A Wolf's Curse (On Hold)

Chapter 18

"Kane, I'm sorry. Don't go." Kay reached for him, but he made a beeline into the mens' bathroom. "Nice, Kay."

"Trouble in paradise?" She swiveled toward a voice belonging to a man at a nearby table. He and two of his friends appeared in their mid-twenties, maybe a little older. They were dressed like they were from out of town. She shook her head.

"He's OK."

"How about you? You doing alright, darling?" The brunette smiled at her with appreciative green eyes.

"I'm fine," she offered a nervous smile, pulling out her phone.

"You from around here?"

"No, not too far. Just visiting my father." The word foreign to her tongue.

"Oh yeah, where abouts?"

"Montana." The man blew a whistle as he glanced at his buddies, chuckling.

"That's a bit of a drive, darling. Guess it's good you have your-" he turned his head toward the bathroom, "boyfriend with you."

"Oh, he's...not my boyfriend," Kay blushed, heat crawling down her neck.

Shoot. Why did I say that?

"No?" The stranger's brow arched as he scanned her body longer than she was comfortable with. His friends done the same, one of them biting their lip. They shared a look with one another. "Is he family?" She shook her head again, her stomach tightening. "I guess he's missing out."

Not caring for conversation any longer, she looked down at her phone screen and scrolled through random posts on Pinterest, hoping to discourage their ogling behavior. Instead, it did the opposite. The stranger moved to Kane's seat, startling her. She eyed the bathroom door, her heart pounding.

Kane would be out at some point. She prayed he wouldn't react like he did in the forest with Ryan or else literal hell would break loose. For Kane's sake, she willed her heart to settle, taking deep breaths as she closed her eyes. To her surprise, the technique worked some.

"Sorry, am I making you nervous, darling?"

"No, just caught me by surprise that's all," she plastered on a half-hearted smile. Tapping open her messages, she pretended to send someone a really long text. Out of her peripheral view, she sensed the man's burning gaze. The longer she realized the man was not taking the hint, the more her discomfort melted into irritation.

What's with these guys?

"My name's Chase. These are my friends, Jaylon and Nick. We came from Manhattan to unwind from the city life. This place is beautiful. Just like you, darling. We were wondering if you had any room for a few more friends? Our hotel's not too far from here."

"My friend will be back so, I'll let you get back to your table," Kay clipped, the smile dying from her face. The waitress, nor Kane had come back to check on her. The man glanced around him, then to his friends before flashing a grin at her.

"I think your friend stood you up," he licked his bottom lip, his eyes raking her body for the umpteenth time. "Bet you're nice and tight."

"Gee, haven't heard that one before," Kay drawled. She fired daggers at the asshole, her blood set ablaze by his audacity. "Could you leave me the hell alone, please."

"Oof, and here we thought the women in New York were bitchy, but darling, you really take the cake. It's OK. I like that."

"Look Dickface, if you call me darling one more time, I swear I'll scream so loud, management will escort your asses out of here." The man blew a long whistle, grating on Kay's last string of patience. She scanned the restaurant hoping to signal for help, but the two servers on the floor were occupied with other tables.