Denial (Goblin's Kiss Series Book One) (26 page)

Stubborn. Protecting her was
stubborn? “Either way. I will focus on keeping you safe. It means
everything to me.”

She
wouldn
’
t get it anyway.

She sighed and that was the last I
heard of her before the short little breaths told me she was
asleep. I drifted off not long after that resting my hand close
enough to her back I could feel her body heat, but not touching. I
swear I heard her breathing slow even more.

The next
morning, I woke with a start. I
’
d slept. My eyes flicked open
noting I
’
d let my guard down. Worse, her body was tucked up next to
mine. I tried to scoot out from under where her arms were tangled
over my chest. It was choking my thoughts to the point incoherency
was unstoppable.

She mewed in her sleep, and after
an exhaustive effort she was alone on the bed. I snuck out the door
and headed to the bathroom. After, I stumbled on to the kitchen to
see what I could make her for breakfast. She would surely wake up
hungry.

“You are in so deep, man,” a voice
met me in the hallway.

I ignored it and
kept going. We
’
ve already done this
conversation.

The morning waned on and she
slept. I felt better knowing she was getting rest. The guys made
the rounds around the perimeter and all was well.

The afternoon sun made me check my
watch for the fiftieth time. She was still asleep. Pacing the floor
staring at the hours old eggs and toast still on her plate, I was
just about to go in her room and wake her when she stepped into the
living area.

In her too tight
pants and too tight shirt, I moved to cover her the second the two
idiots on the sofa opened their mouths. It wasn
’
t like they
hadn
’
t see a girl before, I just didn
’
t like them looking at her
the way they were.

She tsked or made some kind of
noise that was meant to be against me and went into the little
kitchen. She saw the plate of food still out and looked up to where
I was still rooted watching her like the other two
fools.

“Thank you. For breakfast. Sorry I
slept so long.”

“It
’
s okay. I
’
m glad you
’
re rested. There is
leftover spaghetti in the fridge.” I couldn
’
t look like a pansy in front
of these two any longer. They were already giving me enough
grief.

I sat on the only other chair in
the living area and realized then there were only three places to
sit in the room. We would have to pull a chair from the two-seater
table she was about to sit at for her to join us.

The television
was currently blasting shots fired by Wicker who was beating
Trigger at World at War on the Xbox. I watched her carefully move
around the kitchen and heat her food. When she curled around the
countertop and glided to the table, I looked away fast to the
television knowing she
’
d catch me
staring.

I heard every single time her fork
hit the plate and when she moved back to the kitchen to rinse her
plate in the sink. The dishes were piled in there from the three
meals devoured by the demons on the sofa. I was regretting bringing
them with us.

She started to wash the dishes and
I jumped halfway across the room to help her, grabbing the
dishtowel to dry as she washed. She smiled meekly at me and kept
on.

The demons never offered to
help.

The night was
the same as the last. I slept so sound, I didn
’
t know he left the
room. It was weird sleeping in the same room with a guy even if he
was on the other side of the bed. I could tell now he was attracted
to me and fairly certain he could tell how affected I was by him.
I
’m sure
I’
m doing this all wrong by offering for
us to sleep in the same room, but he would be uncomfortable and
even crankier if he slept on the dwarf-sized cot.

The next morning I was alone again
when I woke. And the next. A routine was formed and by the third
day, I was bored in the house entirely. Cooped up and itchy to get
out.

Trigger and
Wicker were content to eat and play video games, but I was achy and
wanted to see the earth move in front of me. I
’
d been in bed more
than I
’
d seen the sun and it was starting to make my skin dry out.
Well, maybe not literally.

I was positive
both of them were talking about me when they thought I
wasn
’
t in the room. Several moments of sudden need to check the
perimeter, blank looks of surprise and silence following, and
complete laughter when I swear they weren
’
t talking just before. When
I
’
d
give them a look, they would act like it was an inside joke or
something. Worse, when Ames came into the room, they would glance
at him and then me and nod to each other. I had always been subject
to rumors, but not anywhere I couldn
’
t surmise what they surfaced
around. With the current circumstances, it could be any number of
things.

“Can we walk in the woods or
something? Hike around.”

“NO!” Ames barked at me with
darker than usual circles under his eyes.

Geez! He needed
to grow a smile. “Okay. Fine. I
’
m going to go walk around out
front in circles. You call me when dinner is ready,
dear
. Afterward, you can
rub my feet and I
’
ll open you a cold
one.”

She smirked at me in her new red
t-shirt that fit way to close to skin-like. I almost told her to
change this morning.

“No. I will walk you around,” I
changed my course hearing her bull-headedness.

“Okay. Thanks big brother. Shall I
pack a basket of goodies in case we see any wolves?”

I wanted to wipe that
condescending smile right off her face. With my mouth. I wanted to
kiss her so bad now, it hurt. I closed my eyes and drew in a
breath.

And I
didn
’
t like the brother reference. It had a tainted
feeling.

“The wolves are
unforgiving and ask questions after. I can
’
t let my guard
down.”

“Alright, honey.
I
’
ll
take the shotgun. You take the machine gun. We
’
ll mow ‘em down if
they come near us.”

Her wittiness never failed to make
my smile on the inside, but rarely did someone make me smile
outwardly.

“You think
I
’
m
funny, you should see me when I'm really heated up,” she smarted
off again.

Oh, that
I
’
d
like to see though I worry my self-control would be lost at the
sight. It was already on a thin thread of existence. I
hadn
’
t slept last night for fear she
’
d wake up and see how
she
’
d rolled into my chest for the third night. And I was too
selfish to leave either.

“Let
’
s go.”

“That
’
s all you ever say when you
don
’
t say what you really want to say. I wonder
what
’
s rolling around in that head of yours.” Her pretty eyes
batted innocently at me.

No she
doesn
’
t want to know what goes on in my head.
She
’
d wig out and run screaming.

“Fortunately, I
have that still to myself, unlike your keen ability to see what my
motives are for avoiding the subject sometimes. You read me too
well. I may just have to change to keep you guessing,” I smiled
wide and enjoyed her swimmy eyes. Her eyes got all dreamy like for
a second before clearing and I didn
’
t know what it meant. I know what
I thought!

I was too enthralled with the idea
that she might actually like me flirting with her so I decided I
would stop being a butthead and focus a little more positive
attention in her direction. See what it got me.

The walk was
going great. We exchanged light humor and she laughed more than
I
’
d
seen since meeting her officially.

“What does Joshlin really want me
for?”

Uh, oh! Bad
topic. Off the humor track. “More than just a wife. He wants you
for your ability to make other certain groups obey him without any
negotiations to be made.” Mainly Caydon, her other suitor. Joshlin
didn
’
t want Caydon to win. And recently, neither do I. But Joshlin
wouldn
’
t get her either.

“Why are they not now? Obeying
that is," she asked.

Skating around this was difficult.
“To have you means he holds their oath to you. Without you he is
forced to meet their demands before they will comply with his
own.”

“And to do this I have to marry
him and make babies with him?”

Blunt, but to the point. It just
made me angrier to picture the idea. “Yes.” I answered her, but it
came out pointed and emotionally tied to the feelings I had for
her. I followed behind her enjoying the view and tightening my
mouth up to the point of pain.

“Well, I don
’
t want to. I
don
’
t want any part of running a group of people either. Besides,
from what you say and what I saw, I will be locked away and used
like a machine more than a person or a wife.”

That was exactly the plan Joshlin
had for her. Frankly, she is too observant to be comfortable
around. How much had she deciphered of me?

“That
won
’
t happen.
”

She wheeled around stopping me in
my step as it landed us both in some kind of half dance move, half
walking pattern. Our feet were tethered together and our bodies
were way too close.

“How do you know, Ames
Cahn?”

He knows
something else I don
’
t. That
’
s it. I
’
m determined to get
one secret at a time out of him no matter what it takes. And I know
just what to do.

I inched closer
to him, if that
’s
possible.

I saw the way
his lips drew in and his eyes grew distant like
he
’
s
losing his thought processing. I know the feeling around him and
wondered if he was telling the truth when he said he could feel the
same things I did.

“I want to know
why you are so sure he won
’
t get
me?
”

His eyes
narrowed briefly, but I wasn
’
t sure what emotion flashed
across them—anger or desire. It was getting hard to tell the
difference.

“Because
you
’
re mine.” His lips brush the skin beside my mouth labeled my
cheek so lightly I am wondering if it happened. When I opened my
eyes, he was walking ahead of me and the heat was gone from where
his body was so close. Now I am totally trying to decide if I
imagined the whole scene.

We walked for
another twenty minutes or so while I ignored the way my lips
tingled from the “made up” memory. He didn
’
t acknowledge it if it did
happen. If anything, he looks positively peeved
off.

Maybe he is mad
that he likes me. Maybe he thinks I am a hindrance.
That
’
s it. It has to be.

Before I think
of the consequences of my statement, I shouted out to his back, “If
I
’
m
such a burden, then why don
’
t you just let me
go.”

This time he wheeled around on me
like I did him, but not anywhere as close. “I am not leaving
you.”

Threat or promise? “As my jailer
who took me to him in the first place, I have to assume you have
some type of agenda. You all do.”

A vein in his
forehead grew letting me know he
’
d reached his limit. As sure as I
was that I
’
d forced him to reach that limit,
he turned sideways and slammed a fist into the hard Oak tree beside
him. The ground shook, the tree rattled. So, he had some
power.