AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His faith made her realize that fear never really went away. It only got worse if you didn’t confront your feelings, eventually.
Her counsellor had given her methods to fight this. To help her claw her way through the terrible sensation of slowly drowning. She’d thought she was past it all, wouldn’t need those coping mechanisms ever again. But twice now, she’d reverted to old habits. After the car crash and now with Mack.
Because everything was on the line here. If she couldn’t do this, then they were both stuck down here indefinitely.
“What if I fall?” she said in a small voice.
“You can do this,” he said, gently grabbing her chin and turning her face toward him.
“And if you fall, I’ll catch you,” he said.
She laughed at the ridiculousness of it, but his gaze was deadly serious. Maybe he didn’t mean he’d physically catch her—she wouldn’t put it past him to try—but maybe he meant he was there for her emotionally. He had conviction in her ability and her strength to complete this. It felt good to have someone believe in her so utterly.
“I don’t want to leave you on your own.” She made one more attempt to convince him—convince herself—not to do this. “You’re hurt. What if something happens to me? No one knows where you are. What if I—”
“It’s a risk we’re going to have to take,” he said, pulling her gently onto his chest. She avoided his injured hand as she lay her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t think I could go on without you,” she said suddenly.
Where had that thought come from? But she had no time to dissect the idea, all she knew was it was true. He’d become special to her. Someone she didn’t want to live without. The word love hovered in her mind, but she brushed it away. That word was nearly as scary as the idea of climbing out of this shaft. Too big and too unnerving, if she admitted that, it would take over her whole being, and she needed to concentrate on the here and now.
“Of course, you could,” he replied, lifting his hand to stroke her hair. “You’re much stronger than you know. That’s one of the many things I admire about you. You’ve rocked my world, Bindi, and I intend to show you just how much you mean to me once we get out of here.”
His words both astounded her and made her heart flutter with excitement. She rocked his world? Never had she thought to hear that sort of sentiment from him. Hugging him tightly, she looked up into his face.
His lips touched hers, and she raised up to meet his mouth. Firm and insistent, she got lost in the feel of his lips, the touch of him, his body pressed into hers. Eyes closed, she traced her finger down the side of his face, enjoying the rasp of his stubble, finding the jut of his jawline and tracing it backward, up toward his ear. Kissing Mack took over her body as she melted into him. Took over her all her thoughts, ideas and sensations, until it was just him and her. Suddenly, she felt unbelievably possessive. He was hers. Her cocky cowboy. All that bold, cheeky, gorgeous man was hers. Giving in to the sweet surrender of him for a few more seconds, at last she moved back slightly, breaking their contact.
It was time to climb.
