Page 32 of Whispers of Wisteria (The Garden of Eternal Flowers #5)

Pummeling these people would not solve the immediate problem. I had to get them to leave Miles alone, by their own design, forever. Otherwise they’d become more determined. They had to want to leave him.

It was the only way to ensure long-term success.

“What’s your name?” I waved my hand, forcing her to look at me.

She blinked once, and then her eyes met mine. At first, she seemed almost defiant, but then something in her posture shifted. The tense line of her shoulders softened, and her mouth opened.

Well, that was odd, but at least it got her attention.

“H-Hailey?” Her response came out as a question.

“It’s nice to meet you, Hailey.” My ears buzzed as I reached for her hand, covering her thin fingers with mine.

She was shaking, or maybe it was me. I wasn’t used to touching random people, but I had no choice.

“You’re very kind and smart,” I told her. I was slightly unnerved by how her attention remained fixated on my face, but she had brought him a shirt and offered herself to him, so I had to give her some credit—

She had good taste.

“And you’re pretty too,” I added.

Hailey’s cheeks dusted over in a blush. “T-thank you.”

“But you shouldn’t set yourself up for heartbreak,” I continued. “Why are you chasing after someone you can’t have? You’re better than this. All of you are.”

“But it’s Miles,” she offered in a shaky voice. “I thought that, maybe…”

“Miles has a great destiny.” I fought the urge to squeeze her hand. “It is inevitable that you can’t be together. But there are plenty of other fish in the sea.”

The soccer game had halted entirely, and Miles’s teammates watched intently.

“Like that guy there.” I inclined my head toward a random, sour-faced, spiky-haired player. I wasn’t sure what possessed me even to throw this out there, mainly because I was pretty sure this was the dude Miles had punched once, but I was getting a positive feeling from this match. “He seems nice.”

“Maybe,” she breathed, not even looking.

Okay… I pursed my lips. So perhaps my matchmaking skills needed some brushing up.

“And…” My thoughts scrambled to find another distraction. Somewhere else for her to focus her energy. “You don’t even need a boyfriend if you don’t want one.”

Her eyes widened. “I… don’t?”

Why did it sound like she’d never considered this before?

“Of course not,” I replied.

This was it! My fingers had stopped shaking now—I’d finally found something that resonated with her.

“Men are awful anyway,” I added. “Instead of wasting your time and energy, let them come to you while you live your best life.”

“But…” She still seemed doubtful. “What should I do all day?”

“Whatever you want! After your schoolwork, of course.” Lord knew I had plans. I still had to learn to ride in a sidecar and create my fighting empire, and skydiving was beginning to sound appealing—

Wait, maybe not skydiving. That seemed oddly foreboding.

“The important thing is never to let anyone tell you what to do.” I paused, waving dismissively in Miles’s direction. “But if you love Miles, you’ll let him go. You’re in college. It’s the time to work on you, have fun, and let Miles focus on his quest to make the world a better place.”

“I love you.” Hailey’s face was completely red, and as soon as she spoke, she pulled her hands back and covered her cheeks, dropping the shirt. “I mean”—She shook her head—“you’re totally right. I can’t believe I didn’t think of that. It’s so obvious.”

“So obvious!” Her friend, who’d been next to us the whole time, also stared at me with abject fascination.

As was the rest of the room.

My heart slammed as I backed away from the girls, swaying, and my stomach turned as the true horror of what just happened raced in circles in my head.

What the hell was that? My mind screamed, but in my heart, I knew.

I’d just given a cheesy speech to almost a million witnesses.

All without fainting.

I bumped against something solid, and a rough hand closed over my shoulder. I twisted my upper body, glancing up.

Miles.

“Time to go,” he said, looking at my face, suddenly serious. He wrapped his hand around my left elbow. “Stop laughing,” he told Anthony.

The necromancer was, indeed, failing terribly in concealing his amusement. His shoulders were hunched forward, and though he’d covered his mouth, he still couldn’t hide the smile.

“Relax.” Anthony looked up, wiping the corner of his eye with a crooked finger. “It worked; they’re gone anyway. Plus, now they’ll leave you alone. You should thank me.”

It was only when he said this that I realized it was true: the gymnasium had emptied beside the three of us.

“It’s not like anyone will be suspicious.” Anthony shrugged. “They couldn’t even breathe. She was so pissed that she entranced the whole room.”

Entranced? I glanced between the two of them, my head still spinning.

“You moron!” Miles’s touch dropped from my arm, and he brushed past me, grabbing the front of Anthony’s hoodie as he shook the necromancer. “There’s a fae on my team!”

“What?” Anthony’s mirth vanished within a breath, and he glanced past Miles, around the empty room, without fear of the witch’s threatening hold. “Who?”

“Kent.”

Anthony’s brows drew together, seemingly unimpressed by Miles’s answer. “Kent… who?”

“Kent…” Miles’s forehead wrinkled as his face reddened. “Kent… I don’t know his last name! The waterboy!”

“What do you need a waterboy for?” Anthony pushed Miles’s fist. “Still, stop stressing. If he’s not skilled enough to be on the team, he wouldn’t be able to withstand it.”

“I couldn’t stop her without causing a scene! And I’m not going to assume he was unaffected; he’s fae.” Miles shook Anthony once more and then let him go with a push, causing the necromancer to stumble. “Go take care of him.”

“But you don’t even know his last name!” Anthony was rubbing his chest. “How am I supposed to—”

“I don’t care. If you need help, get Bryce or Brayden. They know the fae here.” I’d rarely heard this firmer, more unforgiving side of Miles. He stood, arms crossed, with an unmovable and thunderous expression on his face. “Just make sure he doesn’t talk.”

Anthony’s expression darkened. “Fuck you, man.” He placed my tote on the floor and swung his bag over his shoulder. Then, he stomped through the large metal doors without further argument.

My bravado had long since faded. I was trembling as fear of the unknown filled my thoughts with terrifying scenarios. “What’s going—”

But I didn’t get a chance to complete my question. The second the doors slammed closed, Miles crushed me to him as he took three steps forward. He only stopped when my back was pressed against the side of the bleachers.

“Miles…?” My words wavered as my skin tingled. His eyes were darker than usual, almost dark chocolate, and the heated look he was giving me nearly caused me to melt into a puddle at his feet.

I was trapped between the bleachers and the unmovable force holding me.

But what was he so worked up about?

“That was so hot.” Miles pressed his forearm into space above my head as he leaned in. His breath was warm as he grasped my chin in his other hand. He nudged my face up and said, “Putain, tu m’allumes tellement.”

My pulse soared, and the room seemed to shrink as the shadows from the rustling branches outside moved over his massively cut figure. I had no idea what he was saying, but I didn’t think it was cursing and blasphemy this time.

“Say my name,” he demanded.

“Miles…” I started, but his mouth pressed against mine.

An explosion of light flashed behind my eyelids, and a tingle shot up my spine.

A warm feeling spread over my skin, starting from the center of my chest and down my arms and legs, as he moved closer.

He pressed his tongue over the seam of my mouth, demanding entrance, and I was too weak to protest even if I wanted to.

And I didn’t want to.

My focus shattered into fragments of sensation as his tongue moved against mine. His body was broad and hard, and he pushed his hand from my face, spreading his fingers open across my back as he effortlessly lifted me further from the ground until our stomachs were touching.

I might have slid down again—although I doubted it because there wasn’t even an inch of space between us—but he pushed his thigh in between my legs to hold me in place.

Something in the back of my mind warned me that I should be scared, and that this really wasn’t the ideal location for such an encounter, but these overwhelming sensations drowned out my logical side.

He began to pull away, and, to my utmost embarrassment, I whined against his mouth.

But the sound turned into a gasp as his kisses continued to trace over the line of my jaw.

My head was spinning as he nibbled at the hollow of my throat, stopping occasionally to whisper something French in a low, husky voice.

“Bianca.” Even the way my name rolled off his tongue seemed different. It was sweet and lovely, and I felt lighter, weightless, as his thumb moved in circles over the small of my back. I pressed myself into him, hooking my leg around his waist in an effort to stay grounded.

“I like it when you manipulate people.” Miles sucked on the skin under my jaw.

I sucked in a breath—that sounded so very wrong. I never manipulated anyone. If he was referring to the incident just now, I was only stating a fact.

A fact that also ensured they left my witch alone. It was a win for everyone.

“And I love that you get jealous,” he added, scraping his teeth lightly against my skin. It was getting harder and harder to breathe—to think.

Well, almost.

I was still lucid enough to register this insult.

I reached for his hair. It was smooth and silky under my fingertips, not at all tangled despite his unbrushed hairstyle.

“I’m… not…” My voice sounded breathy, and I twisted my fingers through his messy hair, trying to hold on. And, maybe, to hurt him a little bit too.