moan out loud. With a miraculous draw on my willpower, I’m able to step away from him, keeping a tight grip on the towel. “This complicates things.”

He laughs. The low, sexy sound vibrates through my body as he embraces me again. “It’s already very complicated,” he whispers against my hair. He smells like soap and, underneath that, a scent uniquely his, a mixture of pine and fresh water.

Sighing, I lean into his chest. He smells like home.

I tense. Him being a water creature confuses my magic. It confuses me.

Nick loosens his hold, but leans down to nibble my ear. “Stop thinking. Trust your instincts.”

“I can’t,” she muttered. “My instinct told me to go to that stupid magic retreat. And look where that got me.” I force myself to break his hold, no matter how good his hands feel on my body.

He places a knuckle underneath my chin and tilts up my face, forcing me to look at him. The pupils of his eyes are large, making them darker blue than usual. “You shouldn’t blame yourself for what other people do. Just like you shouldn’t blame yourself for wanting to be with me.”

“I bet you say that to all the women who stumble on your cabin.” I mean, who wouldn’t want him? It took only one look before my lady bits knew they wanted him.

Anger flares in his eyes for a brief second. He turns his back to me and rakes a hand through his hair, messing up the ponytail. “If you knew exactly how untrue that is, you’d laugh.” He faces me again. “I will never tell you lies. It is not my way.”

Somehow, I believe him. This hotter-than-ghost-peppers, tall-as-a-mountain, gentle giant of a man would never lie to me. “I’m sorry,” I say. ”It’s been a hard couple of days.”

He acknowledges that statement with a slight nod before grabbing my hand. “I need you with me. I don’t know why, but on a cellular level, I know I need to spend the rest of my life with you.”

My breath hitches. “I can’t make any long-term promises.” And yet, what he says echoes how I feel. Being with him feels righter than anything else I’ve known in my life.

“I understand if you can’t live here permanently, but say you’ll always return to me.” He holds on to my hand when I try to pull away.

I clear my throat. He’s making logical reasoning very difficult. “I can’t just pack up and leave my life in the Tri-Cities.” I mean, I must have reasons for why I need to return to my home, right? Right at this moment, I can’t recall what those reasons are, but I’m sure there are some.

“Why not? You said you love this mountain. Why not settle here with me?”

A lump forms in my throat. I swallow hard to push it down and blink back the tears threatening to spill. What would it be like to live here on the mountain with him? To practice magic just for the joy of using my powers? To live simply, off the grid, without the daily stresses I have now. I shake my head, chasing away the temptation. “You’re making it hard to think about this logically. I have friends. I have a life.” I mean, my life sucks. I work retail and service jobs to make ends meet. But it’s true that I have friends. Moxie is my friend. And Bean will be once she’s old enough. I don’t see them very often, but I have friends, dammit.

He fingers a strand of my wet hair and tucks it behind my ear, turning the gesture into a caress by tracing the outside of my ear.

I tilt my head and rest my cheek in his palm.

He leans down, his breath hot against my lips. “Stop overthinking what we have,” he whispers and then claims my lips.

Holy ghost peppers . Liquid fire sizzles from my lips to my nipples. They pebble into hard knots, and the terrycloth of the towel rubs against them, enhancing the sensation.

I lean into the kiss. My body ignores anything about logic or obligations. My hormones care only about getting this tall Viking naked.

His firm body presses against mine.

I try to recall why this is a bad idea—something about friends and figuring out what to do about Johnny—but my brain fogs over.

Just feel , a traitorous voice in the back of my mind whispers.

Nick grabs my hands and lifts them to clasp behind his head. The towel unravels, but I no longer care about covering my body as the heat of his chest smolders against mine.

I moan his name.

“I know,” he growls against my mouth, but steps back. My hands fall from his neck, and I trace the tattoos on his chest. His nipples harden beneath my fingers. He lifts my chin with his knuckle again. His gaze searches mine. “You need to be sure,” he says. “I will not coerce you.”

I smile when I think about how far from coercion this is. Seduction, yes. But nothing Nick’s done has been against my will. “I’m certain,” I whisper. “I want you.” I grab his belt buckle, groaning in frustration when it won’t come undone.

He chuckles and stills my hands. In one fluid gesture, he unbuckles the belt and pulls it off the jeans. The buttons and zipper come next, and he steps out of his jeans.

He’s totally commando. No underwear anywhere in sight.

I catch a brief glimpse of his impressive erection before he crushes me to his body. Finally, we’re skin against skin.

Mine’s on fire.

I need all of this, man.

And I need it right now.

I hip-check him, pushing him backward toward the bed. When the edge hit the back of his knees, I press on his chest.

With a cheeky grin on his face, he resists briefly, but then falls back, grabbing my hands and pulling me on top.

I straddle him, but stay high on my knees, teasing him—and myself—by keeping my wet core from his hard rod. “I’m clean and on birth control,” I breathe. “We don’t need any additional protection unless you want to use it.”

His only answer is a growl as he grabs my hips.

I clasp his hands and push them over his head. Securing them both with one hand, I use the other to cradle his face as I lean in for a kiss.

He struggles against my hold, but not seriously enough to break free. Maybe he doesn’t think I can hold him.

He’ll learn.

When I draw on my magic, I’m very strong.

But I have better things to think about than a power struggle.

Heat flushes through my body as I realize that, for once, I don’t have to hold back.

With this powerful giant of a man, I can let my senses loose, including my magic. “I’m in charge this time,” I say against his mouth before nipping his lower lip.

A lazy smile spreads over Nick’s lips. “Sounds good to me.” He bucks his hips.

I release his face and press his lower body back down. “Not until I say so.”

His grin grows broader. With a wicked gleam in his eyes, he lifts his head and captures a nipple in his mouth. He grazes it with his teeth before biting down lightly.

Sparks shoot from where his mouth touches straight to my core. I can’t hold back anymore.

I need him inside me.

Slowly, I lower myself, allowing only the tip of his shaft to feel my wetness.

He inhales sharply. “Hailey,” he hisses and closes his eyes.

I smiled. “I told you. My rules.”

“Your rules,” he repeats with a growl, his back arching as I lower myself onto his shaft an inch.

He’s thick, and my breath catches as I wait to adjust to his girth. Delicious friction between his shaft and my walls adds to the pleasure. A guttural moan escapes my throat.

Never in my life have I made a sound like it before.

Nick struggles against my grip on his wrists, but I pull energy from the nearby lakes and hold on tight.

He opens his eyes. “I don’t like your rules anymore.”

“Too bad.” I flex my muscles around his dick inside me.

His eyes glimmer mischievously. Briefly, his body relaxes, and then he twists his hips, trying to flip me over.

I pull some more energy from the waters nearby and magically enhance my strength. Still keeping my hips aloft, I lean forward and press down on his chest with my torso.

“You’ve been holding out on me,” Nick growls. “Here I was, thinking you were a defenseless woman in need of my help…and my body.”

“I might not need those things, but I want them both.” I flick my tongue against his nipple.

At his sharp intake of breath, I do it again and am rewarded with another growl.

I love that I can make this giant growl. “Now, where were we?” I grin.

He smiles back, but his voice is gravelly. “Your rules.”

“My rules,” I whisper, my voice now hoarse as well. I sit down, taking all of his dick inside me. A loud moan escapes my lips when I fully sheath him.

Nick bucks his hips, forcing me to take him deeper.

Letting go of his wrists, I sit up straighter and ride him, setting a fast pace.

He grips my hips harder, slowing me down. One hand slides forward, his fingers tangling in my wet curls. Placing his thumb on my clit, he presses down hard.

Ripples of pleasure radiate through my body.

Tilting my head down, I watch as his hand works me. It’s the hottest thing I’ve seen, and the pressure builds inside me until I pant with the need for release.

White light explodes on the inside of my eyelids as wave after wave of pleasure washes over me. From somewhere far away, I hear Nick shouting my name and feel his release pulsing inside me.

I collapse against his chest, and an aftershock claims me, making me moan his name.

He chuckles, stroking my back in lazy circles.

“Shit, I must be heavy,” I mumble against his neck and roll off him.

“You’re perfect,” he says as he turns on his side and pulls my backside against him, spooning me.

His hot breath tickles my neck, and cocooned in the warmth of his body, I drift off to sleep, vaguely aware of Nick pulling the covers on top of both of us.