Page 70 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“So you can’t fly?” I asked, and his sudden exhale felt like a weight down my back.
I’d lifted my hand, twisting lightly in his soft, feather-like whiskers as they brushed against my cheek, and words I didn’t understand or know swelled in my chest. “I—”
Before I could finish my sentence, Titus suddenly shifted back into his human form, still naked and very much pressed close to me.
I jumped, pressing my fists to my eyes. “What—”
“Shh,” he interrupted, touching his forehead to mine and pressing his finger to my lips. “Miles is ahead. Why don’t we find outwhyhe left, okay?”
Why was he so excited? Why did he care? I didn’t think he’d missed him all that much.
Sometimes, I wasn’t so sure about the two of them.
“So what’s wrong?” I asked, my voice breathless.
“I’m going to scare him.” Titus smirked, his angular jaw sharper.
Then, before I could even react, he’d disappeared—naked—into the brush.
It took some time for my racing heart to calm, which had nothing to do with the sight of Titus’s backside branding itself into my memory. I lowered my hand from my chest to my side as I finally was able to let out a low breath.
What the devil was wrong with these boys?
And why did that phrase seem so familiar? I could have sworn I’d heard it somewhere recently, but couldn’t quite place where.
I liked it.
But… back to business. Screw their stupid rivalry. Titus had abandoned me so that he could stalk Miles. How idiotic.
I, for one, would not play their games, nor would I be quiet.
“Miles?” I called, stepping forward in the direction Titus had vanished, the lantern’s soft light bobbing ahead of me.
I brushed the thicket from my face. I clutched the light like a lifeline—darkness held too many terrors I’d rather not face—even though my feet seemed to know exactly where to step. The scent of pine and damp moss washed over me, and I could almost feel the earth thrumming beneath my feet, guiding me forward.
A movement caught my eye, and my focus returned to the present. I’d wandered into a different stretch of forest. My spine prickled.
“Titus?” I called tentatively, knowing even if he heard me, I might not catch his response. “Miles?”
I didn’t see them, but I could feel eyes following my every movement. My skin crawled—it couldn’t be either of them. They wouldn’t try to scare me like this.
A vibration through the ground made me freeze. The last of my bravery fled as blackness swarmed my vision. I dropped the lantern and ran.
I squeezed my eyes shut, letting instinct guide me. Where were they? Where was—
My thoughts cut off as I collided with a warm form, and we both went tumbling to the ground.
“Bianca?” Miles’s voice was close enough that I could make out every worried note in his tone, his familiar presence dulling the edges of my panic until all I could focus on was him. “What are you doing here?”
I could only stare at the man under me as the darkness receded from my vision. “Miles…”
He wore a tan fleece, camouflage pants, and combat boots—an awful combination that made me wonder if someone else laid out his clothes for him while we were home. The neck ofhis once-white turtleneck was covered with clumsy streaks of black and green face paint while faint traces of said colors were still patched in pieces along the bridge of his thick nose, broad forehead, and full cheeks.
There was pink, too, coloring his expression as his deep gaze roamed over my face.
Miles.
I pushed to my knees, straddling him, and couldn’t hold back from tracing my fingers over his cheekbones.
