The Witch's Temptation

A Proposal

Alone with my mate for the first time since the night I tried to kidnap her. Emma started pulling pins out of her hair and working on getting the braid out. Her dress slipped up and I saw more of her creamy thighs.

The night I’d tried to kidnap her, I thought I’d gotten lucky. The fight with the hunters had basically ended. I came upon her using her ability to create bullets out of rocks and she killed one of the last hunters standing.

I’d never seen anything sexier than her standing there, the scent of magic heavy in the air, and her panting with the effort of using so much of her magic so often. She hadn’t noticed me, but I could see her profile from where I stood in the shadows. Her ponytail had come loose and her red hair cascaded around her slim body.

My mind left me. All I knew was that I needed to get my mate out of there. I knew she would love me if she could get to know me. I snuck up behind her and knocked her out before tying her up and gagging her.

She weighed almost nothing as I hauled her over my shoulder and started heading toward the place the hunters had parked. It was as if the goddess had presented me with the perfect opportunity. If not for the pack kid and his group looking for survivors, I would’ve gotten away with her.

Every night, I thought about how close I was to having her. Queen Bellamy wouldn’t even let me speak to Emma at the memorial and party we did a week or so later. She threatened to kick me out of the collective. I decided to behave so I would have more chances to win my mate.

“Derrick. Are you listening? I want an answer!” Emma shouted.

“I don’t know what I would’ve done if you’d slept with me, baby. I just wanted you. Maybe I would’ve just forgotten about you. But that didn’t happen.” I told her.

“Fine.” She muttered and reached behind her.

I heard the sound of a zipper and her dress dropped to the floor. My eyes widened. She was wearing a lacy blue bra and panty set. It was a darker shade of blue and made her pale skin glow.

“f**k me, Derrick. Then leave me alone.” Emma said.

Her hands went behind her and she pulled her bra off. I couldn’t control how hard I was getting as she stripped her clothes off and stalked over to me. She swayed dangerously as she made her way to me.

When she got to where I was standing, Emma’s hands went to my pants. She started unbuttoning and unzipping my pants. I snapped out of my trance as her hand dipped into my pants and she groped me.

“Emma. Stop. You’re drunk. I don’t want your first time to be when you’re drunk.” I said.

She looked up at me in shock. She pressed her lips together and looked away. Her shoulders started shaking.

“I’m sorry, baby, don’t cry. I just can’t take that from you when you’re not in your right mind.” I told her.

Emma started laughing. Her hand slipped out of my pants and she gripped her stomach as her laughter grew. She was laughing so hard she could barely breathe. I watched her get control of herself.

“Seriously? I’m twenty-five years old, Derrick. I haven’t been a virgin since I was sixteen! You must think very highly of yourself. Or not very highly of me. What? Just because I’m a little introverted and wear glasses, I must not have much experience? Or are you just convinced that whoever the goddess intended for you, must be a virgin? I guess this is just further proof that I’m not meant for you, Derrick. Go find your virgin mate. She’s definitely not me.” Emma laughed.

I felt heat rush to my face. Thank the goddess for my dark complexion. She wouldn’t see that I’d blushed.

“Sorry. I wasn’t thinking. If you want me, I’ll do it, but you might just be making me fall more in love with you.” I warned.

“I doubt it. You’re a womanizer, Derrick. Even if I hadn’t been told that by Queen Bellamy, I would’ve been able to tell by the scent of two different perfumes on you in that club. You slept with two women before you met me and you still tried to seduce me. How many have you slept with since we met?” She asked.

“None.” I replied.

“Liar! I heard your friends talking about how you nailed all but one of the female hunters, and that’s because she was married to the leader. They talked about how you did the guy’s daughter a few nights before our fight with the hunters. It was you sleeping with her and pretending to be her boyfriend that made her give up the location of the hunters’ training camp!” Emma screamed.

“I didn’t think that would count. I never slept with another woman after the night I met you. The girl was a lapse in judgement. She didn’t mean anything to me, baby. I thought about you the whole time.” I told her.

Emma sneered. “You’re disgusting.”

Her hands went back to my pants and she worked to pull them down. I didn’t know what to do. I’d had angry s*x and hate s*x, but never like this. The anger didn’t pass into the heat of passion.

“I’m not having s*x with you, Emma.” I stated firmly.

“Why not? Am I too aggressive for you? Does this mean you’ll leave me alone?” She pressed.

“I’m in love with you, damn it! Yes, at first it was that you resisted me, but I’ve been finding out more about you in the last few months. I thought of you every day I was banished to Goddess’ Tears! All I wanted to do was come back and see you! Not because I wanted to f**k you! I want to love you! My wolf wants to love you! We’ve been learning everything we can about you!” I yelled.

“I don’t care! I told you I’d never love you, Derrick. That’s never going to change! I just want you to leave me alone. I want to live my life without looking over my shoulder. If you really loved me, you’d let me go!” Emma cried.

Her words stabbed me in the heart. I couldn’t imagine going a day without seeing my Emma. She could love me. She just needed to give me a chance.

“Why won’t you love me, Emmalyn? I’ve changed everything about myself. I’ve been seeing a therapist. No one calls me Crazy Derrick anymore. I haven’t touched a woman since that hunter girl. I did this all for you. Why can’t you love me?” I asked, my heart in my throat.

“Because you don’t love me, Derrick. You don’t know how. You only know how to use. I won’t be used. Not again. If you’re not going to f**k me, then get out.” She grumbled and turned to head to her bed.

I pulled my pants back up and left her apartment, making sure to lock the door behind me. What did she mean, not again? Someone hurt my Emma and made it so she couldn’t love me.

I’d hunt him down and kill him. How could he hurt such a beautiful woman? She was beautiful inside and out. This wouldn’t stand. I needed more information.

-

About half an hour later, I was walking into a vampire bar. Everyone was welcome, but no one really wanted to spend time with bloodsuckers. My contacts told me the one I was looking for was there.

Walking in, I nodded to the vampire bartender. He looked at me with that slightly amused look vampires got when anyone did something unexpected. I looked around the bar.

At the far end of the bar I saw the man I was looking for. He was about as big as me and as pale as I was dark. He looked like a Viking who was trying to fit in during modern times.

I walked across the bar and took the seat next to him. He glanced up and scoffed.

“What do you want, Derrick? I’m not going to help you get my sister-in-law.” Finn said and took a swig of his beer/blood mix.

“I don’t want help with that. I need information. I figured you’re the man who would have it.” I told him.

“And why would I help you?” He asked.

“Because you’re bored playing househusband to your witch. You want something to do. It’s another month or two until you and your mate are going to start your travels, right? You’ve been stuck in this city since after the hunter thing was done. You’re a traveler. You have to have been hating it.” I reasoned. “I know you’ve asked Queen Bellamy for some gigs and she’s gotten you a bit, but her region is mostly at peace. There’s not much to do.”

“And you think that pissing off my Solus Amor will somehow prove amusing for me? You really are crazy.” Finn scoffed.

“Look, she never has to know. I just need you to get some information for me. I need to know about Emma’s exes.” I told him.

“Why?” He asked.

“Someone hurt her. That’s a big part of why she won’t accept me.”

“I thought a big part of why she wouldn’t accept you was because you tried to kidnap her.” Finn chuckled.

“There are multiple reasons. She closed her heart off to me before I had a chance. I reminded her of someone who hurt her. No matter the changes I make, I can’t get to her. I can’t get to her heart.” I said.

He took another drink, draining the mug and raised it to the bartender who quickly got him another. I ordered a whiskey and got carded. Vampires have a hard time with aging living beings.

I sipped my drink quietly. Finn kept shaking his head. It was like he was having a conversation in his head.

“If I do this and Amelia finds out, I’m going to be literally dead. If she tells Bellamy, then she might tell Victor and I could end up banished from the territory for helping you It could be decades before Amelia forgives me. Earth witches can hold a grudge.” He sighed.

“I know that. Does this mean you’re thinking about it?” I asked.

“You just want to know about her exes? Nothing else?” Finn pressed.

“I swear. I just need to know who it was and what he did to her. Can you find out? I promise, I won’t let Emma know where I heard it. Amelia never has to know you gave me the information.” I promised.

Finn tapped the side of his mug. He pressed his lips together.

“Fine. If it helps make Amelia feel better about leaving Emmalyn behind, I’ll do it. But you’re not just going to get into her pants and leave her, right? You’re all in on this. I know how rogues are. You don’t have a fated mate. I don’t want to just add her to your list of conquests.” He said.

“If I just wanted to f**k her and leave, I had that chance tonight. She offered herself in return for me leaving her alone. I’ve spent months watching her, learning about her. Every bit of it has made me love her even more. Maybe if I’d slept with her before my wolf decided he wanted her, I would have, but I didn’t. There’s something about my Emma. I want to hold her forever.” I admitted.

“I can smell the honesty in that statement. I’ll do it. Meet me here a week from today. I’ll do what I can.” Finn told me.

I finished my drink and put my hand out. He looked at it and scoffed before taking it and giving me a firm shake. I grinned, then headed out of the bar and back to my own apartment.

When I got there, I stripped down and climbed into my bed. I could smell my Emma on my skin still. She was on my mind.

“Goddess, please let me win her. I want Emmalyn Grove for my mate. Give us your blessing.” I whispered.

That was the first good night’s rest I’d gotten since I met Emma. Her scent enveloped me and I relaxed more than I ever had. This must be what it was like for pack wolves when they found their mates. Soon, I’d smell her every night. Soon, she’d be mine.