Air rushed in.
I inhaled so hard it hurt. My chest expanded. My ribs screamed. My throat felt like it had been shredded with broken glass. My eyes watered instantly, tears spilling down my cheeks without permission. But I was breathing.
I was alive.
I collapsed forward, coughing, clutching my neck, my vision swimming. I could taste blood. My pulse was hammering in my ears. My whole body trembled from the inside out.
But I looked up anyway.
My vision was still hazy. My throat was raw. My lungs were dragging in air like I had been drowning and just barely clawed back to the surface. Every breath hurt. Every inch of my body was shaking. I was on the floor—on my knees, my hands braced against the wood, my body coated in sweat and fear and leftover arousal.
And Damon—
Oh my f*****g God.
