A Wolf's Curse (On Hold)

Chapter 17

Kane muttered several expletives, taking deep breaths as he pushed through the impending claustrophobia attack. His body was too big for the car's console. He scrambled to adjust his position from behind the wheel of Kay's Volvo, cranking himself as far back as possible, almost touching the back passenger seat.

Should've brought the damn truck.

The drive to Montana from Wisconsin was an approximate eighteen hours, twenty-four minutes, and six seconds too long. The uncomfortable silence between them didn't make things feel any easier. He snuck a glance at Kay as she blew out a breath. When their eyes met, she tore her gaze from him to the road as her cheeks blushed a deep shade of rose. He tilted his head, listening to the galloping rhythms of her heart over the soft music. He wanted to know what she was thinking about at the moment. To know why she squirmed in her seat, or why she pressed her knees together.

"Nervous much?" Kane glanced at her as he lowered the volume on the radio.

"Hm?" Kay said after a moment. "I mean...what do you say to a parent who'd been non-existent for the past eight years of your life? Who'd abandoned their child after losing the only parent they've known?"

Kane pictured himself before his own father after decades of punishment. He swallowed, tightening the grip on the steering wheel. Kay unzipped her coat half way, her scent and gentle perfume swirling around him and pulling his gaze to the delicious hump of her chest. A low rumble escaped his throat. Shaking his head, he forced himself to focus on the road.

"Keep it light. Maybe give it a few days to see how things feel between you, then get straight to the root of the problem."

"Makes sense, but it's not that easy."

"How so?" His gaze pierced her troubled eyes before she yanked them from him, adjusting herself so that she sat up straight.

"I haven't seen that man since I've lost my mother, what am I supposed to say?"

"Everything you're feeling. Don't hold back."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, I just...he hurt us."

Concern etched into his brow as he glanced at Kay, catching the tremble in her lip. Guilt washed over him. He moved his hand over hers, her skin like silk in his palm. Her warmth ebbed some of the tension in his body, making him momentarily forget how much he hated cramped spaces.

"Don't allow fear to stop you from speaking your mind. Just follow through. Don't be afraid to lose anything when spilling your thoughts."

"Is that why you showed up to the bookstore with that woman, because you had no fear of losing anything?" She said in a low voice as she slid her hand out of his.

Kane winced at the hurt laced in her tone. He closed his empty hand where hers was, yearning for her warmth. The subject had to come up sooner or later. She appeared unbothered—guarded, but her erratic heart beat told him a different story. His dark eyebrows furrowed as he pressed his lips into a thin line. When he didn't answer right away, she blurted, "Not so simple, is it?"

Got me there.

His shoulders sagged as he gripped the steering wheel even tighter, wondering how their conversation could take a turn for the worse. "I know things aren't exactly black and white between us, and that's my fault, but it doesn't stop me from needing to make sure you're okay." And it was the truth. He knew things were complicated because of him, because of the past that haunted him.

"How kind of you, but it isn't necessary," she crossed her arms, staring at the passing trees covered in a thin veil of snow. He wanted to say something to ease the pain he caused, but the words evaporated in his throat. He turned up the volume on the radio, falling into silence for the next few hours as the tension in his body returned.