Page 27 of Mariposa
“Please.” Shame and humiliation are written in my tone.
“No,” he tells me flatly with a straightforward tilt of his head.
I suck in a breath as my muscles start to burn and cramp. I glance at the ground far beneath me, bracing myself for the impact because I feel my skin slipping away, gravity welcoming me.
Maybe I should let go. Maybe, then, I’ll get what I deserve and make everyone who hates me happy.
“Look at me, Isla,” he growls.
I lift my head as a tear rolls down my cheek.
“Look at me and concentrate.”
I squint and furrow my brows. My shaking dwindles, and I zero in on his determined gaze.
“Focus. You’re okay. It’s just you and me here right now—just us two. Don’t listen to that voice in your head telling you no. You’ve got this.” That authoritative, emotionless instructor’s voice is replaced by a version of Kade I’ve never seen or heard.
Where’s the beast I’ve come to know?
Where’s the cruel emerald and frost in his eyes?
“The Unbreakable Soldier, huh?” he scoffs, his question painted with disdain. When he says that, I blink another tear away as fire flickers in my chest, and adrenaline simmers in my veins. No one can hold Kade’s cold stone gaze, and this is thefirst time I’m not intimidated by it. In fact, I don’t want to look away.
“You feel that?That fear? Don’t drown in it—instead, use it to your power and as motivation to fight back harder.” His voice is calm and collected as always, and it manages to snap me out of that state of mind I’m in.
Our eyes lock together, and I swear I feel that weird flutter again. His seasoned voice and attitude are evident in how he talks, moves, and breathes. For the first time, the alphahole mask he likes to put on has been removed, and it touches my numb heart. When he looks at me like this, with determination yet patience in that darkened, serious expression, I can see the color in the black-and-white world I’ve come to know.
I do as he tells me.
I stare at his handsome face as he grips the railing right by my hand, still not helping me up.
My left hand joins my right, and I lift myself until my chin reaches the rooftop in a split second. I climb over, letting myself fall back onto the roof, but before my face can connect with the ground, Kade grips my wrist with his rough, massive hand and pulls me to my feet.
Our proximity is only an inch away. We both stand in silence, with only the sound of ocean waves between us. My heart is thundering…can he hear it?
“Are you going to tell me that I have to send you to the medic because you’re suicidal?”
“No, sir. I promise you I’m not. I’m okay. Really. I didn’t try to kill myself.”
“Then what the fuck were you doing, hanging over the roof like that?”
I bite my lip as my breath catches in my throat.
“Answer me, soldier,” he demands, crossing his arms against his chest.
“I was stargazing a little too hard.” It doesn’t sound convincing, not in the slightest. I clear my throat, trying to make the lump disappear. I’m still shaken, but not as much as before.
I quirk a brow and watch to see if he’s buying it. He clenches his jaw—his dark brows pull together, and he hums darkly.
He doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t probe further.
“I thought you were going back home for Thanksgiving.”
He changes the subject.
“Oh, uh, yeah, about that. I changed my mind.”
“Why?” he blurts.
