Page 75 of The Promise
"Michael?" she shrieked.
Nothing moved, and another thought entered her head.
"Nick? Is that you, Nick?"
Again, nothing.
Fighting her fear, she stretched her hand out again, steeling herself against the feel of cold flesh. Slowly, she closed her fingers over the hand's digits, noting that there was no reaction, not even a quiver of movement. The skin was cold and soft.Soft. She released a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding. Not Michael's work-worn hand, Nick's I-never-work-when-I-can-pay-someone-else-to-do-it hand.
She sent a prayer heavenward.
She followed the hand until she felt the adjoining wrist and arm. Tracing her way up his arm, she felt the solid barrier of rock before she'd even reached the elbow. He'd been crushed. She shuddered with revulsion, tears filling her eyes. Not even Nick deserved to die like that.
A harsh hacking sound filtered through her terror-numbed mind. She whirled around. "Michael? Is that you?" The coughing grew louder as she groped her way through the darkness toward the sound. "Michael?"
"I'm here, Cara."
The tears began to fall in earnest, the dam threatening to break. She struggled for control, stumbling as she ran forward, rocks rattling as she fought to regain her balance.
"Hang on, sweetheart. I'm going to light a match."
A soft light flared in front of her, illuminating a small circle around him. Nothing had ever looked so beautiful. She threw herself at him, mindful of nothing but her overriding need tofeel his arms around her. Surely, now that they were together everything would be all right.
"Hey, easy now." He laughed as she burrowed close, the sound of his voice music to her ears. "I'm not going anywhere."
She winced at the truth in his words. If what she suspected was right, neither of them would ever go anywhere again. The match fizzled out and blackness surrounded them once more. He pulled her closer, wrapping his arms around her.
She buried her face in his chest, his warm breath fanning across her hair, her arms circling his waist. He pulled her onto his lap, cradling her. She sighed and leaned into him, content for the moment just to feel his even breathing.
"Are you all right?" She shifted, tipping her head up toward him.
"I think so. Just a knock on the head. How about you?"
"Same." She felt his hand gently search her skull, stopping when it found the lump.
"That's a pretty good knot."
"It's nothing, really." She smiled in the darkness.
He felt for her face and ran his palm along the line of her cheek, bending his head to find her lips. The kiss was like an explosion, passion fueled by a wild mixture of fear and relief. She clung to him, her body melding with his, her lips opening to his touch, drawing him deeper, closer. Despite her exhaustion, her need for him crescendoed into hot, burning desire.
She pressed against him, willing his body to become one with hers, wanting only to be closer. He ran his hand across her breast and she winced as his fingers came in contact with torn flesh. He pulled back, his voice tightening with concern. "You're hurt."
"I don't think so." She blinked in the sudden flare of light as he lit another match, surprised to see that his hands wereshaking. "I feel fine." She tried to settle back against him, her thoughts still centered on her need for him.
"I'll be the judge of that." He pushed her back and held the flame between them. With his other hand, he pulled back the torn material of her blouse. "There's a cut here." He ran a gentle finger along the soft peak and she jerked a little at the contact. He audibly released a breath. "It's all right. It's just a scratch."
"I told you."
"Damn." He pulled away, dropping the stub of the match as it burned his thumb, plunging them into darkness in an instant. He found her hand and linked his fingers with hers, gently pulling her forward until she was once again nestled against him. Somehow, like this, the whole thing seemed less frightening.
She settled closer into the curve of his body and drew in a breath for courage, a vision of Nick filling her brain. "I…I found Nick."
His arm tightened around her as he waited for her to say more.
"He's dead." She shivered at the thought of the lifeless hand.
"Well, I can't say that I'm sorry. What happened?"
