Courting Mortality (Brothers of Fate Book 1) (5 page)

The pace slowed, and she knew she couldn’t stand this time. He slid out of her, and seconds later, wrapped his arms around her, keeping her from collapsing. He sank to the floor, helping her down, and pulled her into his lap.

She curled up, and rested her head against his shoulder

He brushed a loose strand of hair off her forehead, and kissed her lightly. His thumb traced tiny circles over her spine. “I’m so glad you came over tonight.” The hunger was gone from his voice, but the commanding power remained.

She smiled, and rested more of her weight against him. “Me too.”

The storm had cleared up at some point during the night, leaving the sky black except for the shock of white moon, and the snow untouched in Eli’s back yard. Like the front of his house, two entire walls of the bedroom were floor-to-ceiling windows. All he could see beyond the glass was a blanket of white over the trees that spanned most of his back yard.

Moonlight splashed across the form next to him. She was still wrapped in sheets, but she’d kicked off the blankets sometime during the night.

He’d have to say goodbye soon. He studied the way the cotton draped her naked form, hugging every seductive curve. He wouldn’t let himself admit he was going to miss her. That thought led to others, with more dangerous consequences.

His hand hovered less than an inch from her face, as he followed the line of her cheek without ever touching her. Her dark hair spilled out over the white pillow cases.

“Some people think that’s creepy.” Her mouth curled into a smile, but she didn’t open her eyes.

“Waking up at this unholy hour?” He couldn’t help his smile at the teasing note in her voice. But he wouldn’t lean in and kiss her. He’d gotten that out of his system.

“Watching someone sleep.” She finally looked at him, grin in place.

They’d spent half the night exploring each other. She made the most incredible noises when she was turned on. They were even better when she came. But it should have been enough to get her out of his system. The only reason he hadn’t already sent her home was the roads were dangerous. Or at least, that’s what he tried to tell himself. “I was going to wake you up.”

“Mhm…” She sat up, and the sheets fell away, exposing her bare breasts and perfect skin.

He struggled to keep his attention on her face. “But I know you don’t have work, so I thought I’d let you sleep.”

She ducked her head. “I haven’t slept that well in a long time.”

He wanted to ask her to join him in the shower. To make one last memory. But he’d already pushed the limits of their relationship too far. He needed to stick to the same promises he’d coerced from her. “Can I make you breakfast?”

She shook her head, and scooted to the edge of the bed. “I’m good. Thanks. I should let you have your privacy back.” If she noticed her clothes were folded on the chair next to her instead of still strewn across the living room, she didn’t say anything. He hadn’t been able to sleep, and the few times he’d managed to extract himself from her, he’d paced with no purpose, before crawling back into bed and wrapping himself around her again.

She dressed in silence, not looking at him. Every inch of his instinct begged him to say something. To make the situation better. But he knew this was how it had to be. He had to let her go. He hated to be that asshole. But at least she’d still be alive at the end of the day.

She stood, and impulse snaked through him. He shot his hand out and grabbed her wrist. “Wait.” When she didn’t struggle to break away, he tugged her back to the mattress.

He knelt in front of her and rested his hands on her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. He let the sincerity fall into his voice. “I’m so glad you came over last night. That we have this memory. I will never, ever, forget it. Or you.” He kissed her hard, searing the moment into his thoughts, where he knew it would stay. “I’m sorry that’s all there is. That I can’t give you more.”

She pulled away, and gave him a weak smile. “Yeah. I get it.” She didn’t look back, as she made her way to the front door. The latch clicked. Seconds later, her tires crunched on the frozen snow.

He flopped back against the pillows. Only a selfish fucking prick would have taken that from Marley last night knowing it could never be more. Ancestors, he was an asshole. Then again, so was whoever had cursed him, so at least it ran in the family. He lay there, until the light started to creep over the trees and the clouds drifted back in. With any luck, Marley was home by now. He hoped the plows had cleared away enough snow, she’d make it safely before the next storm started.

And he needed her to hate him as much as he hated himself. Then at least she wouldn’t be back. She’d be safe.

Lightning cracked across the sky, drawing his attention to the windows. He frowned at the electrical activity. That wasn’t normal this time of year. Especially as a lead-in to a blizzard.

His phone buzzed, and he reached for it on the nightstand, out of habit. He rolled his eyes when he saw the text message was from Loki.

And then he read it.

You broke your promise.

Eli’s chest almost caved in on itself in fear. Another slash of lightning split the sky, followed by ear shattering thunder.
Marley.

He didn’t have time for a car. He pulled on whatever clothes were within reach, and flew out the front door. His feet left the ground as he picked up speed, and he soared at low altitude toward her apartment. At least she liked to take the back roads. He wouldn’t have to worry about anyone seeing him. Not that he cared right now. Maybe the message was just meant to tease him. To see how he’d react. But knowing his brother, Eli couldn’t take that chance.

The snowdrops melted and evaporated before they reached him. He cut a horizontal path through the storm, three thoughts looping in his head.

Please let it be nothing. Let me be overreacting. Let her be all right.

*

Stupid, myopic, narrow-minded, moronic, melodramatic… Marley’s list of insults faded into a mental roar. She wasn’t sure if she was talking about herself or Eli. Elusive, vague, possibly stuck in a fairytale from his childhood. That was Eli.

It had all clicked for her in the last twelve hours. The odd comments he’d make about hoping he never found the woman of his dreams, his insistence there was nothing between them, and the haunted look he’d had when he told her the story on Saturday night. He thought that stupid curse was real. The last thing she needed was that kind of baggage in her life. Especially if it belonged to someone else.

Snow fluttered onto her windshield, and she turned on the wipers. Large, fluffy, white flakes seemed to appear out of nowhere, blanketing the road within minutes.

A pushover. A coward. Indecisive, and too quiet for her own good—that was her. She hadn’t even tried to argue. Just sat back, and let him make the rules. Not that she wanted to be with a guy who wasn’t interested, but everything he did, all of his actions said he was. She’d just accepted his brush off without questioning it, though.

And she was nobody’s booty call. Fury and hurt rushed through her. She wasn’t going to let this eat at her. She was going back.

Except, the roads had gone from clear to covered in several inches of snow, almost faster than she could blink. She slowed, eyes focused on the road. Maybe she’d go back after the storm let up.

Lightning reflected off the clouds hiding the sky, adding an eerie glow to the dawn, for the briefest second. Something cracked nearby, louder than a gunshot, and Marley’s heart hammered in her chest. She didn’t like this weather. She gripped the wheel until her fingers ached, squinting through the falling white. Maybe she’d be better off without her headlights. There was no one else on the road, and with the sudden storm making it so dark, all they were doing was reflecting back at her.

Another crack lit the sky enough to blind her further. Her eyes grew wide, and she slammed on the brakes when she saw the tree just a few feet in front of her. The car slid toward the fallen trunk, not listening to her attempts to avoid the obstacle. She spun the steering wheel with the skid, the way she’d been taught, and the car listened. It drifted away from the tree at the last second. It tumbled over the drop-off, and her world tilted as the vehicle rolled.

Marley’s world went black.

****

“Marley.” The voice clawed at the edges of nothing fogging her brain.

She knew that voice, so why couldn’t she remember?

“Marley!” He was persistent.

Eli. Right. He sounded worried. Snippets of memory floated back to her. He should be. He’d been an asshole.

“Open your eyes. Talk to me. Something.”

It sounded like a reasonable request. Her skull screamed in protest, as she forced her eyelids open. More of her world crawled into focus. She was cold. All of her. Except the warm bits on her neck and cheeks where his hands rested.

“Thank you.” Relief shone through his concern. A smile cracked his solemn expression.

She shifted to sit up. It didn’t hurt the way it should. Wait, why should it hurt? She looked around her. She was sitting in the snow, several feet from her car, which lay on its roof. Was she thrown clear? Red splattered the ground. So much red. She raised her hand to her head, and brought it away sticky and covered with… Was that blood? It couldn’t be her blood. She felt fine. “What are you doing here?” she asked Eli. “What am I doing here?”

He opened his mouth. A giant white ball of light slammed into his gut, tearing him away from her, and tossing him back several feet until he collided with a tree.

“Fuck, you’re persistent.” Loki floated to the ground next to her, feet never touching the snow.

Wait, floated? Ball of lightning? She had to be hallucinating. She remembered the tree in the road. Was she unconscious?

Loki’s gaze raked over her, chilling her more than the snow she sat in. “I was worried about you. I wasn’t ready for this to be over quite yet.”

What? Out the corner of her eye, she saw Eli pick himself up. His posture shifted, every muscle tense, eyes tight.

Loki held up a hand. “Time out.”

She had to be dreaming. That was the only explanation for this bizarre scene. She was really lying unconscious in her car. She hoped someone would find her soon.

Eli didn’t relax, but disbelief marred his expression. “Are you serious? I don’t care what the fates say; I told you what I’d do to you, if you touched her.”

At least in her dreams, Eli was still sweet. Overzealous maybe, but sweet.

“Ditto.” Loki smirked. “And we should get to that. But someone wants an explanation. I’ll give you a minute to tell our lovely guest what’s going on, and then we can resume seeing if one of us can die.”

Wow, she was screwed up in the head. She looked between the two of them. Eli tense, fury etched in his icy expression. Loki calm, still floating—possibly chuckling? Terror slid into her veins. If this wasn’t a dream, she was fucked. If this was real, she didn’t want an answer from Loki. Something about his demeanor terrified her.

Then again, if she wasn’t dreaming, Eli had been holding back some pretty significant things too.

Marley looked back and forth between the two brothers again. Even if this was some sick, twisted dream, she wasn’t going to cave to the creeping fear inside. She locked her gaze on Eli. “Tell me what’s going on.” Her voice cracked, and she hid a wince. “All of it.”

Eli’s fingers twitched by his side, and he bounced on his toes. He took a step closer, and she narrowed her eyes to keep him at arm’s length. Part of her wanted the comfort he could provide. But she wasn’t going to sink into it. Even if they’d had that kind of relationship—the kind where he wrapped her up and kept her safe, instead of just listening to her vent on a bad day—she wouldn’t let that happen right now. She needed answers.

His entire frame shook when he exhaled, but he never relaxed. “The story I told you the other night? The curse about the three brothers? It’s actually about me. About all three of us. The first time I heard it was thousands of years ago, when I was just a kid.”

Loki laughed. “You actually told her the story already? And neither of you has…” His chuckle echoed over snow and trees. He looked at Marley, something icy hiding in his eyes. “You know a curse isn’t meant to be straightforward, right? You’re familiar with Grimm. Aesop. Disney? You never take that crap at face value, especially if you’ve only heard part of it.”

She struggled to wrap her thoughts around the information. Thousands of years ago? Aesop—like the fables? The answers should be right there, but all she could think was these men were trying to tell her they were actually immortal. Or at least really, really old. The last twenty-four hours had to be getting to her. Unless this was all a joke.

The new idea gnawed at her thoughts. They’d said his name was Loki. As in the trickster god. What if this was all some sort of elaborate hoax? Because that’s more logical? She ignored her own, nagging question.

“We’re gods.” Eli interrupted her spiraling thoughts. “All of us. Loki wasn’t inconveniently named by parents with a sense of humor. He’s
the
Loki.”

“No.” She shook her head. A tiny voice in the back of her mind insisted she listen. That she take him seriously. But it was insane. There was no way this was real. Was it all just a joke? The resignation at the Christmas party. The night before, with Eli. Was it all some sort of cruel prank she didn’t understand? Were there wires holding Loki up? She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, not wanting to study him too hard and prove her theories wrong.

Terror snaked in to join her doubt. No. People didn’t float. Gods didn’t walk the earth working tech jobs, and she was afraid of a shadow. It was nothing. So why was the fear under her skin more convinced by their stories than her rationalizations?

“Marley?” Eli took another step forward. At least the concern in his voice was familiar.

And maybe part of the same sick joke that landed her here. She boxed her cowering nerves in the back of her mind, and stood. She wouldn’t look at Loki. Whatever he had to do with this, it was all incidental. Eli had been at the heart of it the entire time. Playing…some kind of sick game with her. “I’m calling the auto club,” she said. There. That at least sounded like a rational thing to do. She should have done it to start with.

Her feet sank into the snow, as she trudged in Eli’s direction. She tried to ignore that hers were the only footprints in the clearing. That her car was the only vehicle. She didn’t look at Eli, as she brushed past him and headed for the slope leading to the main road.

“You even brought her back to life. Twice.” Loki’s taunt hit her back. “And she still doesn’t believe you. How incredible is that?”

He was just spewing words. It didn’t mean anything. She repeated the mantra over and over again, as she made her way toward the highway. The fact his words made her gut clench, and her head ache, and her logic wonder if he was telling the truth, didn’t mean anything.

And she definitely wasn’t the tiniest bit disappointed Eli wasn’t coming after her. No. That didn’t hurt most of all. She didn’t care what he did with his life. He’d made it clear she wasn’t a part of it.

*

Eli watched Marley climb back toward the street. Every inch of him pleaded to go after her. To wrap her up. To comfort her until she was calm, and then talk her through the truth of who he was, slowly and rationally. To run her a bath. Rinse away the tension and the grime. Make lo—

He cut the thought off, before it could manifest completely. That was a dangerous path to go down. In fact—he turned his attention to Loki—he had other priorities. Like keeping her alive. His desires weren’t as important as her survival

He sneered, and balled his hands into fists again. Even if it wasn’t the curse, the accidents all hinged on Loki. And that meant, because of his own interaction with her, Eli had put her in danger. He wasn’t going to let her suffer again, but he could turn his frustration on Loki. “Seriously, what’s your issue with her?”

Loki rolled his eyes. “I already told you. I hate seeing you happy.”

Eli roared and lunged. He had to make sure she was safe. That this wouldn’t happen again.

Loki shook his head. “Not today. Probably not for several centuries.” He vanished before Eli reached him.