Page 29 of Blazing Desires
“Beautiful,” Blaze whispers beside me.
I open my eyes to see what has his attention, but I don’t see anything out of the ordinary. Turning my head to him and I find him glancing at me.
“What is?”
I wait for him to turn and point out the thing he had been describing but he doesn’t turn away, the air thickens between us the longer his eyes are on me.
Could he possibly have been talking about me? No, there’s no way.
“Which direction would you like to go?”
“Oh, umm…”
“Clockwise,” we say at the same time.
We laugh before we both shout, “jinx!”
That only makes us laugh harder. It is so nice to be childish with him. It’s nostalgic almost, and the moment has me thinking of my childhood friend, someone I try so hard not to think about. The smile falls from my face at the painful reminder, so I hide my expression by turning away to admire the grounds. I used to love coming out here in the sunshine and pretending that it was a fairy garden rather than a pretty prison yard.
Blaze clears his throat to get my attention before saying in a posh British accent, “My lady, care to take a walk with me?”
He bows and sweeps out his arms before standing tall and holding an arm out for me to take. My grin returns as I curtsy and take his arm, delighted at this new game we’re playing.
“It would be my pleasure, my lord.”
His returning one is blinding in the afternoon sun, and I can’t help but question why he is here with me instead of on the cover of every magazine. We proceed around the grounds in a clockwise pattern, our steps leisurely and slow. We stop and point out flowers or insects to each other, commenting on the landscape around us as if we’re from an old time that’s long since passed.
I soak up his laughter, his warmth and the sound of his voice. I pretend that this is my reality and that the rest of my life is simply a bad dream. I hold onto that for as long as I can because the bubble will burst eventually.
At least I’ll have the memories.
Chapter 12
Webs of Deceit
Blaze
Our time in the gardens flies by as we laugh and point things out to each other.
It’s nostalgic for me, taking me back to when we used to roam these grounds as kids after we finally warmed to each other. No longer awkward and shy, we would spend hours in the warm sun until our mothers called us over to picnic with them.
I miss you, Mama.
We don’t have the same luxury today. I’m under strict instructions to keep us moving and not linger too long. Some of the other bodyguards have been trailing us discreetly, and I’m grateful. Davina would have clammed up had she been aware they were following us.
The back of the house comes into view. I ease my pace further to try and draw out the time. Being able to make her laugh and talk to me has been incredible. Getting to know all the ways she is still the same person, and yet not. There’s so much I still don’t know about her from the years we’ve been apart, and being the greedy fuck that I am, I want to fill in every gap.
I want everything.
“We should head back inside, love.”
A heavy sigh leaves her and I watch as she folds in on herself in preparation for returning to her cage. I fucking hate seeing her shrink herself, unable to justbe. I make a silent promise to her that at the first opportunity, I’ll get her out of here and as far away as possible.
I lead her to the doors of her cage, my eyes continuously sweeping the area to ensure her safety. We head inside and through the hall that will lead us to the staircase to her room. As we close in on the first step a loud bang echoes from the other end of the hall.
“Get behind me.”
I manoeuvre Davina so she is pinned between a wall and my body as I assess the area. There’s nobody in the hall with us and I don’t hear another noise even as my ears strain to listen. My heart is pounding in my chest, the thought of anything hurting the woman behind me pumping the adrenaline through my veins at breakneck speed.
