‘What the fuck did I say about being reckless!’ Sebastian growls, his voice raw against the crashing wind.
My heart leaps into my throat as the smoky rich scent of him cuts through the scent of salt and my fear. He walks backward to pull me further away from the edge, back to where it’s safe. The second I realise I’m not going to fall, my knees buckle. He goes down with me, holding my body to his as I start to shake so violently my teeth chatter.
‘I almost …’ I stop as the words get caught in my throat. I almostdied!
My arms wrap around Sebastian, my fingers dig into the shirt at his back, seeking something –anything– solid and real. I bury my face in his chest, and heletsme. In fact, I feel his arms tighten around me, as ifheis the one seeking comfort.
‘What were you thinking, coming out here by yourself?’
I start to shake my head. ‘I didn’t— I just—’ My words dissolve into hiccups and I feel my throat burn as tears threaten to spill free. The gravity of the situation starts to hit, my adrenaline wearing off.
He grips my shoulders and pulls me back just enough to look at me. His green eyes blaze with fury, pupils blown wide. Something in his expression breaks though. The fire in his eyes flickers out like a dying flame, replaced by raw tenderness and stark relief that I am not ready for. I feel his hands, warm and calloused, reach up and grip the sides of my face. His thumbs wipe under my eyes. ‘Hey, look at me.’ His voice is softer than I’ve ever heard it. Comforting and soothing. ‘You’re all right. I’ve got you, okay. You hear me?’ He tilts my head back just slightly, so I have no choice to look anywhere but at him. ‘I’ve got you.’
I don’t say a thing. Mostly because I don’t think I can even if I try. But also, because I want to believe him. I want to sink into the safety of his reassuring words and wrap myself in them like a blanket. Words don’t reach my lips, so instead I offer him a shaky nod.
He pulls me in again, tighter this time. One large hand cradles the back of my head as if he can shield me from the cliffs and ocean behind me.
I still don’t know if I can trust him, but I do believe that he will keep me safe. At least in this moment.
Neither of us say anything. The wind whips at my loose strands of hair, and his hand slides up to tuck them behind my ear, slow and careful, as if he’s expecting me to leap away from the gesture. I don’t. Instead, my eyes flutter close, his touch leaving a trail of warmth that makes my chest ache in a way I don’t have words for.
We kneel there, chest to chest, close enough to feel each other’s heartbeats until my trembling subsides. When it does, I slowly release the death grip I have on his shirt. My fingers unclench first, then my head lifts from his shoulder where it was nestled and finally, I sit back. My hands fall to my lap where I finally have time to process thatthey’re stinging in pain. As is my stomach. My shirt has a tear in it just above my belly button, and through it I can see the edge of a red graze from where my skin dragged across the edge as I began to fall. Great, more scars.
‘You’re hurt,’ Sebastian notes, his voice low and rough. He reaches for my hands and turns them over to inspect the damage.
‘I’m fine,’ I lie, yanking them back to my lap.
I’m not.
My palms are raw. But worse than that is the memory of his arms around me and how right it had felt. How safe I felt. How much I wanted to stay there …
‘Don’t lie to me,’ he snaps. Not cruel – just cracked open. ‘Not after that.’ He gestures sharply toward the edge of the cliff. ‘Not after I watched you barely climbing back over the edge of a cliff and I thought my heart fucking stopped.’
I freeze.
‘What?’ I breathe, blinking up at him.
‘You heard me,’ he says, quieter now. He reaches forward and grabs my hands once more and this time I let him. He wipes away tiny pieces of gravel, dislodging them from my skin, his brow furrowed.
‘Sebastian …’
He shakes his head like it hurts to hear me say his voice. ‘Don’t,’ he warns.
‘What did you mean by that?’
‘Nothing. I shouldn’t have said that.’
Now I know how he must have felt after I told him our kiss was nothing.
‘Then why did you?’ I push. Apparently almost dying has made me bold.
The large hands that engulf mine tighten just a little. ‘Stop!’ he demands.
‘No.’ My voice shakes.
‘We need to get your wounds clean.’ He drops my hands like they burnt him and stands abruptly.
‘Fuck my wounds!’ I snap, lurching to my feet despite the shakiness in my legs. I reach for him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at me. ‘What did you mean?’ My voice cracks. ‘For once just tell me something, Sebastian. Tell me somethingreal,’ I demand, desperate and half broken.
