Page 86 of Duke's Daring Bookworm
He leaned forward and kissed me, simple and sweet.
“I’ll be safe. It’s just a quick jog to the tree line where I dumped them.”
I shook my head, words failing me. No, he couldn’t go out there. We were safe right here. The storm wasn’t totally gone.
“Lily, it’s safe, and we need a few things in those bags. I’ve faced much worse than this overseas.”
“I’m just worried about you, Duke. I can’t lose you.” I pulled him in for another kiss.
“You won’t.” He brushed the hair from my face, pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead, and then opened the door and jumped to the ground. “Keep the door closed. I’ll be right back. I promise.”
I had no idea what could be so important in those bags that he would risk going out there while the storm was still around. I stared at him as he ran across the field to the trees ahead. Anger rose in me as I watched him go.
How dare he risk himself like this? Doesn’t he know how important he is to me?
Just as he picked up the bags and turned to me, a loud crack echoed through the clearing.
A tree branch hanging precariously near Duke fell. A scream built up in me, but stuck in my throat, relief washing through me. Duke still stood. It didn’t hit him.
I pressed myself against the window, watching his every move as he picked up the bags and slung them over his shoulders.
“That’s it. Just come right back here.”
The wind picked up again, rattling the tree he hadn’t yet cleared. My heart jumped into my throat as the world slowed and another branch fell.
“No!” I screamed as I watched him collapse just at the edge of the clearing. A few more steps and he would have been safe.
I scrambled for the door, heedless of the danger I would be in myself. Duke could be—he could be—no. I jumped from the helicopter and ran, my sprained ankle forgotten in the rush of adrenaline.
The trees in front of me blurred into a wall of green as hot tears spilled free.
I wasn’t equipped to handle this. I couldn’t even stand up to my boss. I couldn’t even tell him I loved him and wanted forever with him.
“Duke!” I skidded to a stop just before the trees, looking for a way to get to him in the tangle of branches and roots.
He was so still.
No. No, no, no, no. NO.
“Duke!” I called again, pushing through the branches, nearly tripping over a rock jutting from the ground.
My hands shook violently as I reached for him. His usually tan face was bleached white, dark red blood flowed freely from his head, turning his beautiful hair pink and matted where he had been hit.
“Fuck. Fuck, Duke. No.” I tried to remember anything I had ever learned about first aid, but came up blank. Panic had overridden any logic in my mind and erased everything.
“I don’t know what to do,” I cried out to him, my shaking hands hovering over his head, afraid to hurt him more. “Please don’t leave me.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Duke!” Lily’s voice came to me from across the void. Nothing but blackness and her voice existed in this space. I had to get to her. She needed me.
I swam through the viscous black, fighting through the heavy fog pressing down on me, searching for those beautiful red waves and brilliant green eyes.
Pain bloomed all around me, the fog clearing enough to remind me of where I was. I groaned and tried to move. Lily needed me. Her cries were intense and out of control, tearing at my consciousness. I had to get to her. I reached for her, but my hand felt like it had been encased in lead. I couldn’t move. I fought against the weight holding me down, my hand twitching with the herculean effort.
“Oh, thank god,” she said as she collapsed on me, a warm, welcome weight. “You’re ok. You’re going to be ok.”
Me? But she was the one crying out in pain.
