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My heart contracted painfully.

Litt Up

Christopher Tyng

“Julie Blair! Is that you?!”

I flinched and spun around.

There was no one in the adjacent courtyard or in the colonnade surrounding us, but I could hear the echo of high heels.

Harlow.

Alarmed, I looked back at Quentin, who was staring at the passageway with a tense expression.

Suddenly, everything happened too fast. I was pulled aside, behind one of the trees. By him.

“Stop right where you are!” Harlow shouted angrily. “I’ve been looking for you forever!”

Quentin had pulled me with such force that I lost my balance in shock. I tried to hold on to the tree trunk, but missed it.

With no support and my arms flailing, I bumped into Quentin, who also lost his balance. He was my only support, so I reflexively clawed my hands into the fabric of his coat.

Quentin tipped backward and I was dragged along with him into one of the bushes.

We both landed in the snow. Me on top of him.

Startled, I stared directly into Quentin's eyes and wanted to gasp for air, but I couldn't, because suddenly his hand was over my mouth.

My eyes widened as countless butterflies fluttered through my stomach. My rounded belly pressed against his massive chest with a dull feeling of pressure.

He raised an index finger to his finely shaped lips and looked at me intently.

“Where has that girl gone this time?” we heard from nearby, and footsteps slowed in the courtyard. “Her stupid mutt is still here.”

Harlow. She was looking for me. And Buddy was still running around there...

Panic mingled with all the confusion, but Quentin's presence was so dominant that I had trouble concentrating on Harlow.

I heard her footsteps again. They were moving away...

Ava (Slowed + Reverb)

This World Is Primal, My Grinding Jaw

3slow2

Harlow slipped further and further from my consciousness as my focus shifted to Quentin. The pale-blond stubble on his chin, his angular jaw, every tiny contour of his face, how close I was to him, how close we had actually already been...

His hand pressed against my lips. Warm and firm. Pleasant.

I felt lightheaded, was pretty sure my brain was giving up and that if I stood up now, my knees would give way.

White powdery snow fell from the leaves of the bush onto us, melting instantly on his skin but lingering on his eyelashes. Thick though fine lashes, behind them, Erik's eyes, staring straight into my soul.

His gaze slid to the tip of my nose, where a slightly larger snowflake had landed.

A strand of hair slipped out from behind my ear and fell into my face. His gaze followed it. Mine followed the movement of his eyes, watching his pupils dilate.