Chapter 5

Chapter Five

M y heart is pounding and a loud noise is ringing in my ears. I stand there, looking over my shoulder at my neighbor in disbelief.

What is he doing here?

And how does he do it? Always appearing in the right place at the right time? To be there again when I’m on the verge of losing myself? Countless questions swirl in my mind, yet I remain silent before him, gazing into his captivating eyes.

His irises are amber-colored, covered with golden speckles. Beautiful and… soft.

They are the perfect contrast to his serious expression and sharp features. His full lips look so incredibly soft that I want to taste them. My God! What am I thinking?

Panicked by the thoughts I’m not allowed to have, I tear myself away from him, turn around, and take steps backward up the stone stairs. My hand clasps the part of my wrist he held between his rough fingers. My skin still feels electrified where he touched me. This is not good!

“Is everything okay, Mrs. Shepherd?” he asks me in his rough voice, which sends a shiver down my spine no matter how much I resist it. This can’t be happening.

So I nod eagerly and hurry away. I have to get away from him and get out of this situation. God! What was I thinking? I… I should have…

Everything starts spinning. My head spins like a top, endlessly whirling without pause or fatigue. This situation, the argument with Thomas earlier, his broken promise, and the past flashbacks are all too much—far too much!

My still-damp fingers run along my hairline, and I clutch my thick mane for support. I desperately need to stop the spinning in my head, which is throwing off my balance and threatening to make me fall. My breathing is getting faster and faster, and my heart is pounding so loud and hard against my ribs that it almost hurts.

“Hey, take it easy, okay? Look at me,” my rescuer urges me in a calm voice, and I obey when I feel his rough fingers on my cheeks.

He’s suddenly so close to me that I can smell his aftershave. This smell, mixed with his scent of wood, leather, and chlorine, rises to my nose like a deadly gas. Our eyes meet as I’m about to hyperventilate, and both his hands cup my face. My fingers are digging roughly into my scalp, trying to ground me.

“Breathe, Beauty,” he continues to instruct me.

I’m so caught up in this situation that I can’t even say anything about his nickname for me because the spinning won’t stop. Why can’t I make it stop?

I was just about to… wasn’t I? The lump in my throat continues to swell. Hot tears are already stinging my eyes. This is wrong, so wrong. He’s too close to me, far too close…

I take a step back and pull away from him because his fingers are setting my skin on fire.

My breathing becomes more frantic, and my field of vision blurs before my legs give way, and I threaten to fall.

But unexpectedly, I am caught and feel rough fingers running over my upper arms. A dark voice reaches my ears, yet it is too muffled and far away to hear properly.

I squeeze my eyelids shut tight, but it only intensifies the spinning. Black dots swirl into specks, and the darkness overwhelms me, leaving me no chance of escape. It pushes me down into the icy embrace of unconsciousness.