AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leaning against him, I tipped my face toward his. He acted quickly, hand going to the back of my neck, fingers sweeping through my hair, and he kissed me.
And kissed me, and kissed me, and I couldn’t breathe with wonder.
I moved closer, letting him hold me so close there was no end to me or start to him. One arm went around my waist, his hand spanning the space between my shoulder blades. It was security and gentleness, and at odds with the way he kissed.
His lips were smooth and strong, and took the air straight from my lungs. The wind blew, and he held me tighter, like he could shield me from it. Pulling away, he whispered, “We should go back. It’s going to rain.”
“It always rains.” I kept my eyes closed, just in case he kissed me again.
He did, but a moment later, the rain started, light at first, trailing along my face. Pollux pressed one last hard kiss on my mouth. “Come on.”
Slipping his hand from my neck, down my arm to my hand, he linked our fingers. I followed him, trusting him to lead me because I needed all my wits just to put one foot in front of the other.
“I’m going to run out of clothes!” I called, tripping over a stone in the trail. I’d only packed for overnight, and I was a mess.
“You say that like it’s a problem.” Spinning back toward me, he wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me. “You can borrow something.” A hard press of lips, and my feet were back on the ground. He lifted me like it was nothing.
Laughing, I held tight to his hand as he started toward the cottage again. “Careful here.” We came upon the stone wall we’d climbed over when we first started our walk.
Pollux went over first, turning back to reach out a hand to help me over.
The stone was dark from the rain and slick, so I had to be careful with each step. It was then, from the corner of my eye, I caught a slice of silver and black, sliding over the stone.
The sound of the wind and rain disappeared, and I swore I could hear the snake’s belly rasp over the ground. It was a whisper of silk. A slow glide of scales over moss.
Hypnotized, I stood in place, watching as it undulated so smooth and gracefully.
Black diamonds, like a zigzag, trailed along its back, and the silver of its scales was so dark to be nearly pewter.
Time stood still as it wove around my boot, between my feet, and over my toes. So close.
“Leo.” Pollux’s voice seemed to come from somewhere far away. “Don’t move.”
I didn’t want to. The snake wound around and around, and I just watched. Carefully, like I was a spot of sunshine in the hills, the snake curled around and around itself until it was coiled like a silver and black chain at my feet.
“Leo.”
My brain was a fog and Pollux’s voice barely penetrated it.
“Leo.”
A hand took mine, warm and strong, and then he was lifting me in his arms. His body trembled as he dashed over the wall and stood, holding me tight. “Gods. Leo, did it bite you? Leo!” He shook me a little, and I blinked, trying to clear my head. He released me, kneeling at my feet to pull the leg of my pant over my boot.
“It didn’t.” My throat was tight, and it took an effort to raise my voice enough to be heard. “It didn’t bite me. I’m okay.”
Letting out a harsh breath, Pollux wrapped his arms around my legs, leaning his forehead on my thighs. “Gods.” He sucked in a breath, and his entire body shook. “Thank the gods.”
Dropping my hands to his back, I made circles over his back. “I’m sorry. I froze.”
Except freeze wasn’t the right way to describe it. I hadn’t been frightened, I’d been hypnotized.
Pollux jumped to his feet, grabbed my hand, and pulled me toward the cottage. When I was too slow, he turned, lifted me in his arms and took off. Holy crap he was strong.
In seconds, we were inside, and it was only then that he let my feet touch the ground. The breath bellowed out of him, but it wasn’t because he carried me. Holding me tight, I could feel every shake of his body and the tension in his muscles.
He was scared.
No. He was terrified. “Do you know what that was?” The door slammed shut, like he’d kicked it.
