Denial (Goblin's Kiss Series Book One) (13 page)

“What do you
want Ames Cahn? Because I sure think I made an insane mistake
coming out to the woods with someone who I can
’
t even trust. I
thought maybe, just maybe I
’
d pegged you wrong. And then I
thought maybe, just maybe you were really different. Maybe being
like me would make you kinder, more sympathetic than others. I
don
’
t know what you want?” She locked her arms on her hips and
clucked her tongue at me. A standoff.

But no
directive.

I stood there long enough to think
about my king and what he would want. Not an option. A second later
I thought about what she would want. Not him.

Then...her eyes did this little
swirling motion at me and that was it. I knew exactly what I
wanted.

I locked onto
her mouth with such an intensity that it consumed my every thought
and inhibition. She tasted like candy. Sweet. I
’
d predicted that from
the first time I met her. Her lips were hesitant at first, gauging
like the rest of her did when she was around me whether from
attraction or anger, I never knew.

I dug my fingers into her hips and
held own. As soon as my grip tightened she pulled her lips away
from me.

“What are you
doing?” she said breathlessly. She licked her lips sending fire
into my loins and I realized I
’
d just daydreamed about kissing
her. I imagined the
whole damn
scene
.

But not all of
it was a dream. Her lips were touching mine on the very edge. She
was this close to a treacherous decision she
wouldn
’
t know she was making. I might have extended the kiss in my
head, but my lips were feathered against the side of hers
nonetheless. Shaking my head into reality, I gave her one truth as
I lifted my face from hers.

“Admitting what
I shouldn
’
t want?
”
Can
’
t have. I wanted to move her back towards my lips, feeling
the way our energies mixed all up into one. She was right about one
part. It was insane for her to be here with me, but sane and normal
didn
’
t hang out together in my world.

“You
’
ll not get anything from me?” She
promised, her eyes appeared hurt and full of misunderstanding. Not
ideal words after even pretending to kiss a girl.

I would honor
that. I would wait. I would do anything for her. “I know.
You
’
ve been hurt a lot. I get that,” I pulled back enough to look
her in the eyes without having to hide it, “
I won
’
t let you get
hurt.”

“I
can
’
t trust that yet either,” she whispered. "And besides, I
don't know you. I shouldn't be here."

That guy really
hurt her. Maybe she was right about the human guy department. Maybe
there really were some dogs out there, but that
didn
’
t mean all of us were. I would prove it to her. “I know. I
will show you.”

She
didn
’
t know half my secrets and she was giving more to me than she
should. I had to believe she was doing it out of pure goodness and
want for me. That made me swell to all kinds of smug. No girl had
ever wanted me like I was. The power was always needed to give an
illusion of normal human behavior.

And I
couldn
’
t tell if her words toward me about desiring her or trust
issues towards keeping her safe. Her undulated appearance was
hiding the strong energy and unparalleled desire
I
’
ve
never seen from a girl before. I
’
ve never been able to read
feelings before now so I had nothing to gauge it
by.

I pressed my lips together hoping
to keep my mouth off her. After a heated few minutes and less
handsy action that I would have wanted, we broke apart. I wanted
more, but I would wait. Heck, I wanted all, but I would
wait.

Cures for curses were more
important. A curse she knew nothing about.

“I need to show you something,” I
murmured throatily into her hair. It smelled like peaches. Sweet
like the rest of her.

“Okay,” her lips moved across my
chest as she said it into my shirt. Oh yeah, that was nice too. She
was going to kill me.

I took her hand and led her into
the woods.

“Where are we going?” her feet
locked with the pavement.

“Just inside the trees, part of
the mountain. You need to see more of what you are?”

In the hidden
haze of my world,
her
world. A cursed world.

She nodded reluctantly and
followed with my hand attached to hers only after she texted her
friend Tonya. Good girl!

The trees were thick enough to
hide what was in there, but clear enough for anyone to walk
through. The ground was all flat with not a twig of brush in the
way of a tracker. The birds sang above with singsong voices. I
looked to Emma for reassurance and found her staring straight
up.

My mind caught
on to what my nose had found. I snatched a flower off the vine
beside us and tried to smell it before she caught me. I
didn
’
t manage it that way. When she saw me drop the flower, I just
answered with the word, “
Honeysuckle.
”

She puckered up
her nose and smelled the air, but didn
’
t say anything. It was her
scent. I
’
d finally identified her scent. I wanted to shout out my
find.

“Their beautiful,” she said to the
air. She watched the squirrels jump tree to tree. The light from
the morning sun was all around her illuminating her hair and face
in an ethereal way. She had no idea what it did to her skin to
stand in the light with it shining on her.

“Yeah, I know.” I watched
her.

Her eyes popped down from the
trees to mine. Her cheeks lit like little cherries around the tops
of her cheekbone. It was cute.

“Let
’
s get going.
We
’
re almost there.”

“You know, they call this the
devil worshipper woods,” she shared with me.

“I can imagine.” I knew what went
on here and she was about to.

“They
’
re not though, are
they?”

Was she trying
to find out before we arrived? “And you call me the conman,”
I laughed.

We cleared five or so yards just
past the haze and I could hear the voices. Could she?

I checked her
face for acknowledgement. Every time I looked back at her she
squeezed my hand like she was afraid I
’
d let it go. I would never
let go.

“I hear it too
if that
’
s what you
’
re trying to read from
me.”

I gasped.

“I
can
’
t read your mind or anything, you just had that look. And I
heard them when we entered the woods. I just wanted to see if they
were bad or not. I
’
m guessing not since
you
’
re walking me straight to them. Unless you
’
re a cannibalistic
crazy non-human who wants to sacrifice me or hand me over to the
head crazy devil worshipper in charge and let him do
it.”

Her speech was
none other than very close to the truth. How could I tell her?
She
’
d never trust me. “You
’
re very perceptive, Emma Steele.
I hope your sidekick is as kickin
’
as your mouth if you are ever in
real danger because I
’
d like to see it.
I
’
d
bet on you if my life depended on it.”

I was screwed.

She looked at me weird, “Thank
you.”

I was very screwed.

“You
’
re very welcome.” The words hung
in my mouth. I
’
d never said them before. It was
nice.

Beyond the
clearing the voices revealed a group of people. No, not normal
people. They were like me. I knew because one of them exploded a
pumpkin right in front of me from six feet without touching
anything. I
’
d blown up many things in my
life.

Ames Cahn crouched down and pulled
me with him touching my arm to do so.

I really needed
him to stop touching me—but maybe not now. It was still on the
harmless,
friendly
side, right?

“We take all of our excess
pumpkins that will never be missed and bring them here for newlings
to practice on.”

“Newlings?” I
asked starving now for information. He didn
’
t seem upset in the least
that I was finding all this out.

“New to the
power. They don
’
t know how to harness it. It
doesn
’
t come into you until you hit puberty. So when it does, we
bring them here to the rock and let them get it all out of their
system before they blow up their sister or something
worse.”

I glared
daggers. That was scary sounding. I didn
’
t have time to laugh or get
mad at his sarcasm. “I
’
ve had my powers since I was a
child. Born really.”

“I know,” he looked
down.

“When will you tell me why that
is?” I guessed his mood swing before the emotion waved over me.
He'd said my eyes talk, but his face spoke loads.

He looked up
like he was amazed I
’
d figured him out, but I think he
really just wanted to tell me and find out if I would accept it or
not. Maybe he was that worried I would hate him or reject
our
kind. I felt his
fear again, though it rarely ever went away.

He
didn
’
t answer so I answered for him, “I understand, Ames. You said
you wouldn
’
t lie and you
don
’
t want to now. So you stay silent to keep yourself safe from
getting me angry or walking straight back through those trees and
away from all this. I get that. But I want to know more and
you
’
re just going to have to get this done with.” I scooted down
more to the ground to make me eye level with him and continued on
before I chickened out. “I will give a small amount every time you
do. That is all I can promise. I will earn your trust and you mine.
It
’
s
called compromise. But I swear if you hurt me,” I gritted my teeth
in fear, “I will cut your balls off and serve them to Russian
speaking monkeys.”

He coughed out a response. Score.
I made my point. “Deal, Ace.”

“Ace?” I whispered since we were
incognito. That was a perfect nickname for him and I knew just what
it stood for.

“You are one of a kind, Emma.
Nothing could top your speeches or your promises,” he shook his
head with a disbelieving laugh.

“You know it,” I
smiled at his compliment and looked away from him just to prove
that I could. That he wasn
’
t consuming me. That his changing
attitude towards me didn
’
t affect me. He was already
different from just yesterday. More relaxed.

A tree branch fell behind us. Ames
covered my head with his hands. Well, not completely relaxed. More
like on guard.

When he felt
there was no danger he uncovered my face with my hands and said
presumptuously, “So is it a deal breaker if I kiss you because I
could really after that speech. In fact you
’
re little speeches strike up
many emotions in me your little emo reader can
’
t
detect.
”

He
liked
to irritate me. He
was amused by it even.

I could take
that really wrong, but I chose to take it like I wanted it to be. I
hit his chest where I could reach. “That
’
s where you messed up,
buddy. My speeches are usually reserved for people I
like.”