Page 55 of Wings of Reverie

“You panicked!” Periwinkle had blurted out the words before she could stop herself. “Today was special—no, incredible. And something happened with us, and we both know it.” She could hear the shake in her voice; she knew Weaver could hear it, too. But she didn’t stop. “You’re not just in here working. You arehidingfrom me.”

“I never said we should be friends,” he said vehemently. “I said I needed your help. But I never said I wanted anything with you.”

Periwinkle lifted her chin and clenched her fists at her sides. Her hands were trembling. “Don’t you?” she asked.

It was a dare. And when Weaver met her eyes, she saw dread of it there, mingled with something low and longing.

Dread of the job in front of them?

Or of her?

“Sparkles.” He stepped away from the dress form, wiping his hands on his pant legs, throat bobbing.

“Stop calling me that. Stop pretending this is a joke, or that I’m imagining it all,” she said. “Because it’s not. I’m not.”

He shook his head, wordless now.

He was asking her to leave him alone, and begging her not to.

“What?” she demanded. “What, Weaver?”

He wet his lips. When he spoke, his voice was pleading. A warning. “You’re going to ruin everything.”

But still, he reached for her.

His hands seemed instinctively to go for her shoulders, palms flexing against the contact with her skin. Periwinkle’s breath hitched as she let him draw her closer.

When Weaver pressed his forehead against hers, thumbing her right collarbone, she felt like she’d stepped into a snowstorm. Still, her own hands reached for the feather-soft lapel of his waistcoat.

“I am only going to hurt you,” he breathed. “Periwinkle, I am warning you. I cause problems for people. That’s all I know how to do.”

Periwinkle slid her trembling fingers into his curls, felt Weaver sigh through her hair. “You forget I’ve been alone with you in the dark,” she said almost against his throat, echoing his words from the night before. “And I know you’re not as cruel as you think you are.”

Weaver looked down at her, hesitating, eyes tortured. Periwinkle watched him steadily as she gave a small, certain nod.

He didn’t wait any longer after that.

Weaver’s mouth came down on hers like he’d been holding himself back for longer than he could bear, and Periwinkle rushed up toward him, fingers still knitted into his hair, heart beating so hard it hurt. She was overwhelmed by him, the impatience and hunger of his kiss while his touch was still so unbearably gentle. His hands slid clumsily from her shoulders to her wrists to the small of her back, uncertain and lacking their usual grace as he began to trace the length of her spine.

Weaver hadn’t practiced this. But he’d clearly thought about it.

Goose bumps prickled over Periwinkle’s skin.

Suddenly, though, Weaver sucked in a breath and pulled away, resting his head on her shoulder, hands braced on the table behind her. “This is such a terrible idea,” he mumbled. “We are both going to regret it, and it is killing me.”

“You’ve got to quit running away,” Periwinkle said softly, voice shaking. “You don’t always need a way out.” She skimmed a gentle hand over his hair, turning her head just a little so he would look up at her.

When he finally did, his eyes were impossibly soft and entirely focused on her, like she could tell him to do anything, and he’d do it. When he put the pad of his thumb on her chin, Periwinkle thought for a second she might tell him to kiss her again.

“You’ve got work to do tonight,” she said finally. “Let me help you get it done.”

“I know.” Weaver sighed. “I have to finish this, but we’ve also got to go find the Sapphire Mine. Now that we’ve seen the Bobbin Wood workshop, I need to know what else is out there.”

“Let me help you,” she urged him again. “Then, in the morning, I can go find out where the Sapphire Mine is, and we can leave.”

“How are you going to help?” Weaver teased as he straightened, smiling at her weakly. “All you’ve done since you came in is berate me and knock over that box of beads.”

Periwinkle bit back a grin. “Berate you, knock over that box of beads, and kiss you.”