AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He opens the device wide and slides it onto my leg. The damn thing is so tight that I’m afraid it’s going to squeeze my leg to death, if such a thing could ever happen.
“Ready?” he asks, looking straight into my eyes.
I nod, and he starts to roll this new torture device slowly up my leg. Without thinking, I instantly jolt out my arms to grab his shoulders; the tank top he’s wearing allows my fingers to dig into his bare skin.
“Oh my God.”
He chuckles under his breath. “Breathe.”
I keep my hands on him as he rolls it up and down my leg. When he gets to a spot that hurts, I squeeze him harder, and when he moves on to where I don’t have knots, I loosen my grip. He does this up and down both legs, going side to side for a few minutes, before he pops the device off my leg and sits back on his heels.
The distance between us makes me lose my grip on him, and I drop my hands to my lap.
“How’s that feel?” he asks.
“Horrible and amazing at the same time.”
He laughs with a smile. “Yep, that pretty much sums it up.”
When I see the marks I just left on his shoulder, I gulp in a ton of air and cover my mouth in embarrassment. “I’m so sorry.”
He checks out my work, then blows them off. “Allgood. Not the first time a girl has dug her nails into my back.”
In shock at what he just said, I push him farther away from me.
He laughs. “I’m kidding.”
I stand up and bring my foot to my butt to stretch out my quads more.
He stands as well. “Just continue to move and stretch the next few days, and it won’t be so bad.”
I walk around our little area he set up to get the feeling back in my legs while he gets up to grab his guitar before sitting back in the chair.
With my back to him, I raise my arms in the sky, leaning from side to side to stretch out my body. It’s rare that I see this view of our ranch. How massive it is, how empty it is, and, really, how sad it’s become.
I wonder what was going through his head as he stared off into space the same way I am now. Does he even know the damage his family has caused?
Feelings of guilt wash over me. I shouldn’t be here with him. My dad would be so upset, hurt even, knowing I’m even giving Dalton a second of my time.
Him strumming on the guitar breaks my rabbit-hole thoughts I was going down, and I turn to face him.
His eyes are closed as he plays a tune I’ve heard before, but can’t put my finger on. He looks so intense about what he’s doing, but at the same time very peaceful, like this is special to him.
The more I watch, the more I’m entranced by him, by his presence, by his grace, and I slowly move closer to him.
I need to leave.
“So, um … if we’re not going to run, I need to go get some chores done.”
He drops the guitar and instantly stands up, almost knocking me over. I didn’t even realize I had gotten that close to him until he’s gripping me for balance and mere inches from my face.
We stare at each other like this. Neither of us blinking. Me having to bend my neck to meet his height and him looking straight down at me like he’s about to devour me.
His eyes dart from my eyes to my lips.
I suddenly can’t breathe. I don’t know if it’s fear, excitement, curiosity or what, but I’m so lost in his eyes that I feel like time has slowed down indefinitely and it’s just him and I right now.
He licks his lips, and I instantly know what emotions I’m feeling.
