Chapter 17

Maddy pulled the t-shirt over her head and began to untangle her hair from the clips. She looked in the mirror for at least the thousandth time to see her eye color. They were green. She would never get tired of seeing that.

Her head was still spinning from everything. She ran the brush through her hair a few more times. Through all of it, Colin had been rock steady, and that continued to amaze her. The man had been at the museum one moment and then dragged into her world the next, so far, he hadn’t complained once. She set the brush down and wandered out to see if he was still lounging on the couch, with Sarabi actually allowing him to sit in her spot.

He wasn’t on the couch. She found him in the study, bent over several open books at her desk. “I thought we weren’t going to do any work for the rest of the day.” His head bobbed in what she was pretty sure was a nod.

“I’m not really working, okay, not completely.” He tapped the book he was reading. “Some of this is just so fascinating.” He flipped back a few pages.

“Colin?” she said quietly.

“Hmm?” He picked up the other book and flipped it open to the back, skimming his finger down to see if it had been in this one.

“I’ve been thinking.” She smirked as he hadn’t raised his head to look at her.

“About?” He frowned at the book and set it aside, quickly picking up another one and opening it.

“Maybe we should sleep together from now on.”

His head popped up, and his eyes zeroed in on her quickly. “Really.” He closed the book and set it down slowly.

Maddy nodded, trying to look serious. “Yes. I wouldn’t want a repeat of this morning.”

Straightening slowly, he stood up. “No, it would be safer if we were closer all night.”

She smiled at him. “Yes, because we need the contact.”

He smiled at her while his eyes moved slowly up her bare legs. “Contact is very important.”

“Yes, it is.” She walked towards him slowly and held out her hand. “Are you ready to go to bed?”

Colin grasped her hand in his and pulled her to him. “I am definitely ready to go to bed.”

Holding her hips, he backed her out of the study towards her room. His eyes never left her, and she could feel her body temperature rising as she watched his eyes darken. His hand gently massaged her hips with each step, causing a warm buzz to spread through her.

If he didn’t kiss her soon, she was going to have a meltdown waiting for him to. “Colin,” she whispered in a husky voice.

“Shh.” He released her when they were inside the room and closed the door. Without taking his eyes off her, he pulled his shirt over his head and dropped it beside him. Reaching back, he flicked on the light.

Maddy stood there trying not to tremble as he walked very slowly towards her. The look on his face was so intense that she froze under his gaze. He stopped in front of her and leaned down to lightly glide his mouth across her cheek to just beneath her ear. “I’m going to have every inch of you.”

His words sent heat flooding through Maddy. Reaching out, she slowly ran her hands up his chest, feeling the hard muscles under her fingers as he tasted his way down her throat. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she cradled his head against her. She felt dizzy from the sweet trail of kisses he was making.

Colin reached down and bunched the hem of her t-shirt in his hands. Slowly he slid it up her body. When he reached her arms with it, he lifted his mouth from her and pulled the shirt over her head, and dropped it on the floor. Looking down her body, he inhaled sharply. She stood before him wearing nothing but a small piece of white lace between her legs.

He ran his hand slowly from her neck, over one breast to her waist. She hissed out a quiet breath. Stepping behind her, Colin assaulted the sensitive skin of her throat with his mouth as he pulled her back against him.

When he lifted his mouth, she turned her head, wanting his mouth on hers. His lips moved down to her shoulder as both hands moved over her stomach to her breasts. Lightly he ran his palms over her hard nipples, teasing the sensitive buds and making her gasp. She pushed herself back against him, grinding her body into the hard bulge in his jeans.

His hands gripped her hip bones and pulled her hard into him. “This has nothing to do with the curse. So don’t ever think it does,” he said quietly.

She couldn’t even think of anything except how much she ached to have him inside her.

His teeth gently bit her ear as he slid one hand inside her lace thong. Reaching between them, his other hand moved down over her ass, kneading it.

When his fingers slid over her clit, she dropped her head back against him and bit her lip. She closed her eyes only to open them when he moved away. Colin turned her back to face him and dropped to his knees in front of her. Sliding his hands down her waist, he hooked his fingers in the elastic and pulled the thong down her legs.

She gripped his shoulders to keep her balance as she stepped out of them. Colin grasped the back of her ankle, and in one motion, she found her knee hooked over his large shoulder. He moved one hand behind her to keep her there.

Her leg that was supporting her started to quiver when his mouth moved along her thigh. She lightly grasped his head in both hands and tried to remain upright. When his tongue ran teasingly over her wetness, the leg threatened to give out again.

Colin tightened his grip on her when he dipped his tongue inside her and slowly licked up her. Maddy sucked in a breath and grasped his hair. She wanted his mouth—just wanted his mouth anywhere, everywhere. As his tongue ran over her again and again, she started to shake, barely able to remember to stay standing as her knee shook.

He moved his mouth away and bit her thigh, holding it between his teeth. She gasped again.

Lowering her other foot back to the floor, he slowly slid his body along hers until she stood before her.

Grabbing his hair, she pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him hard and fast. He cupped her head and returned her kisses with a heated passion that threatened to consume them both.

Moving her hands down, she fumbled with the button on his jeans and pulled the zipper down. She wrestled with the material to push it down over his hips. As soon as they slid down out of her way, she reached to grasp him in her hand. His hand caught hers and pulled it around behind her.

Colin rubbed his hot skin along her body and looked down at her. “Slow down. This is going to go on and on.”

Maddy felt a rush of moisture between her legs, just from the tone in his voice. “Colin.” His mouth crushed down on hers, cutting off anything she wanted to say.

He kicked his feet out of his pants and swatted them out of the way with his foot. “Wrap your legs around me,” he whispered against her mouth.

Maddy was startled when he lifted her so easily that she could wrap her legs around his waist. He slid her painstakingly slow down his stomach until she could feel him pushing against her entrance. She gripped his shoulders, wanting to drop herself on him, but he smiled and lifted her back up again. He turned with her wrapped around him and leaned her against the wall gently. Boosting her up a bit higher, she found herself pinned between his naked body and the wall. She tried again to lower herself on him, but he held her so she couldn’t move down. His mouth roughly closed over her breast, and she gasped out a cry. His teeth pulled at her nipple, and she squirmed against him, trying to rub herself on him. He lifted his mouth and moved to her other breast and was agonizingly gentle with it. The contrast of sensations had her panting and yearning to see what was next.

Sliding one arm behind her, he lifted her from the wall with her nipple still in his mouth. She clung to his shoulders as he lowered her down his body. His lips moved to hers when he pushed up into her, she moaned against his mouth as he filled her. She tensed her legs to pull up again, but he held her in place, not letting her move yet. Just feeling him inside her made her squirm against him, she wanted him to move, needed him to move.

He braced his weight and lifted her slowly until just the tip was inside her and then dropped her back on him with a force that made their bodies slap together. She cried out again and clutched at his shoulders.

Sensations shot through Maddy, making her crave more. He grasped the bottom of her thighs and slowly pulled her up off of him again. The anticipation of wanting him to drive into her again had her shaking, but he lowered her slowly back down on him. She leaned forward and bit his neck, trying to drive him to the pace she sought. When she felt him move backward, carrying her, she bit his ear firmly.

Colin sat on the bed with her balanced on him and pulled one leg, then the other around, so she knelt over him with him still filling her. Maddy kissed him frantically, trying to push herself up on him. He clamped his hands around her hips and slowly withdrew from her body. She tried to move back down on him, she wanted to bounce onto him, but he leaned back and lowered her slowly again. Her muscles were quaking around him, and he forced her to stay and kept her hovering close to insanity.

With each slow movement, she panted breathlessly. Her eyes were flashing at him each time he controlled her movement and stopped their bodies from colliding. When their bodies touched, her head would drop down, and she’d gasp. He could feel her muscles shaking and knew she was so close to the edge that she was going to scream for him when he drove over.

Sitting up, he braced one hand behind her back and flipped her onto the bed. He pulled out of her slowly, and as he brought her knees up higher, pushing them out from her body, he drove hard into her, watching her face as she groaned. His control was starting to break, but he needed to hear her cry in pleasure before letting go. He pulled out and drove into her again, kissing her hard and swallowing her groan. Holding the back of her head, he grasped her hair and pulled her head back to let him at her throat. His teeth scraped against a sensitive spot, and he plunged into her again. She panted louder. His legs started to shake as he continued to move in and out of her hard and fast.

When she cried out and clung to him, his release was only a few moments later. He slowed and moved in and out of her a few more times, rocking against her body as she fought to find her breath.

He smiled down at her when her arms dropped loosely around his neck, and she turned heavy eyes toward him. He kissed her swollen lips gently and feathered kisses over her face. Lifting his weight from her, he pulled out of her a bit at a time and watched her face relax.

Getting up to his knees, he knelt between her thighs and ran his hands up and down the silkiness of them. “I don’t think we’re done yet.” He pulled her bent knees and leaned down so he could close his mouth over her still throbbing clit. He licked and sucked on her as she thrashed around under his grasp. Her legs quivered around his head as she groaned deep in her throat and bucked against him. He slowed his tongue and slowly licked at her a few more times before releasing her legs and watching them drop to the bed.

Crawling beside her, he cradled her against his chest and ran his hand down her hair to straighten it. “That should do for a little while.”

Maddy lifted her face to look up at him. “A little while?” she gasped, still trying to slow her breathing back to normal.

Colin grinned at her. “I’m not taking chances on not having enough contact again.”

Maddy closed her eyes. “I think that was about three days’ worth.”

He reached and pulled the sheet up over them. Kissing the top of her head, he sighed. “I was thinking three hours, but we’ll see how sore you are.”

Maddy didn’t have the energy even to reply. She rested her head against his chest and curled up against him, and quickly drifted to sleep.

Colin lay there watching her drift off to sleep. He could get used to something like this, he thought with a grin. Of course, he had to go back to work soon, which would complicate things, considering the distance restriction.

He leaned back into the pillow and looked up at the ceiling. He hadn’t realized until this moment that the feelings of suffocation and tension were gone. Not gone because he’d just had sex, but they’d been gone since he’d met Maddy. His doctor would probably just tell him it was from taking some time off, and he couldn’t exactly explain the circumstances of the past week.

He frowned, wondering if those feelings that had driven him to take time off had somehow been caused by the curse itself. He sighed. That was a long shot, especially since the first time he’d set eyes on the Quaich was at the museum. It was something to talk to Maddy and possibly her mother about. Had the curse or his bloodline made him feel all the tension because he hadn’t met Maddy yet?

Colin pulled her warm body tight against his. He was wide awake and should probably get up and do more research, the problem was as good as he was researching things, but he was running out of ideas. Magic just wasn’t something that had come up in any areas of his study or experience. He smirked, if someone had tried to tell him he’d be going through any of this a few weeks ago, he would have given them the number of his doctor to get psychiatric help.

He felt the bed behind him dip slightly and turned his head to see Sarabi leaning her large face on the bed behind him. “I’d invite you up, but I don’t know if the three of us fit.”

-Do I look insecure enough to need to sleep with you?

He leaned back and ran a hand down the animal’s powerful neck. “Thanks for not eating me for being in bed with your owner.”

-Try not to screw it up.

His hand fell back to the bed when she straightened up. He watched her turn and walk out of the room. Sometimes he got the feeling he was missing out on something when it came to communicating with that animal.

Rolling back onto his side, he pulled Maddy tight into him and closed his eyes. Being cursed wasn’t all bad at times.