Page 75 of Enthrall Shadows
It took a moment, but then I realized what she meant. “On the Richter scale?”
“You’ll get used to them.” Her body was still pressed to mine.
“We had a few in Big Bear,” I admitted. “They can get loud.”
“It’s disconcerting.”
Our continued embrace felt natural.
Her body fit mine, her curves and softness melding perfectly. My chest was against her breasts, and my arm was wrapped around her body like our lives depended on it.
I refused to let go in case the big one came next. “Let’s wait a few more seconds, just in case.”
The infamous San Andreas fault-line could still give way beneath us.
Her cute reaction made me cringe at my mistake.
But the hug felt nice.
I allowed her to stay there with her arms wrapped around my body. Or was she allowing me? Her head rested on my chest, her heart beating as though the earthquake had scared her, too.
“Sorry,” I said sheepishly. “I overreacted.”
“No, you saved me. Thanks.”
“Anytime.”
She paused and then asked, “Why did you want to jump off your roof?”
“You make it sound like I wanted to end myself. That wasn’t it at all.” I shook my head. “I was just pissed off.”
“Because of the house? I think the Venus statue is so you.”
“William Randolph Hearst come and get your décor,” I mumbled.
“It wasn’t just the house that upset you?” She squinted at me. “Something else?”
“I’d lost something important,” I admitted. “Or I thought I had, anyway.”
I’d not only admitted it to her but to myself as well. The letter really meant something to me and playing it down was impossible.
“Then I’m glad you didn’t lose it,” she whispered.
I felt a flurry of excitement in my chest—not unpleasant but certainly uncommon.
We were still crushed together. It felt right. Like a connection that went soul deep.
She looked up at me, trying to gauge how I was doing. “We’re okay now.”
I held her gaze, enjoying this feeling of rightness.
She reached around me and dragged something into my line of sight. “Mistletoe.”
Lotte held a sprig above our heads.
I frowned. “Christmas is over and that’s parsley.”
A playful expression flashed over her face.
