Page 63 of Brutal Mate

Yet, she didn't speak. Instead, she surged forward, grabbed hold of his face in her hands and kissed him.

It was such as shock that Kane almost fell backwards. He barely managed to catch himself, grabbing the footboard of the bed to steady himself as he wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her to him.

“You…you came for me,” she whispered, stammering as if she could barely manage to speak. Her forehead pressed against his, her nose nuzzling his as if she couldn't care less about the blood that smeared across his face.

Kane shrugged. “I didn't have much choice in the matter.”

Miley pulled back to look at him, her head cocked to one side. “What does that mean?”

Her tone was defensive. Kane gritted his teeth, feeling like a fool. Why did he have to go and say it like that? Of course she would take offense.

“What I meant was, it was instinctual,” he said through gritted teeth, hoping he could salvage the situation. “I didn't even think. I just did.”

“Why?”

The question hung between them for several moments. Kane stared into Miley's gloriously green eyes and said, “I think you know why. You can feel it too, can't you?”

Even now, he could feel the physical pull towards her that made him want to take her right there on that damn bed behind her, to claim her and finally have it known that she was his and he was hers.

“I…I…yes, but I don't understand it,” Miley said, shaking her head. “I've never felt anything like this before.”

She pressed the palm of her hand against his chest and Kane gasped. Electricity surged between them. The warmth of her hand was so intoxicating that he almost forgot entirely about everything else that was going on.

She looked at her hand as if she had felt it, too, as if she could physically see the bond forming between them.

“I'll explain everything,” Kane promised, leaning forward to press his lips to Miley's forehead. “But for now, we need to get you out of here. It isn't safe.”

It took everything he had in him to grab a blanket off the bed and wrap Miley in it.

As a werewolf, he was used to being naked—hell, he'd seen almost every female member of the pack naked at one time or another, it was nothing new to him—but seeing Miley naked as she was right now was more than a little distracting.

“Come on,” he said, urging her to her feet. “We need to get you out of here.”

Pulling the blanket a little tighter around her, he wrapped her in his arms for one more time, drinking in the scent of her again to give himself strength for what he was about to do next.

When he pulled back again, he held her at arm's length and looked her in the eye. “I'm going to shift and get you the hell out of here. You need to stay close, but if I'm forced to fight, I need you to get the hell out of the way. Do you understand?”

Chapter 24 - Miley

Miley stared back at Kane, nodding.

“Are you sure?” Kane demanded. “I can't afford your stubbornness right now, Miley.”

Miley glowered back at him, baring her teeth. The wolf inside her, the one that had been seeking to control her before, now felt like it was a part of her. They were one now, and they both agreed, Kane was an asshole—a cute asshole, but an asshole nonetheless.

“I understand,” she growled through gritted teeth.

She was surprised once more as he kissed her on the forehead and said, “Good.”

Then he turned and started towards the door. He stopped in the doorway and looked back when she made no move to follow him.

“I thought I said stay close?”

Miley nodded and said, “I know. It's just I…I wanted to say…”

Kane cocked his head, looking a little irritated.

Damn, it was astonishing how relieved she was to see his cocky ass face again.

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