He hissed as she drew the cool cloth over his skin.
'You haven't told me about your day,' he said breathlessly.
Grace choked on the happiness and love that filled her. Every day, he asked her that. Every day, she looked forward to coming home to be with him.
She had no idea what she would do when he was gone.
Forcing herself not to think about it, she focused her attention on taking care of him.
'Not much to tell,' she whispered. She didn't want to burden him with what his mother had said. Not while he was like this. He'd been hurt enough in his life; she had no desire to make it any worse.
'Are you hungry?' she asked.
'No.'
Grace settled down by his side. She spent the night alternating between reading to him and bathing his feverish skin.
Julian didn't sleep that night. He couldn't. All he could feel was Grace's skin on his, smell her sweet floral scent. It invaded his head and made his senses reel. Every nerve in his body screamed for her.
Grinding his teeth, he clenched the silver chains in his fists and fought down the swirling darkness that tried to claim him. He didn't want to surrender to it.
He didn't want to close his eyes and miss a minute of being with Grace while he was still sane and whole. If he let the darkness take him, he might not wake up from it until he was in the book. Alone.
'I can't lose her,' he whispered. The very thought of it shredded what little of his heart he still possessed.
The clock in the hallway struck three. Grace had fallen asleep a short time ago. She lay with her head and hand on his belly, her breath falling gently across his stomach.
He could feel her hair tickle his skin, her warmth seeping into his soul.
What he wouldn't give to be able to touch her.
Closing his eyes, he laid his head back and allowed himself to dream for the first time in centuries. He dreamed of nights spent with Grace. Of days laughing by her side.
He dreamed of a day when he could love her as she deserved to be loved. A day when he would be free to give himself to her. He dreamed of having a home with her.
Most of all, he dreamed of children with happy, gray eyes and sweet, impish smiles.
Julian was still dreaming of those things when the morning light broke and the clock struck six and Grace woke up.
She rubbed her face against his chest, nuzzling him in a way that was sheer torture.
'Good morning,' she said, smiling.
'Good morning.'
She bit her lips as she ran her gaze over his body, her brow wrinkled by concern. 'Are you sure we have to do this? Can I not let you up for a little bit?'
'No!' he said emphatically.
She picked up her phone and dialed Beth. 'I'm not going to be in for a few days, can you take some of my clients?'
Julian frowned at her words. 'You're not going to work?' he asked as soon as she hung up.
Grace couldn't believe he'd ask her such a question. 'And leave you here like this?'
'I'll be all right.'
She looked at him as if he'd lost his mind. 'What if something happened?'
'What?'
'The house could burn down, or someone could come in and do who knows what to you while you're helpless to stop them.'
Julian didn't argue. He just relished the fact that she was willing to stay with him.
By mid-afternoon, Grace could see how much worse the curse had become. Every inch of his body was coated with sweat. The muscles in his arms were taut and he seldom spoke. When he did, it was through clenched teeth.
Still, he would smile at her, his eyes warm and encouraging as she watched his muscles bunch and flex while he suffered through whatever seemed to be gnawing at him.
She kept bathing him, but as soon as she placed the cloth to his skin the cloth would grow so hot she could barely touch it.
By nightfall, he was delirious.
Helpless, she watched as Julian writhed and cursed as if some unseen person were flaying every inch of his body. She'd never seen anything like it. He was struggling so hard, she was afraid he would break the bed.
'I can't stand this,' she whispered. Running downstairs, she called Selena.
An hour later, Grace let Selena and her sister, Tiyana, in. With jet-black hair and blue eyes, Tiyana looked very little like Selena. One of the few white voodoo high priestesses, Tiyana owned a local voodoo shop, and gave cemetery tours on Friday nights.
'I can't thank you enough for coming over,' Grace said as she closed the door behind them.
'No problem,' Selena said.
Tiyana held a drum under one arm, and was dressed in a plain brown dress. 'Where is he?'
Grace led them upstairs.
Tiyana took one step into the room and froze at the sight of Julian writhing on the bed as he cursed the entire Greek pantheon.
Her face paled. 'I can't do anything for him.'
'Tiyana,' Selena chastised. 'You have to try.'
Her eyes wide with fright, Tiyana shook her head. 'You want my advice? Seal up this room and leave him until he goes back where he came from. There's an evil so strong watching over him that I don't dare mess with it.' She looked at Selena. 'Can't you feel the malevolence?'
Grace trembled at the words, her heart pounding. 'Selena?' she asked, desperately needing some way to soothe him. There had to be something they could do.
'You know I can't help,' Selena said. 'My spells never work.'
No! her mind screamed. They couldn't leave it like this.
Grace looked at Julian as he fought against his restraints. 'Is there someone else we can call?'
'No,' Tiyana said. 'In fact, I can't stay here. No offense, this creeps me out.' She gave a flat look to Selena. 'And you know the kind of freaky stuff I deal with on a daily basis.'
'I'm sorry, Grade,' Selena said, rubbing her hand over Grace's arm. 'I'll do some research and see what I can find out, okay?'
Her throat tight, Grace had no choice but to show them out.
Closing the door, she leaned against it wearily.
What was she going to do?
She couldn't just accept the fact that there was nothing to be done for Julian. There had to be something that could relieve his pain. Something she hadn't thought of.
Heading upstairs, she returned to Julian.
'Grace?' It was an agonized cry that wrenched her heart.
'I'm right here, baby,' she said, touching his brow.
He let out a fierce growl like an animal caught in a trap as he threw his body toward her.
Terrified, she stepped away from the bed.
Her legs shaking, Grace went to her closet and found a copy of
It seemed to soothe him. He didn't thrash about quite so severely.
Days went by, and with every one that passed, Grace's hope continued to wilt. Julian had been right. There was no way they could break the curse if he didn't come out of this madness.
Worse, she couldn't stand watching him suffer, hour after hour, without any relief. No wonder he hated his mother. How could Aphrodite allow him to go through this without doing something for him?
And he had suffered like this for centuries.
Grace was at her wits' end. 'How could you!' she shouted angrily at the ceiling.
