Page 57 of Beneath the Quiet

She tilts her head at me. “You really love your village, and your farm, don’t you?”

I jam my hands into my pockets. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. I belong here. The farm is my legacy, and I hope Katie will feel the same one day, but if she doesn’t, it won’t be the end of the world.” I think over my next words carefully. “I’ll adapt. Farmers do it all the time. But I try not to think about it too hard. The future isn’t set in stone yet. Not for any of us.”

Silence settles between us, warm instead of awkward. It’s the kind of silence that feels natural even through the lingering tug of lust I feel whenever she’s nearby. The one where I have to stop myself from touching her. Where I have to remember that we agreed to keep the boundaries clear between us and not to give in to whatever my parents or even the villagers think.

She turns in a circle and pushes back her hair in a high ponytail, revealing her slender neck, and I press my lips tightly together.

I groan inwardly when the image of my wanking off to the thought of her flashes through my mind. It must’ve been much longer since a woman made me come than I remember, because it’s the only thing I can think of to explain the perpetual state of horniness I’m in.

Right now, I can’t think of one single reason to keep my distance. Apart from the fact that she told me that she wasn’t interested in dating me, but this wouldn’t be us dating. She didn’t say she wasn’t interested in anything else, though.

“Maeve.”

I really shouldn’t go there.

“This is quite a cosy stable.”

I look more closely at her flushed cheeks and the splotches of colour on her neck. Her eyes flicker to my face and back again, not meeting my probing gaze.

Wait, is she…

“Why are you blushing?”

I don’t recognise the rumble of my own voice. I don’t even know why the question tumbled from my mouth like that, but the words hover in the air, waiting for her answer. The only sound in the darkened stable is the quiet, steady rain falling outside and our breathing.

“I’m not.”

I take a step closer but halt when she retreats. I cock my head and frown. “Then why won’t you look me in my eye?”

She juts her chin out, eyes narrowed on mine. “I’m not blushing. I’m cold.”

Her words have hardly left her mouth before I close the distance between us and step into her personal space. “Then why keep your distance from me?”

“I…” Her eyes roam my face, and I swear my heart stops when her tongue lashes out to wet her top lip. “I’m not used to people getting so close to me unless they want to harm me.”

I take another step closer and raise my hand as if to touch her cheek, but I won’t touch her unless she asks me to. Instead, I keep my hand poised, close to her cheek, and watch her face in fascination as her breath catches. My own breathing deepens, evening out despite the long pull of lust that flows through my blood to settle in my cock.

“You can trust me, Maeve.”

She searches my eyes, and I hope she can see the sincerity shining back at her.

“I know that,” she whispers. “I’m just on edge today.”

“Why?”

She moves, only a fraction, closer to my raised hand, and I take a chance and finally rest it lightly on her cheek. Her skin is both soft and cold, smooth and hard at the same time.

The blush on her cheeks deepens. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Come on, you can tell me anything. We’re BFFs, remember?”

She snorts, making me grin at her in satisfaction. “Fine.” She leans back against the wall and seems to settle in. “I had a dream about you last night…”

My hand jerks on her skin.

“What kind of dream?”

“The good kind of dream.” She grins. “But it’s still so vivid in my head that when I look at you, I can still remember what it felt like, and I get a little fuzzy in the head.”