Page 38 of Cursed
He notices the way she keeps touching him and calling him by his name this morning. He hopes she will agree to his idea. “I was thinking about that after you fell asleep last night. Would you consider starting over?”
Confusion crosses her face, but he presses on. “Now that I know your big secret and you know the rules of my curse, maybe we could try to be more honest with each other. I would like us to get to know one another.”
Before she can answer, he says, “I’m not asking you to forgive me. I will never be able to forgive myself for what happened last night.”
Ryland pauses briefly. He’s so frightened of letting himself feel anything for her, but if they are going to have a chance, he needs to push away his fear. “I’m asking if you can move past the events of last night and give this Mate Bond a chance. Can you do that? Would you even want to? Because…because I really want to try.”
Nori, enjoying this intimate moment with him, runs her hand down his face to caress his chin. “I never lied to you, Ryland. I definitely withheld vital information, but I never lied about anything.”
Ryland lowers his eyes for a moment, worried she can’t get past his complete rage meltdown. “I know, Nori, and I know how irrational I was last night. I unfairly connected you to Draven, and I was too far gone in my rage spiral to listen to you or anyone.”
She runs her thumb along his jaw, avoiding his scar. “I have no idea how to be a Mate, Ryland.”
Chuckling lightly, he replies, “Clearly, that makes two of us.”
He gently grabs her lower back and pulls her slightly closer to him, rubbing her hip. “Before you showed up, I had resigned myself to living with this curse forever. Ever since the Mate Bond flared between us, I’ve been angry, ignoring the feelings I have for you because I know they are coming from the Bond. It was a way to protect myself for when you ultimately rejected me.”
Ryland slides his hand to the dip in her waist. “If we start over, I promise you I will do my best to be completely honest with you and lean into the Mate Bond, instead of trying to push it away.”
Nori’s heart skips a beat; whether from the sincerity in his voice or his large hand gripping her waist, she’s not sure. But she is certain that she wants this man. Smiling softly, she runs her thumb along his bottom lip. “I would like to start over.”
Ryland breathes in the soft scent of her arousal and groans. “The way you touch me, Nori. In all my hundred years, no one has ever touched me the way you do, so warm and gentle.”
He pulls her into his chest and gently rolls them so that she’s on her back and he’s halfway on top of her. Bracing hisweight on his forearm, he hovers over her mouth. “I am desperate to feel that pretty mouth of yours on mine, Nori.”
“Ryland,” Nori whispers, lowering her eyes to his mouth. “I’ve never been with a man.”
“I know, Nori.” He says, gently brushing her hair from her face. “I’m only asking you for a kiss.”
As soon as she agrees, Ryland leans down and gently presses his lips to hers. Sliding his hand into her silky hair, he tilts her head, making sure her nose hits the side of his face without the scar.
When her mouth opens for him, his gentleness swells to a desperate hunger. He’s not felt a woman’s lips on his in eighty long, agonizing years. Nori’s lips are softer than he’d imagined, molding to his like they were made for him. She tastes so sweet and warm. He kisses her like he’s been drowning for years, and she’s the air that will save him.
When Nori moans in his mouth, Ryland pulls back, practically panting, gazing down at his Mate. Her lips are slightly swollen from the intensity of the kiss, and her skin is flushed.
She smiles up at him and says the last thing he expected. “That was the most amazing first kiss, Ryland.” Still breathing heavily, she asks, “Can we do that again?”
He grins down at her, running his finger along her jawline. “Nori, if I kiss you like that again, I will have you naked in this bed, and I’m not sure you are quite ready forthat. You are so sweet and innocent; I will need to be careful the first time.”
She frowns slightly and rolls him off of her. They lie on their sides, facing each other again. She lightly pokes him in his chest and declares, “I am not sweet. I constantly dream up new and inventive ways to kill my abusers.”
Ryland leans back, his hand on her hip again, and frowns at her use of the plural. Bade creeps into Ryland’s mind and growls, “Exactly how many people beat the shit out of our Mate?”
Nori continues cheerfully, “My favorite death scene is to tie them each to their own post and set them all on fire. After that, I happily sit there and listen to their screams of agony as they slowly burn to death.”
She smiles triumphantly, thinking she’s made her point. “See, not sweet!”
Ryland tilts his head back and gives her a rare, unguarded laugh. “No, Nori. I apologize. You are definitely not sweet.”
When he glances down and notices a piece of her hair is stained with blood from his scar, a frown floats across his face. The frown is fleeting, sliding into a gentle smile. “How about you hop in the shower while I order us some breakfast?”
Nori glances at the offensive hair. “It’s fine, Ryland.”
His eyebrows rise in astonishment. “You are sosurprising, Nori. How can you stand to kiss me or even look at me?”
Nori sighs and says, “Really, it doesn’t bother me. There are worse things than scars.”
He stares at her, unable to believe what he’s just heard. The whole time he’s been cursed, everyone has had trouble looking at him. It took years for his brother and sister not to frown every time they saw his face. Yet Nori has never once flinched or frowned.
