Jinxed: A Paranormal Why Choose Standalone

Iran up the stairs as fast as my feet would carry me.
I didn’t need to see where Luther had gone to know where he would be.

The library.

As soon as our eyes had connected across the sprawl of naked bodies, a flush spread across my cheeks. It wasn’t that I didn’t want him to watch–because I did. Very much so, in fact. I had long dreamed about Luther’s hands gliding over my body, slipping between my legs, finding the sweet spot that would make me cry his name.

Of course, I was well aware this was wishful thinking at best. Luther was older than the rest of us, and I couldn’t help but feel he was more set in his ways than we were. Felix had been too, but we had worked through it. But the way Luther’s face reddened when we locked gazes, and how fast he hurried up the stairs eliminated any lingering doubt from my mind. Luther was not comfortable with whatever Felix, Theo, and I had going on. Disappointment weighed on my chest, knowing my dreams would remain just that–dreams.

I still didn’t want what he had seen to impact our friendship. I cherished our quiet moments in the library, attempting to find any way out of this curse. I loved our talks in the kitchen over the weak tea he enjoyed so much. I didn’t want to lose any of our special connection.

“Luther, wait!” I called, out of breath from the lack of regular physical exercise since I’d arrived at the house. “Luther, please.”

I put my hands on my knees, catching my breath, and convincing myself I would do a better job of staying in shape from now on. Ahead of me, the door to the library clicked closed. I knew that man too damn well. All the men, really.

Everyone had developed their safe spaces, sacred to them. We all respected each other’s spaces, too. I still wasn’t sure what Felix’s was, but I was determined to peel back the layer of his secret room one day–especially as he now claimed to want to be with me.

Luther’s sacred space was the library. The weight of the world evaporated off his shoulders when he was surrounded by his books. He loved pointing out his favorites, leaving classics by my bedside table. He’d recite his favorite facts to me while we worked, his rough timbre cascading over me like a warm blanket. Because this was his safe space, I felt like I was ruining something holy by barging in, fueled by my emotions.

Not for the first time, I wondered if the house had been this dramatic before I arrived. Surely tensions existed when you were stuck with people you wouldn’t necessarily give the time of day to on the outside. But I couldn’t avoid the elephant in the room–I had changed the all-male dynamic. I took a deep breath, and turned the handle.

I called out softly, so as not to disturb the peace. “Luther? Are you in here?”

Silence was my only response. Then, from the corner of the room where we had pulled two of the overstuffed wing chairs together, I heard him. “Over here.” We had pulled them next to the window overlooking the garden while we did our useless research, as if the sunshine could inspire some helpful information that hadn’t yet come to light.

I sighed, more in relief that he was talking to me than anything else. As I made my way over, I didn’t bother waiting until I was in front of him to start my apology. “Luther, I am so damn sorry. It was rude of me to do private things in a common room. I should’ve kept it to the bedrooms. And I’m sorry you had to find out like that. I’m sure you’re absolutely disgusted with me.” I cringed at the memory as I rounded the chair to face him. I wasn’t ashamed of what we had done, but for someone who wasn’t used to it, it would be a shock. I didn’t want to hurt his feelings, or make him feel left out.

Luther sat in his chair, looking me over like he had never seen me before. His brown eyes roved over my face, my messed-up hair. They ran down my arms, and across Theo’s shirt. He reached my legs, and something unexpected happened. He laughed.

“What the hell is so funny?” I asked.

He pointed to my legs. “You seem to have forgotten your pants.”

I followed his finger to my bare legs and immediately blushed. It was difficult to make a serious apology about sex when I was standing in front of him with just my shirt and panties on. “I’m sorry. And I’m sorry about what you saw downstairs.”

“Why?” Luther ran his fingers through his curls, cocking his head at me. “Why are you sorry?”

“Um…well…” I took a deep breath, collecting myself as best I could while missing half of my clothes. “I’m sorry you had to see us all together like that. I’m sure it wasn’t what you wanted to see. I promise to keep sex in the bedroom from now on.”

He patted his knee. “Come here.”

Daddy Luther, popped into my head, because his tone didn’t leave any room for argument. But I couldn’t think of him as a father figure anymore, not after his reaction. In the same breath, why was he asking me to sit on his lap? I tugged my shirt down as far as it would go, barely covering my ass, and sat gingerly on the edge of his knee. He put his hand on my leg, his palm large enough to warm a good portion of my bare skin. His touch on my body, when I was still turned on from the events in the basement, was enough to send a new rush of warmth to my pussy. I was certain he could feel it, and I was too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

“Why do you think I didn’t want to see you?” he whispered.

“You just seemed weirded out. I felt horrible.” I sighed, looking down at my knees.

“Oh, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Is that what you thought?”

His hand gripped my thigh reassuringly, and I nodded. “I guess I just…” For some reason, I felt the need to explain myself, to make sure he understood why I was doing what I did. “I needed something real to cling on to, you know? Everything I had taken for truth was snatched away the moment I stepped foot in here. But sex, sex is still real. Pleasure is still the same. It keeps me grounded.”

“What even is reality? Do you need something tangible for it to be real?” Luther’s hand released my thigh, and instead began stroking my skin in a hypnotic pattern. I leaned into his touch, only half listening when he continued. “I imagine just the thought of my hands on your skin while you dream at night feels pretty damn real to you.”

I sat up straight, but he clung to my legs. There was no way he was saying what I thought he was saying. Did Luther want me the way I wanted him? Had I misread the entire situation? There was only one way to find out.

I finally turned to face him, my knees resting against his taut stomach. “I was worried you didn’t want to be my friend anymore,” I murmured, watching his lips.

Luther’s mouth curled into a smile. “I don’t want to be your friend anymore.”

He trailed his fingers up my leg, brushing against the edge of my T-shirt. My body was dynamite with a short fuse, and Luther held the match. I couldn’t breathe as his fingers inched higher. Maybe he was still just toying with me, all of this a big joke to him. He would laugh as I crumbled beneath his touch, and I’d never be able to look him in the eyes again.

He leaned into my space, lips pressing against my ear. “I want to be your lover, sweetheart. I’ve wanted to fuck you since the day you walked into this godforsaken house.”

My heart stopped along with my breath. I’d died and gone to heaven.

His hand brushed against the edge of my panties, where not only my desire, but also a combination of Theo and Felix soaked through. “I’ve wanted to take you into my bedroom and hear you scream my name loud enough for the others to hear. I wanted you to beg for me. I wanted to feel every inch of this tight little pussy.” His finger pushed my panties to the side, stroking my slick folds.

Holy shit. Was this actually happening, or was I dreaming? There was no way all three guys wanted me the way I wanted them, let alone were okay with me wanting all of them. That was insane. Right?

But Luther was removing my panties, slipping them down one leg and then the other. His hand resumed stroking, the tip of his finger sliding inside my still-wet pussy with every slow push. Each time it slid in, I would gasp, and my legs would open a bit more, inviting him closer.

“Fuck, Luther. I didn’t think you wanted me like this.” My breath caught as his finger dipped deeper, teasing my g-spot. Yeah. He knew what he was doing.

“Oh, quite the opposite. I’ve spent every night dreaming about what you would feel like wrapped around my cock.” A second finger joined the first, stroking me slow and hard. If he touched my pulsing clit, I would come apart in his hands. From the expression on his face, he knew it, too. “Open your legs for me, sweetheart.”

I was going to orgasm before he even put his cock in me. I widened my stance, resting my knees against either side of the chair. Luther shuffled his pants down, freeing his impressive dick. Fuck, I wanted him. I wanted him to use me hard with his cock, reducing me to nothing before I begged for release.

He looked up at me with a small smile, teasing me now with the tip of his cock. I couldn’t control my breathing, or the needy moans I made. “You ready?”

I nodded. I shouldn’t have been ready for sex again, not after the basement. But this was Luther, and his cock was edging inside me, stretching me in the most wonderful way. I threw my head back and moaned as he sank deeper. Theo and Felix weren’t small by any means, but I was going to struggle taking Luther. “Holy fuck, Luther, where have you been hiding this?”

Luther leaned forward, resting his head against me as he continued to lower me down. “Relax, sweetheart. I promise it’ll feel so fucking good.”

I was already well aware. Getting there was the problem. I pressed down another inch, slowly feeling the pressure shift into pleasure. I closed my eyes. “Fuck me,” I whispered.

“That’s the idea.” I opened my eyes to see Luther’s goofy grin. I shook my head at him, and he laughed. “What? I’m not allowed to make a joke while I’m fucking you?”

“Not if it’s going to distract you from the task at hand.”

He smirked, his eyes glossy with need. “Believe me. I can do both.” He pushed his hips up to meet me, the last bit of his cock sinking inside. I cried out as his tip reached places I didn’t know existed. “I’ve made you laugh. Now I’m going to make you come.”

Luther placed a hand on either side of my waist, lifting me up and down on him. Each time he pulled me up, I’d groan with the loss of friction, and every time he’d pull me down, I’d cry his name. I was still sensitive from the crazy basement sex, so it wasn’t long before I felt the familiar pleasure build. I locked eyes with him, and I knew he knew. He picked up speed.

I could feel him everywhere, stretching, fucking, hurting in such a good way. The pressure was becoming unbearable. He watched me, his eyes growing darker as he controlled his own release. And then my name slipped out between his lips, a combination sigh of relief and moan of pleasure.

That single word was my undoing. I gripped his shoulders as I shuddered and came, my body riding the waves of my orgasm. Beneath me, Luther gripped my skin as he pistoned his hips into me, his cock driving impossibly deeper. He cried my name again, this time more of a growl than a prayer, and he clung to me as he came.

Holy hell. We had been missing out.

I rested my head against his shoulder, enjoying the way it moved with his breath. Luther’s touch had been soothing since day one, and sex with him had made it even better. I turned to look at him, his hand still stroking my calf.

“Luther?” I asked, a thought occurring to me.

“Yeah, sweetheart?” He looked at me, those big brown eyes reflecting nothing except love and devotion. How had I missed those emotions all this time?

I snuggled deeper into his embrace. “If you weren’t weirded out, why did you run?”

He sighed, and tapped his fingers on my leg for a minute while he thought. “Have you ever had a dream so big you thought it would never come true?”

“Yeah, of course.”

Luther’s hand paused on my skin. “Seeing you downstairs with both of them was one of those dreams for me. And having it come to fruition…that was just too much for me to handle all at once.”

I pulled away, wide eyed. “You never thought you would see a woman with more than one man?”

“I grew up in a different time, Sav. Differences were shunned, not embraced.” His face tightened, and I ached to take those bad feelings away, one by one. “By the time I reached my forties, free love was a thing. But growing up, it was hidden away.”

I rested my hand against his cheek, feeling his jaw working and then softening beneath my touch. “Will you tell me about your dream?”

He leaned into my hand, giving me a soft smile. “Will you listen?”

I smiled back, leaning down to kiss him. “Every day for the rest of our cursed lives.”