Page 5 of Fall
My shaky fingertips fumble with the unforgiving bite at the corners of my mouth. He jolts, understanding how desperate I am to speak. His entire body simmers with visible restraint. Either his composure will remain solid, or I’ll suffer the consequences of a blistering warpath.
“Don’t try it,” he barks close to my face. “Get. In. The. Chopper.” His unnerved voice punctuates each word with no yelling. The unhallowed sharpness of his tone pelts me with ice, freezing me to the hard surface beneath our feet. Whatever response I offer won’t have the power to chip past his impenetrable wall. Not now, not ever.
Without delay, Dante wrenches my elbow and trails me toward the aircraft. He slides the door open, angles in and sweeps me into his arms. It’s not a romantic gesture or even a friendly offer of assistance. It’s rough and rapid. He propels me inside, and then I’m swiftly followed by a human storm of brawn. I’m trapped in a tiny compartment with him. He leans in toward the pilot and barks an order in Portuguese.
Neither of us are buckled in or wearing headsets when the helicopter rises vertically through an eclipse of mist. During the downpour, a bold blue sky distorts to bleak. Clouds suffocate the sun with an oppressive gloom.
He’s not prepared to hear the truth.
He wants to believe I’m a despicable liar.
I stare at his rigid form with a fixed spine and sharp gaze stabbing the horizon. My heart slams into my chest like he’s injected me with a killer shot of caffeine. Unruly and hysterical. All the air in the cramped space thickens with every rushed breath. Treetops blur beyond the windows, leaving the Oasis as a distant sanctuary.
Our pilot lifts his hand and gestures to Dante with a circular motion. The aircraft swoops, and my heart drops with it. Turning into me, he drags his sunglasses down his nose slowly. His winter green gaze joists with mine. He pockets the frames and reaches behind my head. The pressure on my mouth releases, and the cord flops onto my lap. The short hairs snuggling his jaw seem darker than before, changing the shadows of his face without the bright sunlight.
Seizing the opportunity, I hurry to justify my actions. “I wanted my sister to know I was safe. That’s all. Nothing else,” I holler over the deafening engine hum. The validation whooshes from my dry throat in a frenzy to be heard. His mouth contorts and a thin vein in his throat throbs. “I didn’t mention…” Before I finish the sentence, his hand shoots out and clamps my jaw. I flinch at his sharp contact. Forcing my gaze to glue with his, he tips into me. A thin crown of green disappears into a black hole of extinction. Nostrils flare as he grips his temper by the thinnest thread.
I gulp when he steadily inhales and wonder if he’s memorizing the scent of betrayal. My balled fist rams into his chest, bunching the tight material close to his taut pecs... I’m prepared for a war of words. For the aircraft to land. To be the victim of brute strength ushering me from expensive upholstery to an austere clearing where my mentor rests in peace.
Instead, our mouths connect.
Fierce lips fuse with mine.
The kiss shocks my pulse, so it pumps at a thousand miles per hour. It’s a convoluted joining of fury and stimulation. What it lacks in tenderness, it makes up for in adrenaline. I’m fluid and solidified. Molten and frozen. Terrified and inflamed with passion.
Impure sensations rocket straight to my core. Firm fingers dive into my windswept hair and tug me closer. His unstoppable intensity lessens in pressure, but persistent hungry lips take and take. Our violent tongues start a war and eager teeth clash like swords.
I’m so terribly weak, because I can’t get enough. All the wrongs mutilate into feelings of immoral pleasure. Volatile urgency burns through me, raging with an impossible need. I understand who el Fantasma is––but this. This was unforeseen and hotheaded. His rigid exterior has melted into the surroundings, leaving a heartfelt, consuming kiss.
He wants me.
And foolishly, I want him too.
Lost in his taste, I’m naively unaware of his intentions. In this indecipherable moment together, my guard lowers. Wishes of forgiveness are exposed as I surrender to the man with my life in his hands. Unfortunately for me, my already bruised trust is unimportant to him. I’m just a woman held prisoner by the most attractive devil I’ve ever seen.
The artery in my neck beats out of time when he groans into my open mouth. And in that very second, his torturous lips rip away. Dante stoops and reaches behind me. An earthy atmosphere whooshes between us when the helicopter door shoots sideways. Riotous winds dance with the corkscrew spirals pouring over my shoulders. Unforgiving hands cuff my wrists. I squirm and shout, butting into him with an urgent plea to escape. My head snaps around to meet thin air and a landscape of greenery without a protective barrier.
In that second, my heart levitates when the reality of punishment sinks in. A rebellious curl flickers out from beneath his cap. His scowl lashes me with hailstones. He rolls his shoulders, scattering icicles of his chilling mood into the atmosphere.
“What are you doing?” I scream over the mechanical whirring. “l can explain…”
His impassive expression breeds a howling chill that shakes me from the inside out. I know this man has the strength to crack the earth and bury me beneath the rubble. He has the insufferable instinct to wipe out those who deceive him. And he also has the ability to nurture and care. The desire to locate his heart makes me reckless and foolish, pitiful and desperate.
“I’m sorry!” I scream. “It wasn’t about you.” Our gaze binds in an unfortunate crusade where el Fantasma dictates. His eyes close for a split second, and I witness momentary unease. Lashes lift and an illusion of sympathy flashes behind his eyes. “Don’t do this…”
For a second, I believe our time together mattered, that he would give me a chance to explain. Instead, his hands tremble, and before I can swallow back another ragged sob, he shoves me back with all his weight.
Limbs flail helplessly.
A tattered scream echoes in the great expanse.
Gravity claims me, and I free fall without a safety net.
Whether it’s the landing that kills me or my shattered heart, I’m dead either way.
3
Even when my boots hit the dirt of my Oasis, it still doesn't snap me out of the new trauma I’ve spawned. Luiz switches off the engine. Sudden deathly silence leads to an ironic thrum of wildlife. The stifling air, tainted with a floral fragrance, froths in my gut.
