Page 59 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“I’m not talking about my house.”
Bianca was smart. Not grasping cultural references was one thing, but this was entirely different.
There was no way she was this dense.
She inched her arms from her face, glancing down at me. Her cheeks had dusted over a light pink. “I know…” she admitted, further confirming my suspicions.
I had thought this might be the case for a while now, but—
“When you change the subject or pretend you don’t know what’s happening, is it because you’re avoiding the conversation?”
Her skin deepened to an almost scarlet color, and she could no longer meet my eyes. “Don’t analyze me.”
I was right—my chest twisted with both pride and fury. Pride that she’d found a way to survive and fury that it’d been necessary.
“I guess the bigger question is this: are you doing it purposefully? Or is it happening on a subconscious level?”
She frowned at me.
“Or maybe it’s a bit of both?” I raised my eyebrow; the possibility had never occurred to me before. Did she also do it in her thoughts?
Trinity’s notes did say she had an avoidant personality, but this was extreme. Still, this was a hell of a defense mechanism—no wonder she wasn’t getting any better.
“You’re not bothered right now?” I asked.
A calculating gleam entered her eyes—a look Mu often wore while thinking unkind things about people. I’d seen this expression more often than not being leveled in my direction lately.
“Actually,” she began, her voice a conspiring whisper. “You are kind of annoying.”
I fought the urge to smile. I didn’t mind if she sassed, just so long as it was only between the two of us and that it was without malice.
I still had a reputation to uphold.
“And you’re being disrespectful,” I lightly chastised, lips twitching. I moved slowly, carefully watching her wary expression as I wrapped my hands under her lower back. She was tiny and could easily break with my touch. Even though I was waiting for it, the spark of awareness never entered her narrowed gaze.
“But that’s not what I’m referring to,” I added.
Her brows lifted, more irked than curious, and I sighed, resting my cheek over the curve of her bare hip.
Her eyes widened, all traces of ire fleeing instantly. She sucked in a breath.
So, fears didn’t haunt her when she was angry. That was interesting.
“Are you all right?” I asked.
“Y-y-you’re lyingonme.” She sounded alarmed, lost about how we’d ended up like this.
I rubbed my chin against her silky skin, making sure not to break our eye contact. “I am.”
“Your face is too c-c-close.”
“Are you scared?” I pulled back slightly.
“Yes…” she started, eyes brimming with uncertainty, and she continued. “No. I don’t know.”
“I’ve touched you here before.” I slid my hand toward her stomach, and goosebumps broke over her skin as I moved. Time seemed to freeze, the moment fragile, and she held her breath as my fingers drew closer to her navel.
It was there I paused.
