Page 74 of Cursed

“What for? Need to yell at me some more?”

I laughed lightly. “No, I came— I came to apologize.”

His eyebrow rose. “Really—”

I had to play this up.

But I didn’t know how to flirt—or… anything.

Fuck.

I frowned at him. “Don’t make it harder than it already is,” I said.

I stepped closer, and my breath caught as I brushed my fingertips against his arm, lingering just a moment longer than necessary. The contact sent shivers cascading down my spine and ignited a heat that threatened to consume me whole.

The dagger on my thigh was heavy.

Shadows danced in the dim light of the garage, and flickered against the sleek contours of the motorcycle he’d been working on.

“Okay—” he ventured. “Apologize then.”

I smiled and looked up at him as I moved closer. “I’m sorry for running away,” I murmured, searching for the right words. “It’s just… everything is so overwhelming.” I paused and hoped that my admission might draw him in. “It’s really hard to trust anything in this place. I didn’t mean to leave things… unresolved.”

“Unresolved?” A smirk played at the corners of his mouth, teasing and dangerous. “That’s one way to put it.”

Irritation prickled at the back of my neck. He was going to make this as difficult as possible.

“I— I don’t want you to think that I hate you,” I said. “I don’t… I just— What’s between us… It’s complicated…” I let my voice trail away and forced myself to look at something other than his eyes. His shoulder. The bike. Before looking back at him.

His eyes narrowed, and curiosity ignited beneath the flicker of lust swirling in their depths. The shadows cast by the overhead lights danced over his face and accentuated the sharp lines of his jaw and the intensity of his gaze. “And what exactly do you think is between us?”

“Are you going to make me say it?”

His expression didn’t change, but he shifted slightly to allow me to move closer. “Maybe.”

“I think— Maybe I was just scared— I was so hurt by what you did. But I want to believe you. You said you wanted to protect me…” My heart raced as I leaned in slightly and let my fingertips rest against his chest. “And I want that… I want to trust you again. I want… your protection.” I let the word hang between us and watched his jaw tighten. “I think I want to finish what we started.”

In an instant, the distance between us evaporated. Valen’s eyes darkened as his hands fell to my hips and he pulled me against him.

“Careful, little witch.” His voice was a husky murmur that made my stomach twist. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”

“Don’t I?”

I pressed against him and relished the feel of the taut muscles beneath his shirt. He let out a low growl as he bent his head to capture my lips in a searing kiss. His hands tightened on my waist and one slipped down to my ass.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, opened my mouth under his, and tilted my hips to rub myself against the growing hardness of his cock.

His grip tightened, a possessive claim, as he spun us both, and pressed me against the cold metal of the workbench.

His body was a heated brand against my own, all hard muscle and smoldering lust. I gasped into his mouth as he nipped at my lower lip, and my fingers dug into his shoulder blades through the thin fabric of his shirt.

He broke away, his breath ragged against my cheek as he muttered a string of curses under his breath. His hands roamed over my breasts and hips, and every touch reawakened the lust that had lain dormant inside me.

A dangerous thrill coursed through me.

It was working.

I could feel him succumbing to the allure I offered. I grabbed his hand as he tried to drag it down over my thigh.

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