Page 54 of A Vine Mess
Ella paused for a moment ahead of me, soabruptly I accidentally slammed into her back, anoofleaving me as her pack dug into my stomach. Still, I put my arms around her to steady us both.
She spun toward me, standing close enough that I could pick out each individual freckle on her perfect face, could see the gold flecks in her green eyes. Her skin was flushed, plump lips parted, harsh exhales filtering through my beard.
“What’re you doing?” she asked.
“I got distracted,” I answered honestly, stepping away.
Her brow furrowed. “Distracted by what?”
“An eagle,” I said, waving my hand at the sky in an approximation of where the bird that didn’t exist had been. “It’s gone now.” Roughly clearing my throat, I added, “Sorry for bumping into you.”
“It’s okay,” she replied, giving me a reassuring smile, then hooking her thumb over her shoulder. “Shall we continue?”
I swung my arms out in a gentlemanly gesture, though that was so far from the places my mind had wandered it might as well be on another planet. “After you, Wildflower.”
With a smirk, as though she could read my mind—understood that I wanted further opportunities to look at her ass—she took off up the trail, leaving me alone to adjust my cock before racing after her.
Even though we’d barely made it half a mile up the hill, the views were already incredible. We’d cleared the treetops, and below I could see fields where wildlife grazed and numerous rock outcroppings that gave the Black Hills their name.
We made it another two hundred yards or so before bad luck struck, and it was almost as if I watched the whole thing play outin slow motion.
Ella had her phone out, presumably recording a video as she walked, completely unaware of what was happening beneath her feet. I saw the root before she did, but was too slow to call out to her before it caught the toe of her hiking book.
Her arms pinwheeled wildly as she fought to keep her balance, stumbling to the side, closer and closer to the edge—where the trail dropped into a jagged cliff face.
I pumped my arms and legs as hard as I could, rushing to her side, reaching my hand out for her, screaming her name.
Time resumed its normal speed as my palm wrapped around her wrist. I tugged her to me, and we both fell to the ground. After rolling a few times, we stopped, Ella on top of me, all the air rushing from my lungs with the impact.
“Oh my god!” Ella screamed, sitting up enough to run her hands all over me while I fought to regain my breath. “Oh my god, Wills. Are you okay?”
All I could do was hold up a finger before gripping her wrists and pulling her hands away, silently asking her to stop touching me; it was only making things worse. I felt like I was living in that J. Holiday song.
Ella kept her hands to herself after that, but she remained straddling me, her face hovering over mine.
And okay, that was almost worse.
As my bronchioles once again expanded, allowing me to breathe, the lightheadedness I’d been experiencing a moment before could no longer be attributed to lack of oxygen.
Now, it was all Ella’s fault. Her proximity had the ability to take the wind completely out of my sails.
“I’m okay,” I croaked at last, after interminable minutes of us staring at each other, her forehead creased with worry while she watched me.
“Are you sure?”
“Positive,” I said. “Here, let me sit up.”
She scrambled off me, though didn’t go any further than kneeling at my side while I sat up and took slow, measured breaths. My lungs still burned, but I was able to almost fully inhale.
Finally, I got to my feet, Ella rising with me, both of us dusting ourselves off.
Then, without warning, Ella threw herself into my arms.
I clutched her tightly to me, one hand at the small of her back, the other anchored at the nape of her neck.
God, I’d almost lost her thanks to a tree root.
I didn’t know which of us was shaking—likely both—as we held each other, Ella softly sniffling against the crook of my neck.
