AllFreeNovel
Share Us
When had I started to think of her as belonging to me?
“How are you here?” She whispered, her breath hitting my neck from how close we were. Instead of feeling foreign or unwelcome, a pleasant warmth ran down my spine.
Or I could be reacting to her voice.
It was just as sweet as it was in my memories. The sound hadn’t faded from my mind in the two weeks since I’d seen her. I didn’t think her lilting tone ever would.
“Are you okay?” I asked, avoiding her question. I might not know a lot about social interaction, but even I was aware that if she knew I was watching her, she’d freak out.
Maybe she’d hit me. Demand I leave. I wasn’t ready to be away from her. Not when she wasn’t safe. When I needed my eyes on her to know she was unharmed.
Or maybe she’d just yell. Would I like her voice when she was screaming?
My gut tightened. A part of me knew I would. I’d loved it when she’d snapped at my brother. Stood up for herself. Something I’d never quite mastered.
“I don’t know.” Her tone wavered as she wrapped her arms around her middle. Her limbs shook as her chest rose with an unsteady breath.
“That’s the adrenaline.” I tore off my lightweight jacket, dropping it on her shoulders. “You’re body is coming down. It might take an hour for it to disappear.”
She gave a jerky nod as she grabbed the ends of my jacket, burrowing inside it. More heat filled my veins as I watched the fabric swallow her up. My stomach tightened. I think…I think I enjoyed seeing her in my clothes. It made it seem like she belonged to me.
More unsteady breathing from Lark interrupted my train of thought. The sound wheezed through the air. “Look at me.”
Her gaze snapped up as I moved closer. My shoes bumped the tip of her sandals. My fingers itched to touch her. It was another unfamiliar sensation to me.
But I gave in. I would never figure out what it was I felt for her if I didn’t explore it.
My hand brushed her neck. My thumbs traced along her jaw as I tilted her head back. The ropes around my chest tightened.
She was just as soft as I knew she’d be. Her skin was smooth and warm under my hands. I resisted the urge to touch more of her when another breath hit my thumbs.
“Breathe like me,” I ordered.
Her sweet brown eyes, the color of dark chocolate, locked onto me as I took a deep breath. I held it to the count of four, then released it. Lark followed, taking a breath as I did, holding it, and releasing it.
I kept going, my thumbs skimming along her cheeks until she was breathing normally again. Something about being this close to her, swallowing her breaths, was making me insane.
I should hate it. Feel the itchiness under my skin. The burn in my palms. But I didn’t. I was utterly calm. No thoughts in my head outside of her.
“I’m okay now.”
But I couldn’t make myself let go. I held her face in my gentle grasp. Stared into her eyes. Counted the freckles along her cheek. She had them across her nose, even down her neck.
“Nathan?” Only when she said my name did I step back. Because I didn’t want to hear her call me weird. Question what I was doing like everyone else did. I wouldn’t be able to take it from her.
“I should get you something to drink.” That’s what someone did when another person was upset. That was normal protocol. Not holding their face.
I moved around her kitchen island, heading to the cabinet with her tumbler cups. Her gaze burned a hole in my head as I filled it with ice before grabbing a bottle of tequila from the top of her fridge. I poured in a shot, then handed her the cup.
“Thanks?” She looked confused as she held it in her grasp.
“The alcohol will warm you,” I answered her unspoken question. She didn’t press further, bringing the straw to her lips and taking a sip.
My cock twitched as I watched her wrap her lips around it. They were pretty and pink. Perfect, like every inch of her.
Her gaze assessed me as she set the cup on the counter between us. “What are the odds you’d save me twice?”
She was smart. I knew that from her background. Lying wasn’t in my nature; even if it was, I doubted she’d believe them.
