Page 64 of Wolf Cursed
I crossed my arms. “How are you able to say the words?”
He rolled his eyes. “I can say the word ‘curse,’ Ash. It’s the specifics that get complicated.”
I hated the way his tone made it sound like I was somehow slow for not understanding it all.
“And Silas and Presley trying to kill me just now,” I snapped. “Is that complicated too?”
His expression tightened. “Their wolves see outsiders as a threat. It’s instinct to protect the pack.”
“Then why are you protecting me?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he growled.
It wasn’t an answer, really, but it felt closer to honesty than we’d been before. Something told me he was holding back. And not just about the curse or the pack. This was something between us.
“Does it piss you off that I trust you?” I asked, trying to understand.
“It pisses me off that you’re here at all.”
My chest panged at that, and I wondered why it hurt me so much to hear a rejection like that from him. Kai had never been nice to me. Had never given me reason to think he would want me around. So why did it bother me to hear him say it?
“Well, don’t trouble yourself anymore,” I said, refusing to push it. If he wasn’t going to talk to me willingly, I refused to beg. “Just take me back to Oscar’s, and I’ll be out of your hair.”
I started for the bike, but Kai grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward him. He stepped forward, closing the distance until our bodies collided. Chest, hips—and mouths.
Just like the first time, I felt my body go still in utter surprise. Kai had a way of doing that, apparently. But then his mouth moved against mine, and I felt myself responding instantly. My hands came up, wrapping around his neck as I clung to him, pressing in close before he could push me away again.
Except, this time, he didn’t do that.
His hands gripped my hips, sliding up my body and around my back. Tangling in my hair. His lips parted, coaxing mine to do the same, and his tongue explored my mouth in that same confident, pushy way he’d had since day one.
I couldn’t get enough.
A small sound escaped my throat, and Kai groaned, lifting me off my feet and backing me against a tree, kissing me harder. His hands roamed my body, and when they reached the hem of my shirt, I lifted my arms so he could pull it over my head.
Our kiss broke then, and he stared back at me, his dark eyes stormy and unsettled. His expression was intense, like he was just about to walk away. Or just about to strip both our clothes off right here and take this all the way.
My need for the latter was a liquid fire in my veins.
I reached for him, and he started to lean close again, but then his eyes dropped to my bared hip and he stopped, leaning away to look closer at the black mark on my skin.
“What is that?” he asked, looking back at me with eyes quickly turning cold in the wake of what we’d just done.
“A tattoo,” I lied in a strangled whisper.
Shit.
How could I be so stupid?
I’d completely forgotten. But then, Kai had a way of doing that to me.
“Where did you get it?” he demanded.
He’d stepped back, putting distance between us. A foot of space that felt like a chasm. His expression shuttered. Cold. Detached.
I swallowed hard, trying to think of something that wouldn’t make me sound like the enemy they thought I was.
“I’ve had it for a long time,” I said finally.
