Chapter 17 #2
My instincts kick in and I move closer. She's sprawled out on the wet ground with her arms spread wide, staring up at the storm like she doesn’t have a single care in the world.
What the hell?
It’s strange how completely at peace she looks with rain running down her face.
I pause, standing there while thunder rolls overhead.
She doesn’t hear me approach, she's completely lost in her own world. Lightning splits the sky again, lighting up her face.
Fuck.
Ever since I met this woman, she’s been a fucking enigma. The most unpredictable person I’ve ever met. Who in their right mind sneaks out of a castle in the middle of the night, during a raging storm, just to lay on the soaking wet ground like she belongs there?
Her hair fans around her like a wild halo, tangling with the earth beneath her. She’s so still, and utterly unbothered by the storm raging around her. It's almost like she's part of the chaos.
I shake my head, and a small, reluctant smile tugs at the corners of my lips. This woman defies logic.
And they said I’m supposed to be the onion?
I take a slow step forward, scanning the sky, trying to see whatever the hell has her so mesmerized. But all I see are thick, rolling storm clouds. There's not even a single star in sight.
Lightning tears across the sky in a violent, jagged streak of white-hot electricity, ripping through the dark. The thunder that follows shakes the air with a sound so deep it feels like the earth itself is growling.
I look back down at Raven, and she’s smiling.
Completely fucking absorbed.
I don’t know what it is about the way she’s laying there, so utterly in tune with the storm, but I can’t take my eyes off her.
And here I am, standing in the shadows, watching her. Well, now I just feel like a fucking creep.
“If ye wanted to see the gardens, ye could've just said so earlier.” No point in just standing here like an idiot.
She lets out a startled yelp, and scrambles to her feet. She raises her arm, and there’s something clutched tightly in her hand. She's standing like she’s ready for a fight.
Adrenaline spikes in my veins, and I take a half-step forward. Fight or flight? Which is it, Princess?
But the second she sees me, her muscles relax.
“Oh, it’s just you,” she exhales, lowering her arm. Relief flickers over her face first. Then, instant irritation.
“Why are you sneaking up on people in the middle of the night? You’re lucky I didn’t stab you!”
“Stab me?” I raise an eyebrow, biting back a grin. “With what?”
She’s holding a butter knife. The laugh bursts out of me before I can stop it.
“Princess,” I say, between chuckles. “You’re not going to be hurting anyone with that thing.” I shake my head, trying to keep it together. “You’re better off throwing it, maybe buy yourself a few seconds to run.”
She scowls, and I can see her grip tightening around the useless blade. I'll be damned if it doesn’t make me laugh harder. The visual alone is enough to make my dick instantly hard.
There she is, soaking wet, with water dripping down her hair. Standing in a thunderstorm like she’s some kind of defiant goddess, armed with a butter knife.
Rage flickers through her expression, but it’s gone in an instant.
I can see the exact moment she seriously considers my advice, and I swear to God, she’s about to throw that fucking thing at my head.
“Why are you out here, Kane?” She demands, all sharp edges and suspicion.
“Because I li—”
CRACK.
The sky splits open, and lightning shoots across the sky. It's so close it’s blinding. I clamp my jaw shut, shoving the words back down. As much as I want to come clean, now is not the time.
Her eyes stay locked on mine, waiting. She doesn’t miss a fucking thing.
The way the storm lights up the wildness in her eyes has me completely fucking spellbound. I don’t even try to hide it. There’s no point. She already knows how much I want her. And it doesn’t matter how much I pretend I’ve got a handle on it. I don’t.
She stands there, completely unbothered by the storm, staring at me like she isn’t the most dangerous fucking thing in this moment. She tilts her head, narrowing her eyes slightly, and something unreadable flashes across her face.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
I blink, realizing she just said something. But my head is someplace else entirely. I'm completely fixated on how she looks right now.
Drenched and stunning.
“What?”
My voice comes out rougher than I intended as I take a step closer, but she doesn’t move. She just tilts her head up with every inch I close between us, and I realize just how fucking small she is.
Why does that, of all things, do something to me?
The sound of thunder rumbles like a warning.
Or a fucking dare.
I lean in, watching the way her breath catches, watching the way her eyes stay locked on mine. Waiting.
“You know…” I say, dropping my voice lower. “…the thunder and all.”
I can feel the tension between us. Every rumble of thunder, every crack of lightning, is pulling us in. Daring me to cross a line I know I can’t come back from.
I don’t know if it’s the storm or if it’s her, but standing here feels like standing on the edge of a cliff, and it’s becoming more impossible to ignore.
My instincts scream at me to walk away. To step back, and keep the distance I’ve fought so hard to maintain. And yet, every single nerve in my body is telling me to do the opposite.
She’s drawing me in and it’s fucking obnoxious how much I want to give in to it. One more step and the space between us disappears.
The rain slides down her face, catching on her lips, but her eyes are still locked on mine.
I can’t tell if she feels the same pull I do or if she’s about to push me away.
All I know is that being this close to her, with the storm raging around us, feels like standing in the eye of the hurricane.