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“Oh?” Slowly, while my mind turns over his little clue, I set the phone in the console between our seats and study his eyes in the dark.
The lights of the dash are the only illumination we have, while outside the truck, the headlights shine into the ether.
“Just trust me.” He presses one last kiss to my jaw before turning to climb out of his side, while I do the same on mine.
Racing to meet me at my door, he takes my hand and tucks it into his side, then we walk together toward the end of the earth.
“Your instincts will probably be to say no,” he warns.
“What?” Pitter patters aside, my heart now trips in my chest. “My instincts…? What am I saying no to?”
“Don’tsay no,” he chuckles. “It’s an adventure. There’s no one on this planet who cares more about your safety than I do.Youdon’t even care about your fucking safety as much as I do. So when your first reaction will be to sayhell no, I want you to take a second longer and consideryes.”
“Oh god.” The noise around us grows louder,louder, to the point I’m not sure it’s just wind. “Archer? What are you—”
“Here.” He stops us with a hand on my belly and his arm wrapped around my torso. Then he steps around to rest his chest against my back. “Look over the edge, Mayet.” He nibbles along my neck and sends goosebumps sprinting over my skin. “I know it’s dark. It’s hard to see, but I want you to try.”
“I don’t…” I squint my eyes and stare straight ahead. “I don’t know what you—”
“Come on, Vigilante.” His voice is throaty and dangerous in my ear. “You slay at night. Your eyes see more than others. Stop being so fucking lazy, andlook.”
“Why would you call me the v—Ohh.” I stop questioning when the wind changes direction and misting water coats my arms. It’s warm on my skin. Gentle, despite the voracity of the breeze. “This is…”
I stare out into forever, then realize it appears as though nothing is there because nothingisthere. Clarity hits my senses, and awareness makes me look down. Then I draw a gasping breath at the waterfall we stand atop of.
“Oh my gosh, Archer…”
“The stream comes from beneath the ground,” he murmurs. “This entire hill is made of caves, and inside those caves is an inlet from the bay.” His hand is so large, his pinky finger touches the waistband of my pants, and his thumb nestles between my breasts. “It’s a saltwater waterfall, Mayet. And since it’s private property, hardly anyone knows it’s here.”
“Except you.” I let his hands be all that keep me on the ground as I lean forward and look over the edge. “The miscreant eighteen-year-old who trespassed on some old rich fogey’s land and helped himself to what was supposed to be private.”
It’s like glitter falls in front of us instead of water. Like the headlights from the truck turn droplets into diamonds.
“It’s so beautiful. What’s at the bottom?”
“A lagoon,” he purrs. “So deep that no one’s ever swum all the way to the bottom. But safe enough that there isn’t a single reported injury for this body of water in all of history.”
“Because it’s private property,” I choke out a nervous laugh. “The collected data simply isn’t significant.”
“It’s fine.” Lowering his hand, he unsnaps the button of my pants and elicits a surprised inhale as I spin and risk my life on the edge of the world.
“Do not undress me!”
He slides my zipper down and pushes my pants with it. “We’re jumping in.”
“You’re insane!” I wrap my arms around his shoulders and cling to his powerful body. “I can’t even see what’s down there.”
“ButIknow what’s down there.” He bends, even while I hold him. He grunts and works on my pants so the mist sticks to my legs and sends chills along my skin. “Remember? I said you’ll want to say no at first. But you just need to trust me to keep you safe. Trust me to show you something you won’t ever experience anywhere else.”
“We’re standing on a cliff!” I cry out. “Archer!” I stomp my foot when he attempts to tug my shoe off. “We’re on a cliff.”
“We’re on a waterfall.” Tearing my pants off and setting them aside somewhere I’ll never find them as long as it remains dark, he stands once more and works on the buttons of my blouse. “You mentioned magic.” He kisses my forehead. “So I’m gonna show you magic.”
“Oh my god.” My heart thunders as he pushes my shirt back and tangles my arms in the sleeves. “Oh my god, Archer. This is insane.”
“No one on this planet cares about your safety as much as I do.” While I stand on the edge of a cliff in my underwear, Archer steps back and quickly whips his shirt off. Even in the dark, even in my panic, my eyes jump to the chain he wears around his neck, and the ring that rests above his heart. “So if I’m telling you it’s safe, I promise, it’s safe.”
“You just want me to take your word for it?” Terrified, I glance back and peek over the ledge. “Archer! You expect me to take the word of a shithead eighteen-year-old?”
