Page 90 of The Alpha King's Curse: Part One

She rolled off him quickly and put some space between them.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

“I don’t mind. You can drool on me anytime.”

When she met his gaze again, there was a little smile on his face and amusement in his eyes. It made him look completely different from the cold man he usually was.

“I don’t drool,” she muttered, looking away again.

She remained silent while she waited to see what he would do next. Lying so close to him already had her body humming, but she couldn’t think of anything worse than being intimate with Jackson now. It had been days since he’d fucked her on the table; maybe he was ready to do it again.

After all, she was only there for one thing.

“I wasn’t angry with you.”

The quiet confession made her look at him again, but his gaze was on the ceiling.

“I’m sorry I scared you. I couldn’t control my anger with those fucking...”

His voice trailed off, and his brows furrowed as if he was getting angry all over again.

“I’m sorry,” he repeated.

Jackson didn’t strike her as the sort of person who said that word often. It would take more than that for her to forget what had happened, but this morning, for a change, none of it struck her as hard as it had that afternoon. It felt like it had happened to someone else. Her mind had disassociated her from everything, even the stuff she hadn’t been able to process before with the wolves and the growling. Strange.

But she was more than happy with that development. She needed her mind clear to escape, and being on the verge of a mental breakdown wouldn’t help.

“Why don’t you shower, and I’ll get some breakfast. We can eat on the balcony so you can get some fresh air,” Jackson said, finally turning his head to look at her.

He’d kept the balcony doors locked the whole time she’d been there, so she wasn’t going to pass up another chance to map out the place to plan her escape.

“Okay.”

She was glad she’d gone to sleep fully dressed because Jackson watched her every movement as she walked to the bathroom. It was weird. She didn’t have to look back at him to know that. It was like her body had rewired once again that she could even sense him.

She took her time with her shower, and when she finally walked out, a nice breeze came from the open balcony door. She dressed quickly in the first comfortable thing she pulled out of Jackson’s wardrobe—a pair of sweats and a t-shirt—and rushed to the balcony.

Jackson stood near the railings with his hands in his pockets, looking out over the expensive grounds of the property. She joined him before he could change his mind about her being out there. She looked down at the side where she wasn’t normally allowed to go and saw... nothing. There was nothing there except big, open spaces.

She sighed and looked over at the trees in the forest again, where she could see the roof of the house she had noticed there a little clearer. It seemed that was where Jackson’s gaze was.

“Breakfast is ready,” Jackson said as he turned to face her.

He must have showered in one of the other million rooms in the place because his hair was still damp like hers. It was funny how she hadn’t bothered with her hair since she arrived but it wasn’t the frizzy mess she was used to. She’d put it down to the quality of Jackson’s shampoo.

She looked back at the table that had already been set and the food covered on warmers. It smelled delicious.

Maybe it was because she’d been used to eating scraps so her sister could have her fill, but she didn’t remember food ever smelling so good before, even in the hotel.

“After breakfast, I’ll take you out like I was supposed to the other day,” Jackson said as he helped her onto a chair.

Going out? She felt safe in the bedroom, but what if going out triggered everything again? She was about to protest when Jackson continued speaking.

“I won’t leave your side for anything.”

And just like that, her anxiety disappeared as if he had magically willed it away.

“Is there still a lot I haven’t seen?” she asked as he poured her a mug of coffee.

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