BOOK 4: The Seventeen Heirs Series; Hong Jisoo (SEVENTEEN FANFIC)

26: MIST

SLIGHTLY MATURE SCENES ARE TO APPEAR ON THIS CHAPTER. IF YOU WISH TO SKIP IT, THEN PLEASE DO SO. IT'S FOR YOU TO KEEP YOUR SANITY. ;)

The horse suddenly reared that made Mia automatically tightened her grip on Joshua's shoulder as they slid dangerously on the saddle. The rain was continuously pouring in a blazing force turning the solid land into a murky ground and everything that's on the surface.

She heard Joshua muttered a curse and tried to keep the horse steady, his grip tightening instantly around her waist so that she wouldn't slide off him and she held onto him with her arms and body as though her life depends on it.

Damn the whole situation but the whole thing shouldn't be sexy or romantic! There's nothing romantic about this! If they're not careful enough, they'd be a frozen corpse after this torrential rain. And she also shouldn't be feeling this mushy or breathy just because of the way he held her closer to him, or by the way his lean muscles rubbed up against her in the right places. No, she shouldn't be turned on because of his too beautiful face or too sexy and hot body.

But Joshua Hong is so warm despite the cold wind and rain inviting her to bury her face in the crook of his neck and breathe him in. Scent of fresh grass and sweet rain teased her nose, and the subtle scent of his soap mixed with sweat that came from working hard. No man had ever smelled as good as he did - as addictive as his scent.

What the hell am I doing? Kazzandra chided herself sternly. She was soaked through her shirt and her jeans, and she should worry about their safety, not about anything else.

But shit! She can't help and think about things out of her league when he's holding her like that. Her senses were on full alert. The feel of his strong arms secured around her, his ragged breath warming her face, and with every bounce, she feels the unmistakable strength of his muscles and the intensity of his power. Even if she tries to stop herself, she still finds herself basking in the rain.

Another crack of lightning flashed and thunder rolled in immediately afterward.

"We're still far away from the house." Joshua shouted between the heavy rain. "We have to find a place to stay until the rain stops!"

Kazzandra didn't bother replying because nothing's to be argued at the moment. And quite frankly, she doesn't think she is in her right senses to think straight, let alone speak a sensible word. So she let Joshua stir the horse somewhere. Right now, she just honestly put her life into his hand. And that's a first.

All her life, she was dependent to her brothers' protective embrace. But she slowly recognized that they were cutting her own wings unconsciously. So she tried to break free from the iron cage they built to protect her with wings that could barely fly.

Stupid as she was, she had been blind to see the true face of the real world out of her cage. And because of her ignorance and naivety, she had handed herself on a silver platter to a hawk who wanted to eat her and she ended up hurting herself for being too trusting.

Since then, walls started to grow around her heart, building up every day, trapping her inside once again.

But now, as she held on to Joshua's hard muscles, as she felt the pounding of the horse as it galloped through the wet fields, with each roar of thunder and flash of lightning, she feels those walls crumbling down bringing her open. Giving her back the freedom she had lost long time ago. And as much as she wanted to keep her walls up, all she could do was let them break to pieces one by one; exposing every emotion she was afraid to feel.

Could she trust her heart to withstand another blow? Is she strong enough to let her trust be shattered again?

She felt the horse slowed down and stopped galloping. Against the rain, she could see small cabin nearby. She immediately felt the cold wind when Joshua got down and move away from her body. But then, his large hands were on her waist lifting her off the horse's back to the ground.