Page 166 of Drown Like Heaven
“Now I’m not sure.”
“Okay,” I whispered. “You can tell me—or you could say whatever you want. I wouldn’t care. You could say anything.”
He was quiet for a second, and a beat of embarrassment made heat rise in my throat. I felt suddenly very young. Very naive.He’s a full grown adult man, who doesn’t need me offering my ear.
“I appreciate that, Masters.” He turned his body, wrapping me in his big arms, his mouth tilting with a half-smile. “I don’t have much to say anymore, though. Why did you pick chemical engineering?” he asked, gazing down at me, fingers squeezing my shoulder.
“Honestly? For the money. Why did you?”
“For a distraction. Tough material doesn’t leave much space in the brain for other things, if you really want to avoid them.”
I can understand that.
“That apartment I took you to isn’t where you live, is it?” he asked.
I shook my head.
“Where do you live?”
“In a shitty mobile home I got from my aunt at the beginning of my sophomore year,” I whispered, my voice hardly carrying above the wind.
“Did you grow up in one too?”
I looked away, past him, up at the sky, as I nodded.
Ribbons of wind wove themselves between the towering trees, curving their tops, moving them in a mass of shadowy green. The clouds were gray and dark, but not dark enough to rain yet. I didn’t really want to talk about my childhood.
“I want to see the cliff closer,” I said, not waiting for his response.
I slid off the rock, crawling over the mossy ground then laying down on my belly to look over the edge of the steep cliff. The face was sheer, a few trees patched into the side of the mountain and rocks lining the base, jagged like teeth. Fog obscured most of the bottom, but I knew it was a long way down. Not a fall I would survive.
Micah was laying over me after a handful of seconds, rolling me onto my back, kissing the breath from my lungs.
His eyes were low and dark, skimming over my face as he held it between his hands, thumbs running along my jaw.
He looked so handsome like this, with his dark blond hair messy and falling over his forehead, the clouds and trees moving behind him. Like hebelongedin the profound nature we were surrounded by. His straight brows, strong jaw, piercing eyes with a dark ring around the edge of each iris.
“Do you trust me?” he asked, then kissed me again.
My eyes connected with his when he pulled away.I don’t think I should trust you, but you’re looking at me like you need me to say yes.I swallowed, heart rate quickening.
“Yes.”
He dragged me up a few inches, so my head was near the edge of the cliff. When I looked to the side, I could see the steep drop in my periphery, the edge of my face surrounded only by air. My pulse was climbing into my throat, wild and frantic.
“What are you doing?” I questioned. A desperate throb was building between my thighs, spurred on by the thrill.
“How much do you trust me?”
How far do you want to take this? What will you do if I trust you entirely? If I trust you with my life?
“More than this,” I said, a little scared. My breasts ached. I could feel every inch of my body against the ground.
Again, he dragged me up a bit further, my stomach bottoming out when a gust of wind swept my hair around my face, cool air blowing across the back of my skull. My head was hanging fully off the cliffside now. My hands grappled at the ground, my fingers grasping at clumps of grass, dirt getting under my fingernails.
“Micah,” I choked out, my body stiff and my eyes wide.
“You trust me,” he murmured, leaning down to kiss me on the forehead. “Yeah? I take care of you. I keep you safe.I protect you.”
