Page 28 of We Are Yours

After he was done reading, I didn’t hold back. Stepping closer to him, I inched on my tippy-toes and softly kissed his cheek. My lips lingered there for a moment, and I was about to pull away, but my eyes caught Kraven’s, who was glaring right at us. Whether it was filled with hatred, I couldn’t tell.

And like clockwork, there were those somersaults he sometimes caused. It was a back flip, triple twist with a perfect landing in my gut.

I bowed my head, leaning back into Julius’s sight. Extending his hand out for mine, he led me down to the river, and we sat there on a blanket for a little while. He said they were taking a break, and I got there at the perfect time.

Being with Julius made my stomach flutter for entirely different reasons, knowing he could see right through me. And as much as it terrified me, it also thrilled me. Finding someone who could see past the girl I was supposed to be.

Not just someone.

Him.

Despite the awareness in his eyes, I looked away. I had to. Sometimes Julius was just too much to take. The truth in his eyes was too much to take.

Reaching into my bag, I turned my attention to a piece of bubblegum I was pulling out, avoiding the look in his eyes that I wasn’t ready to feel. I put it in my mouth, needing some distraction from the sudden realness between us.

“Care to share?” he asked, nodding toward the packet of gum in my hands I bought with the money he gave me.

I looked down, realizing it was empty. I peered up at him through my lashes, smirking, shrugging, and chewing my gum. As if on cue, my stomach did that somersault thing again. Except this time it felt like it was never going to end; twisting, turning, and flipping.

Before I gave it too much thought, I tore the piece from my mouth in half, handing it over to him.

Never taking his eyes off mine, he leaned over with a mischievous grin and bit it right off my fingers. The second his lips touched my skin, I felt this spark of what could only be described as electricity. This immediate jolt made my mouth dry and my face flush, a burning sensation all over my body. I never experienced anything like it before, yet I couldn’t wait to feel it again.

He smiled as if he knew exactly what I was feeling, thinking, wanting.

A chuckle escaped his lips, clearly enjoying the fact that I was dumbfounded by what just happened between us. Reaching up, I grabbed his hand, and he pulled me toward him.

“You look good in that shade of red, Mouse,” he whispered, causing heat to ignite over every inch of my skin.

I just wanted a day to be free.

To act my age, to enjoy being outdoors, and to be by Julius’s side. To not have to worry about tomorrow. Where nothing else mattered but living in the moment with him.

Letting go of his hand, I teasingly pushed him before I hauled ass away from him. I was grateful that I was at least wearing the red Chuck sneakers he bought me last week. My boots had seen better days, and according to him, these new shoes matched my hair.

They were the first colorful items I owned in my wardrobe, and I cherished them. It wasn’t that I preferred black. It just made it easier to blend in that way. I wasn’t a fan of standing out, and my natural red hair already did that enough for me.

Julius laughed, big and throaty, hollering from behind me, “You better run faster than that, Isla. When I catch you, you’re mine!”

I ran as fast as I could, but it didn’t take long until I was ducking, dodging, and moving out of his reach as quickly as I could. Julius’s reflexes were insane, and it took a lot of effort to avoid his advances. Once we were on opposite sides of the horizontal bars in the playground, I ran to and placed my hands up in the air in a surrendering gesture.

Like a lion attacking its prey, he threw himself under the bars and tackled me onto the grass, landing right on top of me. He caught himself before he crushed my body beneath him, still managing to break my fall.

I fell into a fit of giggles, laughing so hard it hurt my sides. We both were. It truly was our first carefree moment, and I’d look back on this one day, remembering how simple it was to let myself feel happiness for the first time in my life.

Within seconds, Julius’s laughter shifted to a concentrated burning gaze. His eyes darkened, deepening while his pupils dilated.

This was new.

It was exciting.

He caged my face in with his arms, devouring me with his heated regard, consuming every last part of me. His fingers started brushing the hair away from my face until nothing was left between us.

“Don’t look at me like that,” he coaxed in a raspy tone, reading my thoughts.

“Like that?”

“Like you want me to kiss you.”