Page 12 of Wolf's Forbidden Curse

He laughed. “Good point. Do you want me to go upstairs and talk to her?”

I thought about it for a second but then shook my head. “No, that’s okay. It’s probably better to let her cool off a bit. I’ll try to talk to her at work tomorrow. At least there, she can’t run away and slam a door.”

“I wouldn’t put it past her.”

After that, Matt and I polished off the pizza and watched the rest of the news. I went up to bed a little before midnight, pausing for a moment in front of Nic’s room. I had my hand up in the air, my knuckles mere centimeters away from the wood when I decided not to knock. If I woke her up, then whatever frustrations she had with me would only be intensified.

I told myself to just talk to her in the morning and then walked away.

In my bedroom, I got under the sheets and listened to the sound of cars driving down the busy highway outside my window. Our house wasn’t on a quaint little street or tucked away in one of the upscale Solara Bay neighborhoods. We picked it because it was the only place we could afford that had enough space for all of us, and what it lacked in charm, it made up for in personality. The floors creaked, and the windows didn’t really close all the way, but it had been our home for almost ten years now, and we loved it here. Nic and I had even talked about trying to put an offer on the place once or twice. Between our combined incomes, if the owner ever wanted to ditch the place without going for top dollar, there was a chance we could make it work.

Matt would probably have to pitch in, too. And then there was the issue with Cornelius. Nic really resented him for not being able to hold down a job and pull his weight like the rest of us. She wouldn’t want him to stay in the house if he couldn’t at least throw some money into the pot. I didn’t care as much about what Cornelius brought to the table financially. He was a great friend and the only reason I made it out of our old pack alive.

I owed him everything, including my unshakable loyalty.

But I was getting ahead of myself. Any dreams of buying this house were far off in the distance. Right now, we still had overdue bills and a leaky faucet that needed to be dealt with.

Like most nights, I started to drift off with thoughts of what tasks I had to accomplish the next day rattling through my head. Only this night, the last thing I remembered thinking about before I fell asleep had nothing to do with house projects or my early morning alarm.

I thought of the woman from the bar. Her beautiful face, the curve of her jaw, her pixie hair, and the way her hips moved when she ran away from me.

And her eyes.

God, those eyes.

CHAPTER 5

KATRINA

“THERE’S GLASS—ARE YOU SURE—”

Ipressed my mouth to his and lowered my bare back down onto the floor, which was sticky and slick from the spilled drinks. Somehow, I was already naked, and next I looked, so was he. This man, basically a stranger, was on top of me, and his body felt like a dream. He pushed his tongue between my teeth and tasted every inch he could reach. I moaned softly and shifted my legs open, feeling an ache deep within my core. Slowly, he guided himself inside me and?—

A boom. Metal on metal. Then a crash.

Those loud sounds brought me rudely out of my dream and back into the waking world. I opened my eyes and leapt out of bed like a cat. Years of living in not-so-safe areas, followed by a few nights spent literally on the street, had hardened me and always kept me on alert, even while sleeping. Except that morning, I didn’t need to be. Soon after being jolted awake, I realized the sounds I heard were from the garbage truck rumbling down the alley behind the bar. At the window, I watched the truck make its way to the end and then turn right. The apartment was once again quiet, and I sighed with relief.

No need to panic. Everything was fine, and I was safe.

It would take me some time to get used to that.

I glanced back at my unmade bed, still having a hard time believing this was all mine—at least for the time being—and pushed my bangs out of my face. A memory from the dream I was having flashed through my mind, and I immediately tried to shake off the feeling it left behind. A pulsing ache lingered at the base of my stomach, but once I started getting ready for the day, I became distracted by all the things I had to accomplish in the short amount of time before my shift started. I’d slept in much later than I meant to, and now I only had about an hour to spare.

First up—I needed to buy myself a better pair of shoes.

Spending that many hours on my feet had already taken its toll on my back, so I was on the hunt for a thrift store that might have a decent sneaker collection. After that, I needed to figure out where I could get a ‘food handler’s’ license for the state of North Carolina. Finally, if I had enough time, I was hoping to go shopping for something for Al. I was so bad at verbal thank yous that I often preferred to find a little gift instead. I didn’t know what Al liked, but I thought if I looked around long enough, something would jump out at me.

I threw on some shorts and a tank top and hurried down the steps of the apartment’s back entrance. There were a few tourists roaming the streets and a gaggle of children wearing bathing suits headed for the nearest beach. I couldn’t help but smile when I saw two younger girls bickering over who would get to sit in the pink chair and who would have to sit in the blue one.

“You always get the pink one! It’s not fair!”

“It is too fair,” said the taller girl. “We did rock, paper, scissors and I won.”

“But you cheated!”

“Did not!”

“Did too!” When the shorter one stuck her tongue out, it struck an unexpectedly emotional chord in me, and I looked away.

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