I reach up and touch his face.
He freezes, staring down at me. Breathing hard, his eyes frenzied, he looks at me like he can never look away.
My voice is faint but surprisingly calm. “I’m not hurt. I’m okay, Mal. I’m okay.”
So distraught he can’t speak, he simply stares at me, his chest heaving.
What I see in his eyes lights my soul on fire.
Emotion rushes at me, lightning and thunder and starlight, a crash of adrenaline roaring in my ears like the sea. I ache with it, splitting at the seams, unraveling under its power.
I sit up, take his face in my hands, and kiss him.
He hesitates. He fights himself for a split second, accustomed to not giving in. Then a small moan slips past his lips, and he surrenders.
He crushes me against his chest, buries a hand in my hair, and takes my mout
