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"Fuck, are you alright?" I managed to get out as I lifted myself up enough to glance at the man's face. "I'm so sorry—" I began to say, but my words fell off when my eyes met his.
While the fall hadn't knocked the wind out of me, the sight of his gorgeous brown eyes did just that. In that instant, it was like every part of my body became aware of every part of his. His soft skin pulled over tight muscles, his full lips, his closely shorn black hair…
I couldn't even remember the last time I'd been so instantly attracted to someone. In fact, I wasn't sure it had ever happened. Sure, there'd been plenty of guys I thought were good-looking when I'd been younger, but none had evoked the reaction I was having now.
Not even Marcus.
My skin felt too hot and tight for my own body. It was hard to catch my breath, but at the same time, all I wanted to do was inhale his unique scent. He was wearing a short-sleeved shirt, so I could feel his skin against mine and it sent shivers down my spine. I was supposed to be trying to extract myself, but all I wanted to do was sink down onto him until he wrapped his arms around me.
Thankfully, the sound of the spinning tires from the man's bike reminded me where we were and how we'd ended up there. I put my medical hat back on and quickly scanned the man's face, then his upper body. "Are you hurt?" I asked.
The man's eyes went wide as he tried to pull in a breath. Then another. I realized he had had the wind knocked out of him and was starting to panic. I cradled his cheek in my hand as I said, "Listen, you just got the wind knocked out of you. Try to keep your breathing slow and even."
Despite my efforts to calm him, my words only seemed to make things worse. The man jerked his head to the left, then the right as if looking for something before closing his eyes altogether. Sweat dripped down his brow as he shook his head violently. Having had the wind knocked out of myself a few times before, I knew what it felt like and while it was scary, it typically wasn’t panic inducing. But the man beneath me was more than just panicked. He was downright terrified.
He opened his mouth, but no sound came out, causing my own anxiety to tick up. Despite my ability to stay calm in emergencies, fear curled in my belly as the man beneath me became more and more agitated. He began violently thrashing his head and then his hands were pushing at my chest.
I knew that he wanted me to get off of him, but with all the rocks jutting out from beneath the earth, I was terrified that he would end up striking one of them with his head as he struggled. Not to mention his breathing was becoming more and more erratic.
"Hey, look at me," I urged as I focused on calming him down. I gently grabbed his chin and held it, forcing him to look at me. "I need you to hold your breath for me," I said. When he ignored my request, I gripped his chin a bit harder and this time practically ordered, "Hold your breath."
Something flashed in his eyes, but I couldn't tell what it was. "Hold your breath," I urged again, softening my voice just a bit. He continued to shake his head but did as I asked. "That's good," I said. I began counting out loud, slow and steady. It took me several long seconds to realize at some point I’d begun stroking his jawline.
"Now let it out," I said. As soon as he released his breath, I told him to draw in another and once again hold it. To my surprise, he did it. After a couple of times, his eyes actually slid shut. His entire body was still fraught with tension, but his hands were no longer pushing at me. In fact, his fingers had moved to my arms and were wrapped around my biceps. I told myself I was being ridiculous to think that he was actually trying to hold on to me somehow. He probably had no clue he was even doing it.
When I was satisfied that his breathing had stabilized, I said, "Can you tell me without moving if your neck hurts?"
The man's pretty eyes once again opened for the briefest of moments and I saw what I could only classify as relief. But it didn't last. Within seconds, he was shoving me off him, this time with enough strength to knock me on my ass. "Get the fuck off me!" he snapped at the same time.
