Page 75 of Crown of Thorns
“Just enough to keep up with you,” I murmur.
Leaning back, he grabs my favourite book from the pile by my bed. It’s the only book that has traveled with me from hometo Paris, then back here. He opens it on the page where I left the bookmark, then turns it my way in a silent question.
Clearing my throat, I pull my glasses back, then start reading.
Louis continues eating, then slips on his school uniform. He softly hums to himself, but I know he’s listening to my every word. Louis thinks he’s nothing more than a sexy playboy, but I see right through his golden exterior, to the restless mind beneath, the longing he hides behind every grin, and the quiet fear that he might never be truly known.
He’s the breath of fresh air I never knew I needed. And I let him in. Into this land, into my mornings, into the spaces no one’s touched since they died. That should terrify me more than it does.
21
LOUIS
Gaël: Where the hell is everybody? Louis? There’s no birthday party without the Deveraux Cocktail, bro
Arthur: Narcissistic, much?
Dominique: You all are.
Gaël: Trésor? Where are you?
Régis: We’re heading back from town. Last minute gift shopping.
Gaël: It better be expensive.
Arthur: Kitten, get your ass in here fast before I hunt you down. And where are you, bro?
News flash: I’m still dreaming of today.
A whole damn day in the forest with Noah. We hacked at those thorny vines like madmen. Well, mostly me, because he gave up halfway through, and even the scalding shower afterward couldn’t scrub away the ache in my arms.
Those vines aren’t just persistent; they’re feral. Guarding something. Something hidden under years of rot and silence.Like everything at Monterrey Castle, the whole place breathes mystery.
Noah looked genuinely surprised when we uncovered the windows beneath the overgrowth. The way he stared down at them—quiet, calculating—like there was more he wasn’t telling me.
Now I’m in his dorm, in the kitchen nook I bought for him, mostly practical but with a touch of obnoxious luxury, all marble and chrome. Not exactly Noah’s style, but perfect for us. I stare at my Deveraux signature, sugared rims and all. This, all, feels…significant. Like we’ve stepped into something neither of us can name yet.
He’s even started to wait up for me in the evenings. The way his eyes light up when I walk in. It’s like coming home, like I finally belong somewhere. It makes me want to lavish him with gifts. To buy him the world, if it means I get that smile again.
Once I’d overheard Natalie tell my father that I’d need someone emotionally strict to keep me in line. I didn’t understand what she meant at the time. But now? I think I do.
Noah gives me purpose.
Arthur: LOUIS!
Gaël: Bro, give him a sign of life. Our infamous watchdog is going crazy.
I snort. They don’t need to know where I am. Not yet. Gaël’s a suspicious bastard, and Arthur’s turning his obsessive eye my way now that he’s got Régis in his clutches. I’ve been sneaking out of bed at midnight. Still showing up for morning runs with Dominique. Playing the game.
Maybe I should marry Noah. Chain a ring to his finger. Ink my name into his skin.
Too soon. Probably.
God, listen to me. I sound like a lunatic. But how else do you keep a man like him? What if I’m pushing too hard? What if all this want, this thing that might become love, only pushes him further away?
I look down at the cocktails I’ve made. I almost send a photo to the group to mess with them, but I stop myself. Not yet.
No, patience is a virtue.
