Page 123 of On The Edge
“Do I need to grab your ass and kiss you in front of everyone for you to understand that it’s okay? That we’ve got you?” Adam asks, shaking his head, pulling off his sunglasses roughly so I can see the truth in his eyes.
“Melody, baby,” Markus turns my face to his with two fingers under my chin. “We’d never let anything bad happen to you. You believe us, right?”
I nod once, and he smiles.
“Then believe that we’ve got it sorted.”
“Okay,” I say softly.
“Our turn, let’s go,” Adam says, pulling me towards the front of the line where there’s a crowd of people waiting. I keep my head down, my hair flowing around me, and I notice the guys do the same. Markus hands over our tickets to the attendant whonods, eyes widening in surprise and shock before moving to the side to let us onto an empty pod.
“Have a good time,” the attendant chokes out, his words stuttering, and his eyes looking everywhere but at Adam or Markus.
“Thank you,” I say cheerily with a smile. Hopefully, it calms him down just a little.
“There’s a camera for photos right as you hit three o’clock, so be aware and smile for the photo.” The poor attendant throws out awkwardly and does a little half-wave. His eyebrows knit together like he can’t believe he just did that as Markus pushes me into the pod.
“Poor guy,” I say gently.
“He’ll be fine. Just a little star-struck.”
“Are we getting a picture taken?” I ask, worriedly.
“They’re going to turn it off for our turn. Aleks is there making sure they do,” Markus says and I breathe a little easier. Aleks being one of the incognito security guys following us today.
“Damn, baby. I didn’t think it would be such a big deal if you’re seen with us,” Adam jokes, but I can hear it. The undercurrent in his tone that says he’s a little worried that I might actually not want to go public with them.
“It’s not me I’m worried about, Adam. It’s you guys. As fucking cruel as Louis was, he did have a point. Your guys' careers, hopes, dreams… it’s all on the line. Because of me. So I’m not going to fuck around with that.”
“Don’t worry about Louis. Don’t worry about any of that,” Markus grumbles, but then stands straighter as the doors close. “Come on,” he says, pulling me towards the front of the pod as we start to rise through the air. “It’s going to take a little while for us to get to the top. But, what do you think?”
“Is no one else getting on?” I ask, looking back at the doors nervously as they seal shut. My eyebrows knit together. The rest of the pods have more people on them, what’s happening?
I look back at them, and Adam’s devilish smirk tells me that they planned this.
“Nope, Songbird. Just us.” Markus smiles brightly, but in his eyes I can see the heated want.
“Oh,” I whisper, both relieved and instantly turned on because of how clearly I can see their want for me in their eyes.
“Yeah, Echo.Oh.”
“How…”
“Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” Markus winks and steps closer, holding his arm out. “Come look out.”
I shift closer, moving towards the spot overlooking the edge. We’re only about twenty feet in the air, but it’s enough to see the water on the river and all the city as it passes by. Cars zoom past, obvious tourists walk quickly along the sidewalk taking pictures and posing together, while Londoners are running, talking, hustling.
It’s vibrant. Breathtaking.
My hands press against the sun-warmed glass to get closer as the whole structure moves and we ascend again.
“Wow,” I breathe the word out with awe. But when I look beside me, the guys aren’t there. Instead, they’re sitting on the wooden bench in the middle. “Um, excuse me?”
“Just one or two more positions up, and then we’ll join you,” Adam explains, pointing out the window at the way people that are on the street could look up and see them if they were pressed against the glass like I am.
“Ah,” I drag the sound out in understanding. “What, you think you’re safe in the middle?”
“We are actually.” Markus looks around, pointing. “If we sit here, the people on the opposite side can’t see us because thecore is in the way.” He points up and to the side, “The people above can’t see us because the floor is enclosed. The people below can’t either for the same reason. If we’re in the middle, no one below can see us either.” He smirks knowingly.
