Filed To Story: Cursed Legacies Series Free PDF by Morgan B Lee
“You’re an ass,” she finally mutters, kicking open the driver’s door.
I agree. Once she’s in the passenger seat, brushing snowflakes off her nose and cheeks, I carefully pull back onto the road, adjusting the rearview mirror. She glowers at me, and I laugh.
“Something bothering you, love?”
“Stop calling me that. You know you’re bothering me. Have you been following me since this morning?”
“Maybe.”
She folds her arms when I take the next exit, following the directions I memorized earlier. “This is the wrong way.”
“Nope,” I say chipperly, popping the ‘p.’ “This is precisely how we get to our lodgings for the night. If you don’t trust my word for it, call one of the others to make sure.”
My little obsession stares at me for a moment before swearing with surprising vigor, glaring out the window. “You all planned this.”
“Mostly, it was Decimus, but yes.”
“And this storm…” She scowls.
“Frost’s doing,” I confirm, further amused when she flips me off for laughing.
Soon, I turn into the roundabout pull-in area for a large, beautiful inn lit up with holiday lights that glow in the thick snow flurrying around us. The luxurious inn is a fair distance from the rest of a nearby small town, set off the road with a backdrop of woods.
Maven takes it all in and huffs. “I’m not staying here.”
“Then you’ll accept being snowed in here with me?” I ask hopefully. “I can slip into Limbo to travel and bring back anything you want. Food. Blankets. Lingerie.”
She gives me a dry look, grabs her bag, and gets out, slamming the door behind her.
It was worth a try.
I turn off the car and join her. As we approach the entrance of the massive colonial-style inn, Crane opens the door and smirks at Maven, who is carefully controlling her expression to look bored. After days of watching the others interact with my keeper from a distance, I note that the way he’s looking at her is different from yesterday. He seems far less frustrated yet even more possessive, with an edge of desire he doesn’t bother to hide anymore.
Interesting.
“Welcome,” he murmurs.
She walks right past him into the inn foyer, looking around at the impressive interior. I knew Frost would probably pick the most expensive, luxe option of this entire area, but I must admit it’s a gorgeous place to stay with our keeper, all historic Colonial-style architecture but with a modern high-end touch. Glittering chandeliers, plush carpets, golden accents, and a beautiful staircase leading up to the second story.
But when I try to step through the threshold, I come up against an invisible wall.
Of course. Damn that blood fae.
“Where are the humans who manage this inn?” Maven asks over her shoulder, jaw set.
“Gone for now. Everett rented the entire place,” Crane says, nodding down one long hallway to our left. “The kitchen is that way. Baelfire is preparing an early dinner for you since Crypt never mentioned you stopping for food. I can take your bag?—“
“What you can do is fuck off,” she interrupts, glaring at each of us in turn. “How many times do I have to reject you assholes before you get it through your thick heads that
I don’t want you?”
Crane steps closer to her, a smirk twisting his lips as he leans down to whisper, “Keep lying to yourself if you want. But I reject your lies, sangfluir.”
That’s a fae word I don’t know, but Maven does because she presses her lips together before finally sidestepping Crane. Even with the oversized cargo pants she has on, we both watch the sway of her ass as she ascends the stairs to find a guest room.
When she disappears around a corner, I look pointedly at Crane. “Invite me in.”
“I think not,” he shrugs nonchalantly. “We’re all safer with you out there.”
I offer a dark smirk. “You think so? Because even with all his many intricate wards and blood-drenched dreamcatchers, it only took me a couple of hours to get through to your uncle and infest his mind.”
My taunt works. Crane is immediately on edge, his red glare pinning me, and I think we might finally get to draw blood for blood. But then Decimus appears from the hallway to our left, rolling his eyes at the two of us. As if we’re ridiculous when he’s the one wearing a frilly white apron.
“What part of play nice don’t you two dickheads get? Just come in already, Crypt.”
Immediately, the invisible wall disappears, and I step through the doorway, enjoying the way it makes Crane’s eye twitch.
“With pleasure.”
“Yeah, whatever, creep. Now, where’s Maven?” Decimus asks impatiently, his draconic-gold eyes slipping to the stairs as his nostrils flare. “Is she?—“
“Irritated? Very,” I supply.
He pulls off the apron and shoves it at me as he passes, stalking up the stairs. “Don’t let the pork chops burn,” he calls over his shoulder.
I snort. “Yes, because an incubus who feeds on dreams and hasn’t had physical sustenance in over a decade is the ideal sous chef for a romantic dinner.”
Crane ignores me, following the dragon up the stairs. And since I would much rather observe my quintet trying to find our footing with our keeper, I toss the apron over my shoulder and follow them, slipping back into Limbo.
MAVEN
It takes a lot to make me lose control. I’ve been through too much to be fazed by little things.
But they’re. Fucking. Getting. There.
I step into one of the suites of the over-the-top inn and glare at the beautiful decorations, massive four-poster bed, sprawling marble hot tub in the corner, and the connected bathroom that could fit a herd of rhinoceros in the shower. Everything looks straight out of those luxurious magazines Kenzie reads, from the display of blood-red roses and glistening crystal ware on the suite’s table to the kissing swan towels on the luscious bed.
Outside the large arched window across from the bed, wind howls and snow has turned everything white, obscuring even the trees nestled around the inn. It’s a blizzard of epic proportions, cutting off the outside world.
Cursing the gods under my breath, I put my bag on the nearest dresser and blow my hair out of my face in frustration.
Until it calms down, I’m trapped in here with these idiots just as they intended. They plotted together to manipulate my trip, forcing me to spend time with them. Trapped us all together, even though I’ve been making them miserable for days. It’s like they’re all fucking masochists and can’t get enough of me treating them like shit.
Ironically, that would almost make the gods right about making me their keeper since I’m something of a sadist.
This was supposed to be my chance to shore up my defenses against them, but now I don’t know how long I can keep my cool around my rejected matches. On top of that, my mission to get Lykoudis’s heart just got complicated.
I am nothing but deadly calm, I remind myself with determination.
I feel nothing else.
But that does nothing to still the warm hum that washes over me when Baelfire knocks on the ajar door with a shit-eating grin when he sees me. Silas’s gaze burns like he’s seeing right through me. I can feel Crypt here, too, and I wish I knew where he was standing so I could flip that smug bastard off.
“There’s my cute little raincloud,” Baelfire greets warmly, tucking his hands in his hoodie pockets as he approaches like a conscious effort to keep from touching me. “How was the drive, baby?”
Exhausting. I never knew how annoying it was to drive on icy roads. Probably because Crypt guessed right about the fact that I’ve never driven at all. But I’d seen Kenzie do it whenever we’ve gone to Halfton, and the controls were simple enough to figure out. I didn’t crash into anyone, so I consider it a success.
“Peachy, until I was shanghaied into spending time with four assholes who can’t fathom the concept of boundaries,” I deadpan.
His smile is cajoling. “In my defense, boundaries suck. I want as few of those between us as possible, Boo.”
I open my mouth to find some withering retort, but when I feel a twinge of pain in my chest, I quickly snap my mouth shut. It’s slower this time, but definitely there—that familiar pain creeping out from my center, making my throat muscles seize.
New Book: Returned To Make Them Pay
On her wedding anniversary, Alicia is drugged and stumbles into the wrong room—straight into the arms of the powerful Caden Ward, a man rumored never to touch women. Their night of passion shocks even him, especially when he discovers she’s still a virgin after two years of marriage to Joshua Yates.