The Hunt (By Kiss and Claw #2) - Melissa Haag Page 0,111
know you’re holding hands? Kissing?”
The flush that ignited at his first sentence bled away with his last question. I clasped my hands in my lap and tried not to panic.
“Kissing? We’re not kissing.”
“In my world, that lick on the nose Fenris just gave you is a kiss.”
Panic officially bloomed.
“And you used to kiss me like that when I was a pup, Dad. You’re grasping at straws where there are none, given what you heard. Next time, don’t be so nosy.”
“This is the first time you…” Raiden’s gaze darted to me then back to Fenris. “Next time?”
“Don’t start acting like Adira. Not everything needs to be a crisis that needs addressing. As you’ve now seen for yourself, nothing inappropriate is happening here, just like it hasn’t been happening since I hit puberty.”
Fenris nodded toward his door. Raiden’s gaze volleyed between me and Fenris. Then, he left the way he entered. Suddenly.
My mind was still trying to sort through everything that had happened when Fenris lifted a finger to his lips. He tilted his head as if listening to something. It was the same look he’d had just before he’d jumped off the bed to show me his boot trick.
He relaxed and sat on his bed with his cards.
“Okay. We have the house to ourselves again. Now, where were we?”
Angry and hurt, I stood.
“You heard your dad come into the house and purposely worded things so it would sound like we were about to have sex. On top of that, you kissed me in front of him and in front of Jenna and the others this morning without telling me that’s what that was. You purposely hurt Jenna. I agreed to be your girlfriend, Fenris. But I am not a means for you to hurt the people in your life.”
With each word I’d spoken, he’d grown more and more serious. Hurt and worry emanated from him as he straightened from the bed.
“Those kisses weren’t to hurt them. They were for you because you make me happy. Seeing you makes me happy. But I am guilty of purposely misleading my dad into believing we were about to have sex and admit it was a small, harmless bit of revenge for how I’ve been manipulated for so many years. I’m sorry, Eliana. I didn’t mean to hurt you by doing it.”
I stared at him, weighing his words against his actions. I recalled the moment he’d started acting even weirder than usual. He obviously hadn’t had a plan when we’d entered. And that was the catch to all of this. Fenris was impulsive. I’d known that when I’d agreed to help him but had thought my boundaries would keep me safe.
“Talk to me, Eliana. I can smell how upset you are and want to understand so I don’t ever again cross whatever line I just crossed.”
The problem wasn’t that he’d crossed any boundaries. Well, he had kissed me but in his playful way that didn’t stir my hunger. Although, now that I knew what it was, it probably would.
“I’m not sure why I’m upset.” Yet, even as I said it, I knew.
The idea that his father was out there somewhere, worrying about how far I’d go with his son, bothered me on so many levels. I deeply cared how people perceived me. Maybe a little too much since all I could think about was how Fenris said that his father had been pressuring him to choose a mate for years. But then, his dad burst into Fenris’s room in a panic because he thought we were going to have sex. So he wanted Fenris to have sex, only not with me.
That knife of truth shredded my self-esteem.
Fenris inhaled deeply then lunged for me, wrapping me in a tight hug.
“No.” The firm word reverberated against my ear. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and lightly hugged him in return.
“This was never going to work, Fenris. I’m sorry.”
“No, no, no, no…” He smoothed his hands over my back, squeezing me tighter. “You’re the only one.”
I knew he thought I was the answer, but the real answer was to find his mate and be happy.
“I’m sorry,” I repeated before carefully stealing all of his desperation and anger and prying myself from his hold.
As soon as I stopped touching him, his feelings flooded back.
“I’m not giving up,” he said. “You gave me your word.”
Rather than saying anything more, I took my jacket and left.
Raiden was standing by the front door, his expression unreadable.