Page 28 of After Our Kiss

- Chapter Ten -

Georgia Mary King

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Paralyzing cold swept over my body.

Bubbles flirted with my cheeks and hair, rushing over my eyelids. I'd scrunched them shut to brace for the impact, but the chilly ocean made them impossible to open now. I couldn't see to navigate. The single breath I'd taken into my lungs burst out of me—I had no control.

What the hell had I been thinking?

I'm going to drown.

Something grabbed my arm. It dug in, locking into place, challenging Poseidon himself to try and rip me away. My face broke the surface of the waves; I swallowed more water, choking as I was thrown limply over Conway's shoulder.

He swam hard, avoiding every obstacle that tried to smash us into pieces. We made it to a stretch of rocky beach. Twisting, he curled me in his arms, lowering me to the sand. Large hands cradled my face, turning me sideways so I could spit out a mouthful of briny water.

“Are youcrazy?”he snarled, giving me no space. “Did you hope you could kill yourself right in fucking front of me?”

I couldn't talk. I just hacked wetly. Water had soaked into my sweater, my flesh, my hair. I weighed so much I couldn't even crawl. Then I looked up at Conway, and I became light as a dandelion seed.

His features were knotted into a wretched mess. His hair streamed water constantly into his eyes, yet he didn't blink. He'd warned me that the rocks would slice me to the bone... but it was him who'd been flayed. Each level ripped clean away, one above the other.

Anger.

Hatred.

Disgust.

Beneath it all I saw what he really was.

Afraidfor me.

Too late, he understood his mask had slipped. Shaking from the cold—from painful hope—I lifted my hand to his cheek. “I knew you cared.”

Snatching my wrist, he didn't force me away. Conway held me there, the two of us facing each other on our knees. “How could you have been sure?”

“Because you can't trick me. I know who you are, Conway.” Inch by inch, I drew closer to him. As cold as I was, being near him burned. “You'll always be the boy who saved me. Time can't change that.”

He focused on my eyes, his gaze drifting down to my mouth. “Not time. Actions. Georgia, the things I've done—the things Iwilldo...”

“Forget about them. Stop thinking in regrets.”

His lips curved into a hollow smile. “You think we can hide from the world on this beach?”

“We can try.”

His forehead furrowed. “The world won't stop moving just because we don't. You know that.”

The moment was fading, but I wouldn't let it go. There'd never be another chance like this. “Do you remember how you used to help me pretend I wasn't trapped in a basement?”

The rush of pain in his eyes stopped me in my tracks. He shuddered, pulling me even closer. Nothing bigger than a quarter could have passed between us. “Georgia, there's been so many nights where all I thought about was your hand on top of mine in the dark. Your scent, your heartbeat, how smooth your virgin lips were when they touched mine.” Rapid, hot air pushed in and out of my chest as I listened. “It's terribly greedy, but if I could pick then over now... I'd do it.”

His lashes were thick, hiding some of the lust in his stare-but only some. I drew in a sharp breath. His proximity was making me lose control. My upper hand at proving he cared about me was transforming into something sinful.

Reaching out, he slid his fingertips through my soaked hair. He came around to rub the back of my ear, a touch so intimate I whimpered. That sound was the last straw for him.

Gripping the nape of my neck, Conway kissed me the way dying men kiss their wives... or the way long lost lovers reunite.Thiswas how I'd imagined our destined meeting. In my head, it always began with a kiss.

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