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He winked to confirm my assumption, but offered no additional information. With his arm extended, he said, “After you.”
“No way! For all I know, there are snakes and alligators down there. And I hate the dark.”
“Alex, it’s just stairs. Do you really think I would take you down here if I thought you would get hurt?”
Would he? The jury was still deliberating on that one.
He noticed my hesitation and jumped to his feet, brushing off his pants. “I’ll be a few rungs below you. If you fall, I’ll catch you.”
I glanced down at the ladder and cleared my throat. “Um… I don’t know about this. I hate heights and dark spaces. How deep does this tunnel go?”
He pointed his finger into the cave of wonders. I couldn’t bring myself to look again, too freaked out about being buried alive in the dark.
“It’s only a twenty-foot drop,” he said like it was nothing, and I rolled my eyes at his use of the wordonly. “Then it’s about a two-minute walk to the beach.”
“Do we have to do this in the dark?”
“It’s time to get over your fear.” He rubbed circles over my shoulder blade, giving me one of his tempting smirks. “How about we start now?”
I bit my lip to stop it from quivering. “I don’t know.”
Marcello pulled me into his arms, stroking his long fingers down my back. “You’re the most important woman in my life. I won’t let anyone hurt you, princess.”
“I’m trusting you, Marcello. That’s not something I do often.”
He grabbed my hand and kissed the top of it. “You can trust me with your life. Now let’s go.”
Marcello hopped into the creepy hole. When he was a quarter of the way down, I wiped my sweaty palms down the front of my shorts.
How the hell did he talk me into this?Heights and dark spaces…
My two favorite things.
“You got this,” Marcello said from below, his deep voice reminding me I wasn’t alone. “I’m right below you. Just take a few steps.”
Following the sound of Marcello’s voice, I moved down the ladder with caution. This reminded me of an episode ofLost. The one where the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 found the underground bunker with the countdown timer.
As I made my way to the bottom, I thought about my life and how every moment with the Salvatores felt like a ticking clock. Like I was seconds away from losing myself.
When I was close to the bottom, Marcello hooked his arm around me and lifted me off the ladder. A proud smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “You did good, princess. See, it’s all in your head. You can do anything if you put your mind to it.”
My smile mirrored his. “That was terrifying, but I’m glad you pushed me to do it.”
He moved his hands to my backside, pressing my chest against his. “The rest of the way is a piece of cake.”
As his delicious citrus scent washed over me, I thought about kissing him. I wanted to claim him for myself. My heart raced at an abnormally fast rate, thumping in my chest like a drum. I clutched his thick bicep to steady myself, still a little shaky from my nerves and the climb. He must have sensed my desire because he stepped back, his hands falling away from my body.
Marcello wanted me.
But he was loyal to Luca.
He tipped his head. “Let’s go.”
We strolled into the dark passage, and goosebumps dotted my flesh. My nose turned up at the earthy scent mixed with the saltiness of the sea. I covered my nose and mouth, sneezing several times.
Stupid allergies.
“We’re almost there,” Marcello said after the fifth time I sneezed.
