“I flipped it,” he said, edging closer, as if he didn’t quite trust his footing. “You’re on loose sand.” Frustration crawled over his face. “If you weren’t, I could probably drag the jeep back in.”
“But you can’t get a grip,” she replied soberly. “It’s okay.” A whisper. “We’ll work it out.”
“Why the hell did you stop?” Finally, he gave vent to some of his frustration, sneaking a little closer, his fingertips straining as he reached for the jeep.
“I was worried about you.”
Their eyes met.
“I’m not human, darlin’.” He frowned. “Next time, when I tell you to drive, you drive.”
“Definitely.” Next time.
“Are you hurt?”
Riley stroked a tongue over her teeth. They felt a little numb, but the pain wasn’t quite as bad as she’d first thought. The shock of it, most like. “Nothing broken, I don’t think.”
“You’ve got one hell of a shiner.”
The conversational tone almost made her smile. Almost.
“Luc, what are we going to do?”
He considered it, his fingers touching the edge of the jeep, as if to anchor it. As if he didn’t dare put any firmer pressure on it. Slowly, he bent, peering under the hood before coming back up. “You’re caught on the fence post.” He frowned. “It’s half-wrenched out of the ground, but it's holding. Just.”
As if to taunt his words, something groaned.
Luc reached out. “I want you to move slowly. You’re going to have to climb out over the front of the jeep.”
His fingers seemed a mile away. She glanced back at the beckoning blue.
“Don’t look at the water,” he snapped. “Look at me. At my hand. As soon as you’re close enough to reach, I can drag you to safety.”
Riley’s gaze locked on his fingers. “I’m scared.”
“I know,” he said. “But you’ve been scared before. Of the dark, remember? I got you out of there.”
“I think I’m going to add a new phobia to my growing list. I feel like I’m getting a serious fear of heights.” She tried to smile again and saw the faint echo on his own lips, trying to give her hope.
“Can you grab the frame of the window? Try and ease yourself up.”
Getting over the half-smashed window was going to be a problem. She eyed the frame, then the side mirror. “Might be better to go to the side, I’m thinking.”
“Just move slowly.” He began to drag his shirt over his head. “I’m going to hold this out for you to grab.” Twirling it into a semblance of a rope, Luc flipped the end toward her. It fluttered in the breeze, temptingly close.
Riley eased her foot up onto the seat of the jeep. Somehow, her body had draped itself over the steering wheel.
She put a little more pressure onto her foot and reached up, grabbing hold of the side mirror. Each move was infinitely slow. She could feel the wind plucking at her shirt, dancing over her skin. Like it wanted her to come play with it.
Her attention scattered at the thought, cold sweat springing up along her spine.
“Riley,” Wade said calmly. “Riley, look at me.” He stared at her as if the strength of his gaze alone could drag her to safety. “I am not going to let you die.” He swallowed hard. “No matter what I have to do. Now, bring your hand up slowly, and reach for the top of the windshield.”
It was a nerve-shattering reach, her fingers gripping the metal edge of the windshield. Glass pebbled under her fingers, hitting her jeans before flinging back into space. She didn’t look. She couldn’t. All she could do was stare into Wade’s eyes and listen to that soothing voice, trust he would grab her.
Her toe edged onto the side of the jeep and she eased upward, balancing her weight on it. The shirt was barely inches away now.
“Nearly there, darlin’.” He stretched out further, as if the extra inch could help. “I want you to reach—”
An ominous cracking sound shattered the silence. Riley froze as the jeep shifted.
“Oh, Jesus,” she whispered, her heart thundering in her ears as she balanced precariously on the edge of the jeep. Her gaze cut to Wade’s.
He’d frozen too, his lips thin and white. “Don’t move,” he whispered.
Sand trickled into space. Riley’s fingers clutched around the thin metal ridging of the windshield, the glass cutting into her bare flesh. Another faint shift, with a low, creaking groan. Like the cracking of an arthritic man’s fingers.
“It’s moving,” she blurted. “I can feel the whole thing shifting.”
“You’re almost there. Just don’t move, let it settle—”
Riley screamed a little as the jeep slid. The entire vehicle teetered backward, as if balanced on the edge of the cliff face. A child’s seesaw, the weight slowing tipping in one sure direction.
“Oh, my God,” she whispered, sucking in a sharp breath and looking back. “Oh, my God, oh, my God—”
“Riley! Look at me! You’re going to have to jump.”
“I can’t.” Riley clenched her eyes shut, paralyzed.
“You have to! Open your bloody eyes and look at me!”
“I can’t.”
“You can!”
Slowly, she looked at him. Wade seemed further away now, fear carving stark lines in his face. In his expression, she saw the hopeless truth.
“It’ll tip if I jump,” she whispered.
He looked her in the eyes. “It’s going to tip anyway. You need to trust me. I won’t let you die.” His nostrils flared, his chest heaving. Slowly, he dropped the shirt. “You need to jump. Trust me, Riley.”
“I won’t make it. You're too far away.”
He shook his head. “I know.” A faint, sad smile slid over his mouth. “Can you swim?”
The jeep slowly tilted back, her weight pulling on the windshield. Tears sprang into her eyes. Her thoughts raced, the words coming a mile a minute. “It’s too far. The impact will kill me.”
“Riley,” he barked. Again, the sound drew her attention back to him. “It won’t kill me. Trust me. Jump. You need to angle away from the jeep so we don’t land on it.”
“We?” she babbled. She could feel it going. It was only a matter of seconds. A scream caught in her throat. All she could see were Wade’s devilishly blue eyes as he crouched low, the muscles in his thighs bunching.
“Jump!” he yelled, and launched himself at her.
18
Riley screamed as she pushed away from the jeep.
It was finally going, and she threw herself back into space, her heart in her throat and her ears tight and ringing. Trust. Trust him. It was all she had.
The world was weightless. Airless. No pull on her, no greedy gravity sucking at her.
For a few seconds, all was beautiful. That quivering moment where her motion propelled her through space, and then the world came rushing back, and she was falling, arms flailing, her mouth wide in a silent scream as she tried desperately to fly.
And failed.
Wade came flying out of nowhere, cutting over the edge of the cliff in a flawless dive. He gained on her, inch by precious inch. Riley couldn’t breathe. The air around her was a vacuum – she was going too fast. No oxygen, her lungs heaving desperately in her chest. Somehow, she turned her head to the side and sucked in a short breath. The blue beneath her was growing bigger as she tumbled onto her front, staring directly at it. Her eyes watered at the sudden stream of air, her swollen cheek screaming with pain as her cheeks pulled back from her mouth and rippled.
Then Wade hit her hard, strong arms wrapping around her waist and sending them into a free-falling somersault. Legs, arms, sky, water.... She couldn’t make sense of herself.
“...got you...” he bellowed, dragging her into his grasp.
They flipped again until she was on top and was breathing into his chest, his arms wrapping around her like steel, drawing her own in tight between them. She caught a glimpse of the jeep, cart-wheeling beside them.
&nbs
p; “Hold on!” he screamed.
The world stopped as they smashed into the water, Wade’s grip on her loosening. Then she was under, her body slowing as it tore from his grip, her head spinning at the impact. Nostrils full of water, choking, air... Needed air... Which way was up?
She clawed and kicked, trying to orient herself. The world was tinged with gold, and bubbles streamed past her as she tried to find the surface. Up. A shimmering disc of molten light burned above her. Riley tried to reach it, her body a world of hurt.
She broke the surface with a gasp, her lungs burning as she coughed and choked. Water spewed from her nostrils, then it was dragging her back under as the weight of it filled her clothes and boots.
She came up again, the cold of it starting to seep in. So cold her lungs felt like a vise squeezed them. Or maybe that was the fall.
Air. She sucked it in. Choked again. Wade. Where was he? Riley’s lungs were burning so badly she thought she was going to vomit, but she couldn’t see him. Panic squeezed tight, making it even harder to breathe. The slam of the impact had hurt so much, and she’d been on top.
What if…?
Sucking in a lungful of air that burned within, Riley dove back under. Her body was so weak it fought her, but she strove beneath the surface, hunting furiously for him. A warg could survive a fall like that, maybe. But a warg could also drown.
Luc.
No sign of him. She came back up, gasping in another mouthful of sweet, precious air before she dove again. That time, she went deeper. The water was colder there, the pressure of it tightening over her skin and chest as the murky depths came closer. Ears ringing, Riley was just about to surface again when she saw him.
He floated slowly, his body sinking toward the dark bottom. Riley lashed out with her feet, her chest constricting as she fought to reach him. The faint light from above gleamed golden on his bare chest, the only reason she’d seen him.
Each stroke was a struggle. Her lungs were starting to burn, her vision narrowing. The ringing in her ears was almost screaming at her, pressure clamping tight over her nostrils and sinuses. Her fingers brushed wet denim. She fought on, her hand clamping around his ankle. Elation flooded her, then the weight of him dragged at her, and she had to kick hard to get them moving up.
Riley fought as she’d never fought in her life. To hold on to him, to herself, to the ringing in her ears as her kicking slowed, thrashing violently toward the surface. She could almost feel the warmth now, the bright light of the sun spreading across her vision. Ripples spread in the water, and she broke the surface with a gasp.
One breath. Not enough. Lungs still burning.
But she had to drag him to the surface too. He’d been down longer than she had.
Sliding her arms under his armpits, Riley kicked hard and they both broke the surface. Her vision narrowed in and out, little dizzy spots dancing across the center as she sucked in as much air as she could breathe. Her entire body quivered, her muscles wanting to just seize and give up. To sink below the cold, cold water and enter the silent depths below again.
No.
Riley kicked with weak legs, turning Wade’s face to the side. Water spilled from his mouth, but his chest hadn’t moved. No. No, not this. She’d brought him to the surface. Breathe, damn you.
Snuggling his back against her chest, she locked her fingers together and brought them up under his ribs. His chest was so broad she could barely keep her fingers laced.
One hard yank, forcing his body back against hers. His head rested against her shoulder, wet hair spilling against her skin like silk.
“Come on,” she whispered, her lips starting to quiver. If she lost him... Hot tears welled in her eyes.
Riley gave another hard yank, forcing the water out of his lungs. Wade jackknifed in her grip, turning his head violently to the side as he coughed. Hard fingers clenched in her forearm, as if he didn’t know where he was.
The tears spilled then. Riley pressed her lips to the side of his throat and cried loudly, her nose running, lungs burning with abuse.
“I’m here,” she said hoarsely. “I’ve got you.”
His fingers eased on her arm. Wade sucked in a rasping breath that rattled in his throat, and it was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard.
“I’ve got you,” she whispered again, resting her head back in the cool water as her tears spilled down her cheeks.
No matter what she had to do, no matter who she had to fight, she would never let him go again.
They collapsed on a narrow sandy strip, barely making it clear of the water.
Riley made sure he was breathing all right, then crumpled onto the wet sand, her body finally giving out. She didn’t think she could ever move again. It had taken everything she had to swim them to shore.
She woke – or came to – hours later, as someone pulled her up the beach. Panic made her dig her nails into the sand, then Wade lifted her in his arms, half-crawling with her, half-dragging her as he got them to dry sand.
Night was coming, the sun fading into the horizon in a hot, coppery puddle. Wade moved himself into a sitting position then helped her up, her back to his chest. Riley shivered with the cold, her entire body aching from exertion.
“Here,” he said hoarsely, rubbing stiff hands down her arms to bring some heat back into her flesh. The chafe hurt, but some of the muscle ache eased. She cried again, not sure why, as he held her and kissed the top of her head, slowly rubbing the heat back into her damp skin.
“Need... to get warm,” Riley breathed. Her throat burned like she’d been doing shots of pure acid, and her lungs felt like someone had punched her in the chest several times. “Desert... night... coming.”
And with it, a chill so cold she almost began crying again. They might have survived the fall and the water, but the cold was the next true danger.
“Let me warm you,” Wade whispered, his clammy hands picking at her shirt. He pried apart a button, then another. At her back, the heat of his body began to seep through, as if finally penetrating the chill of his skin.
At least there was no wind here, tucked high against the base of the cliffs, and the sand was dry and silky. Riley lay limply in his arms as he stripped the wet, chilly shirt from her body and the tank she’d borrowed from Eden. It was harder for him to get her jeans off, dragging them down over her damp legs and tugging them impatiently. His hands shook as he fought the wet material, and she thought he was going to tear it.
“You just... want to get me naked,” she said through chattering teeth, as he laid her back on the sand.
A smile danced over his face. “Always.” He cupped her fists in his hands and blew on them, hot breath curling over her skin as he pressed a kiss to her knuckles. He sobered a little as he straightened. “But I don’t think either of us is up for what comes after I get you naked.”
Stripping off his own jeans, he tossed them aside and knelt over her, his body thick with shadows. Scraping the sun-warmed sand up around her, he slowly knelt down, muscles straining in his forearms with fatigue as he pressed his body flat over hers.
Riley soaked in the heat of the sand, shivering uncontrollably. His skin was chilly to the touch, but as they both dried, she could feel that heat deep within him start to soak through again.
The sun slowly set, the indigo blackness of the sky sweeping across the heavens. Riley clutched him tight to her, drowsy against his chest as he pressed his weight down onto her. She was starting to feel all of her hurt now, her cheek and side aching from the crash. The events of the day just seemed too surreal to take in fully.
“You saved my life,” she whispered, remembering that moment when he dove over the cliff after her.
“You saved mine.” His hand stroked the left side of her face and cupped her cheek. He pressed a kiss to her hair.
“Even?”
A rumble sounded in his chest. “If I start a fire, will you owe me?”
Riley almost shivered again. “I will do anything you want if yo
u get a fire blazing.”
“Anything?”
“Anything,” she whispered sleepily.
Flames crackled.
Riley pried her eyelids apart, staring at the dancing flames in front of her. Wade knelt in front of it, slowly feeding larger pieces of wood into the crackling inferno.
Stars gleamed overhead and the moon was halfway across the sky. Riley could barely move she was so exhausted. Instead, she stared at the flames, her mind blessedly blank as the heat licked over her skin.
Drifting in pleasant dreams of nothingness, she gave a start when warm hands helped her up. Then naked skin was sliding over hers, and Wade lowered her down near the fire, pressing his chest against her back. The heat was so delicious she tried to stretch a hand out toward it.
“Rest,” he whispered, curling his arms around her. “We’re safe and dry and alive.”
“Thank you,” she murmured, her eyes drifting shut.
Warm lips against her bare shoulder. “You don’t owe me anything, darlin’. Just sleep. And let your body heal.”
Sunlight heated his skin. Wade stretched sleepily, feeling the body in his arms murmur and turn toward him. He could smell smoke and ash, but as he cracked his eyes open, he realized the fire had died down long ago.
Rolling onto his back, he ground his teeth together against the pain and peered up blearily at the sun. Had to be nine, or thereabouts. Luc scraped an unsteady hand over his face, his stomach growling. Every part of him ached from the fall. The night was a seeming blur as he’d hauled himself up off Riley once she’d stopped shivering, setting out to find enough wood to make her a fire. He could barely remember collapsing against her back once more.
With a wince, he rolled up into a sitting position. As much as he’d like to stay here and heal, he couldn’t. Lily was out there somewhere, and he had this one last day to get to her. The thought hardened him. No matter how much his back hurt, he had to find her.
Rolling onto his knees, he slid a hand over Riley’s shoulder. “Hey,” he murmured.
She pushed at his hand and growled something under her breath that sounded like, “Go ‘way.”
Heroines and Hellions: a Limited Edition Urban Fantasy Collection Page 30