Page 35 of Heart of the Cursed
Chapter 14
The second her skin had made contact with his, warmth spread up his arm and through his body. The look on Selene’s face told him that she had felt something, as well. Thankfully, she hadn’t pulled her hand away from him.
Arun wasn’t sure if he would have let her go if she had tried to pull away. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever let her go. It didn’t matter that he was only holding her hand. It was enough to make him want more.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
A couple of days ago, he was hunting and killing Humans, even halflings like her, and now he was wanting to… what? What did he want to do with her? Save her? Keep her? Claim her?
The last one drew him up short. The only person he should want to claim was his mate, and Selene wasn’t her. At least, he didn’t think she was.
No.He mentally shook his head.
She wasn’t his mate. She was just a female in need of help. Arun was going to help her and then leave her. As soon as he knew she was safe, he would be heading back to his old life, hunting Humans with Taredd and Dain.
There will be absolutely no claiming involved.
But, did he really want to return to his old life? Arun wasn’t sure he wanted to continue with that life anymore. He was so sick and tired of all the death and destruction. He just wanted a quiet life, a peaceful life. Whether that was possible for him, he didn’t know, but there was only one way to find out.
“Can you slow down a bit? I can’t see fuck all and I keep tripping over shit,” Selene complained as she tugged on his hand.
Arun hadn’t realised he’d picked up speed. He was surprised she hadn’t complained sooner.
He slowed down so his pace matched hers. “Sorry.”
Arun blamed her. If he hadn’t been thinking about her, he would have noticed that they were walking faster. That’s what she did to him. She made him lose focus, which wasn’t a good thing when she had Vampires, and Goddess only knows what else, after her.
“It should only take us a couple of hours to reach the cabin,” he told her.
“For you, maybe,” she said. “But I can’t keep up with that pace, especially when I can’t see where I’m going. You said you’d guide me, but so far I’ve tripped on more things than I’ve avoided. So, you’re doing a piss poor job, if you ask me.”
“Sorry, it won’t happen again,” he said sheepishly.
“I’ll believe it when I see it because you’re speeding up again,” she pointed out.
Shit!What was wrong with him?
Arun forced himself to slow down. To help him keep a steady pace, he walked beside her instead of in front.
“Better?” he asked.
“Much,” she smiled. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Just give my arm a tug if I do it again.”
He caught her eyes drift down to his waistline when he said, ‘tug’. Was she having indecent thoughts about him? A smile pulled at the corners of his mouth at the thought.
Arun hadn’t been able to shake the images and indecent thoughts from him mind since he first set eyes on her. Time and time again, he’d had to fight the urge to pull her into his arms and claim her mouth, or strip her down to see if her body was as delectable as he was imagining. But as tempted as he was, he did neither.
They walked in silence, both lost in thought. It wasn’t until they reached the river that Selene broke the silence.
“So, handsome,” she said as she turned to face him. “How do you suppose we cross this in the dark?”
She waved towards the fast-flowing river blocking their way.
“The same way we’ve made it this far,” he said. “We’re going to walk.”
“Are you insane?” she asked. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but it’s moving a tad bit too fast for walking across. So, got any other bright ideas?”
