Denial (Goblin's Kiss Series Book One) (14 page)

“So you kiss a
lot of people you don
’
t like,” his eyes darkened,
velvety and inviting.

I pushed him down on the ground.
When he fell back, I giggled. For an idle moment, my heart froze at
the idea of him kissing anyone else.

“I
’
ll never have that privilege.”

I pretended not
to hear him mostly because I didn
’
t know what he meant by
it.

When we righted ourselves, over a
dozen pairs of eyes were looming above us. Oh, snap!

Crap!

“What do we have here, Cahn?”
Wicker asked suggestively.

I was severely screwed. Way off
the mission.

“Nothing,
Wicker. Go back to your fireworks and mind your business.
We
’
re all good here,” I shot out like a bullet. I hoped to steer
them away from her though I'd walked her right into it. I didn't
have that choice once Joshlin stepped in.

“What are you
doing here then?” he challenged me. He was the same size as I was.
We all were. Wicker trained the newlings. He
’
d been the best bud
for years, but that was just that, years ago. And nothing else
mattered in my eyes, but it did to him. I still think he would do
anything for me, but his resentment towards Jem
’
s reason for existing
made him bitter in recent months. I needed to know if he was still
with me.

“Emma here was curious so I
brought her to see.” I thought fast. Reality was a stronger dose of
why she was really here.

The crowd
dispersed and Wicker with it. He looked back over his shoulder
though and said with a small salute making me sting with anger,
“Let
’
s see what she
’
s got.”

Uh, oh!

I leaned into
her neck and whispered, “Don
’
t tell them how long
you
’
ve had your power or anything else. And
don
’
t let them see how much. Even if it makes you look weak,
stifle the amount. Understand?” I moved my face to her eyes. She
nodded and bit her bottom lip in confusion. I felt the heat of the
hot breath she released, and reserved to kiss that lip very soon. I
needed a way out of that curse she was in.

Wicker watched
her walk out with the prowess of a tiger circling the ring kicking
up another emotion in my system. He looked her over more than once
and licked his lips at her. She saw all this and moved like the
fair-haired lioness she carried herself as when the opportunity was
presented. This was a situation that required tact and careful
examination of what your ally, or enemy, would do next. Or at least
that
’
s what my head saw when she pranced about.

Wicker snarked a remark out, “What
can that body of hers do, Ames? Have you checked it out
thoroughly?”

I growled but then tapered the
anger, pinching the bridge of my nose. I wanted to punch him,
hard!

“Dude,
what
’
s up with you?” he raised both eyebrows at
me.

I nodded and then looked at Emma.
She was watching me now with a burning amount of energy that only
meant she was wigged by me or wanted to kill Wicker along with me.
Great.

“You are
dangerously close to being sent to the wall again.” I knew he
didn
’
t want to go back to doing surveillance.

Emma came over
to me and planted the biggest kiss ever across the stretch of my
stubble-covered cheek. I stayed stiff and alert to every eye
watching. She let her lips pull back a little and she started to
speak before my head caught up, “Stop your emotions. I get it that
our bodies rely solely on the amount of energy you expel and
restore. I am a master of this, just not
mastered.
If you burn it all at
once, you
’
ll feel like you
’
re sleepy or even black out.
I
’
ve
got this, you hear me? They learn to train their energy stores.
You
’
re going to kill over right here of an emotional heart attack
if you don
’
t. I get it that he is unaware of
whatever secrets you’re still hiding and I get that he is a
jerkface like all the rest I told you about. Just
don
’
t turn into one. Now, taper down your jealousy and ape man
protector mode so we can get this done. I
’
m thrilled to get to use my
power. I can do this.”

She
didn
’
t leave me any air to breathe with. She was amazing. And
trusting me. Wow didn
’
t cover it.

Wicker laughed wickedly. What
would he do next? Or her for that matter.

“Don
’
t let her have that wish.
Clearly, she
doesn
’
t know the power of one kiss,
man.”

“Shut up already,” I
snapped.

Wicker shot up both hands and
returned to the standing line to wait.

I stepped back
and let her take the reins. Emma sidled up closer to Wicker and he
locked in the invading personal space to a mere inch or two. My
belt tightened around me as I held back the anger. She
wasn
’
t mine. I
’
d spent time teasing her, but she
took it just in fun. And besides, I was on a
mission.

“Let
’
s see it, babe,” he called to
her.

She stood spread
eagle with her hands wiggling out beside her. A new pumpkin had
been placed on the tree stump. She had her back to me so I
didn
’
t see how she harnessed the power or what she did first or
last, but the object just exploded into a thousand bits the second
she stilled.

Every hand clapped and Wicker
pulled his hand to his chin. He made circles with his mustache and
said, “Can you do it with other objects not planned
for?”

I thought this
wasn
’
t planned so I couldn
’
t see the advantage of doing
this. He aimed her to the target boards with a handful of arrows.
She looked back at me for help and I gave the smallest of nods. My
heart thumped harder at her wanting my help or approval or whatever
it was.

Emma took them from him and he
helped her out with, “Do the same with the arrows hitting the
target.”

She stood as she
did before but her left hand pulled back above her head with an
arrow aimed in her hand. Two seconds later it was in the center of
the bulls-eye. She wasn
’
t fully one of us. She had
something else in her. Something from her human side that made her
so much more dynamic.

My shoulders tensed and relaxed
all at the same time. What would Wicker do next?

“Try three.”

“I
can
’
t do that,” she cried out.

“Just try.”

She did. All three hit the target
dead center.

“You ever use a bow before?”
Wicker asked.

“No.”

Wicker shifted to the rocks. “Try
the rock then.”

He meant for her to blow it up or
something. I gave her a solid no look when she asked with her eyes
what I wanted. No slam-dunking on the show off stage.

Emma
concentrated. Her hands shook making me want to run to her, comfort
her. I didn
’
t like the feelings she felt
making herself try to destroy something. Her heart
didn
’
t like it. I was just about to hurry over to her when the
rock lifted off the ground and hovered for a second too
long.

“Wow, for a
newling you
’
re magnificent. Joshlin will have
a field day. What else can you do?” Wicker eyed her curiously, then
me. Time to exit. Stage left.

“We have to get going now.” I said
to Wicker and nodded to the group around us. I had a mental image
of her choking Wicker and watching the life leave him. I needed to
escape here, with her.

“What
’
s the hurry,
Cahn?”

Oh, you telling
her more information than she needed to hear. She already confirmed
her non-humanness. She didn
’
t need to know yet she was
something more.

“She just got lucky today. It was
nothing.” I saw her drop her shoulders making me feel like a heel.
I needed Wicker on my side, but I should have come early and warned
him. Having no choice in front of the newlings, I shrugged it off
as nothing to him.

Emma swooped in close to my face
and whispered, “Is he why you want me to make my bite less
grittier?”

“No,” I kept my eyes ahead on
Wicker eyeing us.

“They why?”

She was waiting
for an answer. I wasn
’
t sure how long I stood there
watching the depth of silent understanding in her eyes. She was
just being a dang female now.

“Er, no reason.”

“Right. But
you
will
tell me
later.” A quick nod sent her back in Wicker
’
s
direction.

She and her
amazing mouth came out with, “Sorry, Wicker is it?” She shook her
rear as she stalked him. “I have plans for my friend Ames here. So
if you don
’
t mind,
we
’
re done here.
” She poked a
finger in his direction.

Wicker
’
s mouth dropped like my own. I
quickly closed it back before anyone saw, but Wicker shot me a look
of pure hatred. He hated what I had. I swelled with the opposite
emotion. Mine!

Wow! That was
amazingly clarifying. I could control the power better than I
thought. I had some I didn
’
t know I had because
I
’
d
kept it so hidden and was always afraid to let it show. At first, I
thought having Ames watch me would cause a disaster, but he made me
feel like I could do it. He didn
’
t ask if could hold back the
power, he just told me too.

The others around us moved back to
their spots that proved to be stations of sorts. I went to stand by
Ames and watch before he took me away from there.

I was bold in
front of him. I
’
d learned from years of snarky
boys the difference between harmless flirting and all out
suggestive inappropriateness. He was still teasing me the way a guy
does when he thinks you
’
re a great “girl” and not a
candidate for dating. The whole kiss thing before was probably all
my imagination.

The first girl
tried and tried and couldn
’
t make her pumpkin move an inch.
The second one made the top blow off. A guy next to her hit the
tree stump instead. I see now why Mr. Wicker the wicked thought I
was some kind of wonderful. And Ames wanted it silent for some
reason. I would know that secret if I had to find a power to get it
out of him.

“She will improve with your
lessons. Be sure to have the needed items for one soon. It will be
private.”

Ames directed
this at Wicker making me detect a change in his body language. The
authoritative way his voice composed like an army captain or
someone who at least gave orders to others gained my notice.
I
’
d
caught the controlled precision of how he spoke to others, but with
this guy it was as if they were officer and enlisted, so to
speak.

The huge mass of
a man named Wicker stood above me now. He couldn
’
t be that much older
than me, but his voice was so deep—way beyond
puberty.

“You were just
wow.” Wicker shook his head and finished his sentence choppily,
“Words don
’
t say what you are.” He fought a
smile but it peeked through twitching upward.

Ames was just
watching me with curious eyes. A hint of amusement toyed around his
mouth making me twist my anger button up a notch. Something bigger
than my power alone was going on here. He brought me here for a
test, but upon arrival his position changed. He told me to hold
back. I didn’t because I selfishly wanted to see the reaction. It
wasn’t often that my gift was seen as a
good
thing.