Page 7 of Surviving Hallow Hill
Three
“I’ll take first watch,”Charizard growls. His shoulders are so tense, I swear there’s a stick shoved up his ass and through his spine. And that’s how he stands, looking out into the screaming night, observing the chaos ripping across the horizon.
The divot within the wall is a ledge the size of a small room. Just large enough to lie down and catch your breath and think you might actually survive in this misery-ridden place.
The three emerald-haired banshees all stretch in unison before tangling their thin arms around one another and making a pile of dames of death on the smooth, golden floor. Their long lashes don’t flutter once the moment their eyes are closed.
What’s that like: sleeping soundly without fear?
I’ll probably never know.
“Come. Sleep,” Sia whispers, his breath so close that it kisses the line of my jaw so, so close to my neck.
I don’t dare move. If I move, I’ll angle my neck up for him, lean into him. And make myself look even more like a fool, as far as my Sekar friend and I are concerned.
My entire body is so tense as I shift awkwardly around him that I almost feel guilty for judging Dragon Boy Z. Like a short-fused robot, I jarringly lower to the floor. The cold metal kisses my fingertips, and I don’t know what possesses me to look up, but I’m eye level with Sialen’s hips, erotically gazing up through my lashes at the heat in his eyes.
And the sparks between us are ablaze.
On FUCKING FIRE.
A terrified breath shoves from my lungs.
Why are we like this? Why does our magic react like this? Why—why does my heart react like this?
I’m a fucking idiot.
I lie flat and clench my eyes closed. I should be thinking about those monsters. And this game. And everyone whose lives are at stake. And—
And then his rough palm skims ever so lightly over my abdomen. The heat of his tense breath wafts through my hair and along my skin. Strong biceps flex around me and then pull me closer, harder against his chest.
My heart is pounding for me to notice him. It’s knocking for me to pay attention to this beautiful, broken man.
Instead, I clench my eyes closed once more. And pretend I don’t notice the absurdly sexy man wrapped so damn perfectly around me.
I won't do it. I won’t make myself look stupid again. I won’t pry further into what his touch means. I won't. I refuse. I’m too stubborn.
“I love you, too, Em” he whispers painfully.
And fuck my stubborn resolve.
Soft, gentle lips press promisingly over the back of my spine, just above the hard metal and against the smooth, sensitive flesh there. Every nerve ending in my body violently collides at once with the sweet feel of his mouth against my skin.
The breath in my lungs is gone, and I’m not even aware that it’s missing. Air is suddenly meaningless.
“I’m sorry I didn’t say it before. I... I didn’t know how to respond. No one’s ever said that to me before,” he confesses so quietly the breath of his words ghosts around the cavernous space.
He didn’t know how to respond? How far from love do you have to be to not know the typical response toI love you?
I twist in his arms and gaze into the broken, steely eyes of the only other last remaining Sekar in this world.
My heart shivers at the verge of shattering.
He’s so far from love, he has no idea what it feels like.
Until now.
His head dips; his pale hair teases against my inky locks.
