by Lexi Whitlow
It’s been so long since everything has been this quiet.
And finally, the wild tempest in my mind stills, and I listen to the snow as I drift off.
Overhead the sky is heavy and gray with dense snow falling down. I feel the crystals on my face, piling against my nose, tangling in my lashes, settling into the turn of my jaw. It’s okay. I don’t need to move anymore. I’m fine. I’m quiet. I’m not even aware of the cold. The snow is silent and calming.
I might be sleeping, or dreaming. Or waking. In a state between the two.
The pulsing pounding in my head begins to slow, becoming fainter and fainter. The images in my mind become fainter. I retreat to the false memory, the one with my mother and father and the warm, lovely feeling of home. It all fades into nothingness as I begin to let myself go.
Something moves off in the woods. I hear it, but I’m too numb to react. I hear its footfall, steady and fast.
It’s near.
“Sweet Jesus,” it says.
I can’t open my eyes. They’re closed, frozen shut.
“Oh, breathe. Breathe.”
Warm lips press against my own cold ones, as a blast of hot, humid air is forced into my lungs.
“C’mon. Breathe,” he insists. “That’s it. C’mon.”
The lips touch mine again, and another puff of air enters my lungs. I feel myself coughing and my body again going limp.
Warm fingers lift my frozen eyelids.
Pale eyes, the color of glacial ice, with tiny green flecks dotting the irises, peer into my own.
“You’re going to be okay,” he says. “I promise.”
He’s beautiful. His eyes are beautiful. His voice is the sound of a bass guitar strummed against a tenor melody, poured over hot rocks.
I hear the sound of metal gears turning, then feel myself vaulted into the air.
He hauls me over his shoulder, ass up, head down, with all my cold blood rushing to my brain.
“You’re gonna be okay,” he says again, marching forward. “Whoever the fuck you are.”
Everything goes to black. And I wonder if it’s a dream or if I’m finally dead.
~~~
To download Wild, click here: tiny.cc/wildmountainman
About the Author
Lexi Whitlow is a small-town girl from Virginia. She spent her early years growing up between Virginia and North Carolina, playing in the dark rich dirt of Eastern North Carolina at her granddaddy's farm. She's a mom of a six-year-old boy and a seven-month-old girl. Life is hectic, but it sure is sweet.
She holds a master's degree in English literature from the University of Virginia, and her mom is so proud she's "using her degree."
Lexi harbors a not-so-secret love for bad boys. She loves fighters, tough-as-nails cowboys, bikers, and criminals. Her husband is a scientist... but he has the heart of a bad boy for sure.
Find me on Facebook at facebook.com/lexiwhitlow and in my group Bad Boys Wanted.
Subscribe to my mailing list for free exclusive content and the hottest new releases!
Click here to sign up!
More By Lexi
Other books by Lexi Whitlow:
Guarding Her
Bad Boy’s Fake Wedding
Royal Beast
Ash
Teacher’s Virgin
Long Shot
Find me on Facebook at facebook.com/lexiwhitlow and in my group Bad Boys Wanted.
Subscribe to my mailing list for free exclusive content and the hottest new releases!
Click here to sign up!