Page 57 of Tide Touched

‘Supper.’ I gesture to the table. ‘I was surprised. I’m fine.’ I seriously hope my face isn’t as red as it feels.

The blonde takes Killian in, from his bare chest to his large arms, and deliciously muscled torso, to the V of his hips which point to just below the line of the towel. I hate towels, I decide. Then she looks at me and smirks, as if to say, Nice appreciatively.

I mean, she’s right.

‘Thank you,’ Killian says pointedly, the shower still on behind him.

The blonde smirks and takes her leave, closing the door.

I’ve seen Killian shirtless quite a lot, but this is different. The way he leans on the bathroom door, his hair wet and mussed, the hair below his belly button peeking out from the towel around his waist. Steam gathers at his back, under the amber light, he looks like a god emerging from the sky, bathed in clouds.

I stare at him, probably gawking like an idiot, lips slightly parted. Heck, I might be drooling.

Killian clears his throat. ‘Uh, you start. I’ll be right there.’

Start what, now? I blink, still dazed by his near-nakedness. When the door closes, the spell fades and I grumble. Oh. Supper. Right.

See, now, in a romance novel, surely that would have been a great moment for the hero to say something sexy and flirty such as, ‘Like what you see, do you?’ And for me to be like, ‘eh,’ and pretend to not be affected when really my panties are soaked through and I desperately need to see under that towel. Why have I not yet seen under that towel? I want to scream to the universe!

I sigh, biting back a frustrated growl, knowing full well he could hear me. I sit down on the couch and wonder if I could declare it unfit for him to sleep on, which means he’d have to share a bed with me! Oh, no, the horror!

My thoughts slam to a halt. You’re being crazy, Katherine. This lust, this desire I have for him isn’t anything like what Carter and I had. This is as much a part of me as my bones, my blood and my skin. And my wolf. She wants him too.

‘What have we got?’

I yelp. ‘What?’ I turn. Killian’s wearing a white t-shirt and fresh jeans. I scrunch up my face. ‘Are you really going to sleep in jeans?’

‘You startle easily for a wolf, are you okay? Besides, you pull off the long-shirt thing much better than I do. It wouldn’t affectively hide much.’

I ignore his jab. My head is elsewhere, okay? Jeez. I thought guys think about sex like ninety-five percent of the time? Did I get that wrong, because it seems to be me doing that. I realise I haven’t so much as opened the book in my hands. I stare at Killian, trying to picture him in a longer shirt, everything hanging out and stifle a short laugh. Yeah, fair point. He nods to the tray I’ve been sitting in front of for at least three minutes. I haven’t even looked at it yet. ‘Uh, stew of some kind. And bread.’ I pick it up. It feels hard. ‘No. Small bricks which look like bread.’ I thunk it on the edge of the table, which chips upon impact. ‘I know we heal fast, but I don’t think it’s worth losing a tooth to get that down.’ I set my ‘bread’ aside, wondering how edible the stew is. ‘You take me to the nicest places.’

Killian hides a smirk, lowering himself onto the couch beside me. At least he didn’t pick up his bowl and go and eat it in the opposite corner of the room.

He glances at the bed. The big bed, literally in the middle of the room. I want to jerk my head toward it and convince him it’s not a scary demon, that he could just go and lie down on it and I would join him. So, why doesn’t he?

‘So, how’s your book? Are you enjoying it?’

I wrench my thoughts back to reality. ‘Oh. Yeah, so far. Smart-ass girl, hot guy. What’s not to like?’

‘Hmm.’ Killian dips his spoon into the stew and bravely eats it. I wait for his verdict and he nods. ‘No broken teeth yet.’

‘Good enough.’ I dig in, starving.

‘So, you like paranormal romance? That’s your favourite genre?’

‘I think so. I haven’t managed to get my hands on a lot of books. I do like romance. It’s a nice escape.’ I don’t dare peer up to meet his gaze. What’s with the small talk? What happened to our flirty banter, snuggling up, kissing… he followed me here. So, why is he on the opposite end of the couch, talking to me as though we’re on an awkward first date?

Killian nods. ‘I like reading too. So, is your romance book really porn?’

My stew spurts out of my mouth as I laugh. ‘Oh, god.’ My cheeks flush. ‘No!’ I busy myself with not choking on the stew trying to slide back up my throat and take a sip of water. Now that’s got to be sexy. Damn it. ‘I mean, not yet. I’m like ten pages in.’

‘Do you prefer slow-burn or fast-burn?’

I glance at him. ‘Why the interest?’ What’s he going to ask me next, what my favourite colour is, or my preferred fruit?

Killian pauses. ‘Well, you’re the only one I have to talk to, and books are better conversation than most.’ He smiles.

I hold that thought. Um. Thanks? The only one he has to talk to. Wow, way to make a girl feel special. I narrow my eyes. ‘Uh-huh.’ There’s a lot we could talk about. The fact that we’re mates. Fated to be together. And the fact he’s kissed me once. He hasn’t brought up the fact that I’m half witch. I still don’t know what to do with that information. Why is he still even here? His father is the alpha. His place is back home, with the pack. He’s clearly not interested in me enough to want to be with me, so, what, he’s sticking with me out of some kind of chivalrous mate obligation? I know I can’t go back. I messed up the water-fire alliance. Killian’s dad would just make me leave again. Besides, I have Moira. There’s nothing left for me back ‘home’.

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