Page 221 of Whispers of Wisteria
I didn’tsayanything.
The waiter returned with soup, cutting off any reply he might have made.
He didn’t speak again for the rest of the meal. He stayed silent, deep in thought, while I sipped on a sweet café crème and nibbled at warm madeleines.
And I…
I kept my thoughts carefully blank. There was no need for him to know how twisted my thoughts could get.
Titus shifted, his gaze landing on mine. Then he stood, extending a hand across the dessert tray. “Come with me.”
I wavered, glancing between him and my coffee, before tentatively placing my hand in his. “O-okay…”
His hold was firm as he led me through the doors and onto the balcony.
He let me go when we reached the white rails and looked past me. “I won’t let you lose yourself to him.”
Huh?
“You will not sacrifice yourself,” he said. “And you don’t have to fight him. That is our job.”
“But—”
“The four of us, your family, everyone,” he interrupted. “This is what we’re here for. You…” He grabbed my waist and put meon the banister. I held on to his shirt as he moved between my knees.
He touched my face and ran his thumb along the corner of my mouth. “You’re not alone anymore.”
“I know that,” I said breathlessly.
But it still felt so weird, even with so many people around me.
“Then I’ll keep showing you,” he said. “Until you finally get it.”
My heart began to race. “What?”
“You’re mine.” He pressed one hand on my lower back and grabbed my chin with the other, turning my face to meet his. “I’ll make you see it. I’ll fight your battles for you. I don’t need anything else.”
He didn’t need… My face burned.
But we were supposed to have mutant dragon babies. They’d be so cool.
And I was so good at teaching dragons how to fly. Practically an expert.
“You will not be throwing any children of ours off a building,” Titus said, voice even. “We’re not birds.”
Boo.
“But,” he continued warily. “This wasn’t something you considered before.”
“Ah.” I pulled back, scrambling. I picked at the lace on my wrist. “Well, I-I’ve been thinking… maybe, one day, I could try to be o-open to it.”
“Not if you’re scared,” he said.
“I…” I swallowed. “I’m going to be scared. It’s just… what I know. But maybe… I could learn that it’s different?”
Titus watched me for a moment, contemplative, before he leaned toward me and touched the back of my head with his fingertips. His thumb caressed my cheek. “I owe you,” he said.
I blinked. What was—
