Page 61 of Tide Touched

Moira deadpans. ‘Are you drunk or stupid?’

I scoff. ‘Hey.’

‘I mean it, have you seen him?’ Moira turns to me. ‘What makes you think he isn’t into you?’

‘Well, for one thing, we just spent a night at a hotel with only one bed, and he slept on the couch!’

‘No hanky panky?’

I bark a laugh. ‘Oh my god, you did not just call it that. But no. None! Not even a kiss. I got a nice look at him in a towel, but that’s it! He’s seen me naked! He’s—’

Moira grasps my hands. ‘You’re beginning to screech.’

I inhale. ‘Nothing happened.’

Moira’s mouth twitches. ‘I think you’re an idiot.’

‘That’s nice? Fuck you too?’

She laughs. ‘I mean, because he’s obviously into you, dumbass. He marched off from home to come and get you before I even left. I see the way he looks at you. He directly disobeyed his father by rescuing you—he was not supposed to do that, you know. He hasn’t returned home, like he’s supposed to. He’s stayed with you.’

My heart sinks. ‘Out of some, like, weird mate obligation—’

‘Fucking hell, Katie. Open your eyes! Killian sees what you’ve been through. You were abducted and fucked by some other guy. He’s nervous, he doesn’t want to scare you or move too fast. He’s just taking things slow. He watched you get yourself off!’

My cheeks heat furiously. ‘But he just—doesn’t seem to want to…’

Moira grasps my shoulders. ‘Look, he does. Believe me. God, can’t you smell it on him? I can. He wants you, my gorgeous idiot, he’s just waiting until he thinks you’re ready.’

I pause. ‘You really think so?’

Moira hangs her head, a tired laugh. ‘Yeeeeesssss.’

I sag to the ground. ‘Why didn’t he say any of this?’

Moira joins me in a patch of grass. ‘Why didn’t you say anything to him?’

Damn it. ‘Because I’m a dumbass?’

Moira chuckles. ‘Exactly.’ She hauls me to my feet. ‘Now, if those boys know what’s good for them, they’ll have food ready for us, come on, I haven’t eaten yet either.’

‘What have you been doing?’

I watch the tips of her ears flame red.

I shove her. ‘You guys have been having sex, haven’t you?’

Moira flushes darkly then grins.

‘Bitch,’ I hiss with a laugh and start chasing her.

We spend the rest of the day reading, talking amongst the four of us. Moira seems to have forgiven my ‘abandoning my best friend’ act, as she calls it, and we’re fangirling over the book. Even Elijah chimes in with encouraging ‘mmhmms!’ every now and then to make Moira smile.

I think about going to find the river again to practice my Tide Witch power, but Killian doesn’t want me to leave the cave. I’ve been glaring at him about the ‘not letting me do something’ for the last hour. Finally, he gives in.

‘If you let me come with you,’ he concedes.

‘Yes,’ Elijah says, pressing kisses to Moira’s cheek. ‘Go away. Go together.’ He smiles as Moira giggles.

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