Panther Curse: Shifters Bewitched #3 Read online

  She nodded, looking solemn.

  “But just for tonight, I only want to worry about us,” I told her gently.

  I felt her body go soft and warm at the thought. It took all I had not to rip her clothes off and take her on the grass in front of the house.

  “Come on,” I managed.

  I slipped the key out from under the mat and opened the round-topped wooden door.

  “Wow, high security,” she remarked.

  “We’re shifters,” I said, feeling the truth of it with satisfaction. “We’re not really worried about anyone breaking in.”

  The cabin smelled like good meals and scented candles. After so much time underground, it was going to be a long time before I took those things for granted again.

  One day soon, our own home would be warm and fragrant with Kendall’s favorite foods and flowers. I was determined to treat her to everything that made her smile and fill our home with happiness.

  “Do you want something to eat?” I remembered to ask her.

  She shook her head, a small smile pulling up the corners of her mouth.

  We walked through the kitchen and into the bedroom, where the glass ceiling revealed a sky full of stars. A huge bed took up most of the room.

  “The bathroom is through there,” I told her, pointing to a door on the other side of the room.”

  “I might just freshen up,” she said.

  “Start the bath if you want,” I told her. “I’ll join you in a moment.”

  Her eyes lit up and I smiled back at her, totally besotted.

  She closed the bathroom door behind her, leaving me alone in the bedroom.

  If not for Kendall’s lost magic, my heart would be full. She had said she had no regrets. Did she mean it?

  The strange thing was that I thought she did. In spite of years losing my ability to trust my fellow man, there was something about my forthright mate that shone through to me.

  She loved me. I was sure of it. And she did not resent me for taking what she had offered.

  “Jared,” she called to me softly.

  I felt her voice call out to every cell of my body. She might not be able to experience the mate bond now, but I swore I still did.

  Striding over to the bathroom, I braced myself for the breathtaking sight of her.

  But even my wildest imagination could not match the beauty of my brave mate.

  She stood in the soaking tub, bubbles clinging to her curves, arms out to me.

  “Kendall,” I groaned.

  “Hurry,” she said with a smile. “While it’s still warm.”

  As I peeled off my clothes, I snuck glances at her. I loved the way her wet hair was darker and silky. And the way her nipples pebbled in the cool air of the room.

  I wasn’t sure how I was going to control myself. I thought after last night that my need would be sated at least a little, but I only hungered for her more.

  Will it always be this way?

  I stepped out of the pile of clothes I’d practically torn off, and met her eyes.

  Her expression was as hungry as mine, lips parted, eyes wide.

  I moved into the tub to join her. The water felt good, but her arms were better.

  Pulling her tightly against me, I lowered us into the warm bubbly water.

  Kendall twined her arms around my neck, straddling me and pressing her lips to mine. She tasted like sunlight.

  Like freedom.

  I groaned and slid my hand up to tangle in her hair, deepening our kiss.

  She arched her back and I released her mouth to run my lips slowly down her neck and chest.

  Her breasts were so beautiful. I nuzzled them just to hear her whimper and then licked one into my mouth.

  Kendall began to rock her hips on my lap, her satiny sex sliding against my cock.

  I growled and wolfed at her other breast. I was frantic to be inside her, but I had to slow down.

  The panther roared in my chest, furious that I would slow myself.

  I wondered if he knew I had already lain with her, if he knew I could never claim her in the way he craved. Would he understand?

  There had never been any separation between the animal and my own inner self, and I pitied him now, even as I rejoiced at my own happiness.

  Kendall stroked my chest, my jaw, then arched her back further as if she wanted me to devour her breasts.

  “That’s it,” I murmured, standing with her in my arms.

  “Jared?” she said, sounding confused.

  “I want you in bed,” I told her. “Now.”

  “Can we dry off first?” she asked, smiling.

  “If you promise to be good and not torture me,” I teased, placing her on the bathmat.

  She held perfectly still when I dried her off with a big, fluffy towel. Not wiggling, even when I let my hands follow the towel’s path, lingering on her bare breasts.

  She watched as I dried off too.

  When I grabbed her in my arms again to carry her to the bedroom, her laughter rang out like church bells in my heart.

  39

  Kendall

  Jared laid me gently on the warm bed.

  I could feel the softness of the pillows beneath me, and sense the moonlight filtering in from the glass ceiling.

  But I could only gaze up at my beautiful guardian.

  His eyes were so serious. I wished I knew what he was thinking.

  I held my arms out to him, needing to hold him close.

  But he shook his head and gave me a slow half smile, nudging my thighs apart.

  I couldn’t help smiling back as my legs fell open for him. I could deny him nothing, this man of mine.

  He kissed his way up the inside of my right knee all the way to my hip.

  I shivered with anticipation as he pressed his lips to my belly and down to my left hip before finally nuzzling my sex.

  He smiled against me when I whimpered.

  And then he was licking me slowly and softly, sending waves of pleasure through my body, even as I craved more.

  Again and again, he pushed me to the point of ecstasy and denied me with a gentle kiss.

  When I tangled my hands in his hair and lifted my hips to meet his mouth, he finally gave me what I craved.

  Flicking me with his tongue, he eased a finger just inside.

  I wailed as the pleasure split me into pieces, sending me into the stars and back again onto the bed under the attentions of his wicked mouth.

  When the last of my tremors had ceased, he crawled up to cage my head in his arms.

  I pressed my lips to his, not caring that I could taste myself on them.

  When I pulled back, I could see that his eyes were hazy with lust.

  Somehow, his need sent mine skyrocketing all over again and I clung to him, tilting my hips up to show him what I needed.

  He took himself in his hand and guided his rigid length against me.

  “Kendall,” he groaned as he pressed himself slowly inside.

  The pleasure was spiraling inside me again, as if I were expanding. I jogged my hips up, frantic.

  Jared roared and plunged into me again, giving me the rhythm I needed.

  I lost track of my own sounds as he thrust again and again, sliding his hand between us to coax another climax from me, and then another.

  I screamed as the third one peaked and I felt him let go, swelling and jetting inside me as he shouted my name.

  Wave after wave of pleasure carried us both, then finally let us go, panting and clinging to each other.

  Jared curled his body around mine, holding me as if he was afraid someone would take me away.

  “I can’t believe you’re real,” he murmured.

  I pressed my face to his chest, breathing him in.

  “I love you,” he told me.

  “I love you too,” I said, wondering if he could feel my smile against his skin.

  “I can hear your heart beating,” he murmured as he stroked my hair gently.

  I dri
fted off to sleep before I could ask him if he could hear what my heart was trying to say, that - bond or no bond - magic or no magic - love wasn’t a big enough word for what I felt in his arms.

  40

  Kendall

  The next morning, I sat on Jared’s lap at Luke and Bella’s dining room table, with one of his arms locked around my waist.

  Cori and Reed sat opposite us, and Luke and Bella had the other two chairs, though one of them seemed to be eternally hopping up to grab another plate of food or pitcher of juice.

  In fairness, we were all pretty hungry. And the shifters had unspeakably voracious appetites. Jared was downing slices of bacon so quickly with the hand that wasn’t holding me, that I couldn’t believe Luke could cook them fast enough to keep up.

  Bella gazed at Luke fondly as he threw more bacon in the pan and pulled another carton of eggs from the fridge.

  Behind him, a timer went off.

  “That’s the muffins,” Bella said, scrambling up again.

  Luke stepped back from the stove so she could grab them from the oven, openly staring at her behind when she bent over.

  I tried not to giggle. Bacon and eggs weren’t the only thing these guys had an appetite for.

  Anya stood by Bella’s front window, gazing out at the trees.

  It hit me that she was the only one here that was left alone. I wondered if she felt left out, the way I had.

  “Hang on,” I whispered to Jared.

  He let go of me after pressing a kiss to my hair.

  I padded over to join Anya by the window. It was overcast and misty outside. Whatever she was looking at, it had to be pretty close to the house. Maybe she was just thinking. Or maybe she was sick of watching all of the couples fawn over each other. I wouldn’t have blamed her.

  “You okay?” I asked.

  She nodded and turned to me. “I’m glad you’re back.”

  “Me too,” I told her. “That was pretty crazy last night.”

  “We were very lucky,” she said, turning back to the window.

  “It wasn’t only luck,” I said carefully, remembering the way Anya had stepped in at the end.

  She kept her eyes on the trees.

  “Anya,” I said. “What happened with you and the Raven King?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You told him to wait, and he did,” I said. “And the way he looked at you. It was… strange.”

  “It felt like he was beckoning,” she said softly.

  I held my breath, wondering what she would say next. At the breakfast table, we had all been trying to piece together what had happened to the Raven King when he’d blinked away. The portal had clearly crumbled, but he had disappeared in place, on our side of it. Which seemed to mean he had to be here, somewhere.

  With the strange connection she seemed to share with the fae king, I wondered if Anya had her own theory.

  But she only stared out, unblinking, at the mist-cloaked trees.

  “Anya, are you hungry?” Bella asked, joining us at the window. “I made blueberry muffins, your favorite.”

  Anya turned and gave Bella a grateful smile that didn’t quite make it to her eyes. “Thanks, I’ll go get one. I think I just need to freshen up first.”

  We turned to watch her head off to the bathroom.

  “It has to be hard,” Bella said, once Anya was out of sight.

  “What?” I asked.

  “To be the only one not chosen,” Bella replied, echoing my own thoughts.

  “Well, Nina and Lark haven’t been chosen,” I said weakly.

  “They have each other,” Bella said. “Anya has always been a little different. It feels like she’s drifting away from us lately.”

  It felt like he was beckoning…

  I tried to put Anya’s words out of my head. I was sure she would be fine in time.

  And I had something more pressing to discuss with Bella.

  “Thank you for coming after me,” I told her. “I was afraid you all hated me.”

  I couldn’t help but remember the scene Declan had showed me. I’d been so sure no one was coming for me. I wondered what had changed their minds.

  “Why would we hate you?” Bella scoffed. “We’re all best friends.”

  My soul smiled and I felt a sense of incredible relief.

  “And don’t try to tell me it’s different because your magic is gone,” she added. “We don’t know if that’s a hundred percent true yet. And even if it is, that doesn’t change anything as far as we’re concerned. How are you doing with that?”

  “I’m sad,” I admitted. “Magic has kind of been my identity my whole life. It’s what my parents wanted for me, and it never occurred to me to question that. But this is a chance to reinvent myself. And I’m going to make the best of it. I’m just sorry I can’t help you guys figure out what’s going on with the Raven King.”

  “Of course you can help us. You understand this world better than the rest of us, even if you can’t do the magic stuff anymore,” Bella said. “And we’ve got your back, too, you know?”

  That felt good. But I knew things weren’t as black and white as all that.

  “Declan showed me a mirror,” I admitted. “I heard what you said. And I know I haven’t always been the best friend.”

  “Wait, you mean the scrying?” she asked, her eyes wide. “Shit, Kendall, that was all a hoax.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “As soon as you were gone Anya sensed there was something off about that bracelet,” Bella said. “You know how sensitive she is to stuff like that.”

  It was true. Anya had always been more in touch with the magic around us than anyone else.

  “Anya said she never noticed it before, because you were always wearing it, and your magic was so strong that it covered up the magic from the bracelet,” Bella explained. “It didn’t take us long to figure out the Order had you, and that they were using it to monitor us. So, we started leaking things that weren’t true, so they would let their guard down. It was all a show.”

  “So, when you said you would never come for me?” I realized.

  “Dude, we were already on our way,” Bella chortled. “We were just trying to throw him off. I can’t believe he showed you that. What a jerk.”

  So that was why I hadn’t recognized the room where they were having that talk. It must have been a simple illusion to cover the fact that they were in the forest. The puzzle pieces clicked together.

  “In perspective, it’s not even close to the worse thing he did,” I reminded her.

  “Still, it was unnecessarily mean,” Bella told me. “I’m glad you said something so I could clear it up. And I’m sorry you had to hear that.”

  “Speaking of sorry,” I said, taking the opening where I could find it. “I have to apologize to you. Any chance I can convince you to walk outside with me for a sec?”

  “Sure,” she said, looking dubious. “But I’m sure you have nothing to apologize for.”

  “Nonetheless,” I said, indicating the door.

  “We’ll be right back, babe,” she yelled to Luke in the kitchen.

  He nodded, and Jared turned to me with a worried look.

  “Two minutes, I promise,” I told him.

  He nodded.

  Bella headed outside and I trailed behind her, feeling cowed all over again now that the moment had finally come to unburden myself.

  “What’s up?” she asked as soon as we reached the garden in front of the house.

  “So... the last time I saw you, besides last night, was Combat class,” I said. “And we never got to talk afterwards.”

  “Seriously, is that what this is about?” Bella asked. “It’s not a big deal. You didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “You could have died, Bella,” I said. “It is a big deal.”

  “Are you sorry?” she asked.

  “Yes, of course,” I said. “I also swore I would never do it again and you saw what happened last night. I did i
t to like two dozen people at once.”

  “That was epic,” she said. “But they were scumbags, and you saved all of us, so I hope you have no regrets.”

  I shook my head slowly.

  “And you definitely won’t do it again,” she pointed out.

  “God, you’re right,” I said. “No more magic means no more blood walking. I guess everyone is safe.”

  She smiled at my lame joke, and I smiled back, relieved.

  “That’s not all,” I said quickly, before I could lose my nerve.

  “Wow, what else?” she asked.

  “When I was… inside your blood, I noticed something,” I said.

  “What?” she asked, the smile gone from her face.

  “I, uh, I noticed more than one heartbeat,” I told her, looking down at my feet in case she wanted a moment to process without me staring at her. “Yours, and another, tiny one.”

  “Really?” she demanded.

  I glanced up at her and her face showed the same excitement I’d heard in her voice.

  “Yes,” I told her.

  “Holy cow, Kendall,” she crowed, wrapping her arms around me.

  “You’re happy?” I asked.

  “I’m over the moon,” she told me, squeezing harder with each word until I thought she would break my ribs.

  “That’s awesome,” I said. “Congratulations, then.”

  “Wait, you thought I wouldn’t be happy?” she asked, pulling back without letting go of my arms.

  “You’re young,” I said, shrugging. “I know how important school is to you. And there’s a lot going on around here. I wasn’t sure you guys would be ready to bring a baby into all of this.”

  She smiled at me and turned me around, so that we were both facing her living room window.

  “Look at that,” she whispered in my ear. “Can you imagine a happier, safer place in the whole world for a child?”

  Warm yellow light spilled out of the window, casting its glow on the waxy leaves of the rhododendrons outside.

  Inside, Luke was roaring with laughter, sliding crispy bacon off the pan with a spatula onto Jared’s empty plate as Cori elbowed Reed and kissed his cheek.