“I don’t know how,” I admitted softly, and Victor granted me a tender look.
“Then we will make you a deal,” he said before glancing to his brother, no doubt relaying exactly what that was with just a look.
“What deal?” I asked fearfully as I looked from one to the other.
“Forget about the curse.”
“What?” I gasped.
“Forget about anything that witch told you, and act as you would, as you did before you knew anything about it. Be yourself with us, Nessa, and allow us to be the same. Allow us to care for you, to keep you safe and to see what road this relationship takes us down naturally, without restraint or doubt on your part,” Victor said, and as if to emphasize it, he began stroking gentle fingers across my belly just where my tank top met my pants. A slither of bare skin that he needed to touch, to connect with. It was maddening as much as it was addictive. Just like the way I could barely think with these two being naked next to me with so much muscle on show.
“But how am I to…?”
“Just let it go, sweetheart. As I think it is clear that she was not to be trusted, so why continue to trust her in this?” Tal asked, making a lot of sense.
But of course, I didn’t need to ask myself why, because I already knew. Both of them being cursed into loving me made much more sense than this being actually Fated. And why? Because the bad was easier to believe and, in my life, disappointment had become my life’s motto.
It was hard to love yourself when you didn’t know what it looked like. When it wasn’t something you recognized because no one had ever loved you before. It was a life lesson that skipped me by, thanks to shitty parents, a shitty upbringing, and even shittier relationships that followed. Which was why I told them honestly,
“Because in my life, love has always been a lie.”
They both gave me a gentle, tender look of regret, before moving in and holding me close. Then they eased me down so I was lying flat, sandwiched between them. Tal with his arm across me, his hand curled at my hip, whereas his brother’s arm was tucked across me under my breasts. Both were holding me tight because my words clearly affected them. But it was Victor who leaned in closer to whisper against my cheek.
“Until one day, it isn’t.”
I closed my eyes and let a single tear seep from beneath my lid as the power of these five words penetrated. And when they did, it was so deep and profound. But I didn’t tell the brothers this. No, instead I cut the minute’s silence by asking,
“And this deal, what’s my side of the bargain?”
“Easy, if after time we can’t prove to you the curse isn’t real, we will simply let you go.”
I felt Tal’s arm tighten as if the thought was one that he couldn’t bear. As for me, I tensed also, because it seemed too easy and again, something I didn’t know if I could trust.
“You would let me go?”
“We would, but only if we wouldn’t be able to prove to you the curse is not real after a considerable amount of time,” Victor said, making me question,
“And what exactly constitutes as a considerable amount of time in your book?”
He grinned as he cupped my cheek, turning my face fully to look at him.
“What do you think?” he asked, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips.
“Until retirement?” I joked, making him laugh.
“Try until we find the witch and kill her,” Tal whispered from my other side, making me gasp.
“I don’t understand.”
“All spells cast by a witch die the moment they do. So, if what she told you was correct and if by some fucked up miracle on her part she was able to cast the curse, it wouldn’t matter, for if she died… so would the curse she cast.”
My mouth dropped open a little as my mind spun with the possibility. Because if what they said was true, then it was the only way to know for sure.
“You know I kind of have a negative view on the whole killing thing, right?”
Tal laughed, whereas Victor allowed himself to fully smirk at me, as if what I had said was funny.
“Yes, well lucky for you, we don’t,” Tal commented, making me grumble.
