Page 23 of Cursed Magic

I shook my head, both answering him and trying to dispel the haze from the kiss and the intoxicating pull of his presence. “No. It wasn’t you…it was me,” I stammered, my heart racing from how close I’d come to losing myself. “I put too much strain on my injury.”

“Oh, well…” His cheeks reddened. “If you want to go to our room, I have no problem removing your shirt and my sweatpants so it doesn’t hurt you again,” he breathed.

My wolf inched forward, wanting me to rub my body all over him so we’d smell like one another. But I bit my bottom lip and averted my eyes, trying to keep myself grounded and not lose control again.

Of course, my gaze trailed down him, and my body heated even more…until it landed on the white dressing of his wound. Fresh crimson blood seeped through the formerly pink-tinged bandages that served as yet another reminder of why we couldn’t let ourselves get carried away. As much as every fiber of my being wanted to continue what we’d started, the reality of our situation was critical for so many reasons that we couldn’t even count them on both hands.

“We need to get you back to bed,” I said firmly, forcing my voice to remain steady.

He let out a hasty breath. “I’m so glad to hear you say that. I’mallabout continuing what we started.”

“That’s not what I meant.” I pointed to his torso. “You’re bleeding again. We need to check your wound.”

Ryker’s confident smile faltered, replaced by a grimace of pain. The flush that had colored his cheeks moments ago drained away, leaving him pale and drawn. His hand instinctively went to his side.

“It’s nothing,” he tried to protest, but the weakness in his voice betrayed him.

I stepped closer, my hand reaching out to steady him. The moment my fingers brushed his skin, the spark flared between us, stealing my breath.

I took a step back. The connection ebbed but didn’t completely disappear. My wolf whined in protest, desperately wanting to be close to him, but I refused to tempt Fate again.

I’d already messed up by kissing him; if I didn’t set boundaries now, there was no telling what I might do next. “No, you need actual rest. Right now. You nearlydiedtonight and lost a shit ton of blood.”

His jaw clenched, but the pallor of his skin and the faint beads of sweat on his brow proved he was worse off than he was trying to appear. His usual alpha confidence wavered, replaced by a vulnerability that made me want to protecthim.

“But I didn’t.” He winked. “And kissing you and feeling your body against mine is my preference over sleep.”

I crossed my arms, arching an eyebrow. “You’re bleeding again, and you just spent the last hour arguing with me and then kissing me instead of letting your body heal. I c-can’t see you like that again.” My voice broke on the last sentence, which I hadn’t even meant to say. I didn’t need to encourage him.

The corners of his mouth tipped upward, and he leaned in closer. “You can’t see me like what?”

I swallowed hard, schooling my expression into one of neutrality even as the heat of embarrassment flooded my body. “Injured. Bleeding out. Vulnerable.”

“Ah…” The flecks of his eyes warmed to gold. “So you do care. I’m glad we can both admit that now because I’d die to protect you and everyone you love.”

When the hallway remained clear of the scent of sulfur, I couldn’t even question whether he meant those words. And the scariest part was that I felt exactly the same way about him. In less than two weeks, he’d become just as important to me as my sister, which shouldn’t have been possible. I wasn’t certain how we’d evolved from him being a gruff asshole to begrudging allies tothis. I’d fallen for him.

But I couldn’t admit that to him.

“I care about a lot of people’s survival,” I deflected, crossing my arms. “Not just yours.”

He chuckled, a deep rumbling sound that unnerved me. “Nice try, lil rebel. But we both know that’s not entirely true.”

The way my heart skipped a beat told me we needed to end this conversation before things got even more complicated between us.

His eyes sparkled. “So, are you still going to sleep with me?”

Memories of sharing a bed for the past several nights sprang into my head. Every inch of me wanted to, which meant I definitely shouldn’t. “No, I need to check on Briar and stay close to her. But I’ll walk you back to your room to make sure you actually rest.”

He pouted. “Afraid you won’t be able to control yourself if you get too close?”

I rolled my eyes, refusing to take the bait. “More like afraid you’ll reopen that wound and bleed out in the middle of the night.”

“If it weren’t for your sister…” He shrugged and then grimaced from the movement. “I’ll allow you to have this one night.” He stuck out his tongue and wrinkled his nose, but his irises darkened in discomfort.

I couldn’t prevent the small smirk that played across my lips, which helped hide my worry. “Oh, you’llallowme? Howgraciousof you.”

His eyes narrowed, and he growled, “Watch it, lil rebel. If you keep it up, I may have to punish you.”

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