Colt gazed down at me. “Are you hurt?”
“No,” I said as my voice cracked from not speaking. “I’m fine.”
He closed his other hand around my forearm and pulled me up to my feet. Harder than necessary.
Colt grimaced but showed no emotion. “You’re not safe here. You shouldn’t be here alone.”
My eyes widened. “You shouldn’t be here at all.”
I let it sink in for a moment.
Colt looked off toward the path Travis had taken. A decision moved across his face like a storm sliding over a flat lake.
I needed some space, some air that belonged to me.
“Give me room,” I said with an exhale.
Colt stepped back at once and empty space slid into place where he’d been.
“Another step,” I said.
He took it and opened his hands, palms bare. Fingers loose. The night felt only slightly less sharp with nothing concealed.
Colt’s eyes met mine. “Tell me to leave.”
“I should,” I said.
And I meant it.
“Say it,” he replied, “and I’ll go.”
The wordgohung behind my teeth but refused to jump.
Relief and embarrassment intertwined and pretended to be the same damn thing.
“No,” I said.
Colt nodded, but there was no triumph in it. “Then I’ll stay until you change your mind.”
My nostrils flared as I looked him up and down. “Stay where I can see you.”
He gestured in front of him and held a line as if I’d drawn a real one. “I’ll stay here.”
Hedges leaned in, edging us further into darkness.
“Your knees,” Colt said as he pointed at them. “They’ll bruise.”
I glanced down and realized he was right. Adrenaline caused me not to notice, but as if on cue, a new pain throbbed and radiated through my legs.
Colt took in a deep breath. “I can carry you to the path.”
“No,” I said, and shook my head. I didn’t want to owe Colt anything other than my balance at the moment. “Just… offer me an arm.”
But Colt didn’t take my hands. Instead, he offered me his forearm and let me choose where to grip. I took what I needed, not an inch more. The ground mercifully allowed me to stand with no sway, which I took as a good sign.
“I want to touch you,” Colt said, surprising me.
Quiet and unforced.
