Page 44 of The Wolf Lord's Mate

Nathaniel returned at the height of the afternoon, bringing with him the highest heat of the day. I could hear him coming up the path; well, I couldn't hear him so much as I could hear whatever he was dragging with him.

I had been entertaining myself by reorganizing his larder, and I waited there by the door, my feet glued to the floor. I could hear my heart beating faster, little jolts of anticipation racing up my arms as I heard him draw closer.

The door opened with a sliding creak, falling open on its hinges and letting in the rays of sunlight that peaked through the trees. Nathaniel peered inside, streaks of crimson on his face and splattered on his shirt. A deer hung from his shoulders, seemingly as weightless as a pillow, its body stiff and still.

"I'll be outside," Nathaniel's eyes raked over every inch of my body, as if he were inspecting me for some hidden injury. When he was satisfied with whatever he did or did not find, he continued, "You're welcome to join me."

With a grunt, Nathaniel readjusted the deer on his shoulders and turned away from the door, leaving me to follow after him.

I blinked. That wasn't quite what I had expected, though even I did not know what I expected. There was a tiny part of myself that missed the desperate way he looked at me, as if he needed my presence to breathe. It had done wonders for my ego, but it was more than that, it was—intoxicating, to be wanted in that way. I suppose he was acting in the way that I'd been asking for him to behave around me, but now that it was happening, I wasn't sure if I really liked it.

I stayed by the larder, waiting for him to appear back in the doorway and ask for me to come outside with him again, but he did not. Irritation itched at my insides, and eventually I couldn't take it anymore, dragging my feet as I went outside to join him.

I found the Lord leaned over the deer carcass, a knife in his hand as he finished up the skinning. He worked with acute precision, quick but accurate, and I didn't doubt that he would have the whole animal processed within the hour.

Nathaniel glanced up to look at me immediately, nodding towards a tall stump outside of the cabin for me to sit. "How was your afternoon?" Nathaniel asked, with the casual air of someone sitting down to tea rather than butchering a deer.

"Fine." I sat down on the stump, arms crossed over my chest.

"Just fine?" Nathaniel looked at me curiously.

"Yes," I shrugged, "It was fine. I kept myself entertained, but you should bring more books here— some cards or something."

"I'll take that into consideration." Nathaniel's gaze paused on me for a moment too long, studying me. I shifted, squirming under his gaze and tightening my crossed arms.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked, my voice clipped.

"Why are you upset with me?" Nathaniel spoke plainly, leaning up from the deer to stand at his full height.

"I am not upset with you." I said, unable to control the slightest bite in my words. I wasn't really upset with him, I was just on edge from earlier, from the dizzying spin of my thoughts and I needed someone to take it out on. It wasn't really fair to Nathaniel, but he was the one who had kissed me. I could have had a perfectly pleasant afternoon if he had merely kept his lips to himself.

"You're upset about something." Nathaniel sighed, setting down his skinning knife.

"Please do not tell me how I feel," I narrowed my eyes at Nathaniel, "If I say that I am not upset then I am not upset."

"Then you are not upset," Nathaniel relented, hands raised in mock-surrender, "But you are not exactly pleased. I can read you, little female, like a book. What irks you?"

"You." The word slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it.

"Yes, well that's nothing new, is it?" A smile quirked at Nathaniel's lips, "What is it really?"

I pursed my lips, tilting my head up towards the sky. It was a lovely day, warm and sweet, birds darting between the trees with twigs for their nests. I took a deep breath and looked back at Nathaniel. "You kissed me."

"I'm glad you noticed."

"Nathaniel."

"I did kiss you, yes," Nathaniel grabbed a rag and began wiping off his hands, "It has been the highlight of my week thus far."

"Why did you do it?" I asked, and Nathaniel tossed the rag to the side.

"Because I wanted to." Nathaniel said, mirroring me by crossing his arms.

"But I did not want you to." I sat up straighter, glaring up at him.

"You did." Nathaniel said, and I snorted.

"You cannot simply disregard everything I say." I stood up from the stump, and Nathaniel stepped forward, towering over me as he always did, forcing me to crane my neck to look up at him.

"This has nothing to do with what you're saying, Mira, this is about how you're feeling. You want me to kiss you, in fact you want me to do quite a lot more than that." I scoffed, but Nathaniel did not falter.

He reached out a hand, carefully brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, smiling softly as if he could hear my heart quickening—which he probably could, with his damned heightened senses. "You just don't want to want it because for some reason you have convinced yourself that it is wrong, but it isn't."