Page 207 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
And that surge broke through, and I was gasping as realization slammed me.
A flood rushing in to fill every gap and crevice. A soothing against the bitter ache.
“Go,” Emery wheezed, smiling wide as she tossed me my jacket and purse. I didn’t know when she’d grabbed them, but I was laughing an addled sound as I shrugged into it.
My knees weak and everything else light as I fumbled for the front of the store and pushed out the door.
Cold lashed across my face as I stumbled out into the winter chill, though I blundered to a standstill the second my feet hit the wood planks below.
Taken.
Held.
The afternoon sun had just begun to sag to the west.
It sent rays scattering around Theo.
Setting his silhouette ablaze.
The man a blackened sun.
Pure gravity.
His strong jaw clenched as he watched me with those dark, dark eyes that seared me through.
Black flames that crackled and lapped.
The man was pure intimidation. A painting of dark provocation.
His world one of volatility and crime.
Of violence and bloodshed. But it was also one that offered respite to the poor. Safety to the vulnerable.
And I knew as we stared each other down that he’d shown me who he really was.
And all the armor and shields I’d erected crashed to my feet. A tearing away of the barriers and the fear. A breaking of the promise that I would live this life alone because it was the only way we could survive it.
His own pain and grief and barricades were toppled.
All of it sat as rubble between us.
And maybe I’d never been more reckless, but I didn’t care.
I moved, my spirit soaring as I rushed across the distance separating us and swung my leg over his bike.
I wrapped my trembling arms around his waist and plastered myself against him.
Our breaths heaved out at the same time, and energy cracked and whipped at the connection.
A bond encircling us to make us complete.
Then Theo pulled out onto the street.
FORTY-ONE
THEO
I didn’t thinkI’d ever felt so much relief than having Piper’s arms wrapped around me. The thrashing beat of her heart battering at my back as she held on tight as I rode us in the direction of The Sanctuary.
