Page 65 of Tide Touched

Killian steps in our path. ‘No, you’re not. Neither of you. You’re both, all of us, too injured to travel. We need to rest and heal, then we go after her.’

‘We’ve already waited hours!’ Elijah snaps. ‘They attacked last night! It’s after dawn! Who knows what they could be doing to her!’ Raw fear and pain grate his voice. He really, really cares about Moira.

Without thinking, I turn and hug him, our pain crashing together to form a bond. I don’t have any words to comfort him, as he doesn’t have for me, either. After a moment, we break apart.

Silently, Elijah wipes his own tears away, then reaches for me to do the same. I keep still, letting him. Showing him that I trust him. Without words, we both sink back to the ground, knowing Killian is right.

Our healing powers are working, slowly revitalising us, but if we push ourselves too much, too hard, we’ll only travel slower.

Killian crouches down and hugs me gently. ‘I’m going back to town. It will take day a day or so, but we need supplies—’

‘No.’ Elijah gets carefully to his feet. ‘I’ll go. You stay here.’ When Killian opens his mouth to argue, Elijah says quietly, ‘Stay with your mate. While you’ve got her.’

Killian closes his mouth and nods. ‘Be careful. Use my name to pay for what you need.’

Elijah shrugs on his jacket. ‘Will do.’ His emerald gaze finds mine and I know in my heart he isn’t going for supplies. I nod my approval. Go get her.

Much as I argue, Killian barely lets me move all day. He insists that I need to rest and though my wounds tell me he’s right, I get up and test my ability to walk whenever I can.

Killian stomps back over. ‘I go to take a piss and you can’t stay still for one minute!’

On any other occasion, I would have laughed at his words, then how he blushes for them.

‘I—I mean, relieve myself—’ he stammers.

‘Fine,’ I say. ‘I’ll rest. On one condition.’

Killian eyes me warily. ‘What’s that?’

‘You have to tell me what you were hiding, back at the… okay, let’s call it a “hotel”? What did you throw at the wall when I came out of the bathroom? Was it really porn? Because I won’t judge. Okay, I’ll probably judge, but it’s still the condition.’

Killian’s cheeks flush. ‘Fine.’ He strides over to his backpack, beside my own. It’s been hard to read the last few days, but my mind has stayed on the book, the only reprieve from my messy life.

Killian digs something out, hiding it behind his back. ‘Now, it’s not porn, but let me tell you, things certainly get steamy about half-way through.’ He reveals my book. No, wait. I blink, staring over his shoulder at my copy on my backpack.

‘Wait a second.’ I narrow my gaze. ‘What?’

‘I bought the same book as you.’ He shrugs, still blushing. ‘I… wanted to read it with you. Get to know what you like. It’s stupid. I guess I didn’t need to hide it…’ He shrugs again, gaze on the ground.

‘I’m sure you could have found something you were interested in.’

Killian meets my gaze. ‘I don’t know if you get this, Katherine, but what I’m interested in is you.’ He closes the distance between us. ‘I’m sorry, I suppose I should have been more honest.’

I laugh at his wide, auburn eyes, looking like a kid caught with his hand in a cookie jar. I grab his shirt and pull him to me, my lips pressing to his. Killian makes a startled noise, then melts into me.

I lean back to stare at him. ‘That’s weird, and sweet.’

Killian’s face blooms into a wide grin. ‘Yep, we’re perfect for each other.’

I gasp. ‘I am not weird.’

Killian purses his lips. ‘I would never say that.’ He leans over, peppering my cheeks with soft kisses. He wraps his arm around my waist, and I settle against his chest, closing my eyes to the comforting rise and fall of his breathing.

‘Let me go hunt something for us. You must be hungry.’ He plants a gentle kiss on the top of my head, sending a shiver down my spine. ‘Was that okay?’

Without looking at him, I nod. I turn away as he gets to his feet. ‘Killian?’

He turns and meets my gaze. His face is so open, eyes so beautiful and bright, shining for me. ‘Yeah?’

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