Page 41 of Operation Wolf: Hunter
CHAPTER 20
Hunter
“DARLING,” I MURMURED INTOKia’s hair. “You have to tell me what’s wrong.”
Kia responded by burrowing her face more firmly into my chest, turning her cheek toward my armpit so that I couldn’t meet her gaze. “I don’t have to do anything,” she muttered.
I gently slid two fingers beneath Kia’s chin, forcing her to meet my gaze. “Kia,” I implored, “you’ve been moody for the last couple of days, you haven’t wanted to have sex, and you’ve hardly spoken two words to me.”
“Maybe I’m on my period,” Kia said snidely.
She tried to turn away again, but I held fast.
“No, I don’t think that’s it.” While the dark cloud of emotion that had settled over Kia could certainly be explained that way, my sense of smell told me that time of the month hadn’t arrived yet. “Something’s been bothering you for the last couple of days, and you won’t tell me what it is.”
Kia simply glared at me, and I met her stare evenly, not willing to back down.
Finally, she sighed and dropped her gaze. “Hunter, do you love me?”
“What?” The question caught me off guard.
She met my gaze again, a challenging look in her eye. “It’s a simple damn question.”
I didn’t say anything for a few moments, not sure how to respond. “I guess I don’t know,” I answered honestly. “I’ve never been in love before.”
Kia bit her lip. “Neither have I. But I do know I’ve never been this close to anyone in my life.”
She stroked my bare upper arm, and my inner wolf howled in response, making me want to arch my back in pleasure.
“Yeah, same here.” I wasn’t sure where this conversation was going, and I also wasn’t sure I liked it, but I wasn’t going to risk hurting Kia’s feelings by saying so.
The truth was, I knew I was falling in love with her, but I didn’t know if I was ready to admit it, not after the story she’d told me about the shifter who’d killed her mother. There was no way I was going to commit myself to a relationship with her without telling her what I really was, and I didn’t know whether or not it was safe enough to do that. Though I’d always considered myself pretty tough, Kia had wormed her way into a place inside me no one had ever been before, and I wasn’t sure if I would survive rejection from her.
“I don’t think this is a good thing,” she whispered.
“What?”
“These feelings we’re developing . . . I don’t think they’re a good thing,” Kia repeated. Determination hardened her eyes, the earlier sadness completely gone. “In two weeks, our bet is up, and no matter which way the chips fall, I’m going back to New York, and you’re staying here.”
Anger blazed in my heart at the idea that Kia was going to leave me, and my wolf roared in displeasure, but I managed to rein in my emotions. “You could always stay here,” I blurted without thinking.
Kia arched an eyebrow. “You’d want me to leave behind my life’s work for you, wouldn’t you?” she sneered. Then she rolled out of my arms and stood up. She brushed the hay from her clothing and straightened her shoulders. “Well, I’ve got news for you, Hunter. I’ve got no plans to give up my photography career . . . just like you have no plans to give up your life as a rancher.”
She set her jaw, daring me to challenge her statement, but I said nothing. She was one hundred percent right, and I wasn’t about to do her the discourtesy of lying or making false promises.
When it became clear that I wasn’t going to answer her, she relaxed a little. “The sooner we both come to terms with this, the better,” she said quietly. Then she turned on her heel and walked out.
I stared up at the wooden slats of the ceiling for a long time, and by the time I fell asleep, I still didn’t have an answer for her.
