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ChapterTwenty-Nine
“Skeletons?” I asked. “You mean this entire underground tomb is full of old bones?”
Alek shrugged his thick leather jacket off himself and hung it around my shoulders. I was already wearing a thin jacket, but the temperature continued to drop as we walked the narrow steps to the catacombs.
“Think about the history,” Alek whispered. “Think about everyone who has lived before you, and everyone who will live after you.”
Even with the extra layer of Alek’s jacket, I shivered. “That doesn’t help. I’d rather not think about the thousands of dead souls we’re walking with.”
He laughed quietly. Alek explained to me that these catacombs were typically swarmed with tourists during the day. Lucky for us, though, it was an hour after midnight. We were the only two in sight.
Which both relaxed me and put me on edge.
When we began walking down the stairs, I wasn’t worried. It wasn’t until the sky disappeared above us that I started to second-guess where Alek was taking me.
Skulls became visible in the walls around us. Bones made up half the walls, and the dark tunnels before us looked anything but welcoming.
“This is your idea of fun?” I hissed.
“Try to relax,” he said. “Just live in the moment.”
We took the first turn in the tunnels, which removed any lingering moonlight from the stairs above.
I froze.
Alek’s hands found my waist. “Don’t be afraid,” he whispered in my ear.
I leaned into his touch, half because I couldn’t see a damn thing, and half because I wanted more of it.
“I’m not afraid,” I lied.
“Good, because we’re just getting started. This way.”
He slid his hand down my arm and interlocked his fingers with mine. It was a casual movement, I knew it was.
But that didn’t stop my entire body from erupting in goosebumps.
“What exactly are we supposed to be doing down here?” I asked.
“Respecting the bones that built these walls,” Alek said. He stopped walking and pulled me close to him. In the darkness, I could hardly make out the shadow of his body. “Or maybe I just brought you here to scare you.”
My heavy breath was the only audible sound in the catacombs. That, and the sound of dripping water far in the distance.
“Mission accomplished,” I whispered. In the cover of the darkness, I slid my own hands up his sides. It was reckless and stupid, but something about the thrill of the catacombs fueled me.
We were alone down here. We were in a different world. We weren’t here to put on a show to Alek’s father, we weren’t here to fool anyone. For the first time since I met Alek, this actually felt real. And not just for me.
Alek’s hands drifted to the sides of my face. “It’s odd,” he started. “I feel safer down here. Even though we’re surrounded by thousands of human bones.”
He was so close now, our chests were nearly touching. My heartbeat rang in my ears, the scent of sandalwood growing more intoxicating with every breath.
“It’s quiet,” I replied. “It’s hidden. That’s rare for us, I guess.”
I felt him smile in the darkness.
His thumbs swept over my cheeks. My hands slid slowly to his back. “Very rare, indeed,” he agreed.
“Is this another trick?” I whispered. My heart fluttered with every torturous movement of his hands. “Is this another part of our deal? Of proving that we’re together?”
