Page 28 of Quiet
Hold on. What were Isa’s hands doing under Briar’s shirt?
“Briar, wait,” Isa said breathlessly as he pulled back, snatching his hands out of Briar’s shirt guiltily.
There was a fraction of an inch between them now.
It was terrible.
He nearly leaned forward to close the gap before remembering he should be putting more space between them, not less. But . . . how was he supposed to do that? What was he even thinking right now? Telling Briar to wait had been nearly impossible. Peeling his body away from Briar’s? Isa wasn’t sure if he had it in him.
Not when he’d been dreaming about this for days.
Briar’s brows knitted together, and he nudged his forehead against Isa’s. “But I want to.” There was a touch of petulance to his voice Isa hadn’t heard before. The hand at the back of Isa’s neck was like a brand.
“Haaa . . . I don’t—I can’t . . . I’m not—”
“Not available? Who?” Briar demanded with a hint of a growl in his voice. His hand moved from the back of Isa’s neck to his spine, keeping Isa firmly in place.
Who are you with? Who is making you unavailable?Isa felt the unsaid questions like tangible objects in the air.
Was Isa going to have to lie? He couldn’t bear to admit to his weakness. His inability to separate from his family. Isa didn’t want to be alone. Even if they didn’t understand him—even if they were sometimes unbearable—Isa couldn’t deal with the idea of cutting ties to his blood relations.
But could he lie to Briar?
“I can’t say.” Isa put his hands against Briar’s chest. The token resistance already felt like a massive lie.
“Tell me.” Briar’s voice was a low rumble in his chest and Isa could feel the vibration of it under his hands. He gave Briar a little push and it was like shoving a brick wall.
“You don’t know them.” It wasn’t technically a lie. Briar didn’t need to know that nobody knew this person—including Isa himself.
“Who?”
“They don’t live around here.” Isa was now officially lying, and it felt disgusting. His stomach tightened painfully. “But we’re very close . . .”
“Liar.”
Isa ducked his head to avoid the glare Briar gave him. Again, he shoved at Briar’s chest, trying to break free, but his efforts were pointless. Briar took his chin in one hand and forced Isa to look at him.
“Why?”
Why are you lying to me?
“I—”
“There you are, Briar. I was looking for you, and you weren’t answering my texts.” Alex came up the steps of the side entrance, and his eyes opened wide when he took in the situation.
Isa took the opportunity to try to break free again and met with more success. He hopped down from the table and made it two steps before Briar caught his arm and dragged him back, pulling Isa’s back flush against his chest and locking both arms around him.
“We’re not done.” Briar’s breath was hot against Isa’s neck.
Alex looked like he couldn’t believe what he was seeing. “Briar?”
Isa’s body was blazing right now, caught up in the twin flames of Briar’s burning heat and his own internal combustion. He closed his eyes and shivered.
Alex’s presence was the only thing that gave Isa the ability to fight the magnetic attraction between them and say, “Briar, please let me go.”
“No.”
“Buddy, I don’t know what I walked in on, but I think you should let Isa go.” Alex’s eyes narrowed when Briar didn’t relax his hold. “Isa, do you need help?”
