Page 75 of The Moments You Were Mine
I’d wasted so much time with her. I’d spent the last few years running as hard as I could the opposite way. I’d put as much distance between us as possible. For what? For honor? For a promise I’d made when we were fricking teenagers?
Because I’d lacked the courage to make us somethingunforgettable. Something timeless.
I’d denied us the pleasure and relief of sating the hunger that crawled through us whenever we were together. I’d denied myself the comfort of coming home to someone who cared about me more than they cared about another living soul. I’d pushed and shoved and refused her dares when all I’d really wanted was to give in to the fire that burned between us.
And I’d nearly lost her.
My throat closed.
I could still lose her if she didn’t wake up.
If I lost her without ever really having touched her, without ever truly making her mine, I’d hate myself more than I ever would for breaking a stupid promise I’d given as a green-ass cadet. She needed to know she was much more than a duty. She needed to know I cared about her. Cared was a stupid word. What I felt was a need so deep it was greater than the necessity for air.
I brought her palm to my mouth and placed the softest of kisses there. “Don’t you fucking leave me before I can accept your dare, Fallon. Don’t even think about it.”
A flutter of eyelashes sent my chest into a dizzying spiral.
I leaned in, brushing my lips gently along her cheek. “Open those goddamn eyes, Ducky.”
A wild and unrestrained relief soared through me when she did just that. Confusion danced through them.
“What happened?” she croaked.
She tried to move, and a pained groan escaped her.
I put my hand on her chest, stopping her. “Stay still.”
Her free hand went to her temple. “My head.”
“Took a nasty kick,” I said. “Don’t move until the EMTs get here.”
Fire returned to her eyes. “You did not call an ambulance!”
Her furious response eased the pain and torture inside me. My chest lightened. Thank God.
She tried to move again, and I let go of her hand to hold her down. “It was Chuck who called them, but I’m glad he did. You shouldn’t move until an EMT can check you for a neck or spinal injury.”
“I got smashed in the head with a hoof, Frogman, not kickedin the back.” She fought me, and instead of hurting her more, I let her sit up. Her eyes swam, and she closed them, swallowing hard as nausea overtook her. “It’s embarrassing. I know better than to get kicked by one of my own goddamn horses.”
“You were being shot at. That makes people do all sorts of things that are out of character.”
Her eyes flew open. “You went after them—”
“Got away on an off-road motorcycle. I sent Lance to the old fire road to see if he could catch up with them.”
She swore under her breath. Then, she gripped my arm. “Help me up.”
“Fallon.”
“Help me up, Parker. I need to walk back on my own feet if I’m going to withstand this humiliation. And the guests…” She shook her head and went even paler than before. I wasn’t even sure how that was possible. She touched the enormous knot, wincing.
Debate warred inside me. She needed to be checked out. While the hit had been to her head, it didn’t rule out spinal damage. The fall to the ground could have injured her as much as the kick, but I knew that expression on her face. The fierce determination. She’d get up on her own if I didn’t help.
I gripped her elbows and eased her to her feet.
She swayed, unsteady, and my arms surrounded her.
I drew her into my chest and said gently, “Give it a minute for everything to stop spinning.”
