Page 43 of For Better or Hearse
Crossing his arms, Nathaniel inhales sharply to push the emotion, the worry, aside. And yet he drifts closer to her. A strange tug in his stomach. Ridiculous. She’s ridiculous and reckless, and how his grandfather puts up with her is beyond him.
“Ash. Get the fuck down.” His tone is sharp, efficient. The kind he once used on the battlefield of his emergency department.
The bite in his voice has her eyes widening.
Then she sticks her tongue out at him and hops off the rock. “Killjoy.” She’s still too close to the edge, but she’s on the ground again, at least.
Thank fuck.
She takes a step toward him, but as she does, a tourist wielding a rogue selfie stick knocks into her. Knocks her off balance.
Knocks her to the edge of the cliff.
The heel of her boot slips on loose gravel. She gasps and grabs at the air.
And then she screams.
Nathaniel yanks Ash into his chest before she can tumble down the sheer face of the cliff.
“Jesus Christ, Ash.” His rough voice grates against her cheek. “You almost died to send a goddamn text.”
“Tessie,” she croaks. Her voice is faint amid the dizzying rush in her head.
His tennis shoes crunch on the gravel as he moves away from the ledge. Nathaniel’s racing heart pumps hard against hers. A perfect sync. A rhythm she wants to pretend is so not happening.
How he did it, she’ll never know. It took seconds, not minutes, to clear the space between them. He snatched her up before she could go over the side of the cliff. She squeezes her eyes shut and presses her face into his neck.
She wants to cry. Instead, she’s distracted when she gets the most amazing whiff of Nathaniel’s natural scent. Internally, Ash is a 360-degree eye roll. Of course the man doesn’t wear cologne. He naturally smells like the sea and sun. Of fucking course.
She whimpers. Her brain forever chemically altered with one hit of him.
“You’re okay.” He squeezes her tighter. “You’re okay. I’ve got you.”
Eyes watering, she nods, nods, nods.
It’s so goddamn embarrassing, clinging to him like a deranged koala, but she can’t help herself. Nathaniel’s solid, tall form is like an anchor. A reassurance that she didn’t just literally drop dead.
“Am I alive?” she gasps.
“No, you’re in heaven, and even the angels don’t want you.”
That pulls a laugh from her. “But what if?” she whispers.
His body rumbles with a brusque chuckle. And then he’s slidingher down his warm frame until her boots touch steady ground. When he sets her gently on her feet, she looks over her shoulder at the drop. “Holy shit, I don’t—”
A broad palm cups her face. Moves Ash’s gaze, up, up, up.
Vaguely, she’s aware of people staring. Hushed murmurs of concern. There’s a whole world around them, and all she can see is him. All she can feel is him. The way his big thumb skims her chin, how his long fingers tangle in her snarled hair.
“Ash?” Nathaniel’s ice-blue eyes shoot to hers, full of concern. Not the annoyance from earlier today. “You okay?”
His response causes her stomach to tighten. She clamps down on her emotions. Fights to control her breath. The last person she wants help from is him.
“I’m fine.”
His soft expression sharpens. “You’re an idiot.” The words are harsh, but she doesn’t miss the tremor in his voice.
“Your bedside manner is impeccable.” With a huff, she shoves a hunk of hair out of her face. “I bet your patients beg for a timely death.”