She threaded the edge of the sheets through her fingers. “He’s a pilot and is away a lot, He visits when he can.” At her clipped tone, he could tell talking about her father was a touchy subject, so he dropped it.
“Who else has experienced the curse?”
“My sister Kaitlin is also divorced. It only lasted six months. Liz was about to get married, but he ran off before the ceremony. My grandfather died.”
“Wait… This curse causes death too?” He lifted onto an elbow.
“He’s been the only one.”
“How old was he?”
“Eighty-one,” she answered.
“Did your grandparents stay married until he died?”
“Yes.” She blinked with surprise like it had only just occurred to her that there was a relationship that had lasted.
He raised an eyebrow. “Then it didn’t curse everyone.”
“I guess not, but their relationship wasn’t a loving one.”
“But it lasted. Your grandfather never left your grandmother. Maybe this curse is just an old wives’ tale.” No maybe about it. “And relationships can last.”
She pushed away from him and sat up. “That’s just one amongst hundreds.”
“Hundreds? These men had to last a while in relationships to have hundreds of ancestors to have this curse continue to the present day. Or did they go around getting every woman they met pregnant?”
She bounded off the bed, dragging the sheet with her and holding it to her chest to cover her naked body. He inwardly sighed. Roadblock. There would be no more sex tonight. Or ever. Why didn’t he just agree with her and shut his big mouth?
“Jade, I’m sorry.”
He reached out a hand to pull her back into bed. She turned her nose up at it and went searching for her clothes. What she didn’t know was that while she covered her front with the sheet, her back was bare-arsed naked. And he was getting the best view in the house.
He leaned back on the headboard and placed his hands behind his head. Damn, she looked amazing. Even with her flaming hot temper.
When she glanced over her shoulder, following the direction of his gaze, she squealed and wrapped the sheet around her whole body, throwing him a dirty look.
He shrugged. “Can’t blame a guy for looking.”
That earned him an eye roll.
“Jade, come back to bed.”
With her clothes held to her chest, trying to keep the sheet in place, she sighed. “I’m always getting teased. It would be nice if one person, especially the one I just bumped bodies with, took me seriously.”
Well, now he felt like shit for upsetting her. “It’s not every day you hear about witches and curses.” He rubbed a hand along his jaw. “Stranger things have happened in the world. I’ve always tried to be open-minded, and I will about this too.”
It was all he could come up with without pissing her off again. And for now, it was for the best Jade believed in the curse. Because whatever was going on between them couldn’t go past the bedroom. He couldn’t offer her more.
One day she’d stop believing in the curse because she’d love some lucky bastard who fought hard enough to stay. Unfortunately, it couldn’t be him.
“Come back to bed,” he said again. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
A line appeared between her brow as she bit her lip. “Because you’re only here for a few weeks, we should make the most of it. Not argue. It would be a shame to go home now.” The clothes she held dropped to the floor.
“A big shame. But you know what can be better than sex?” he asked.
Jade raised an eyebrow.
