Denise Swank - The Curse Keepers

Starting tomorrow morning, I was changing. No more flighty Ellie. I was going to be mature and responsible. I was going to figure out who I was. And I was giving up men. At least until I figured out me a little better.

As I turned to go back inside, I noticed someone in the shadows, six feet away. My hand froze on the doorknob.

The figure stepped out of the darkness, and my heart jolted.

It was him .

“What are you doing here? Are you a stalker?”

A slow smile covered his face, and he moved toward a chair on the corner of my small porch. “If I were a stalker, would I really admit it?”

Good point. But stalker or not, finding him on my porch freaked me out. “Why are you here? How did you find me?”

He leaned back and crossed one leg over his thigh, tilting his head with a self-confidence he didn’t have earlier that afternoon. “Ellie, you know why I’m here.”

He knows my name . Wait. Of course, he did. He’d read my name tag. But that still didn’t explain how he knew where I lived.

He grinned, waving toward my chest. “You might want to cover up.” He shrugged with a smirk. “Or not. It’s entirely up to you.”

I glanced down to see my dress still partially down, exposing my bra. Jerking my dress up, I pressed my back into the door. “What are you doing here?”

He set his elbows on his thighs and leaned forward. “We have less than a week. We need to make a plan.”

A plan for what? I nearly groaned when I realized what he meant. I shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His eyes widened slightly.

I couldn’t deal with this right now. “You need to go.” I turned my back to him and started to open the door, but he moved behind me, inches away, his mouth close to my ear. A small electrical charge ran up the length of my body, like when you put your hand in front of a TV screen.

This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be real.

“You do know what I’m talking about.”

My breath came in short pants. Was he some crazy lunatic? He had to be. Why else would he be here? Maybe I should scream . “I’m warning you. Leave or I’m calling the police.”

He backed up, and I whirled around to face him. His hands were upraised in surrender. “I only want to talk, Ellie. Can we talk?”

My heart was a runaway freight train, and I could hardly catch my breath. “How did you know where I live?”

“It wasn’t hard to find out.”

“That didn’t answer my question.”

He shrugged and leaned his back against the post supporting the roof over my porch. “Does it matter? What matters is what started this afternoon.”

“I don’t know what you think happened this afternoon, but it’s all in your head. I’m not interested in dating you. I have a boyfriend.”

He looked over the railing. “That guy?” Turning back to me, he smirked as his eyes roamed my body, then rose to my face. “Well then I guess it’s a good thing that’s not what I’m interested in.”

My mouth dropped at his insult. Why wasn’t he interested? What the hell is wrong with me ? “Then what are you doing here?”

His voice lowered. “I’m here about the curse, Ellie.”

I turned around in a panic, my fingers fumbling at the door. “There is no curse.”

“You’re denying it exists?”

“Do you not understand English? That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“You’re a Curse Keeper, Ellie. You can deny it all you like, but that doesn’t make it any less true. We opened something this afternoon, something dark and ugly. It’s up to us to deal with the aftermath.”

I whirled around again, my body blazing with anger. “I didn’t do this! You showed up at my restaurant! You grabbed my hand.”

“I couldn’t help grabbing your hand. It was like I couldn’t control the urge. You felt it too, like you wanted to get away but you couldn’t.”

How did he know? I forced myself to calm down, especially when I saw the amusement in his eyes. “What kind of sick game is this? What are you up to?”

He stepped away from the railing and moved in front of me. He’d changed shirts since he’d been in the restaurant. This one was darker and tighter, hugging the muscles of his arms and chest. My body noticed and my body heat rose. But God help me, I was not going to fall for this arrogant son of a bitch.

“You feel that, don’t you?”

I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

He grinned. “How do you explain this afternoon?”

“Asthma attack.”

A sexy as hell look crossed his face. “And now?”

“I can breathe just fine right now.”

His gaze dropped to my chest, then up to my eyes again. “Oh, really?”

The breathing trouble I suffered from now was nothing like that afternoon. I wasn’t sure that fact made the current situation any better.

“I’m not talking about your lack of breath. I’m talking about what we feel standing next to each other.”

I bet he wouldn’t have any trouble getting an erection . Dear Lord in heaven, where had that come from? I lifted my chin and shot him a withering glare. “And here I thought you weren’t interested.”

A slow smile spread across his face. “I’m not. Trust me, Ellie. You’d know if I was.” His statement sounded like a promise.

I swallowed.

“I’m talking about the electrical current between us. You can’t deny it’s there. It’s part of the curse. It’s part of the story that’s been passed down. You have to know this.”

I didn’t. I didn’t remember anything about the other Keeper except that he or she was a descendant of Manteo. “There is no curse.”

Exasperation flooded his eyes. “Why are you denying it? This is what you were born to do. Four hundred years of waiting, and it comes down to you and me.”

“That damn curse can wait another four hundred years because I don’t want any part of it.” I tried to turn around again, but he grabbed my arm and pushed me back against the door, his body pressing against mine. The current between us intensified, and it gave me smug pleasure to see his eyes dilate and widen in surprise. He felt it too. And it wasn’t just an electrical current.

But the intention of his invasion of my personal space was far from amorous. His voice lowered. “You can’t ignore this. Whether you like it or not, you’re part of what’s happening. The spirits have already been set loose—they’ll flee at a slow trickle to start, but they’re loose all the same. Have you felt them?”

I didn’t answer. He really believed this.

“You have, haven’t you? A feeling that you’re being watched? Like something is lurking in the corner, in the dark?”

I refused to confirm that I had. “You’re right. I have sensed something lurking in the darkness. You.”

He tensed, his anger pouring off of him in hot waves. “We have a week to take care of the gate. Don’t waste time denying it’s real.”

I splayed my hands on his chest and shoved him away, my own anger exploding. “You do not get to tell me what I can or cannot do. I don’t even fucking know you . You show up outside my front door, lurking in the shadows. If I have anything to be worried about, it’s you . There is no curse. It’s all a bunch of made-up crap that caused my family nothing but trouble. It’s probably someone’s idea of a sick practical joke. Well, guess what? I’m not listening to another word of this. Now get the hell off my porch before I call the police.”