Page 30 of Fall
“Emmie will be ecstatic. I guess I should thank you.” Our gazes tangle. “You saved me that night, Dante. If you hadn’t taken me in after the storm, I really would be dead. Not just on paper.” He smiles stiffly and takes another sip of coffee. “She’s such a good kid. The more I think about her, the more I miss her.”
An aggravated snarl echoes through the lower tier beneath our feet. It grows louder and more frantic. Pushing back in his chair, he rises and marches to the end of the platform. Earthy tones of green and cerulean blue surround his dominant stance. He towers over the rainforest like a magnetic god. My palms curl, feeling clammy at the sight of his boots tight to the edge without a safety barrier to stop him from plummeting to the understory.
The wildcat roar continues. “Can you see anything?” I ask, craning my neck.
He looks back over his shoulder. “No. We’re too far up. The bigger animals can’t pass under the electric wiring. Sounds like she’s pissed because breakfast is on the opposite side.” His lips curl to a fascinating smile.
That quirk of his lips. The transformation of sovereign to everyday mortal. It brightens his thoughtful features and makes him that bit more approachable. His torso twists to the landscape so the black panther inked onto his spine stretches out over the jungle. The heights are dizzying, but his physique is breathtaking.
“Can you please step away from the ledge? You’re making me nervous.”
Dante angles his torso to face me. “Why would you be nervous?”
“Obviously, I don’t want you to slip.”
He traps a smile, stifling his amusement. “I’m touched by your concern, beija flor.” A slight chuckle vibrates in his chest. It’s a lighthearted rumble that fizzes through me on a crusade to lighten all the animosity we’ve shared. Realizing I’m grinning, my cheeks pink to a heated shade of flustered. Silently, he offers me both of his hands. “Come here,” he orders.
“No way.”
“Trust me.”
“I…” My breath catches. “Why are you asking me to trust you now? After everything, Dante.” My tone hints at the worry bubbling in my gut. “It’s a big ask. You’re perched at the edge of a platform in the sky with a deadly drop below.”
“I told you before, you can trust me,” he repeats firmly, showing sincerity. “Now and forever. I give you my word.”
My knees weaken when I leave the table and skirt the open deck. One stumble and I’ll hit every branch on the way down to a grisly end. Keeping my eyes solely focused on his outward facing palms, I walk straight to him, putting my faith in him all over again. “This is crazy,” I mutter.
“Take my hands,” he says, meeting me a few steps away from the precarious edge.
And I do. I take a brave step closer and slot my hands into large waiting palms. The gentle contact makes me shiver, and I see the same reaction take hold of him, too. He stares down at my fingers, linking them with his, slowly, patiently, tenderly. Without kissing or fucking, our connection blooms with the simplest touch. He jerks me into his chest and spins us both around so my back is to the horizon. I gasp, reminiscent of free falling. The temperature feels the same. The breeze carries similar notes of organic earth and citrus, but the look in his eyes––it’s the polar opposite of that day. Where fury clouded his better judgement, an indecipherable flash lives in his unnerving stare. I swallow down a lump in my throat, feeling it settle uncomfortably in my stomach.
“Turn around,” he orders, his expression unrevealing.
Ripping my eyes away from his, I take my time to pivot, pressing my buttocks against the steely arousal in his shorts. A horrible pain nips my heart when I begin to understand what I’m involved in and that it’s finally over.
Together, we face the never-ending expanse in silence. Flyway strands of my air-dried hair dance in the peaceful wind. His bristled chin nuzzles against my temple from behind. Muscular arms envelope my waist, and my toes edge the wooden boards without fear. I place all my trust in his warm embrace and strengthen my stance so he knows it.
Fixed to the boards and each other, we soak in the tranquility, where creatures take first born breaths and others their final gasp. The apprehension of skydiving minus a parachute flits to the webbed matrix of rope merging out from the timber beneath our feet. Even if Dante pushed me for the second time, I’d land in a ballooning safety net.
His masculine energy vibrates through me. A galloping heart beats against my shoulder blade. Prismatic birds dip and dive in the thermal air currents. Leaves flutter, and branches yo-yo. Millions of years’ worth of natural habitat stretches far and wide. Diverse rubber and kapok trees, unique and tall, stand proudly before us. A crowd of support gathered in unison to worship the rightful king. The authoritarian whose body heat is an aphrodisiac. The one who emanates zesty scents that trigger my deepest desires.
“All this is yours?” I say, trying my best to ignore the cruel ache of lust.
“Not all of it. Only a small percentage of what you see here belongs to me. If I could buy it all, I’d keep every fucker out and protect every acre.” He sighs. “There’s a lot of things money can’t buy.”
“Such as?” I settle my hands on his forearms, cinching my waist, catching his contented exhale as it expands his lungs. I know he feels it also. A force of nature keeps us entwined. My tiny frame is neat against him. I’ve never felt this sense of belonging before, and the closeness is insanely good.
Warmth fades when his arms drop, and he sets a hand on my shoulder. “We should get going. I have a lot to sort out.”
Our short-lived truce ends abruptly. Without his strength holding me up, I sway a little, dazed by the emotions we both know exist, but can’t bring ourselves to talk about. What’s the point when we’ll never see each other again after tonight. He rolls his shoulders and latches onto my elbow.
“Finish your breakfast.” He drags me into the middle of the platform. “I’ll take a shower while you eat.” Green eyes shutter briefly, and then he slots a hand into his camo pocket. “We’ll stop off at the medical facility where Sal is waiting for you.”
Whatever exists in his mind is forcefully controlled when he takes a few measured breaths and then swivels around. He’s determined to exile our unspoken bond before we sink so deep that neither of us can come up for air.
If that’s his plan, I won’t argue. How can I? Everything inside me wants to give us a fighting chance, but that takes two. And Dante has shut down.
At least we have tonight, although I’m not certain how that will go. He wants me gone, and I’ll still be here until the next sunrise. Something tells me this evening won’t be easy.
