Page 147 of Speechless
“Let’s go.”
We spun up in the air together. Trinity gasped, holding onto me so tightly it hurt, hiding her face in my chest. All I did was float in a circle while she realized I wasn’t going to let her fall.
Slowly, she peeked out from where she hid and saw how high we were. “Holy shit. Holy shit.”
“See?”
“This is…”
“Ready to have some fun?”
Her hands flexed against my skin, and she bit her lip. But she nodded. “Yeah. Okay.”
“Take a breath,” I ordered.
She obeyed. I slammed my mouth to hers before tossing us into a backflip that plunged us into the water. I kissed her through her scream and kept kissing her as we spun upward. She still clung to me, but was smiling now. “Oh my god.”
“Let go of me,” I said in her ear.
“Are you crazy?”
“Trust me, Trinity. It’s no different than you kneeling for me. Let go. Let me help you fly.”
She raised her hands to my shoulders, still holding onto me. The metal of her hand chains scraped my skin. The hope in her eyes was so bright it hurt.
“I’ve got you.”
Slowly, she lifted her hands. And she didn’t just let go—she tilted her head and arms back, the picture of surrender.
We danced.
Spinning and twirling, ducking beneath the water and back up.Now Trinity laughed, smiling brighter than the sun. No more fear. Just joy.
Moving my arms, I lifted her so her legs wrapped around my waist. Riskier, but I wanted her closer. Our breath mingled. I slowed us down into a gentle spiral. There wasn’t going to be a better time than this. “You ready?”
Trinity was breathless. “What for?”
“I love you.”
She went still, lips parted.
“Don’t let go.”
I flipped us twice, plunging us deep beneath the water once more. By the time we broke the surface, I was kissing her again. She didn’t want to let me go when we returned to the dock, and the feeling was mutual.
“Let me get out of this. Stay close.”
“Okay.”
As soon as the attendant had my feet free, she was in my arms again. “You survived,” I teased her. “Wasn’t so bad, right?”
“You mean it?” She wasn’t talking about the ride.
“I don’t think I’ve ever meant anything more.”
She swallowed and looked like she wanted to speak, and swallowed again. Rin sometimes had trouble speaking when she was overwhelmed. This seemed like one of those times.
I scooped her up into my arms bridal-style and carried her back toward the rest of our pack. “Listen to me. I’m not saying I love you so you can say it back. I’m saying it because it’s true. There’s no expectation. I just need you to know.”
