Chapter Ten
Riley
Riley’s hair whipped back across her face as she soared over the waves on a jet ski. She bobbed with the movement, spray spitting up and coating her clothes, but she could barely feel it. Her focus flicked between the dark clouds crackling in the sky above, and the place where the path to the ruins should be.
What was Ella thinking?
Riley couldn’t believe she’d visit the ruins so late, especially at high tide. Especially when the weather was turning.
Actually, she could believe it. It was exactly the kind of stupid idea that had Ella written all over it.
Anger brewed in her belly. It was like the woman had a death wish. If Duarte hadn’t spotted her on his way back from a supply drop, she’d have been stuck out there all night.
What if something has already happened? A chill spread down her spine, and she made the engine go faster, gaining height over the choppy waves. If their last conversation turned out to be the way they left things, Riley would never forgive herself.
Because Ella was right. Riley was a coward.
But we’re focusing on Ella’s stupidity here, not mine.
If she thought about confronting Ella about her feelings or admitting that, yes, she was attracted to her, she might just throw up.
Riley had cut off any matters of the heart years ago. Why was the fiery redhead interested in her? It didn’t matter, anyway. She didn’t want to be a holiday throwaway. She couldn’t be. That wasn’t the way she operated.
So why was she racing across the sea like a madwoman, trying to rescue her?
I should book another session with Marco Marcos.
The hillside came into view as a flash of lightning crossed the sky. Shit. She needed to be quick. She pulled the jet ski around the land, her eyes combing the path leading up to the ruins .
“Ella!” she called, losing her voice to the wind. Ugh. She’d have to get closer.
She drove the jet ski onto the grass, slipping and sliding and tumbling off onto the ground. She dragged it further inland and, after making sure it was secure, started jogging up the path to the ruins. She called her name again, her chest already heaving from the exertion and adrenaline pumping through her veins.
Her hair whipped around her face like a hurricane, and a clap of thunder rolled through the sky. If she didn’t find Ella soon, they were going to get caught in a storm. The last place they wanted to be was on the water.
She pushed herself, feet slapping the ground underneath and carrying her closer to the ruins. The stone structure poked out above, guiding her. When she crested the top, moving aside the overgrown branches arching over the path, a purple fork cracked across the sky.
“Ella!” she shouted, her voice hoarse and breathy from the journey up. She ducked her head into the crumbled structure but came up short.
If she wasn’t here, what was she going to do?
Dread smothered her stomach again, and she called louder, the wind thrashing in her ears. A small raindrop landed on her nose, and she lifted her head up just as the downpour began. The water quickly soaked through her T-shirt and shorts, but she continued shouting.
“Riley?”
The voice was so soft, Riley thought it was a figment of her own imagination at first. But then she turned, and Ella stood under a fallen doorway, soaked to the bone in her yellow summer dress.
“Are you alright?” Riley closed the distance between them, relief coating her, followed by trepidation.
“What are you doing here?” Ella asked.
“More like what are you doin’ here, Ella?” She waved her arms. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
The softness in Ella’s voice vanished in an instant, replaced with a fiery rage. “Actually, Riley, I was trying to give myself to this stupid course, and it’s just trying to kill me!”
Unbelievable. “You can’t keep blaming the course for this. You should know you’re not supposed to come here at this time. Did you even read the booklets we gave you?”
Ella’s face said it all, but she continued to scowl.
“Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?” Riley huffed, the rain continuing to pound the ground around them. “I could shake you.”
“Well, I could shake you too,” Ella grumbled, folding her arms across her chest. “Do you have any idea how frustrating you are?”
“I can’t be half as bad as you.”
Their gazes locked, more electricity flowing between them than was racing across the night sky. The wet, earthy smell filled Riley’s nostrils, as another booming thunderclap surrounded them.
Riley broke contact first, walking past Ella and into the stone structure. Most of the roof had fallen away, but branches of a nearby tree hovered over the top, providing a little bit of shelter. She stood under it and sighed, feeling a brief respite from the pelting raindrops.
Ella followed her in and rested her hands on her hips. “What are you doing?”
“Waiting.” This woman’s naivety started to grate on Riley’s nerves.
“I agree this place has its quirks, but I don’t fancy staying here all night.”
“Ella.” Riley ground her teeth. “If you haven’t noticed, there’s a storm going on above our heads right now. We have to wait it out.”
“Can we make a fire?”
“Everything is wet.”
“So what are we supposed to do?”
“Wait,” Riley snapped.
Rain pattered on the leaves above them, branches twisting and wailing in the wind. They didn’t speak for a few minutes. Riley’s body started to ache, the cold seeping into her bones. Ella wandered around the space, peering at the crumbling walls. In the streaks of moonlight dappling through the cracks, there wasn’t much to see.
“Well, I’m so thrilled you came to rescue me. The conversational wizard herself.” She stopped walking and turned to face Riley.
“You could be more grateful.” Riley pushed off from the wall where she’d been leaning. “Do you have any idea what I’m risking for you? If Senhor Arenoso knew we were here? ”
To her surprise—and absolute outrage—Ella scoffed.
“This isn’t a joke to me, Ella.”
“This isn’t a joke to me either, Riley.” Ella’s voice quietened, and she stepped towards her. The moonlight glinted on the hair plastered to her face, but the look in her brown eyes made Riley pause. “This is not what I thought I’d be doing with my life at thirty-three. I lost my job, my ex-girlfriend/ex-boss got engaged to the woman she cheated on me with, and then, to top it off, a goat ransacked my cabin, stealing my knickers.”
A goat stole her underwear?
The detail seemed less important when Ella took another step towards her, close enough now that they could reach out and touch. Her gaze held Riley’s, and it was impossible to look away.
“It’s hard to believe in myself,” she continued, “when my mum and best friend both think my life is in such a state that I need this…intervention. It’s even harder to realise everything they were saying is absolutely true. And then there’s you.”
Riley swallowed, suddenly aware of her breathing. She was hanging on Ella’s every word.
“My heart has been stabbed, stomped on, squished and sawn into teeny tiny pathetic pieces more times than I can remember. All my life, I’ve been too stubborn, too loud, too little, too much, and this time I wonder if they’re right. If everything they say is true and needs fixing. Why else would I be here, stuck in the middle of this storm, cold and pissed off at the world, with yet another person who thinks I’m all of those things?” Her eyes became glassy, teeth snagging on her wobbly bottom lip as she looked away. “But when I see you…it’s like all that bad stuff is forgotten for a second. When I see you, my heart still reacts. I can’t help it. Maybe that’s stupid, or na?ve—or both—whatever. But it reminds me that maybe I’m not so broken after all.” She flicked her attention back to Riley, pinning her in place. “Maybe I am some of those things, and that’s okay. I’m not afraid to admit I’m not perfect. I’m just me.”
Riley’s cheeks burned as Ella moved closer, the air fizzing with energy.
“So I’ll ask you the same question, Riley. Do you have any idea what I’m risking for you ?”
Riley couldn’t speak. Or find any cohesive thoughts other than taking Ella in her arms and kissing her. She hated that anyone had made Ella feel small. She hated even more that she’d added to that. Or that she could ever think she was too much. Ella was an all-powerful lifeforce of energy, so strong and so bright that most people probably didn’t know how to compete with it. She wore her heart on her sleeve, her struggles, her desires. She was human. Real. Beautiful and flawed in the ways humans should be.
But Ella mistook her silence for something else, and she shook her head. “That’s what I thought.” She turned away, her footsteps soft on the mulch underfoot as she put distance between them .
Distance that Riley didn’t want.
“Ella, wait.”
“You know what?” Ella spun to face her, taking quick steps to get back in her face. “This whole course is about finding yourself and getting out of your comfort zone. But why don’t you practise what you preach?” Her voice stung, cutting straight through Riley’s heart. “When was the last time you ever got out of your comfort zone?”
Ella’s chest heaved, those wild eyes flicking between Riley’s.
She was right. Riley always bit her tongue, always tried to keep control. She couldn’t say anything in reply. Words wouldn’t cut it. Pushing all her doubts and reservations off the nearby cliff, she reached out, placing a hand on Ella’s waist.
The gasp was soft in the pattering of the rain around them, but Riley still heard it. She pulled Ella closer to her. Delicate hands landed on Riley’s chest. Riley’s breathing malfunctioned, alarms blaring in her head, heart racing like Ella was petrol and Riley’s body a waiting match.
Before she could change her mind, she leaned in, pressing her lips to Ella’s and lighting the flame.
Ella’s soft mouth kissed her back, and Riley’s stomach plummeted. Time slowed. Freefalling in the best way possible. The chatter in her head fell away, leaving the feeling lighting her up head to toe, fire engulfing all of her senses.
Ella’s grip tightened on Riley’s T-shirt as she kissed her deeper, her nails grazing through the fabric of her soaked shirt. She opened her mouth to her, and heat filled Riley’s belly, curling the tips of her toes. She welcomed it, delving deeper, feeding the kiss with everything she wanted to tell her but couldn’t. She loved her sweet taste. Her plump, pillowy lips. How she wore her heart on her sleeve and kissed just the same. She wished she were as brave.
Her hands drifted from Ella’s waist to the curve of her bum. Every touch elicited a new, breathless sigh, and Riley wanted it all. She cupped Ella’s jaw, pushing the slick strands back from her face, her kisses becoming desperate. She couldn’t get enough, and dragged her lips along her soft neck, inhaling her scent and placing a firm kiss to her pressure point.
Ella’s gentle moan woke Riley’s clit with a throbbing ache, and she pulled back to look her in the eye, noting the moon reflected in her dark irises. Something knotted deep within her loosened, and she leaned in to kiss her again and again.
The wind swirled around them, but Riley hardly noticed it. Every sense pointed to Ella, singing a song that was uniquely hers. Her body hummed, pleasure and arousal searing every nerve ending. Why had she been fighting her instincts so hard?
They finally parted for breath, hearts beating wildly. Riley missed her touch immediately.
“That’s better,” Ella commented, her breath tickling Riley’s mouth.
Riley smiled, pressing her lips to hers and pulling her closer, two wild flames burning bright in the pouring rain.