Cursed Love: A Wicked Demon Tale Page 2

  “Leave me alone!” She didn’t know if she spoke those words aloud or merely wished him to understand her. Either way, Cooper didn’t release his grip.

  He said something; she could almost see his lips move, almost make out the words, but the edges of her vision were red—blood red.

  Chapter Two

  Nikki yanked herself from his grip, crawling again for the closed bedroom door. Clearly desperate to get away from him. Cooper stared at her, but her eyes—wild and black as night—stared blindly at him. Icy terror froze his blood and for a heartbeat he stood rooted to the spot.

  What in hell? What had happened to her? This wasn’t a violent nightmare. What’s happening to Nikki?

  Fear gripped him, tightened around his heart and froze him in place. Not fear of her. Never that. He was terrified for her.

  Cooper wanted to reach out—pull her into his arms and protect her from whatever was happening to her. Whatever she saw or imagined. But he couldn’t get close enough.

  Her strength when she’d tossed herself onto the floor had been like nothing he’d ever seen. She’d hurled herself from him with such ferocity it was almost primal. Preternatural. Nikki’s gaze caught his. Whatever she thought she saw utterly terrified her. She crouched before the door, like a feral animal ready to pounce.

  Cautiously crossing the few steps that separated them, careful not to make any sudden moves that might frighten her into flight, Cooper knelt before Nikki. All he knew was that he had to help her, calm her. Had to…do something. He didn’t know what, but something had taken hold of his lover and refused to release her.

  He refused to run from it. Or from her.

  The rising sun shone through the windows, casting her in a pool of bright light. But when he looked at her, Cooper felt as if the light didn’t surround her so much as shy away from her. It was odd; he’d never seen anything like it. In that moment, his mind understood whatever happened to her was no simple nightmare, but something…more.

  Nikki shook her head vigorously, honey blonde hair flying from side to side. Her hands curled into claws, and she looked as if she prepared to attack.

  Cooper didn’t care. Slowly, slowly, he reached out one hand, careful not to startle her.

  “I want to kill.” Her words were hoarse and disjointed, Nikki’s own voice overlapped with another more sinister tone. “I want to tear their throats out and take their power.”

  Cooper stopped, but didn’t back away. He believed her. The look in her midnight-black eyes, the way she crouched and watched him as a predator would its prey, told him she meant every word. She shook, her hands now digging into her naked thighs.

  “I want to kill.” He could tell every word was a chore to speak. “I can’t control this need.”

  Using the bedroom door, Nikki stood, one painful inch at a time. Cooper followed her, standing just as slowly, maintaining eye contact. He showed no fear, instinctively sensing that whatever possessed his lover wanted to see, to taste, to feel that fear. Watching her, Cooper braced himself.

  Nikki launched at him, but he easily caught her. Her hand shot out, tried not to hurt him but push him out of the way, tried to move past him. He caught her. She screamed, a warrior’s cry, but stopped just short of raking her fingers down his face. Panting, she shook in his arms, and Cooper held her close.

  Her entire body shook with effort; her breathing sounded loud and ragged in the room and her jaw clenched so tightly he thought it’d crack. Then her eyes rose to his and he saw the struggle within the terrifying black depths. The control she exerted hung by a thread, and that thread could snap at any moment. He didn’t care.

  Cooper felt the strength coursing through her small frame, felt her struggle, and knew she fought whatever had caught her in its grip. Nikki controlled it—how, he didn’t know—but Cooper instinctively understood that she did.

  “Nikki,” he whispered, his voice rough with despair. He stroked her hair and held her body close, afraid to let her go. Cooper didn’t worry she’d physically hurt him—he was terrified she’d hurt herself.

  Or worse, the thing that possessed her would overwhelm her. He couldn’t tell what happened, why she suddenly fell from their bed; all Cooper knew was that the woman he loved had changed. Or something had changed her. And he didn’t know why.

  Had it been here on the ranch? Something he’d done? Cooper couldn’t think what, but then he’d never seen anyone have a mental break right before him. No, it had to be more than that, more than a mental break.

  “Nikki,” he said again, holding her back just enough to catch her gaze. “Nikki, look at me.”

  She shook, her entire body trembling as she struggled. Slowly, almost painfully, as if every movement hurt, she raised her head. Focused her eyes on his. Her normally blue eyes were still black, an abyss of nothing as she looked at him.

  This was no waking nightmare. And he didn’t think it was a mental break, either. Whatever happened, it was very, very real. Something had taken hold of her. Stories from his childhood jumbled in his mind—stories of the devil and all the demons of hell. Shoving those thoughts away, Cooper tightened his hold on Nikki.

  If he had to fight the demons themselves, he’d do so. He would not lose her.

  Nikki took him by surprise and pushed away from him, hard enough to break free. She scrambled for the door, stumbling briefly to her knees before regaining her feet in a swift move. Her fingers curled around the doorknob, arms straining. She opened the door, but Cooper slammed it closed.

  If he let her go through that door, Cooper knew he’d lose her. Forever.

  A growl erupted from Nikki’s throat and she pressed her fingertips to the door, as if she could push the wooden barrier from its hinges and escape that way. She shook. Cooper didn’t know if it was from rage, fear, or something deeper only she saw and felt.

  But she was fighting with her own body, fighting for control of herself with another. Even as her fingers pressed harder on the door, knuckles whitening from the effort, her entire body trembled. Cooper started to speak; questions tumbled around his brain.

  He reached out and wanted to hold her, comfort her. Nikki recoiled from his touch as if he burned her.

  Then she turned. With movements steadier than they had been a bare second ago, Nikki turned around, her back pressed against the door.

  As Cooper looked at her, he watched her face and body change. The bones didn’t change, but her face was being transformed. It took him a moment to understand, to make sense of what he saw. Paint, ancient war paint, flashed over her face and curled around her limbs and torso. The markings appeared with fluidity, as if an invisible brush moved gracefully over her body. It obscured Nikki’s own features.

  High cheekbones and painted fangs. Some sort of animal—there and gone in a heartbeat. Only to reappear again, stronger now. Yes—war paint in the form of an animal with tattoos down her neck that he couldn’t understand.

  She stood strong and upright. What he saw in her at that moment was, indeed, a warrior.

  A warrior painted as a wolf.

  The image didn’t flicker over her face so much as transform it, strong and prominent.

  Transfixed, Cooper stared. No, this was not a mental break; it went far deeper than that.

  She stared at him, her eyes black rage, a glimmer of red; more than rage burned in them. But he thought he saw recognition. Did she know who he was? How much did this thing inside her understand?

  He stepped closer, careful not to touch. Not to spook her. Cooper didn’t know what this thing was but knew it tightened its grip. Her breath came in cool, harsh pants that brushed over his skin. If possible, she pressed further into the door. Further from him.

  “Fight this thing, Nikki.” The words sounded quiet in the distance between them. In touching distance now, Cooper still moved deliberately so as not to scare her. He reached out, his fingers just brushing her bare arm, her skin cooler than normal.

  Nikki recoiled from his touch. She had slipped fro
m between him and the door; he didn’t know how. She moved across the room so quickly, Cooper didn’t see her do so, couldn’t even be certain how she moved. More like a breeze than a woman walking. Her breathing sounded labored, as if it hurt her to simply draw air in; she gasped, but he couldn’t make out the words.

  “I’m here,” he whispered. He stayed where he was, coiled to reach her in an instant. “It is just me. There’s no danger.”

  “Cooper.” The word was barely audible over her labored breathing. He held her gaze, the animalistic intensity of it.

  The war paint vanished, drained from her face as if being washed away. The trembling returned as it did so, until her face was once more hers. Nikki sighed a long, grateful sigh of relief, and looked up at the ceiling. When she returned her gaze to his, once more the bright, beautiful blue he loved, she almost smiled.

  “Cooper,” she repeated stronger.

  Her legs gave out. Cooper moved across the room in one long stride and caught her before she collapsed to the floor. His own chest hurt when he breathed and his heart raced, but he held her tight. If Nikki said more, he didn’t hear her over the roar of his own fear.

  He held her close and lowered them to the floor. For once, he didn’t know what to do, didn’t know what happened next. Nikki felt soft and warm, like she always had in his arms; her supple, feminine body fit against his perfectly.

  But the fear wouldn’t subside. Holding Nikki tight, the wall solid and real against his back, Cooper realized he shook as well. He tried to control himself, to calm his jumbled mind, but it was no use. Never in his life had he felt such fear and such overpowering terror as he had this morning.

  Never had he been frightened for himself. His terror had been for Nikki. He couldn’t lose her.

  His fear wasn’t over facing the monster inside of her but because a monster possessed her, could take her from him. He held her tighter, unwilling to give this thing in her any purchase.

  Time meant nothing as they sat against the wall. The sun rose higher; Cooper tracked its progress through the window but couldn’t bring himself to move, to rouse Nikki. Whether she slept or not didn’t matter. She was Nikki again, his Nikki.

  He stroked her hair and held her head against his chest and knew she calmed. He felt the anger, the murderous rage, the preternatural strength drain from her. Cooper closed his eyes but couldn’t sleep, couldn’t stop the thoughts whirling through his mind.

  Finally Nikki stirred, raising her head and pushing away from him. He let her go, sensing she needed the space. She looked at him, her blue eyes bright, and he watched a range of emotions race across her face.

  Fear, embarrassment, anger, hopelessness.

  Then she shook her head and stood, quickly backing away from him. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, and her voice cracked. “I’m sorry.”

  She whirled from him and clambered to the dresser where she kept her clothes. “I have to leave,” she mumbled as she tugged on panties and jeans.

  Her fingers fumbled with her bra, and with a gentle hand, Cooper stopped her movements. He took the material from her and dropped it to the bed. No way in hell was he letting her leave. Letting her go to face this alone.

  Whatever it was.

  “I need to leave,” Nikki repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, tears shining in her eyes. “Cooper, I need to—” Her voice cracked.

  “Nikki,” he said calmly, amazed at the evenness of his voice. “What do you know about this? What can you tell me?”

  Her gaze met his then slid away. “Nothing.” And he knew she lied. “I can’t stay.”

  “Yes you can,” he said, forcefully. He took her arms and shook her, compelling her to look at him again. He didn’t like that she lied to him; it snapped the thin control he held on his emotions.

  “Tell me,” he insisted, panic making his voice sharp. “What happened here? It’s obvious you do know something—tell me what happened!”

  “What do you want to hear?” she demanded, tossing her head back as she met his gaze. “That I’m mad? That you’ve been sleeping with a madwoman all this time? Someone who could’ve cut your throat at any point? Well you have,” she snapped.

  She took a deep breath and added in a slightly calmer voice, “And I am. And I’m sorry. That’s all I know to say.”

  Shaking her arms, she tried to break free from his grip, but Cooper refused to let her go. That spark of absolute terror remained, her words fanning the flames of it, but he bit back the fear and held her anyway. Nikki glared at him, but he couldn’t release her. If he did, she’d run and never look back; he’d never see her again. She’d flee from his life as quickly as she’d entered it.

  “If you’re mad,” he said evenly, forcing a calmness into his voice he didn’t feel, “then I am as well. What I saw wasn’t insanity. It was something else, something far darker, and it had a stranglehold on you.”

  Nikki’s eyes widened, and he clearly saw her disbelief at his words. He watched her steadily, determined to make her understand he was not leaving her.

  She shook her head but continued to look at him as if reevaluating him. She didn’t deny his words; rather, he thought she tried to work out what he said versus what she’d expected from him. Cooper knew what she thought; it didn’t take a genius to know she assumed he’d think her crazy. He’d bet whoever else had seen this transformation had thought her truly insane.

  But then he’d bet his ranch no one else loved her as he did.

  “Tell me what this is, damn it!” he shouted. He hadn’t meant to shout at her, but fear superseded all else and added an edge to his words. “I’m not going to lose you and I’m sure as hell not going to let you go.”

  All at once, Nikki relaxed. She didn’t continue to struggle free from his grasp, didn’t try to push him away. The smile she gave him was sad, a broken half-smile that only added to the sorrow she exuded.

  “No.” Nikki shook her head and stepped back, though he hadn’t released her. “I don’t want this to touch you. Please, Cooper, just forget what you’ve seen. And forget me.”

  “Hell no.” Cooper’s hands tightened on her arms then loosened. He didn’t want to hurt her. “I’m not going to let you go,” he promised. Fear at losing her clawed his gut even as fear over what happened to her tried to blank his mind. “And I’m sure as hell not going to forget you.”

  “Cooper—” she protested.

  “Forget it,” he growled. “I want to hear everything.”

  Taking a deep breath, he stepped back. He still blocked her exit, certain she’d take the first chance to escape. His jaw clenched, he watched her. He wasn’t angry.

  With absolute certainty he knew whatever had its claws inside her had been done to her.

  “I’ve seen this sort of thing before.”

  Nikki jerked with surprise or disbelief, or maybe a combination of both. But her focus was no longer on escaping, but on him.

  “The war paint, the tattoos. I’ve seen it applied in dark rituals, never like…” He trailed off, not certain how to describe what he’d just witnessed.

  Nikki started to protest again, to dismiss his words with a quick shake of her head. But she stopped, looked up at him as if just now hearing his words. Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “War paint?” she asked quietly.

  He could see the curiosity in her gaze, the hope. Cooper knew she’d been alone; she’d wrapped herself in it, keeping her distance even with the ranch hands that adored her. Even with him, she still held an air of aloofness despite the closeness they shared—not only in bed but outside it.

  It was a slow process, the break in her defenses, but he saw the crack in the wall she’d built around herself. Nikki nodded, reluctant, uncertain, and absolutely terrified despite her acceptance.

  She licked her lips. “You’ve seen something like this before?” she asked with that same hesitation.

  “Yes.” He nodded. “There are people who believe, all around here. I am not afraid of this.”

 
Nikki nodded again. “You should be.”

  Chapter Three

  He hadn’t thrown her out.

  He should’ve tossed her out on her ass. Tossed her out with a horrified look on his face. Cursed her and ordered her never to return with the same look she’d seen on everyone’s face who’d seen her demon. He should’ve damned her to hell. With threats to call the cops or the psychiatrists.

  Worse, Nikki knew she should’ve left long before this happened, long before she’d fallen in love with Cooper, lowered her defenses, and let him in.

  Stupid. She’d been so stupid. But when it came to Cooper, she hadn’t been able to help herself. Cooper was the first time she wanted anything—anyone—for herself.

  With her fingers fumbling on the button of her jeans, Nikki had dressed. She blocked out the pity she’d seen in Cooper’s eyes when he’d left to make coffee. She’d absolutely refused to go downstairs, where anyone might walk in on their conversation.

  She didn’t get how he understood any of this. She tried to push away the confused memory of what happened, the foggy recollection of Cooper’s hand on her shoulder.

  How she’d flinched from his touch, as if he scalded her.

  Back in his bedroom, he still didn’t say a word. Just waited on her. It was kind and uncomfortable at the same time. God, why hadn’t she left before now?

  Ignoring him, the way he looked evenly at her as he waited, Nikki leaned against the window frame and focused on the one thing that mattered: “I’ve seen this sort of thing before.”

  Her stomach revolted at the idea of even a sip of the coffee he’d brought up. Nonetheless, Nikki now wrapped her hands around the warmth of the mug and wondered where the hell to start. And if she should start.

  Part of her wanted to run. Out of this room, off this ranch, and as far from Cooper as she could get. She was good at running. And Cooper didn’t need to be part of her problems. But that other part of her wanted to stay with him, take comfort in his arms, let him hold her as she confessed all that had happened.

  Finally tell someone else what she’d been though. And find out what answers he had. How he could help her.