Page 17 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

“I do not…” Bianca began to protest, but then she stopped, her face reddening. “Fine, maybe I like the plaid a little.”

“You’re overly concerned with the nature of my work.”

Her eyes shone in embarrassment. “It could be dangerous!”

“And I know you’re a woman with standards,” I offered. “So you have no intention of asking me half the things you want.”

“Oh my God.” She covered her face.

“The point is—” I pressed my foot against hers. I waited for her to peek at me through the gaps between her fingers before I continued. “—we’re eventually not going to be able to keep secrets from each other.” It pained me to admit it, but it was true. “Even if we wanted to.”

She was silent momentarily before adding, “But we shouldn’t want to,” in a near whisper.

“No.” My heartbeat was loud in my ears. “We shouldn’t. We should always be honest about what we feel.”

Bianca wasn’t the only one headed into unfamiliar—and uncomfortable—territory.

The room grew louder, and the air colder. The waitress came then, taking our orders with a familiar professionalism that helped calm my racing thoughts.

We’d all kept our secrets—a burden that became heavier with every life. And Bianca, to my knowledge, hadn’t even gotten close to uncovering the depth of hers.

But as for me…

I remembered more than most.

“I’m afraid to have sex,” Bianca blurted out, staring hard at my hands.

I jerked back, blinking at her.

“I’m telling you my secret.” She was trembling, hands pressed into her lap but pressed forward. “You wanted to t-talk about our relationship. So—so that’s what you can expect.”

“Bianca…” I wasn’t sure what to say.

Did she think that was a secret? We’d just gone over this.

“I’m fine with hugging, snuggling, and even sleeping in the same bed,” she rambled. “Sometimes even kissing,” she added, eyes flickering in my direction as her cheeks darkened. “Maybe. Light touching…”

This wasn’t where I was going with this. “Bianca—”

“But we can never, ever, ever, ever have sex.” Her shaking stopped, and her jaw locked. “Ever.”

“Bianca,” I sighed. I pressed my foot lightly on her toes—it was the only way to get her attention since she was adamantly avoiding my gaze. “You’re thinking too hard about this. You’re never going to be able to relax enough to enjoy the moment if you’re worried about what might happen,” I added.

She pursed her lips. “That doesn’t sound very dragon-like. That sounds like something Damen would say.”

Because it was, he told me that all the time.

“Do you like this?” I asked, rubbing the top of my foot up the back of her calf.

Bianca sucked in a breath, eyes wide as she stared up at me.

“Well?” I asked, even though the answer was evident from her scent.

“Yes!” she squeaked.

“What about this?” I leaned forward and tucked her hair behind her ear. I’d wanted to do this since we’d sat down, so I couldn’t help but take a moment to linger.

“It’s fine!” Her face was on fire now. “Are you sure you’re a virgin?”

I shrugged—this was only the tip of the iceberg. I’d taken Julian’s comments about my lack of knowledge quite personally.

How dare they underestimate my determination. “I read.”

“The others think you’re innocent,” she said quickly. “But you keep flirting with me when they’re not looking.”

“And sometimes when they are,” I added. “Although.” I leaned forward, cupping the side of my mouth. Bianca’s eyebrows raised in question, and a doubtful expression fell from her face as she moved closer. “Now it’s my turn to tell you a secret.”

Her eyes widened.

“I’ve never been with a girl before,” I said, my voice low. “Ever.”

I wasn’t sure what reaction I expected, but it certainly wasn’t her lowering her chin and whispering, “That’s not a secret. You told me that already.”

It was just as much of a secret as hers. But—

“I’m going to mess up. I don’t know how to be a mate, and I still don’t understand everything,” I admitted. “Pearson wasn’t around much outside of training—”

She tilted her head. “Pearson?”

“My father.” I waved my hand. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s fine. But he doesn’t understand dragons, and he was distracted. My mother disappeared and he wasn’t able to find her before she died.”

I pressed my hand flat on the table. “There’s nothing worse than a mate who leaves you, especially if you don’t know why.”

Though, that wasn’t entirely true.

We all knew why she’d left—although my father never told me to my face.

She was warm, kind, and loving—a gazelle. They had the perfect relationship, and why wouldn’t they? A predator and prey pairing was something rare and sacred.

But she was too gentle and couldn’t handle the stress of having a dragon as a child.

I didn’t blame her at all.

“I’m sorry.” Bianca touched the tip of her finger to my hand. “What was her name?”

My throat tightened. I opened my mouth to answer, but the waitress arrived, setting down our food with a polite smile.

Bianca pulled back and tucked her hands in her lap.

“Later,” I murmured.

She hesitated, then nodded.

We ate in silence, the weight of unspoken words thick between us. But as I watched her pick at her food, a quiet realization settled in.

She was asking questions now.

That was a start.

Bianca POV

It was late the next morning when I stumbled out of bed. I felt slightly better today; by tomorrow, I’d probably be pain-free entirely. I appreciated that everyone had decided to let me sleep in.

I made my way to the kitchen, where it became obvious that the quiet was because everyone had gone except me and Titus.

He was reading the paper in the breakfast nook and looked up when I entered the room.

I rubbed my eyes as I sat at the table across from him. “Where…” I started, but then my attention drifted to the plate of eggs and bacon being pushed toward me.

“They went out,” Titus said, sliding a glass of orange juice beside the plate. I eyed the orange liquid, wishing it were coffee instead. “Drink it anyway,” he commanded, breaking through my disdain.

I looked at him, a shiver shooting down my spine. Was he reading my mind? Not right now, it was too soon. “C-can you…”

“No.” Titus’s forehead wrinkled, and his expression dropped slightly. “You’re just predictable.”

I absolutely was not! To prove him wrong, I grabbed the juice and drank it without complaint while I ate the rest of my breakfast.

“I’m taking you to work with me,” Titus declared without preamble.

I chewed on the bacon, waiting for him to elaborate, but he didn’t say anything else. He picked up the paper again before I finally prodded, “And…?”

Titus lowered the paper. “‘And’ what?”

“What are we going to do there?”

My thoughts were still safe, and so I let them wander.

We were going to Titus’s office, which meant that the mystery might finally be uncovered.

Would it be like the movies, where he had a modernistic lair and a million resources at his disposal?

Would there be multiple TV-sized computers mounted on the walls, face-recognition software, and rows and rows of guns?

I bet there was—his bedroom already carried much of that vibe.

“Probably paperwork.” Titus’s attention drifted to the large window as he mused. “A few conference calls. Then lunch.”

“Oh.” I stared at my eggs. That didn’t sound very fun at all. Would my phone battery survive the day, or should I bring a charger?

“Yeah, the afternoons are better. I make it a point not to kill anyone until after twelve,” Titus replied coolly. “Too much bloodshed in the morning is considered bad luck.”

I blinked, unsure that I’d heard him correctly. “What?”

“What?” he repeated. “I said that there might be some collection efforts in the afternoon, but I’m not sure. It depends on what Maria has on the schedule.”

No. I narrowed my eyes at him, but he remained unaffected.

That wasn’t what he’d said at all.

“Get dressed.” Titus inclined his head, clearly referring to my current state of unreadiness. “Once you’re done, we can go.”

I scrambled to my feet, pausing only to swallow down the two white pills that’d been left beside my plate. I wasn’t about to miss this for the world.