Page 16 of Resisted

“Why would I want to kiss you?” she countered.

I pulled back, giving her a look of dismay. “Why would you want to kiss him?”

She giggled. “Good point.”

“Look, you can say no. I don’t give a fuck either way. But I suspect that until you know, you won’t stop bringing boys into the fucking barn.”

“Do you consider yourself a boy, Boyce?”

“I’m a fucking man by human terms.” Still a boy by shifters, but I wouldn’t say that to her.

Her tiny palm touched my face, and my body froze. I was too afraid to move, too afraid to even breathe with her skin against mine. My proposition was a fucking awful idea, I could see that now. I probably should have had the foresight to see it before I made it, but I hadn’t expected her skin against mine to feel this way. Was this even normal? Had I felt the tiny little sparks move against my skin just from touch before now?

“I’ll take the deal,” she finally said breathlessly. “No more boys in the barn.”

“Good. You better—” Before I could finish my threat, before I could tell her she better keep her promise because I wasn’t even fucking around, she’d already leaned over, her lips on mine. Fuck, I didn’t move. I couldn’t. Her fucking soft lips were like silk as she slid them over mine.

This was wrong.

I should stop it.

Only I couldn’t. My hands had already found her waist and were holding her firmly. My stomach had already welcomed the crazy flips and somersaults. My mind, though seemingly completely short-circuited, knew exactly what it was doing when I leaned toward her, yanking her body against my own as I delved into the kiss.

I shouldn’t have enjoyed this, shouldn’t have wanted more, shouldn’t have hoped that this moment would last forever, but I did. I was weak and uncaring, and for this moment, I took what I wanted, what I’d never even known I desired, and I consumed her in the kiss. But a kiss like this, a kiss so utterly wrong while being so fucking right, could only lead to more, and I had to draw the line. I had to fucking push back and tell her no. Stop whatever this was before it progressed.

With all my will, I pulled away. My hands shook as I let them fall from her waist.

“I—” Fuck, I wanted to kiss her again. I wanted to hear that soft sound she made in her throat combined with a moan of my name. I pushed back, giving myself distance. “No more fucking boys in the barn, Bella. Understood?”

I grabbed the fucking extension pole and was heading toward the exit before she could even get out the faint, “Yea. I’ve got it,” that followed me out into the crisp air.

Chapter 6

SILAS

Two years later

Something was off.I could feel it. It gnawed at me from the inside out, made my skin itch, made me almost nervous. It was an odd feeling, one I hadn’t yet encountered. One that made me question everything up to this point in my life, wondering if it had been a lie this whole time. Where had this feeling come from? I couldn’t fucking figure it out, but I wanted to. I needed to get to the bottom of this scratching intensity, and I needed to do it now instead of later.

“I think I caught something,” Boyce mumbled from the backseat. “I feel sick or something.”

‘Or something’ was right. We really didn’t get sick, only rarely, and if we did, it was nothing like this. “Maybe the food was bad?”

Vince’s fingers gripped the handlebar above his seat. “Maybe. I’m feeling it too.”

“Yeah, same. I’m never letting Boyce pick the food joint again.”

A slight groan left his lips. “How was I supposed to know they would poison us?”

“The fucking rat that ran across the fucking parking lot didn’t clue you in to the questionable nature of the fucking place?” Vince winced. “I’m not sure it’s food poisoning though.”

“The rat was outside, not inside,” Boyce mumbled.

“Had to come from someplace,” Vince shot back.

My fingers gripped the steering wheel, the plastic creaking under my fingers. “I can’t deal with the two of you fuckers right now. Shut the fuck up unless you have something useful to say.”

I didn’t mean to use my alpha voice, but it happened. In unison, they both replied, “Yes, Alpha.”