Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84072 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“My sister?” I whispered, confusion drawing my forehead into a frown. I’d always wanted a sister, and now I find out that my sister from back in the day was basically a jealous bitch with a mean streak? “I was always envious of people with large families.” My frown deepened. “Now, not so much. What happened after all of that?”
Benjamin turned toward me this time. The angles of his face looked like someone had sculpted him to appear perfect to the naked eye, from his jaw to his aristocratic nose, his full tempting mouth.
“Don’t look at me like that,” he snapped.
I jerked my head down. “Sorry, I can’t help it.”
“Try,” he seethed.
“You could at least be nice!” I snapped.
He gritted his teeth. “I really can’t because then I’ll take you against the table. Is that what you want? To break another arm?”
“Aengus said sex—”
“Aengus should keep his mouth shut.” He glared. “If we have sex once, we’ll have it twice. We’ll have it a third time because you won’t be content; that’s the whole point of the curse. We screw until you die.”
“I guess there are worse ways to go,” I muttered under my breath.
“Trust me, there aren’t. You don’t know what it’s like to experience the love of your life die, to see your blood on my hands over and over again. I’m sick with it; I can’t—don’t ask me to.”
Tears filled my eyes. I quickly swiped a stray one that fell across my cheek. “Sorry, back to the story…”
The Matchmaker cursed the three of us. Your sister, for intervening, was stripped of all her magic. As for us—you were to be put to death, to reincarnate a hundred years later. The Matchmaker warned me that everyone you love will always die, most likely horrific deaths, and you’ll always be searching until you find me, only to lose me as well unless we break the curse. As for my end of it, well, you already know… every time we touch, I accidentally strip a little more of your life away from you, making your bones brittle and your brain weak. The only way to touch you without doing that is to have sex. It’s a cruel curse that makes it so that, eventually, we have no choice. You always end up dead.”
I was almost afraid to ask, even though I thought he’d already told me. “How many times did you say we’ve gone through this?”
His voice was heavy with sadness. “This will be the thirteenth time.” His face lit with a touch of hope. “But it’s different this time. First, because fire accepted you, and then Aengus was released from the forest realm for the first time in centuries… By the way, he plans to claim you if I can’t break the curse.”
I choked on a laugh. “Yeah, that’s not happening. You can’t just pass me off to your brother, asshole.”
“You think I want to? You think it doesn’t kill me inside? Fill me with rage? The idea that he can touch you and I can’t? The fact that he can kiss you? Bring you to a perfect orgasm only to have his name fall from your lips, not mine? You have no idea the hell I live with every single time I see you and how many times I fight with myself to just kill you in order for the torture to end.”
I angled my head and studied him. “You’d kill me before letting him have me, wouldn’t you?”
He hesitated, emotions waging war in his expression, and then, “The thought has crossed my mind.”
I sighed. “After she cursed us, what happened?”
A shadow crossed his face. “She was going to put you to death, but I couldn’t… I couldn’t bear it, so I asked her to let me.” His voice caught. “I used my fire. It swirled around you, choked you, held you close, and then the ice around your body just exploded, and you were gone. I screamed until my voice was hoarse, and within seconds most of my magic was stripped. That’s why Aengus looks different.”
“So, it is you in my dreams?” I whispered.
“Yes.” He licked his full lips. “That’s me, without the curse.”
I shoved away from my chair and stood. I needed to think. “Okay, so if this time is different, then maybe I’m the one who solves the curse? Maybe it’s something as simple as true love’s kiss…” A sad laugh slipped out. “Just kidding, we already did that…” I frowned. “Are there any spells you can think of that can undo a Matchmaker’s magic?”
All the spells I’d seen in the book were simple, nothing that could break a centuries-old curse.
His annoyed expression said he’d already thought that and failed.
I took a deep breath. “Okay, moving on, do you remember how I die each time?”
“No.” He shook his head. “Only that I’m always too late, your blood is always coating my hands, and I’m always screaming that I failed to protect you again.”