The Curse in Her Blood

Chapter 27

Set

It seems like she's gone for hours, but that's just the pain slowing time down for me. When she does return, she's seemingly forgotten what I look like.

I know because she rushed into the room with this large grin on her face, but the second she saw me she slid to a stop and that smile faded. Her eyes whipped down to the floor, as if she couldn't bear to look at me.

I try not to take that to heart. I know I look beastly. Honestly it isn't her fault. But it hurts all the same.

"Did you find the cure?" I ask her, hoping to get her back on track.

"Hi. Right. So... uhm... I think I know what it is, but I'm going to be honest, I'm a little freaked out right now so I'm going to have to keep my eyes closed and pretty please with a cherry on top just don't... uhm... touch me."

She still refuses to look at me, but she is coming towards me, slowly. Probably because she doesn't quite know where I am, but she also doesn't want to look up to figure it out. I glare at her, because I just want this to be over.

"I don't wanna throw up on you... even if this is an illusion, I've never done well with things that make me squeamish..."

"Will you just hurry up!" I snap because I don't need the whole back story I just want the cure.

I'm the master of keeping my distance. Even before Astarte I knew that women didn't want me touching them, even if we were being intimate. They always wanted distance between me and them. If she didn't want me to touch her that was fine. I could do that for her.

It took pure ages for her to get herself in front of me. I had to fight every instinct to grab her and just tug her to me, but she had asked me not to touch her so I didn't. Eventually she got in the position she deemed right, I waited for her to hand me the cure but then she just leant in. Her face close to mine, those eyes of her squeezed shut.

It was really when she got up close that I could tell she was descended from my Astarte. Her skin was flawless, light, would be smooth under my fingertips. And by the gods did I want to touch her. But I knew better. That to try and touch her would break the spell between us. And I knew better then to try and kiss her too, no matter how much I wanted to.

And I did want to. For some reason, the more she proved herself to be completely unlike Astarte the more I wanted to kiss her. Because she was everything I had wanted the original Astarte to be.

Kind, sweet, lovely, liked by my people, who liked my palace and my people in return.

My fingers itch with the desire to reach out, to grab her and press her to my chest. How I burned to pull her to me, under me so I can ravish her. But she doesn't want me touching her so I don't, but if she doesn't hurry up I'll lose my resolve.

She takes this sudden deep breath and then she pushes forward. Her lips hit mine and both of us freeze. My eyes haven't closed, I can't seem to take my eyes off of her.

Our kiss starts off awkward, just a mashing of our lips together. But then it doesn't stop... it... deepens? As in she goes to kiss me again, lets me open my mouth, opens hers in response. I'm used to making the moves, only because the women here liked to close their eyes and wait for me to be done it seemed. Robin, on the other hand, is making all the moves.

So it's her tongue that delves into my mouth. It's her hands that come to my shoulder, to grip me. And she does, tightly.

If I didn't know any better I'd think that she wanted to pull me closer but... that couldn't be it... right?

Her eyes open and she takes me in. All of me, hopefully changed.

I'm assuming the curse has been lifted, only because I'm not in pain anymore.

But I get that confirmation when she smiles.

She smiles because she likes what she sees, which is me. Somewhere in my mind I know its because she can see that the curse has come off of me. But I've lost myself in a fugue of passion and I've deluded myself into thinking that it's because she likes the look of me.

I reach out for her, almost tentatively, a hand reaching for her side so I can pull her to me. But she's already moving. Launching herself into my waiting arms. In fact she seems to just mold into me and honestly, I'm just in shock.

Not in shock enough to stop, in fact the only thing I can do is kiss her. All my carefully cultivated will power shatters the instant her hands make contact. I'm still in shock that she isn't pushing me away. She has one hand on my shoulder and the other cradling the back of my head, her fingers running through my hair.

She's managed to ignite the flames in me, she's sending me over the edge. She's in my lap, on me, holding me close. All the passion that's bubbling out of me is coming back to me two-fold.

I've never, ever, felt anything like this before, ever.

Not even with Astarte.

When we tumble back into my bed, it's her on top of me. For a moment I lie there, amazed that she has taken this position, and then it occurs to me that I don't actually want her in that position. I want the control back, so I roll her. Once she's under me there is only one thing I'm thinking about and she is very likeminded in that regard.