Page 86 of Wolfkissed
“Good. Tell me if you need anything. Hold on tight.” And I start running, because truth be told, we have lagged behind too much, mainly because of my stupid obsession with her and my dick’s near-constant hard state. “You can rest when we’re in our room at the inn.”
By the time we enter the town, she’s dozing in my arms. I glance down from time to time, captivated by her small face, relaxed in sleep, although the occasional frown mars her brow. Bad dreams? Discomfort? Plain exhaustion?
I want to erase that little frown, see her smile and laugh again. See her smile every day.
I’m such a fucking idiot, falling for a girl like her. A human lady, prim and untouched. Untouchable. Promised to a human lord, no less. Eager to make his acquaintance, already convinced he’s the next best thing after green grass.
That’s a werewolf expression. I doubt she’d recognize it. I doubt she’d recognize anything about my people, or care to know. How the fuck did I get a crush on a girl who hates my kind? A girl with her future planned, in which I have no part?
It’s a struggle, keeping my mind off her, especially with her sweet weight in my arms. People stare as I enter the town. A shirtless, filthy fae with a sleeping girl in his arms is bound to turn heads. I didn’t lie; not everyone hates us, but there are many who do. Being in human towns is always a risk.
We make it almost to the town square before someone decides to step in my way. Oh man, big mistake. Then again, entering the town might have been an even bigger one on my part. I’m just fucking worried about her, and that clouds my judgment.
“Where are you taking her?” The man is tall for a human. The ax in his hands tells me he’s probably a woodsman, returning from his daily foray into the woods. “Who are you?”
I slow down but don’t quite stop, not letting him corner me. “I’m taking her to the Inn. Mistress Galvin knows me.”
He seems only marginally appeased, stepping into my path again, and fuck, I’m not looking forward to a fight right now, not because I can’t take the man on, but because it will draw even more attention to us, which is the last thing I want.
“Let us pass,” I say, struggling to keep the irritated growl out of my voice and failing. “I only want her to have a bed for the night.”
“After ravishing her in the wilderness? The dark fae took my neighbor’s girl two years back. She never came back.”
I stop, shaken by the cold truth of his words, his truth, and he hefts the ax. “I wouldn’t hurt her,” I say. “Put that down.”
“Only if you let her go. Then we can fight like men.”
“Then put down your ax,” I growl. “True men don’t bring axes into a fight.”
“You bastard,” he mutters, instantly taking offense, and I can’t say I didn’t mean to offend him because I’m getting annoyed at this delay and any danger to Rosie.
Clenching my jaw, I prepare to half-shift and scare the living shit out of him—and if that doesn’t work, to lay Rosie down by the side of the street and snap his head off his stupid neck—when she grips my shoulder.
“It’s fine,” she says. “I’m feeling better now, my lord Valen. You can put me down.”
After a slight hesitation, I lower her to the ground. “Are you all right?”
“Much rested, thanks to you.” She makes a show of brushing her hands down her filthy dress and tucking her dark hair behind her very human ears as she turns to the man. “And much obliged, Sir, for offering assistance, but I am in no need of any.”
“You’re traveling with him?” The man is still scowling. “Isn’t he a dark fae?”
“He’s my bodyguard, and he’s taking the guarding part very seriously, so don’t worry about me. He’s treating me just fine. Better than any man has in my life, in fact.”
She lifts her chin and stands in front of me, facing the man, as if… as if protecting me from him.
Which is ludicrous. Hilarious.
Also, kind of cute and touching.
“Are you sure?” the man insists, his gaze still on me. “He isn’t blackmailing you into defending him, is he?”
“He’s nobler than the aristocrats huddled in their elegant manors,” she says, her voice cracking so loud that two more men stop to stare. “And gentler than my own family has ever been.”
Gods above.I hadn’t expected her to defend me, not this vehemently. I hadn’t expected any kind words and compliments. Now I don’t fucking know what to do with myself. It’s as if she’s stabbed me in the chest, and I need to step back. I wanted herto want me, to fucking like me, but now it hurts, and I crave that pain.
Wanting her hurts and not having her hurts. This…thinghere between us is a fucking disaster.
She’s just playing a role, I remind myself. She doesn’t mean what she said.
