“Speaking of a mind of its own, I need to sit here for a minute and distract myself so I don’t start thinking about what we just went through and freak out.” I drop my head against the seat. I massage the pain in my leg, hopeful my heart rate is returning to normal. “I can’t believe I’m asking this, but, Truth or Dare, Dunn?”
“Good idea,” he says, sounding as worked up as I feel. “Truth, Monroe. Make me feel better.”
“On a scale of one to ten, what was your fear level out there?” I close my eyes, trying to decompress “I know we’ve seen a lot of storms, but please tell me it was as high as mine.”
“Honestly?”
“I’d like it if you were. I feel like an amateur right now.”
“Before you fell, it was around an eight.”
It sounds like there’s more he wants to say. I blink, and when I open my eyes, I find that he’s still close—raindrops drying on his eyelashes. Exhaustion lining his gaze when he stares at me straight on, and I feel the wall around my heart start to fracture the longer I look at him. The tiniest crack, just above my ribs, the longer he looks right back at me.
“And after?” I croak.
“A ten. I’ve never been so terrified.”
I bob my head. With his eyes on me, he slowly reaches for my seat belt and buckles it securely in place. I think his hand brushes against my stomach when he does, but I might be imagining it, a side effect from the waning adrenaline.
I’ve never been so terrified, either, but I’m more scared of howI’m feeling right now: vulnerable. Confused and elated and grateful for his protection.
I’m not sure I’d want to go through that with anyone else.
I’m not sure I would have survived that if it hadn’t been him next to me.
Maybe he’s right.
Maybe the two of us are inevitable, our souls tied together moons ago. Fate waiting, until the moment was right.
Relief washes over me as I melt into the seat, followed swiftly by lust. By need and maddening curiosity.
I wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
I wonder what it would be like if he kissed me back.
Do it, a voice inside my head whispers.
Please, a softer one adds.
“Quincy?” Sebastian puts a hand on my arm. There’s worry in his eyes. Distress in the curve of his shoulders. He’s aged ten years in ten minutes. “Are you okay?”
“Sorry,” I breathe out. Mind-numbing exhaustion sits heavy on my limbs. Desire curls in my stomach. I’m a live wire the longer he keeps his hand on me, a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. “Trying to push through the pain.”
“I’ll drive you back to your place and have Cooper meet us there to check you out.”
“Thanks. I’ll send you whatever footage I was able to get tomorrow. You can use it however you want.”
“I appreciate that.” His mouth pulls up in a smile. The car warms, the gentle hum of low heat filling the space between us. “Just so you know, I’m going to pretend you tripped so you could get me to carry you.”
I swat at his arm, but he’s faster. He catches my hand in his hold. His thumb brushes over my knuckles, the energy between us shifting to something new.
“I hate you,” I say around a yawn.
“No, you don’t,” he says, pulling out of the parking lot and turning on the radio.
No, I don’t, I think, just before I fall asleep to the sound of smooth jazz playing from the radio and Sebastian reaching over to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear.
Maybe I never did.
