Page 2 of Resurrecting His Soul
Considering his question for a minute, she took the time to register all of her body parts, expecting pain, but there was nothing. It wasn’t like she was numb, either. Her body felt like it was running at maximum strength. She looked up at him and smiled shyly. “Actually, I feel wonderful. I don’t think I’ve ever felt this good.”
A wash of emotions ran over his face. Relief mixed with worry, and what looked like sadness. But that didn’t make sense. Why would her feeling great make him sad? He’d saved her life, so it was an odd reaction for him to seem upset about her being okay.
He dropped his head, his beautiful eyes leaving hers, and she missed them even though she had no reason to. He was a stranger. Yes, a stranger who had saved her life, but still a stranger.
“I had to save you,” he said, his voice low and melancholy.
“And I’m so grateful, but why do you sound like you’re not sure you should have?” she frowned.
He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight to his body. Her body went rigid, her brain taking her back to a time when a hug was what came before something bad was about to happen. But this man had saved her, not hurt her, and she didn’t want to spend the rest of her life looking for the worst in men, so she forced herself relax, and when she did, that connection she had felt earlier seemed to hum under her skin. It was curious because being held by him didn’t feel strange once she blocked out the past and allowed her mind and body to relax, and she hugged him back.
“The reason you feel so great now is because of how I saved you,” he said, still holding her, and she could feel his breath just beneath her ear. “And I do not wish to confuse you. I am very happy I was able to bring you back from death’s door, but I fear you may be less than thrilled when you understand the extent I had to go to, to save your life. When you realize what you’ll have to do to survive now, you might hate me.”
Pulling back so she could look at him, she was confused, but also felt the need to reassure him what he had done for her was nothing but heroic. She brought her hand up to his face and smiled warmly at him. “I assure you, there is nothing you could say that would make me hate you for saving my life. I know something in me has changed, I can feel that much.” She ran her hands up and down her arms, feeling for physical differences, but her skin felt the same. “I feel strong, and my senses are overly heightened. No matter, I am blessed because I felt myself dying, and thanks to you I feel more alive than ever before. Okay?”
His face relaxed a bit, and she finally took a moment to really take him in. His eyes were like bright sapphires, illuminated by his dark lashes and hair, and his close-cut beard. And when he smiled at her, she was convinced he was the most beautiful person she’d ever laid eyes on. “My name is Ricardo,” he said.
“I’m Lisandra.”
“That is a beautiful name.”
“Thank you.”
Ricardo checked his watch and his smile fell once again. Deep lines of concern formed between his brows. “I hate to push you into anything. I know we’ve only just met, but I need you to trust me.”
“What’s wrong?” Anxiety swooped in, and all the fuzzy warm feelings she’d been letting creep in were extinguished at once.
“I know I owe you an explanation, and believe me I plan to tell you everything soon, but we should first leave this place. If we stay here, I am afraid Melina might come for you again. She will not be happy when she wakes.”
Ricardo stood and held out a hand to help Lisandra up, but she paused. “I can’t just leave with you. I’m very happy you saved me, but I don’t know you. And who’s Melina?”
“I know I’m asking a lot, but it’s important. We need to leave.”
“No,” she shook her head, and stood without taking his hand. “I’ve got to find Allison.” Lisandra tried to look around, hoping her best friend might be there somewhere, but they were alone.
“Is Allison the girl you were riding the Ferris wheel with?” he asked.
“Yes. I have to make sure she’s okay.”
“She got away. I promise you that, but if we stick around here and go find her, we could actually be putting her in danger.”
“Is that because of this Melina you mentioned?”
He nodded. “Yes, well, partially, but I’m afraid it is more complicated than we have time to discuss now.”
She crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes at him. As happy as she was to be alive, he was starting to piss her off with his evasive responses to her questions. “You’re going to have to give me more than that. I might look naïve, but I’ve been through more than you think, and survived most of it thanks to Allison. If you think I’m leaving here without her, you’re going to have to be a lot more convincing than just saying it’s complicated.”
Ricardo pinched the bridge of his nose. Then he looked Lisandra back in her eyes and took her face between his hands. “Believe me, I understand how this sounds, but if you want your friend to stay safe, finding her right now is not a good idea. Melina could wake up anytime, and if she tries to find you, Allison would be an easy target for her, and I do not believe you would want to put her in danger.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I would never put her in danger, but…” She felt tears welling up in her eyes and she hated to cry in front of this man; hated looking weak in front of him, but he had saved her life so that ship had already sailed, she supposed. Lifting her hand to wipe the tears that had spilled over, Ricardo beat her to it when he held her face and gently ran his thumbs under her eyes, wiping away the tears before they made a trail down her cheeks.
He kept her face held in his hands and when she met his eyes, her breath caught. There was so much emotion swirling in those sapphire blue eyes of his, she could almost feel it within herself. Without thinking, she brought her hand up to her chest and rubbed at the pain she felt there. It was the strangest thing, sensing his emotions. Her brain told her it wasn’t possible, but her heart knew better. She had no idea how or why she was connected to his emotions, but she felt an urge to hug him. There was a lot of pain and sadness in those eyes, but something else too. Maybe it was hope? She wasn’t sure, but she could feel a sliver of light wrapped up in all his darkness.
Several moments passed, the two of them staring into each other’s eyes, like they were silently exploring the other’s soul. She wondered if he could tell what she was feeling, too, or if it was just her.
Ricardo finally broke the silence. “Listen, Lisandra, I would not have saved you if I intended to harm you. I just need to keep you from harm. Please come with me. I will get us a place to stay where you’ll be safe, then we can work on a safe way to reunite you with your friend.”
Her eyes roamed over his face, before once again meeting his stare. She was looking for something—a sign he was deceiving her—but all she saw was the same raw emotions from before, mixed with determination. She rubbed her chest again and briefly wondered if the connection between them was permanent, not sure she wanted to be so emotionally connected to him forever, even if she was drawn to him. Still, in that moment the connection made her want to believe him, and she hoped that what she felt was true and not some false emotions intended to trick her into going his way.
