Find me in your labyrinth (Stella and Jonathan) novel Chapter 3076

Norah glanced back over Xavier's shoulder at the distant figures of Leila and Dylan. She softened her voice. "Are you tired? You can put me down!"

"I could do this for two hours straight without breaking a sweat," Xavier replied evenly.

Norah let out a soft laugh. She rested her head on his solid shoulder, suddenly feeling perfectly content to stay exactly where she was.

The girl clinging to his back felt impossibly soft. She had worked up a slight sweat earlier, leaving her skin cool, smooth, and smelling faintly of a clean, intoxicating perfume. For a split second, Xavier's breath hitched.

He inhaled deeply to steady himself, making sure each step was perfectly grounded.

Norah wrapped her arms a little tighter around his neck, leaning in until her lips brushed dangerously close to his skin. She whispered, "Xavier... do you really not love me?"

Xavier's steps faltered. When he finally spoke, his voice was tight and resolute. "No."

The bright sparkle in Norah's eyes dimmed into a melancholic sigh. Her warm breath danced against his jaw as she murmured, "If you don't love me, that's fine. As long as you don't love anyone else either. Otherwise..."

She dropped her voice to a fragile whisper. "I'll be absolutely heartbroken."

Xavier stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes darkened dangerously as he turned his head slightly. "Not another word."

Norah immediately snapped her mouth shut, playing the obedient girl.

When they reached the summit, they found a smooth boulder to sit on and admire the view. It took a while before a completely exhausted Dylan and Leila finally stumbled up the final incline.

Looking at the perfectly refreshed Xavier and Norah, Dylan gave a breathless, highly impressed thumbs-up. "Xavier, you are an absolute beast!"

Leila offered Norah a stiff, awkward smile, clearly too humiliated to make any more snide remarks.

The hike down was even slower for Dylan and Leila. By the time they finally made it back to the B&B, the sun was already setting.

The Donovans were in the middle of preparing dinner, but Xavier informed them that he and Norah were heading back to the city and wouldn't be staying.

"Why not stay here?" Mrs. Donovan pressed warmly. "Hotels in the city are ridiculously expensive."

"We have business to take care of tomorrow," Xavier explained smoothly.

Mrs. Donovan nodded, offering a genuine, wholesome smile. "Drive safe on your way back!"

Xavier looked up at her. "That's just because you're starving. Everything tastes incredible when you're starving."

Norah's cheeks were stuffed like a chipmunk's. She looked up and shot him an adorable, eye-crinkling smile.

After dinner, they headed back to the hotel. Xavier walked up to the front desk to see if there were any available rooms left.

The receptionist offered a polite, apologetic smile. "I'm so sorry, sir. We had a few check-outs this afternoon, but a massive tour group came in and booked out the rest of our inventory!"

"Understood, thank you," Xavier said with a curt nod.

Standing behind him, Norah was secretly doing backflips of joy, biting her lip to keep from smiling too obviously.

Once they were back in their shared room, Norah immediately threw herself onto her bed. Peeking out from over the blanket, she grinned at Xavier. "You go shower first!"

Xavier locked his dark eyes onto her. "And what are you going to do?"

"I swear I won't peek!" Norah promised, shaking her head with utter solemnity.