Page 60 of Tiger's Curse
Ren moved just a smidgen closer to me. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and then . . . waited. When I opened my eyes, he was still staring at me. He really was waiting for permission. There was nothing, and I mean nothing I wanted more in the world at that moment than to be kissed by this gorgeous man. But, I ruined it. For some reason, I fixated on the wordpermission.
I nervously rambled, “What . . . umm . . . what do you mean you want mypermission?”
He looked at me curiously, which made me feel even more panicky. To say I had no experience with kissing would be an understatement. Not only had I never kissed a boy before, I’d never even met a guy Iwantedto kiss until Ren. So, instead of kissing him like I wanted to, I got flustered and started coming up with reasons to not do it.
I babbled, “Girls need to be swept off their feet, and asking permission is just . . . just . . . old-fashioned. It’s not spontaneous enough. It doesn’t scream passion. It screams old fogy. If you have to ask, then the answer is . . . no.”
What an idiot!I thought to myself.I just told this beautiful, kind, blue-eyed, hunk of a prince that he was an old fogy.
Ren looked at me for a long moment, long enough for me to see the hurt in his eyes before he cleared his face of expression. He stood up quickly, formally bowed to me, and avowed softly, “I won’t ask you again, Kelsey. I apologize for being so forward.”
Then he changed into a tiger and quickly ran off into the jungle, leaving me alone to berate myself for my foolishness.
I shouted, “Ren, wait!” But it was too late. He was gone.
I can’t believe I insulted him like that! He must hate me! How could I do that to him?I knew I only said those things because I was nervous, but that was no excuse.What did he mean he wouldneverask me again? Ihopehe asks me again.
I replayed my words over and over again in my mind and thought of all the things I could have said that would have given me a better result. Things like, “I thought you’d never ask” or “I was just about to ask you the same question.”
I could have just grabbed the man and kissedhimfirst. Even just a simple “Yes” would have done the trick. I could have said dramatically, “As you wish,” “Kiss me. Kiss me as if it were the last time,” or “You had me at hello.” He’d never seen the movies, so why not? But, no. I had to go on and on about “permission.”
Ren left me alone the rest of the day, which gave me plenty of time to kick myself.
Late in the afternoon, I was sitting on my sunning rock with my journal open, pen in hand, staring into space, utterly miserable, when I heard a noise in the jungle near our camp.
I gasped in shock as a large black cat emerged from the trees. It circled the tent and stopped to smell my quilt. Then it walked to the fire and sat there for a moment not afraid of it at all. After a few minutes, it loped off into the trees, only to come back into the clearing from the other side. I sat still, hoping it hadn’t seen me.
It was much larger than the panther that had attacked me near the Cave of Kenhari. In fact, as it came closer to where I was sitting, I made out jet-black stripes on a dark, sable coat of fur. Bright, golden eyes scanned the camp, seemingly calculating. I’d never heard of a black tiger, but it was most certainly a tiger! It must not have seen me because, after circling our camp and sniffing the air a few times, the tiger disappeared back into the jungle.
Still, just to be safe, I sat on my rock for a long time to make sure it was gone for good.
After hearing nothing for a while, and feeling stiff, I decided it was safe to move. At the exact same second, a man stepped out of the jungle nearby. He boldly approached me, looked me slowly up and down, and said, “Well, well, well. We are full of surprises, aren’t we?”
The man was dressed in a black shirt and pants. He was very handsome, but in a darker, more swarthy way than Ren. His skin was antique-bronze, and his hair was ink-black, longer than Ren’s, but also swept back from his face and slightly curled.
His eyes were gold with specks of copper. I tried to identify the color. I’d never seen anything like it before. They were like pirate gold— the color of gold doubloons. In fact,piratewas a good way to describe him. He looked like the kind of guy who might be found gracing the cover of a historical romance novel, playing the part of a dark lothario. As he smiled at me, his eyes crinkled slightly at the corners.
I knew immediately who I was looking at. This was Ren’s brother. Both men were very handsome and had the same regal bearing. They were about the same height, but while Ren was tall, lean, and muscular, this man was heavier and brawnier, with more powerful arms. I thought he might take more after their father. While Ren, with his prominent Asian features—the slightly almond-shaped blue eyes and golden skin— surely took after his mother.
Strangely, I wasn’t afraid, though I recognized an undercurrent of danger. It was almost as if the tiger part of him had overtaken the man.
I stated, “Before you say anything, I think you should know that I know who you are.AndI knowwhatyou are.”
He stepped forward and quickly closed the gap between us. Then he cupped my chin, lifting my face for his perusal.
“Andwhoorwhatdo you think I am, my lovely?”
His voice was very deep, smooth, and silky—like hot caramel. His accent was more pronounced than Ren’s and he hesitated as if he hadn’t used his voice in a long time.
“You’re Ren’s brother, the one who betrayed him and stole his fiancée.”
His eyes tightened, and I felt a twinge of fear. He clicked his tongue, “Tch, tch, tch. Now, now. Where are your manners? We haven’t even been properly introduced yet, and here you are making wild accusations against me. My name is Kishan, the unfortunate younger brother of this one.”
He lifted a lock of my hair and rubbed it between his fingers before tilting his head. “I do have to give Ren credit. He always manages to surround himself with beautiful women.”
I was about to step away from him when I heard a tremendous bellow from the trees and saw Ren crash through the camp and leap, snarling into the air. His brother quickly moved me to the side and then leapt also, changing into the black tiger I’d seen before.
Ren was beyond rage. He roared so loudly that I felt the vibrations of it quiver through my body. The two tiger bodies smashed together in the air with an explosive clap and fell hard to the ground. They rolled in the grass, clawed at each other’s backs, and bit whenever they got a chance.
