Page 58 of Tide Touched

I lower my gaze. He said he won’t push me about what happened with Carter, but part of me feels like he can’t care too much because he’s only brought it up once. It didn’t last long, but for the days I was held captive in that estate, I really thought that was it. That was going to be my life. I would be locked away, fucked, impregnated and mostly left to my own boring devices, running out of paint with barely anything to read, staring out my open window and wondering when I would be allowed to go outside to run in my wolf form.

I hated every minute of it. Okay, so I enjoyed being with Carter, but now that I’ve connected with Killian he pales in comparison. Sorry, Carter.

And Killian’s just fine to let me… fester with all of that.

I know if I’d had more alone time with Moira she’d make me tell her. That’s what you do when you care about someone, right? If I thought she’d gone through something, I’d make her tell me about it, because I’d need to know.

I realise I’ve been glaring at Killian for a full minute.

Slowly, he tilts his head. ‘Did I say something wrong?’ He rests on the opposite side of the couch, a cushion on his lap, his bowl atop it. He looks at me earnestly.

I meet his gaze briefly but find I can’t hold it. He doesn’t want to talk to me about anything real or important. He’s just making small talk because I’m ‘the only one he has to talk to’.

‘I’m actually beat. I’m going to go to sleep.’ I set down my ‘stew’. It was watery but edible.

‘Oh. Sure. Of course. Uh. Good night, Katherine.’

I glance at him. ‘You can call me Katie, you know. Everyone does.’

Killian stares at me, his eyes bright. ‘I’m not everyone.’

With that, I climb into the cold bed and flick off the light. One day, I’ll have a mate and I won’t have to sleep alone.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Killian

It’s really difficult to be calm and efficiently eat with my hard on digging into a cushion. I flick on a little lamp, and Katherine doesn’t object, so hopefully it doesn’t bother her. I squirm in my seat. Okay, calm down. She went to the bed alone. She’s clearly not ready for me like that. Cool it.

I slowly finish my meal, wishing I could have provided better accommodation and food for her, but I was determined not to have her sleep outside again—even though I know it’s a risk being here—and since she insisted on leaving Moira and Elijah (and me, not that I let her), I needed to make sure she had a roof over her head. Just as we arrived it had started to rain. Now, it’s pounding down, lightly rattling the far window. I’m glad the others are staying in a cave, even though I warned them to be careful with using a fire. It might serve as a beacon to any wolves lingering about.

I wonder if Katherine’s cold. There’s a spare blanket on the end of the couch that I won’t need. She probably doesn’t run as warm as other Fire wolves, being half-witch. I quietly set down my bowl—ignoring my still throbbing, hard cock—grab the blanket, and gently set it over her. Hopefully she doesn’t think I’m being creepy.

She’s only wearing a long, black shirt. I’d gotten a nice look at her legs, all the way up to her thighs. I’d clenched my hands to keep from running them up her legs, all the way up, up, to grasp her perky breasts, twisting her nipples… my cock twitches, and I shake myself. Okay, focus. If she wanted me like that, surely she would have invited me into the bed, right?

It’s not like I would just assume and go and lay down on the bed and be like, hey, come here. I would hate to make her uncomfortable.

I bite back a frustrated sigh and pad quietly over to the couch, adjusting the crotch of my painfully-tight jeans. She’s right. Sleeping in jeans is not ideal.

Even without a shower for three days, in old clothes, then wet from the rain, Katherine looked as beautiful as ever. When she emerged from the bathroom with still-damp, slightly mussed hair, I had the strange urge to ask her to let me brush it (weird?).

Since she told me about Carter tugging it too hard, my heart hurts a little every time I look at her hair. I would never do that. I want to beat the living shit out of him. If I were a little braver, I’d have asked her to sit on the floor at my feet, between my legs, while I brushed out her hair, slowly gaining her trust. Showing her she doesn’t need to worry around me. That I’ll treat her right.

I turn back to the bed. But I don’t think she wants that.

That kiss we shared was… fucking amazing. It didn’t just make me hard. No. It… unlocked something in me, sent my heart beating up in my throat, my ears, and made me dizzy.

But she hasn’t kissed me since. Perhaps I moved too fast? Shit. I don’t want to do that. Grrarrah. I don’t know what the right thing to do is! What she wants. Oh. Does she expect me to make a move? I clench then unclench my jaw. Why does having a mate not come with a manual? Or, more specifically, having a mate who has already had a mate, but he wasn’t a good mate, so now I need to tread carefully?

I need books like this to help me out.

I lie down on the couch, thinking about the last couple of days. I hope I’m doing the right thing by her. I was horrified earlier, at the market, when she’d said I couldn’t buy her.

That’s how she must have felt with Carter. Obviously, he provided for her and used her. That must have felt awful. Damn it. I should have thought of that. Should have known it might have seemed that way.

But at least she didn’t object again when I took her hand and started taking her to stalls one at a time. I peek over the head of the couch. I can’t tell if she’s asleep, but I hope so.

The look on her face when she’d spotted the book stall, then when I’d told her to pick one, and promised to bring her back made my heart swell. She looked so happy. That’s all I want. She got two copies of the same book, one for her, the other for Moira. I imagine they’ll want to talk about the content at some point.

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