Page 36 of We Are Yours

My skin buzzed with anticipation.

My heart hammered in nervousness, but excitement.

“See?” He leaned over until his lips hit my ear. “That wasn’t too hard, now, was it?”

He straightened, and that was it.

Or so I thought.

He went into the bathroom and turned on the water. Seconds later, he was back with a wet washcloth and makeup remover.

What is happening?

He crouched in front of me, ordering, “Close your eyes for me, Mouse.”

I did, and he began rubbing the makeup remover on my face. My shoulders immediately went lax with the rest of my body as he wiped the sadness away from my skin in an act so gentle and endearing. Once he was done, I opened my eyes, and he was staring right at me.

This regard was different.

This was one full of emotion.

His gaze locked on mine, so raw and afflicting.

This stare was filled with hunger and devotion, tangled together into a haunting and mesmerizing expression. He wasn’t just trying to remember this moment. He wanted to etch it into his flesh and make it a part of him. He was relentless in his pursuit, searching for who I was behind my makeup. The way he was looking at me was unnerving and all-consuming, as if I were his everything.

He needed to see every scar, every flaw, every memory and trauma wrapped into one. They all mattered to him. His seeing me without makeup was almost suffocating.

It was my shield.

My protection.

The world doubled down on this intense moment when I felt fragile yet so strong. When I was finally stripped of the sky-high walls that I had built for years upon years. My chest tightened to the point of pain, and for the first time in my life, I wasn’t hiding. I was being seen, and that was terrifying.

It left me unsteady.

Scared.

Vulnerable, which I hated.

My pulse heightened with each second that passed between us. Each second added another complicated layer to what was essentially an easy friendship between Julius and me, and the irony was not lost on me.

His stare was gentle, loving, but it was also devastating.

I couldn’t hide from him. He wouldn’t let me. And the scariest part was that I didn’t want him to. He was forcing me out of my shell in a way that was earth-shattering for a girl like me.

Reading my mind like always, he confessed, “You’ve never looked more beautiful and real to me than you do right now, Isla.”

I smiled, immediately feeling at ease.

“Do you have any idea how much I want to know everything about you?”

I bowed my head. His words hung heavy on every part of my skin. He watched me cautiously for a moment, battling a deep reasoning. One I could see and feel at the same time.

We hadn’t kissed again. There were many times we almost did, but something ended up interrupting. Whether it was a knock on the door, a noise in the house, or Kraven, it just hadn’t happened. Although it was only a fragment of what actually mattered to us, our friendship still progressed into something more meaningful without incorporating a physical aspect, such as kissing.

Our lips have not touched again, but our feelings still grew into emotions I’d never experienced.

“I can hear you thinking,” he called me out, making me smirk.