Page 66 of Ruse
The inside of the cart is spacious, enough for six people yet it’s only the two of us. The leather bench seat is cold against the back of my thighs making me jump up as I sit.
“Are you cold?” he asks, but even though it’s the last day of summer, the nights are barely dropping below eighty degrees. Given the current heat wave running through town, my skin is glistening with sweat. No, the chills up my spine, goosebumps on my skin, and erect nipples are because of something else entirely.
“I’m okay, just a little nervous. Sit down, you're making me anxious.” Instead of sitting beside me like I expected, he takes a seat across from me, setting his leather jacket down beside him, just as the ride starts.
Taking a sharp intake of breath, I close my eyes tight, my pointed nails penetrating the leather beneath my fingertips as the cart starts its slow ascent into the sky.
“Breathe Nyx,” I hear him whisper, but I can’t. I’m so close to hyperventilating and succumbing to a panic attack I haven’t had in years.
I shake my head fervently, unable to speak as my knees tremble. “No, I can't do this. Get me off Maverick. Get me out of here!”
“It’s too late for that baby. I need you to calm down.”
His voice is soothing, and the word baby leaving his lips is almost enough to relax me, but the intensity of the back-and-forth rocking of the cart is overwhelming.
“Maverick, get me out, please,” I beg, refusing to open my eyes and look at him. “I can’t do this. I told you I couldn’t. I can feel the cart move under my feet, the vibrations are making me dizzy. All I hear is the sharp squeaking of the metal rubbing back and forth against each other as we spin.” The shrilling sound is so intense, like nails digging into the chalkboard, I can hear it over the loud music blaring all around us.
“Open your eyes, look at me.”
I shake my head in refusal. “I can’t.” Damn him for dragging me on here and damn his stupid sexy face for hypnotizing me and making me act foolish around him.
“Okay then keep them closed but focus on the sound of my voice.”
That I may do. The huskiness of his voice is something I could listen to for the rest of my life.
Suddenly, the cart stops moving and once again I’m suspended in the air. “Maverick,” I squeal, “Why did it stop?”
“Don’t worry, we’re safe.”
Keeping my eyes shut I shake my head, “No, somethings wrong.”
“We’re fine, I promise.”
“If you’re not getting me off this, then distract me. Please. Maverick, I need you to do something.” Flashes of that day eight years ago when Brooklyn and I sat suspended over a hundred feet in the air come back to me, like a horror film replaying in my mind. The agonizing fear, the thunderous sound of my beating heart in my ears when I sat there thinking I would never be rescued, or that Brooklyn was going to make us fall to our death, is threatening to overtake me yet again.
“Okay keep your eyes closed and do exactly as I tell you. I promise you this will keep your mind off where we are.” I nod, unsure what it is he’s going to ask of me. It’s terrifying to not know yet equally thrilling.
“First of all, I need you to relax. You're too stiff. This won’t work if you’re wound up so tight.”
I smack my lips annoyed, “Maybe if you weren’t such a pain in my ass, or if you didn’t bring me all the way up here just to kill me via panic attack, I wouldn’t be wound up so tight.”
“There she is.” He lets out a chuckle that sounds so incredibly sexy, I almost open my eyes just to catch the sight of the laughter showing on his face. “There’s my girl.”
I freeze, and whatever part of me had just relaxed ever so slightly, quickly reverts to its rigid state.
“Now this is going to take you trusting me. I promise you this is going to work. You just need to trust me and do exactly as I say no questions asked. Deal?”
I nod three times, not sure why I am agreeing when I have a feeling this isn’t something I’m going to like.
“Alright, I need you to relax your hands. Your nails are digging so deep into the leather I swear you’re going to make it bleed.”
I do as I’m told and release my grip on the seat, placing my hands gently on my lap.
“Good girl.”
A pulsing ache forms between my legs at his praise.What the hell?
“Now, I need you to bring your right hand up to your mouth and shove your pointer and middle finger inside.”
