Page 80 of Unhinged Magic
Wind slapped a salty layer of sea spray on my bare arms as I hurriedly made my way down the driveway and over the road. Stomping closer, my feet splashed through puddles before I scrambled down the large rocks lining the beach, the imprint of rain causing them to look a shade darker than usual.
My heart clambered into my throat as the silhouette of Wes came into better focus. He sat on a rock a little further from where I stood. The tide roared in my ears, the wind lashing at my hair. I frantically tried to push it off my face, only to have it whip straight across my vision of him again. As if he felt my presence, he turned to face me, slowly lifting to his feet. He didn’t speak, only stared as if frightened a single word could end whatever this was. Whateverwewere.
I wish I knew what he was thinking.
Having taken a beating by nature’s harsh elements, his hair stuck to his face, droplets of rain settling on his jacket like glass beads. His hands hung loosely at his sides, water dripping from each fingertip.
Held captive in his gaze, I froze, hurried beats thumping in my ears. It seemed he was waiting for me to speak, though I wasn’t sure I could. Every emotion possible thrashed my insides, gnawing at me to expel each one. My chest heaved tight breaths, the unmistakable sting of tears something I could no longer ignore.
My voice cracked as it left me in a shudder. “You left.” It took everything I had not to let the lump in my throat consume me. I glared at him, the pain in my chest exploding as I spoke. “You fucking left!” I screamed, unable to hold it in any longer.
Wesley held a hand toward me. “I know,” he said, taking a step closer. “I had to. Forus, I had to do that.”
His form drifted toward me as if every drop of rain nudged him closer. Every step in my direction produced a clearer vision of him, and I wasn’t ready for it.
For him, this moment, ourconnection.
Wet strands of hair stuck to his forehead, the dewy sheen on his carved jaw more prominent in these conditions. He stared at me like I was an angel, some form of miracle sent from the gods. It made it so much harder to sort my feelings into words.
“No. No, you didn’t,” I stammered, my lips shaking from the cold.From all of it.
“Yes, I did,” he said evenly. “That woman would have taken you from me, maybe forever. I could not live another day if you weren’t walking on this earth, Skip.” He cautiously stepped closer, finally swiping his hair from his vision. “If you don’t forgive me, that’s fine. I can live with that. But to not know you’re safe, or for your heart to not beat, I could not live withthat.”
My heart tore to pieces at his declaration. I knew he had his reasons, but he had still betrayed us all.He left. He could have called, told someone all of this. Instead, for the last two months, I’d wondered if I would ever see him again.
I had never felt so lonely, so defeated, in my entire life. And knowing it was he who caused my heart to swim in chaos was something I wasn’t sure I could move on from.
My hands bunched into fists at my sides, digging my fingernails into my palms. “I hate you!” Screaming, my venom molded into a thousand droplets of rain, settling on the rocks below. “I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!” I couldn’t hold back the tears now. It felt so good to free the words I had held so tight to my chest.
Despair punctured his glistening gaze, holding mine in the magnetic force that wasus. Something I could never fight against, only for. How could I both hate and love someone at once?
Wesley came closer, his hand cupping my cheek, and I was too defeated to stop him. I craved him like he was my dawn, theburst of daylight in the moment of quiet before daybreak. A time of day I had always loved, just as I loved him.
He stared down at me, a hurricane of emotion embedded in the avalanche I knew had changed me as a woman. “No, you don’t. You don’t hate me. You couldneverhate me.” He moved, coming so close his breath ghosted through the air, meeting mine with each exhale. “You’re disappointed in me. You trusted me, and I broke that trust. I’m sorry, Skip, I’m sorry for all of it.”
His fingers flexed through mine, so soft I barely felt it. Familiar tingles raced through my body, resurrecting my heart, the pull of our connection a tumultuous tug of war within me. I turned to the ocean where rain pelted holes in its dark blanket like bullets, a moment of distraction until the cold of Wesley’s hand rested on my cheek, drawing my attention back to him. His gentle caress caused my eyes to slide shut, surrendering to my senses.
Salt layered my skin, the ocean rushing in my ears as a damp finger caressed my cheek. Overwhelmed by everything, I couldn’t think straight, until Wesley’s lips brushed my earlobe, his voice caressing my eardrums.
“Open your eyes, Skip. Look at me,please.”
Like the call of a siren, I couldn’t deny him, drawing my gaze to his once more.
He tucked my hair behind both ears, cupping my face as if I were the most precious thing in this world. “I love you. I willalwayslove you.”
I wanted to say the words back but found myself lost in the taste of his lips as they pressed against mine. Cautious and tender, they held their own meaning, wrote their own tale. I drowned in his kiss that consumed me in every way only Wes could.Completely. His tongue swirled over mine, tasting my mouth like a man starved of a lover, and I let him.
A kiss wouldn’t fix this, wouldn’t mend what he did. But right now, I needed to kiss him for one heart-stopping moment.
Just. One. Kiss.
Reality compelled me to pull away, tears falling freely down my cheeks. “Promise you won’t leave again,” I urged, clutching at his jacket like a lifeline. “Swear it.”
His palms lingered on my jaw, my gaze drawn to him in some otherworldly compulsion. “I swear on my mother’s life, I will never leave you.” Then he kissed me again, longer this time, until we were desperate for air.
When we finally pulled apart, I rested my head on his chest, unsure of what to say. We stayed like that, embracing in the dark, rain soaking our hair and clothes, dripping down the base of my neck. A bone chilling shudder wracked my torso, having run straight outside in only a thin top. He pulled me closer, like we’d been separated for a lifetime, and I felt like we had. I stared at him, trying to sort the feelings scattered in my chest. I knew I loved him. But I needed time to pick up the pieces he had broken and mend them accordingly.
“It’s cold.” He stared down at me, moving a sodden strand of hair from my cheek. “Let’s get you back in the warm.”
