Page 95 of Wolf Cursed
I exhaled.
“Can we talk about you now?”
“I don’t know.” My temper returned. “Can you say something nice?”
He smirked again, and I glared.
“Well?” I demanded when he didn’t respond.
“You’re really great at invoices.”
“Ugh. I’m going home.” I started for the road, furious. Asshole Kai was horrible. Silent treatment Kai sucked too. But teasing Kai could go right to hell.
Kai appeared beside me. “Umm, home is the other way.”
“Not that home,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Whoa. What?” Kai jogged in front of me and put a hand on either shoulder, stopping me in my tracks. His voice gentled. “Ash, you can’t leave.”
“Last I checked, it wasn’t up to you.” I yanked free and stepped around him, resuming my trek down the empty road.
Kai grabbed my hand, pulling until I was forced to turn and face him.
His expression was soft now. I hated it.
“It’s not safe if you leave.”
“Thanks for the concern, but I’ll be fine.”
“Ashes.”
He was still talking in that soothing voice, and after getting the cold shoulder, it did something to me. Or maybe it was my near-death experience. I’d had a few lately. Either way, my insides stirred in a way that pissed me off even more. Why did Kai Stone have to be so damn yummy? And yet, so damn rude?
“Stop saying my name like that,” I said. “And what is with the dumbass nickname, anyway?”
He hesitated, his brow lifting. “You don’t know?”
“It’s funny that you actually think anyone tells me anything in this town.”
“Right.” He looked a little sheepish. “I might have started it after you came in that first night with those bruises.”
“You thought it was makeup,” I remembered.
“Yeah. I might have told Silas and the others that it looked like you rubbed soot on your face.”
I stared at him, not sure whether to punch him or leave him standing here. “Ashes. Soot. You’re an asshole. Got it.”
“Wait.” He stared at me, his eyes full of moonlight. “I’m sorry,” he said, and out of all the things I imagined him telling me tonight, those words definitely hadn’t been on the list.
“For what?” I asked warily. Maybe it was another trick.
“For treating you so badly before. You didn’t deserve that.”
I watched him carefully. “Just like that? You’re sorry?”
“I know, my apology probably means shit. But I did save your ass. More than once. So, I hope you’ll forgive me after tonight.”
“Is this a trick?” I looked around, eyeing the woods with newfound worry. “Is Drake out there? Or Silas?”
