“And you never saw anything that would make you think your mom had powers?”
I let my mind go back to my mother, to her beautiful green eyes, her soft hair that always fell in perfect curls around her shoulders.
“Nothing concrete. I mean, I thought she was magical just because she was my mom,” I admit with a smile. “I still miss her.”
“I’m sorry, Ace,” Jacques says softly. He brushes my hair back and rests his forehead against mine. Lips parting, I tip my head to his. My heart thumps, and I want so badly to kiss him. To lose myself to him and finally give in to the feelings we’ve both been denying.
“Your mother must have had powers. That alone is a reason demons attack. If she cast a protection spell the moment the demons entered the house, you wouldn’t hear anything.”
My eyes fall shut. “They attacked her because of the magic?”
“They could have, and it makes sense to me to be the reason. For centuries, demons have preyed on others with powers. Some are able to harvest the magic from within, and others simply don’t like anything else out there being as strong as they are.” Jacques cups my chin and turns my head up. “That’s enough for now. We’ll talk about it more tonight. And Ace?”
“Yeah?”
“Wewill find the demon who killed your parents. I will scour the earth and we will get your vengeance, ripping them limb from limb and making them die a slow, painful death.”
My eyes fill with tears. “That’s one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to me.”
Jacques’s lips curve into a smile. I shift my weight, turning my body in toward his. He leans close, and I can feel the heat radiating off of him. Fuck, I want him. All of him.
The front door opens and closes, echoing up the stairs and into my room. The others have gone outside. Jacques needs to as well. I have no idea what would happen if he didn’t return to his spot on the roof. He said it was part of the curse, and it’s a part I have to change.
I won’t let anything happen to the guys.
“I have to go,” he whispers, but doesn’t make a move to get up.
“I know.” I push up onto my knees, wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He pulls me in close, crushing my breasts against his chest. I sweep one hand down over his torso, fingers hovering at the waistband of his pants.
This time, he doesn’t tense or move away. This time, he tips his head down, and kisses me.
His lips, soft and warm, mesh against mine. My heart leaps out of my chest and every nerve in my body comes alive. The world stops around us, and time freezes. It doesn’t matter that the sun is rising on the horizon.
All that matters is his lips on mine, and how kissing him is as natural as breathing. He further parts his lips, and his tongue pushes into my mouth. He slides his hand along my cheek, gently caressing my ear with his thumb.
I bring my hands up, fastening them around his neck, gripping his shoulders and bringing him closer to me until there is no space left in between. My heart beats along with his, and I know without a doubt I never want a day to go by without him kissing me.
“Ace,” he groans, and brings his hands down to my ass. Squeezing it, he moves me onto him so I’m straddling his lap. He brings his hands up my back, fingers pressing into my flesh. He kisses me again, hard and demanding.
The kiss has the magic of a first kiss with the passion of star-crossed lovers finally reunited. But it’s over as quickly as it started, and when he pulls away, it’s like I forgot how to breathe and the only way I can get air is to have his lips on mine again.
“Ace,” Jacques says again, eyes losing color. His tan skin is turning gray, and I’m suddenly terrified he’s going to crumble to pieces if he doesn’t get back to the roof.
“You have to go,” I say, panicking. He nods, knowing it to be true, but looks at me as if letting me go will hurt worse than crumbling into nothing.
I spring up, racing to the window. I unlock it and throw it open. Jacques moves toward it, and I practically shove his wings through to get him outside, just in time. I fall back onto the bed, heart racing from both finally kissing Jacques and fearing that he was going to die before my eyes. I roll over, hugging my pillow and wishing it were him. He’s right outside, as are the others, and yet I’m back to feeling lonely again.
It’s earlier than I need to get up, but there’s no way I can go back to sleep. Plus, I fell asleep hours before I normally do and I’m not tired. Clouds are covering the sky this morning, and the air has taken on a chill. I change into exercise clothes and go for a run, and then shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast with time to spare.
Picking up the grimoire and Jacques’s translations, I spend a good hour studying and practicing the glamour spell three more times. By the third time, my white rock glows a fiery red.
Getting a second cup of coffee, I do a bit of Google searching on how to break curses. I’m certain everything I’m reading online is bullshit, but if this book in front of me exists and has real spells, then maybe there’s a chance some of what I’m reading online has merit too.
By the time I have to leave for work, I have a list going on everything I can find about breaking curses. A lot of the information repeats itself, stemming from different cultures and religions, which makes me think there might be some truth in it after all. I add my curse-breaking notes to my bag, grab Lily’s laptop, and head out to work.
I toss everything in the car and then dash back into the house, bringing out a battery-powered radio. I change it to a pop station, which Thomas and Gilbert have grown rather fond of, and turn up the volume.
I rest my hand on Gilbert’s, which has become a twisted talon set in stone. “See ya later.”
