Page 75 of Balance
It didn’t matter, I was the one who’d missed Miles the most.
“How dare you just up and leave!” I pushed at his chest. “How could you do that to me?”
“Ow!” Miles winced, grabbing my hands as the good-natured grin dropped from his lips. “I left you a note.”
“Anote?” My voice had taken on a slightly hysterical pitch, but I didn’t care. “Are you talking about that over-dramatic letter that literally told me nothing?”
“I put a lot of thought into my message,” Miles protested, pulling my hands to his chest. “Why are you upset?”
“What did it evenmean?” I twisted my hands, trying to break free. “I didn’t want to believe it, but everyone told me that you usually go off alone—”
“Of course,” he interrupted, rubbing his thumb over the knuckle of my imprisoned fist. “I need to travel for my pilgrimages. It’s part of my responsibility.” His brown eyes held mine earnestly, not an ounce of shame or remorse radiating from him.
Clearly, to him, this made complete sense.
“What’s wrong with that?” he continued. “This is for my graduation project, and I’d been avoiding it for a while. You showed up, and I wanted to be there. But I didn’t have a choice. Samhain is soon, and I won’t put off the ceremony for another year.”
And that was perfectly okay! Why did he have to be so frustrating? I would have understood if he had explained this from the beginning. “Why didn’t you just say that?”
“I did say that!” Miles’s lips pressed together. “I said it in my note.”
“You said you ‘left to be a better man’.”
He nodded. “That’s what that means.”
I didn’t think I’d ever feel like this toward Miles, but I seriously wanted to strangle him just then. “That is not what that means.” My heart was beginning to race once again, and my cheeks grew hot. How could he act so nonchalant about this? He wasn’t even sorry. “Besides, what kind of graduation project requires you to run around Appalachia all by yourself?”
I swear to God, this project had better be some kind of life-changing magical experience that would serve a higher purpose, otherwise I would—
“I’m doing a research project on Sasquatch.” Miles grinned, his expression lightening as genuine excitement lit his eyes. “I really think I’ve got him this time.”
Red flashed through my vision, and when the haze cleared, Miles was holding his face as he stared at me in horror. Meanwhile, I was in the air, being restrained against Titus’s tight chest.
“Even though I’m enjoying this much more than I ever dreamed possible,” Titus’s breath brushed over my ear, and I wasn’t even bothered by the fact that he was still naked, “I can’t let you kill Miles.”
Can’t, or just shouldn’t? There was a big difference.
“I’m not going to kill him!” There was no need to resort to such extremes. “I’m only going to teach him a lesson.”
“You slapped me!” Miles sounded shocked as he cradled his cheek.
“Does it hurt?” Titus asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice.
“No.” The witch frowned at Titus. “Well, not physically. But why—”
“Outside of the fact that Bigfootdoesn’t exist,” I growled through clenched teeth—completely confident in this knowledge. Miles gasped, pressing his hands to his heart at my statement, but I continued, “youstillcan’t just leave in the middle of the night for your ‘pilgrimage’ with only a note!”
“She’s gotten so much more violent!” Miles’s voice shook. “What in the world happened after I left?”
“She’s always been this way,” Titus replied dryly. “You and Julian might be in denial, but Damen and I have no such delusions.”
Miles pulled his attention from me, glaring at Titus. He narrowed his eyes. “Do you think I’m stupid? But that doesn’t explain why she’s soangry.”
“Damen,” Titus responded. “He thinks he’s helping.”
Miles groaned, rubbing his hands over his face.
“Don’t act like I have no reason to be upset.” I squirmed in Titus’s hold, freeing one arm enough to point at him. “You justleft, right after everything that happened! How could you do that to me?” I pushed from Titus again, and this time he let me go.
