Page 23 of Fall
“Out there…” My shoulders roll back, and I stand a little taller. “Scientists say a meteorite devastated the ecosystem here. Fires burned for several years in the aftermath.” He folds his arms, listening attentively. “Research shows it took six million years for the forest to return to a level of diversity similar to what it was before the meteorite hit. The species that grew back were completely different. Such an immense crisis brought about the dense canopies we’re in now—it created the Amazon rainforest.” A pounding vein in my neck turns chaotic. I know what I’m trying to say, and I’m terrified of how he’ll react.
I press through my fear and continue, “Even after destruction, there is rebirth, Dante. Good things can come from ruins. Better worlds. Delicate thriving ecosystems. Relationships.” I swallow my nerves. “I came here to gather information on a new meteorite… which is human interference. Deforestation. And…” His eyes narrow. “And I found you.”
Dante drops his arms and traps me between his pelvis and the wilderness. “I’m listening,” he declares in a low rumble.
I inhale a quick breath and let the words flow with its exhale. “I’m thinking about staying for a while. It’s important for me to continue with my research.”
“No.”
“Yes,” I protest.
His lashes lower briefly. “No,” he repeats with a sharp snap.
“Dante,” I whisper, lifting to my tiptoes. “I’m not asking to stay. I’m telling you it’s necessary for me to stay. Fergal was meant to break his leg. I was meant to take his place. You and I were destined to meet in the very place I’ve dreamed about visiting since I was a kid.”
A hand shoots to my throat. “This isn’t a love story with a happy ending. People will die. Possibly even me. But most definitelynotyou, beija flor.” His husky voice chases the shadows.
“I don’t have enemies here,” I point out. His face dips, ready to smother my protest with his lips. “Just a few more weeks, and then I’ll fly home. I’ll return to the lab with useful information. Then Bruce won’t have died in vain. I’ll have served a purpose. Looking out at the jungle right now, being here, with you—it feels like I belong. Like you were the meteorite that obliterated the old me and then…”
“Stop,” he bites out, battling with the pressure of his life-threatening fingertips. “If anyone’s a fucking meteorite, it’s you. With your red hair and cataclysmic presence. I meant what I said in the beginning. I don’t want you here.” But as he says the statement, his vivid gaze drops. “Youdon’tbelong here.”
He’s lying. Nonetheless, my heart wilts. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that, Dante. Tell me you don’t want more nights together. Tell me I’m leaving now and never coming back. That we’ll never meet each other again.” My tone frosts with frustration.
The fingers wrapping my throat skate to my shoulder. His forehead bumps into mine. “I’m giving you back your life, Iris.” The depth to his statement rumbles like far off thunder, threatening to rip open the sky with relentless rain and drown every living creature. “It’s what you wanted. What you begged me for. What I should have granted after the fever broke. But I was too irrational back then to see it.” He sighs heavily. “I still am. I’ll never be the man you deserve. That side of me died with my sister. The possibility of normal resurfaced for a brief moment when you showed up, but yesterday only proves what I’m truly capable of, and I won’t let that happen again.”
“It proves you want to survive more than you want to surrender to the darkness eating your soul. You’re not a bad man, Dante. Not in here.” I lightly tap the taut muscle over his heart.
“I wasn’t a bad guy in the past.” He exhales out of his nostrils. “But then they stole the only important thing I had. Now I barely recognize myself. I can’t promise you won’t meet that side of me again, and the only way I can ensure it is for you to get the fuck away from me before it destroys us both. It’s not fair, but it’s how this is going to end. You're going home, beija flor.”
A shiver runs the length of my spine. “Hummingbirds don’t belong in the United Kingdom, Dante.”
There’s a notable sense of sadness when he replies, “You’ll return as Iris. The remarkable woman who survived the jungle.” His voice gains an edge. “Who got out alive with a second chance at life. Do you understand?”
“What if I’m not that woman anymore?” I reply, with a hint of frustration to my tone. “What if I choose to stay so I can carry on with my research?” I demand.
He inhales rapidly, and I sense he’s seconds from inviting el Fantasma to the coupling. “It’s not safe here.”
“I’m not asking for eternity. A few more weeks at most. After everything, you owe me more time.”
“Fuck,” he snarls, dragging a hand through his hair. “Why are you so…”
“Admit it, Dante. You want me to stay more than you need me to leave.” I fold my arms, unintentionally pushing my breasts together.
Piercing eyes warn me of possible danger. “I’d rather you left here with a heartbeat. Don’t argue with me, Iris.” He rubs his eyes and blows out a jet of air.
His attention refocuses on my bare skin. “Dante…” I push myself into him. “The Oasis is secured by a talented team of highly trained men who would do anything for you. You control every single visitor. No one gets beyond your borders without approval. There isn’t a chance in hell of someone climbing the skyscraper trees to kill an unknown woman from the Scottish Highlands. Anyway, I’m already dead, remember?”
In the beginning, I would’ve broken his hand to grab freedom, but now, when I think back, I vaguely comprehend the time I’ve been here.
Weeks of self-discovery.
Days lost among palm trees with secretive fantasies about one man. This man.
Admittedly, I haven’t thought about my family as often as I should. Only when the opportunity presented itself to offer them a sliver of truth. That was the reason I wrote the note. So their broken hearts could mend from knowing I’m alive. To appease their mourning. I had no intention of going home at that point.
His back stiffens. Golden fragments of sunlight dance in his eyes, softening his stern expression. “And what if my enemies land on my soil?” he says in a harsh tone that’s meant to deter me from this lunacy.
“Then I imagine you’ll do the right thing.” I rest my palm over the galloping heartbeat in his chest. “Do we have a deal?”
