I take the book from her hands without answering, running my fingers along the frayed pages.

“I always bring a few books with me on journeys like this.” She pats my shoulder. “It helps the time move faster, makes me feel like I’m revisiting with old friends.”

I hold back a sigh, brushing away the thought of my old book friend.

“Read a few chapters after you finish relieving yourself,” she says. “Take your time.”

I more than plan to…

I’m not sure how long my fingers have flipped through the pages or how many words I’ve devoured, but I force myself to pause my reading at the end of the first act.

Pretending like I’m standing in the village bookstore, I pull the feathered pen from the book’s spine and write a note to my friend, as if he’ll actually see it someday. As if no time has passed, and he’ll meet me in the woods and tell me that he wants to be together forever now.

I was wrong about this story…

You were right.

Want to pick the next one?

—Your only friend, too

The moment I shut the book, Gabriel’s deep voice sifts across the bank. I strain to listen to him, as he’s not speaking English. It sounds like a variant of Latin.

Crouching low, I move toward his words.

“Invenire puellam pulcherrimam et sapientissimam in tota terra… noctes liberabo.”

I can only interpret “beautiful girl,” “land,” and “dark nights,” and he seems to be repeating the strange phrase over and over again.

When his voice is so close that I can detect his presence, I gently push aside the grass to see if he’s sleep-talking, or, worse, attempting to read.

The final blade gives way, and I suck in a breath at the seductive sight in front of me.

Gabriel isn’t sleeping at all.

He’s standing under a cascade, completely naked, letting the waters fall over his body.

With his eyes shut and his head tilted back, he repeats his words as water travels down his sleek black hair to his chiseled chest. He flexes the muscles in his back, revealing a perfectly symmetric line of ink marks that mar his skin.

I swallow as I watch him, feeling my heart flutter with every move he makes, every word that falls from his full and defined lips.

Eager for a better view, I balance my body on top of a rock.

He runs a hand through his dark hair and turns to the side, and I can’t help but lead my gaze lower and lower, and…

My entire face heats, and I take a step back. I’ve seen plenty of naked men statues around town, but their cocks aren’t that huge.

They’re nowhere near as thick either…

He suddenly moves from under the cascade, slipping behind a bush.

Emerging moments later, wearing pants and his coat, he leaves his shirt unbuttoned.

“How many full moons are ahead?” he calls out to someone. “Hello?”