Page 117 of Spark

“I’m scared of screwing up. I’m sorry. I just don’t feel comfortable out here. Maybe I just wasn’t ready for this yet.”

Darren sighed, his eyes glancing up before returning them to me. “Turn around,” he said and nudged me with his shoulders.

I went with his motion, pressing my back into his chest while his hands rested on the railing to cage me within his body. For once, I took comfort in that. I felt shielded… protected. And it was odd that I found myself embracing that comfort. In the warmth of his embrace, I could see skiers and snowboarders off in the distance, sliding down the snow and kicking up clouds of white powder in their wake. I became instantly envious that I wasn’t down there with them. I wanted to fly like they were.

“Do you snowboard?” I asked Darren.

“Occasionally,” he replied.

“Are you any good?”

He released a soft chuckle. “There isn’t much I’m not good at.”

I covertly rolled my eyes. Of course, he was good at nearly everything.

“I miss it,” I added.

Darren was silent for a moment before he answered. “Maybe next year we’ll hit the slopes.”

“Really?”

“Sure, when I’m confident in your durability.”

I shook my head and sighed. “You’re doing it again.”

“Doing what?”

“Treating me like a flower.”

I felt Darren lower his lips to my ear. “How should I treat you then?”

I gulped back my response but answered anyway. “How about as your equal and not your prisoner?”

“You have yet to earn that status.”

“I am trying…”

“Are you sure? You seem very content with challenging your guards to the point of attempting to manipulate me into killing them.”

I scoffed. “I’m curious. What would you have me do when the men charged with watching over me taunt me?”

“Taunt you how?”

“Romero and Alex enjoyed pushing me in ways that encouraged my natural rebellious behavior.”

“Then you will come to me, and I will handle it.”

“And if they don’t let me? If you’re gone?”

“Then you will deal with it until I return. They will not keep you from me.”

“You know how well that will go down,” I said, shaking my head. “Dealing” wasn’t exactly my specialty.

“And how do you think it will go down when I get home and find out you took matters into your own hands?”

“I imagine you would thank me for handling my own shit, so you don’t have to.”

“Don’t be a smartass. These men are here to protect you, which they clearly failed to do when they allowed you to sneak away from them. If you don’t allow them to do their job, you jeopardize yourself. Have you not learned that yet?”

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