Chapter 179: Heatwaves...
(... Continued)
Their fingers remained laced.
Neither let go.
There was now only the hush of the forest remaining, a stillness that wrapped around them like a soft shawl, broken only by the sound of their own breath.
Autumn glanced sideways, eyes trailing up to his profile. The slant of his jaw, the set of his lips. He was so quiet. But it wasn’t the silence of disinterest.
It was the kind of silence that listens. That aches.
Her thumb brushed ever so slightly across the back of his hand, and though he didn’t react... something about the way his breath hitched told her he had noticed.
"...You know," she began softly, "I think we are supposed to be looking for the others."
He didn’t even glance at her. Just walked beside her like her shadow,steady, never letting her hand slip from his.
"But I don’t want to," she added, her voice even quieter this time.
A pause. Her steps slowed, almost uncertain.
"I don’t know why," she murmured. "It’s silly..." She looked at their joined hands. "...but ever since I stepped out of that carriage and felt the air on my skin, I just...I just wanted to get lost. And now, I kind of... don’t want to be found."
Still, he didn’t speak.
But his fingers curled tighter around hers.
A small breath escaped her lips, somewhere between a laugh and a sigh. "You probably think I am crazy. Or dramatic."
She glanced at him again, half expecting a reaction. There was none.
"Aaahh...this is impossible, you know that?" she teased gently. "I have no idea what you are thinking. And I am out here rambling like a..."
Kieran suddenly stopped.
Autumn’s breath caught.
She turned to him, her hand still in his, and found his eyes already on her...unbearably soft.
He looked at her as if she was made of glass. Or stars. Something too delicate to describe...
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
"...Umm...you wanna say something? Sigh something? I will try to understand..."
No answer. Of course.
But his gaze was speaking enough for both of them.
"I feel like I know you," she finally whispered, her voice trembling at the edges. "And I don’t know if that’s wishful thinking or..."
Her voice broke off.
Kieran’s hand remained in hers even though he said nothing...and the weight of his gaze lingered even after he looked away, as if it had marked her skin somehow.
Autumn’s chest ached... fluttering. It felt full and heavy. She turned her head too, pretending to watch the woods, but she wasn’t seeing anything at all.
Just feeling...
The hush around them thickened.
The trees stretched taller here, their trunks darker...they felt older than time. They exuded a similar aura like the mist...
The path beneath their feet had long since disappeared, and yet they kept walking...deeper, further, neither bothering to ask where this might lead.
He walked like he had done this before...this exact silence, this exact trail...like he already knew how far it would go, how far she would follow... like there was no hesitation at all...
Their hands were still laced. Her fingers curled a little tighter, just to make sure it wasn’t a dream.
"You know," Autumn said again, a little breathless, a little bolder, " I have been having these weird dreams..."
Kieran glanced at her, something flickering in his golden eyes. Not amusement. Not at all... she could sense anger...
She swallowed.
"I don’t know why I shared this with you...," she went on, forcing a grin, "I haven’t told another soul... to be honest... " She stopped." It’s bothering me... a lot... and I don’t know...I think I can’t remember a lot... I don’t know why I have this feeling... "
They kept walking while she talked. The trees thickened...mist began to pool again around their feet...curling around their ankles .Autumn shivered, but it wasn’t the cold... neither was it like the mist earlier... but it didn’t seem like they would notice even if it had been ... They seemed too lost... too invested in each other for the time being...
Her voice dropped. "I keep trying to remember things, you know..."
Kieran’s fingers shifted in hers.
"...What I lost. What they say I lost. But it’s just a haze." She exhaled. "Except now...I don’t know why, but this feels more real than any memory they have tried to feed me. Like ...you..." She trailed off again. Too much. She knew she was saying too much.
But he looked at her now...with utmost attention...and something raw passed over his face.
Autumn’s throat tightened. She turned away quickly, tugging him gently forward as they stepped between two gnarled trees, their branches bowed like they were listening in as well...
The light dimmed around them.
Still, they did not stop...they kept walking...
And for the first time, Autumn realized she wasn’t trying to figure him out anymore. She wasn’t trying to understand his silence, or solve the puzzle of why his presence pulled so strongly at her chest.
She was just letting herself feel him...
Every brush of his thumb. Every step they took in sync. Every breath they shared in this wordless space, where time felt like it had folded in on itself and left only them with each other... it felt that was all she needed... that was all she had been craving for...
Somewhere in the distance, a bird cried...finally( or was it something else?)
A wind passed through the forest, rattling the leaves overhead...like a warning???
But neither of them flinched... it seemed more like they hadn’t registered the change...
It seemed like they were more afraid to find out what would happen if they let go of their hands... if they stopped walking... Than of any actual threat...
The air around them grew cooler, denser.
The mist had thickened so subtly it was hard to tell when it became more than a faint shimmer. Now it clung to the trees, drifted through the spaces between branches...
Her shoulder brushed his arm. Once. Twice. Every time, she expected him to pull away. He never did.
She didn’t know what it meant.But her skin knew. Her blood knew.
Her breath became shallow now...as if her body was tuned to his nearness and forgetting how to function normally. Like his presence altered the air in her lungs... she felt no pheromone, yet her desires were spiked... wanting... craving his touch... and not just in a gentle way...
Her voice came out softer this time, like it was just for him. "You are definitely not what I expected..." The mist was intensifying... yet they could still see each other... so it didn’t matter if the world was gobbled by fire or dust... Her eyes only wanted him... his attention... "But I am not sure what I was expecting to begin with..."
There was no verbal response from him...and yet, the way he looked down at her... it made her heart stutter in a way no words could explain.
"Everything felt... off," she whispered. "But I feel good right now..."
His gaze dipped to her lips for a fraction of a second.
"You might think I am some crazy, horny,spoilt brat...don’t you? "
A beat passed. Then two.
His thumb brushed the side of her hand again...not quite a caress. Not quite an accident.His knuckles deliberately pressed against hers... and tugged... and it shot a jolt through her system...
Autumn’s knees weakened.
She swallowed quickly, cheeks warming, and turned her gaze forward before she did something reckless...Like tug him closer... and kiss him maybe...
But then a strange quiet crept in... almost suddenly...
The silence around them had changed.
She felt it first in her gut. That sickening prickle of being watched by a third pair of eyes...
Kieran’s steps slowed as well. He tilted his head almost imperceptibly...listening.
Autumn followed his lead, instinct overriding curiosity.
The mist moved differently now.
Slower. Like it was breathing.
Autumn opened her mouth to speak...but didn’t get the chance.
Kieran stopped abruptly.
His grip tightened around her hand, and in one fluid, instinctive motion, he pulled her behind him...shielding her with his entire body.
His stance shifted, weight balanced, muscles coiled.
Autumn’s heart leapt.
"What’s happening?" she whispered, clutching the back of his shirt. Her voice was nearly lost in the strange quiet.
He didn’t respond.
Didn’t look back at her. She could see he was tense... his eyes only strained ahead...at something just beyond the mist.
His golden eyes darkened, jaw tight.
She tried to peer over his shoulder, but his body wouldn’t let her.
He was still. Controlled.
But the tension in him had changed. It was no longer tender.
It was protective.
Predatory as well... his aura changed..
Something was out there.Something that didn’t belong.
And though he said nothing, Autumn knew in her bones...
Autumn pressed in closer to his back, her front flush against him now, not by intention...but because her legs wouldn’t hold her otherwise.
His warmth bled into her...And yet her body responded not with fear...But with a shiver that ran the length of her spine... a kind of fevered thrill curling low in her belly.
Autumn’s eyes dropped instinctively to where his hand still gripped hers...the strength in that hold suddenly felt too hot...
Something primal radiated off him.
Her lips were parted, breath catching. Her thighs brushed his subtly...not enough to be called intentional, but not innocent either.
Every fiber of him was alert.And that drove her crazier...all she could feel, all she could taste in the growing silence, was him.
Fuck, Autumn... you are screwed!!!