The kiss had barely started when the cabin shuddered violently beneath us.
I gasped as my teeth clashed against his.
Dust and splinters rained from the ceiling, the old wood groaning..... terror twisting through me, but I didn't pull away.
I couldn't..... his arms wrapped around me, and the kiss deepened.
Another tremor hit, stronger this time. Firewood toppled in the corner, shards scattering across the floor, windows rattled violently, the glass shaking in its frames.
I pressed against him instinctively, nails digging into the firm planes of his back, my body alive with heat and confusion. My wolf surged, roaring in warning and exhilaration.
"Rhage!" I screamed.
His eyes snapped back to mine, not fully himself, but close enough to move.
He was on me in a second.
He turned, shoving me down and covering me with his body just as a beam came loose.... It slammed into his back with a sickening thud.
He didn't make a sound nor hesitate.... He just took the hit quietly.
"Stay down," he growled, voice strained.
Another violent jolt sent more debris crashing down.
Something struck his shoulder...… I felt the impact through him, through the way his body tightened over mine.
"Rhage...…" My voice broke worriedly.
I was shaking.... completely terrified.
He shifted, bracing himself, one arm locked around me, the other planted against the floor as the cabin shook like it was possessed.
Asha whimpered inside me.....
I squeezed my eyes shut, convinced this was it..... and the cabin would come down on us.
slowly..... the shaking began to ease..... the violence dulled, roar softening till it stopped completely.
He didn't move right away.... neither did I.
My body felt wrecked..... exhausted, scared, shaking, relieved all at once.
My hands were fisted in his shirt without me even realizing it....
Then he rolled gently...…. Pulling me up against his chest instead of away.
I didn't think, I just grabbed him, pulling him even closer like if I didn't, I'd fall apart.
He understood immediately and wrapped his arms around me.... one hand came up, smoothing over my hair, slowly over and over again.
"It's over," he murmured low.
"You're safe."
I buried my face into his chest, breath shuddering.
...…
I woke up slowly, the kind of slowness that comes after fear drains out of your bones and leaves exhaustion in place.
For a second, I forgot where I was cos warmth surrounded me.
An arm was wrapped around my waist and my cheek was pressed against a hard chest.
Rhage...…
Memory rushed back all at once..... the kiss.... the shaking ground... the walls screaming and the world tried to fall on us..... the way he covered me with his body like nothing else mattered.
My fingers curled slightly against his shirt before my mind caught up with my body and I pulled back.
Then I noticed it.....
The silence…..
No howling wind, no angry snow slamming against the cabin, no roaring blizzard trying to bury us alive.
I sat up sharply, my eyes going to the window.
It was clear...…
morning light filtered in….. the blizzard was gone.....
My chest tightened so fast it hurt...…
I was supposed to be happy...…. that was the whole point, wasn't it?
The storm stopping meant I could leave.... I could go back, I could return to my life, to everything that existed before this cabin and this man and whatever had almost happened between us.
So why did it feel like something inside me was breaking apart?
I stood slowly, hugging my arms around myself.... my throat burned as swallowed hard, forcing the lump down, but it stayed anyway.
Behind me, I felt him move.... He sat up slowly and watched me..... unreadable, like he was bracing for something he already expected.
"The storm's gone." he said also standing.
I nodded...…... I couldn't trust my voice yet.
I thought of Amy...….
The way she called me her family without hesitation.
I can't lose her....
Whatever this was...…whatever I felt when Rhage looked at me, touched me, protected me...….. it wasn't worth losing the only person who had ever truly cared about me.
I turned to face him, my hands trembling despite my effort to stay calm.
"Rhage," I said quietly.
He straightened slightly, like he was preparing himself.
"We shouldn't...…" My voice cracked.
I stopped, took a deep breath and tried again.
"We shouldn't let what happened here mean anything."
"The past two days," I continued forcing the words out even as my chest ached,
"they were....… intense and confusing but they were just because we were trapped."
"Fear sometimes does things to people...."I added.
I hated how fake it sounded and I hated myself for even spilling such lies.
"I think….…." I whispered tears finally spilling over.
"we should both forget this ever happened."
He didn't move or interrupt.... Just watched me with a tight jaw and something wounded flickering behind his composure before he buried it deep.
"You want me to forget?" he repeated.
I wiped my cheeks roughly embarrassed by my weakness.
"Yes...… When I leave here, we go back to normal...…. You stay away from me..... I stay away from you."
"This...….…" I gestured vaguely between us.
"This ends here."
"Is that what you want?"
His voice was steady, but I could hear it...… the restraint, the weight behind it.
I nodded quickly even though it wasn't true.
"Yes…..."
He studied my face, searching, like he was looking for something I wasn't brave enough to give him.
"Look at me....." he said.
I did.... Worst mistake....
The pain in his eyes nearly broke me.
"Are you sure...." he asked again
"that this is what you want?"
My chest caved in, tears blurred my vision completely.
I shook my head once then stopped myself.
"I don't have a choice," I whispered.
He frowned....
"You always have a choice."
"No," I said my voice shaking.
"Not when it costs me everything."
I turned away before he could ask what I meant, because if he said her name, I would fall apart completely.
"She's my family," I said instead barely audible.
"And I won't risk losing her.... I can't."
The silence was longer…..
When I finally dared to look at him, his expression was closed off, whatever hope had flickered there earlier was gone, locked away behind duty and something darker I didn't understand.
"Then I won't force you."