His eyes instantly flew to Trent's hand. Phoenix looked up at him in terror.
“He's stopped moving,” she said, panic lacing her voice.
“Dig faster,” he said, his whole body shaking. “Damn it, everyone dig faster!”
For the first time in her life, Phoenix was speechless. It was crazy to her, but as she'd sat there watching the men work, she couldn't do or say anything. Her mind was like an empty hole, with only one word rolling round and round - dig, dig, dig, dig.
She should have been with them, helping, but the fear of what they'd find had kept her at a distance. With every bit of progress they made, her breath would hitch at the thought of them finding a body.
So when they'd first started yelling about something, she had felt all but welded to her spot. Her entire body had gone limp. Hands shaking, she'd gripped the edge of her seat, waiting for that look of sorrow from Pete to turn her way.
But instead he had called her over. And when she saw those fingers she knew so well, moving like that, it had felt like she could breathe for the first time since that moment when she'd heard the explosion go off.
Her happiness hadn't lasted though, as she and everyone else around them, had heard more earth cave in from Trent's side of the wall, and then his hand had suddenly gone limp.
Now Pete had taken up her mantra, urging the others to dig, faster and faster. She knelt where she was, her hands still gripping what little of him was available. She brushed her lips against those fingertips, tears burning down her face, leaving marks in the dust that now coated everything as they worked madly to break through.
When his upper arm came into view, Pete forced her back, while four of them gripped onto him and pulled with all their might. Others continued to dig around him while they pulled. Phoenix stood anxiously to the side, watching with bated breath.
Then his dark blonde locks came through, darkened further by all the dirt in them. He didn't make a sound as his head and shoulders made it out followed by the rest of his body.
From where she stood, she could see his eyes were closed, and one arm was crudely tied with his shirt against his chest. Pete fell back onto the ground, his brother’s head resting in his lap.
He called his name, slapping at his face, but those blue eyes didn't blink open. She didn't know how long she stood there shaking her head. Her heart had stopped, her lungs no longer inhaling air. Was he gone? Were they too late?
Bastian pushed his way to the front, kneeling beside him. “He needs CPR. Give me room,” he said, gesturing everyone back.
Bastian worked on him, breathing then compressing his chest, never once breaking stride as he urged Trent to breathe. Everyone else seemed to be holding their own breath as they watched him work frantically, yet coolly under the pressure. God bless him, he didn't give up, his manner determined.
When she heard that first cough, her knees buckled, sending her straight to the ground. He started to cough some more, but Phoenix couldn't manage to go to him, her nerves too shot to handle her own weight. She buried her face into her hands, crying like she never remembered crying before.
“Jesus, Trent,” she heard Pete say. “You scared the shit out of me.”
“Unintentional, I swear,” Trent replied, his voice rough. That sound had her shivering with the realization of just how close she had come to never hearing his voice again.
When she looked up, it was to stare directly into those blue eyes that seemed to see right through her. His were filled with just as much relief as hers were.
“Come here, Princess,” he said, waving her over. “There's no need for those tears.”
She sniffed, crawling over to where he still lay, not sure her legs could support her yet. He held his arm out for her. There was no hesitation as she inserted herself within it, resting her cheek against his bare chest.
“I'm not crying,” she said, wiggling in closer. “I just have some dirt in my eyes.”
He squeezed her, dropping an affectionate kiss on the top of her head that had her taking a deep breath.
“I know,” he said.
The others stood around them, but she didn't give a shit. She'd lie there in his arms all damn day if that's what he wanted. Touching him to assure herself that he was really there - alive.
“We should really get you to a doctor,” Pete said from somewhere. “That arm doesn't look good.”
“In a bit,” Trent said, tucking her in closer. “Let me just lie here for a while.”
She raised her head to look up at him, and saw how content he seemed, lying like this with her. He wasn't bothered by the others witnessing them either, simply happy to take a moment to soak her up.
He looked down at her and smiled, which she returned with her own. God, they really were a stubborn duo. Only they would have to come this close to losing each other for them to realize just how much they needed this. Snuggling back down, she closed her eyes, absorbing the smell and feel of him, her body finally at ease.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
“Aarrrgggh! Jesus Christ, man!” Trent shouted, gritting his teeth. Phoenix grimaced, her eyes going to the doctor and then his shoulder. The popping sound it made when he'd forced it back in the socket was painful in itself to listen to.
“We're all done,” the man said, walking away. “You'll be sore for a few days, so try to have limited movement with it. Unfortunately I don't have much available here in the way of pain medication.”
Trent waved him off. “I'll be fine.”
He hated pain meds. There was nothing worse than being groggy and dopey. The pain was already decreasing to more of a throb than anything.
“I'd be careful about that concussion too. You should probably have someone stay with you tonight and wake you up every couple of hours, just to be safe.”
“I've got that covered,” Phoenix said, winking at him. He smiled, picturing all the ways she could wake him up throughout the night.
“That's not what I meant,” the doctor said disapprovingly. “I was serious when I said limited movement. You need to be taking it easy.”
Trent turned to glare at him. If he thought he'd go another night without having Phoenix, the man was insane. Everyone was lucky he’d lasted even a second once he had woken up and seen her.
That memory still hurt like a punch in the gut. She'd seemed so small and frail, curled up in a ball as her body shook with tears. Tears for him. As happy as it made him to see her blatant concern for him, he never wanted to do that to her again.
All he'd been able to do was hold her, his relief more than he could manage at seeing her alive and healthy. She hadn't suffered the same fate as him, and for that he was eternally grateful. He couldn't even think of what he would have done had he made it out alive, only to find her gone.
But there was no need to think that way, because she stood before him, her eyes bright every time they met his.
“You're done here,” he told the doctor, wanting some privacy with her finally.
He huffed, but didn't say another word as he packed up his things and left.
“Lock the door,” he told Phoenix. As much as he appreciated his friends' concern, and his brother, who had kept checking on him every hour as though he'd expected Trent to suddenly disappear again, what he really needed was some one-on-one time with Phoenix. It was time she knew how he felt and that he wasn't going to let her push him away any longer.
With a little hop in her step, she walked over and locked his door, turning around to press her back against it, staring at him.
He crooked his finger at her. “Come here,” he said.
Surprising the shit out of him, she walked over obediently to him. She stopped just inside his spread legs, looking down at him with more emotion than he'd ever seen from her. It gave him hope that this whole ordeal had opened her eyes.
“You listened,” he said with a smirk.
She shrugged, lacing her hands through the hairs at his neck. “I kind of like it when you get all bossy a
nd domineering.”
Both eyebrows shot up. “Is that so?”
She nodded, her playful smiling slipping. “When I thought I might not have some overbearing asshole ordering me around all the time, I realized how much I'd miss it.”
Her eyes started misting. He pulled her close, wincing at the sharp pinch in his shoulder when he moved.
“Maybe the doctor’s right,” she said, noticing. “Why don't you rest.”
“I'll rest after I've made love to you, and when you're resting with me, inside my arms.” He yanked her down onto his lap. “Now, why don't you tell me what those tears are for?”
She stared at his mouth then his eyes, looking as though she were soaking him up. “I thought I'd lost you, Trent. You have no idea how crazy I felt.”
He gave her squeeze. “I think I have some idea.”
She shook her head. “No, it was different for me. I'd pushed you away just before, saying things I didn't really mean. I saw how stupid I'd been, how much you'd come to mean to me, and I thought I'd lost it all.” She took a deep breath.
“I don't care how bossy you get, or how moody and miserable you can be, because you're my Debbie Downer, and I love that about you. I love that you're protective of everyone you care about, and that you get all serious when things go to shit. I like all our differences, and all our similarities. I don't want to just have fun with you, I want to have lots and lots and lots of fun with you.”
He chuckled.
“For, like, a really long time,” she said with a smile.
“Good, because I plan to keep you with me for, like, a really long time,” he said teasingly. Leaning forward, he captured her lips with his, loving the taste of her. Pulling back, he turned serious, his eyes now taking her in as she did him.
“I'm not going to be the easiest person to live with, but I promise that for however long you’ll have me, I'm going to do everything in my power to make you happy. You're the person I see in my future, the one I want by my side. If you'll have me.”
She leaned forward, dropping a kiss on his lips quickly before pulling away, that mischievous glint in her eyes. “I guess I'll have you since no one else will put up with me.”
He laughed, picking her up. She squealed in surprise, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I love putting up with you,” he growled as he nipped at her chin.
She sighed, arching back to expose her neck to him. “Of course you do, hot shot. I'm the only fun you've got in your life.”
He dropped her on the bed, following her down to cover her body with his. “I'll show you fun, Princess,” he said, before covering her mouth with his in a searing kiss.
This was heaven. She’d gone from a sleepless night, thinking she’d lost her one and only opportunity at happiness, to having the man of her dreams back and spread out over her, warming every inch of skin. At some point he’d rid them both of their clothes, leaving them now deliciously skin to skin.
His lips trailed down her stomach, tasting and sucking to the point where she was almost insane with need. The doctor had told him to rest, but she didn’t think anyone could stop him from doing this. There was a feeling of desperation between them now, as if they needed to make up for the fact that they’d almost lost each other.
She could sense it in him, just as much as she could sense it in herself. They couldn’t get close enough, their hands everywhere at once. Their kisses were both bruising and reverent as they tasted and breathed each other in. How could she have ever thought she could go without this? Without him?
Her fingers ran through the silky locks of his hair as he hovered over her mound, breathing her in.
“I can’t even tell you how scared I was in there, thinking that you’d been caught in the explosion too,” he said, dropping a kiss to the inside of her thigh. He looked up, his eyes dangerously dark with desire and that fear still hovering in the distance. “I don’t know what I would have done if I’d made it out of there, just to find you gone.”
“I’m right here,” she said, stroking his hair and jaw. “And I’m not going anywhere. From now on, when you’re being an ass, we’ll just fight about it until we can have amazing make-up sex.”
The smile that spread across his face was wicked. She went to clench her thighs at just the look of it, but his broad shoulders were wedged between them, keeping her open to him. “I like how your mind works,” he said with a chuckle.
She winked. “I know you do. Who else could keep you entertained?”
“That’s one way of putting it.” He leaned down closer, running his tongue up her center slowly, making her cry out in pleasure. He did it again, even slower this time, driving her mad. “I think I entertain you in some ways as well.”
She exhaled a laugh, her head thrown back as he continued his torturous assault. “Oh yes,” she agreed. “I find it quite entertaining to make fun of you when you’re being all surly and serious.”
“I’m never surly,” he said, catching her nub between his teeth. She gasped. Before she could reply though, he began the same path but faster and harder, his mouth and tongue working her to a quick climax that had her head spinning and her eyes seeing stars. She’d never come so fast in her life.
As he moved up her body again, she gently pushed at his shoulders, urging him onto his back.
“The doctor has ordered you to take it easy,” she reminded him.
“As if you care what someone else says,” he replied with a grin, but settled back with his hands lazily behind his head.
“I’m trying to be nice here, hot shot,” she said.
He smiled, his eyes roaming over her like a physical caress. “It becomes you.”
Straddling his hips, Phoenix raised herself above his length, positioning him where she needed him the most, before lowering slowly. They moaned together as her body welcomed every hard inch of him. He was so deep this way, it was nearly too much.
His hands moved to land on her hips, steadying her as she grew accustomed to his size. Her body was so primed from his oral attention that it didn’t take long before the need to move overwhelmed her.
Setting a fast pace, she rose and fell, her head falling back as his hardness rubbed her insides, creating that warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of her stomach. His hands rose to cup her breasts, pinching each nipple to the point where pain mixed with pleasure, only bringing her closer to another release.
Just as she felt it nearing, her panting increasing, her body sweating from both excursion and anticipation, he rolled her, pinning her beneath his large body while he took over. He drove into her, hard and fast, making her scream out in pleasure as he all but commanded her orgasm to hit.
Wave after wave of pleasure washed over her, his pace never slowing, only dragging it out so that she felt as though it would never end. By the time he yelled out his release, collapsing half on top of her, half beside her, she was left feeling boneless and happier than she could ever remember feeling.
“I’m going to have fun doing that to you for the rest of our lives,” he murmured, looking at her as their heads lay beside one another’s.
She laughed. “If you do that to me for the rest of our lives, I’ll be one happy woman.”
“Good. Consider it done then.” He smiled at her, looking more relaxed than she had ever remember seen him. There was something captivating about a relaxed Trent McKay. “We should get married,” he said suddenly, that lazy smile still lifting the corners of his mouth.
“Yeah, we should,” she agreed.
His eyes widened as though he’d expected her to scoff at the idea, or simply brush it off as a joke. “Really?”
“Sure, why not?”
He shook his head in wonder, propping himself up to look down at her. “I ask you to be my wife for the rest of our lives, and your answer is, ‘sure, why not’?”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “What’s wrong with that? Do you want me to cry about it or something?”
Unexpectedly, Trent threw his head back and
laughed loudly, before looking down at her again. “Woman, I love you.”
“Good,” she said. “You did just ask me to marry you, after all. If you didn’t love me, that would just be stupid.”
“God, you’re going to keep me on my toes until I’m dead, aren’t you?”
“Damn right, hot shot.”
Trent leaned down, kissing Phoenix on the lips in a long, languid kiss that had her already aching for more. “I love you, Princess,” he said again, lifting his head up to look at her.
“I love you too, Trent.”
With a growl, he bent down and kissed her again.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Phoenix sat up and looked around, her eyes blinking against the darkness that still filled the bedroom. Looking down, her eyes landed on the sprawled form of Trent. His upper body was bare, right up to where the sheets started low on his hips.
His hair was messy from all the times she'd hand her hands in it the night before. His face peaceful in the comfort of sleep. He was breathtaking. She'd just found a new contender for her favorite look of Trent McKay.
So why was she awake instead of snuggling against all that perfection? She tore her eyes away to look around the room for what had woken her up.
Bang, bang, bang.
That must have been it. Someone outside the door banged again shouting for them to get up.
“Tell who ever that is, to go the fuck away,” Trent murmured, his arm snaking out to pull her toward him even though his eyes remained shut.
She giggled, getting away from him to cross the room. “Yes, sir. Will do,” she said. See? She could be obedient.
“Hurry, and get back here,” he mumbled.
Shaking her head with a laugh, she opened the door a crack to see Pete out in the hall.
“Your brother said to go away,” she informed him.
He just rolled his eyes. “I'm sure he did. As much as I'd love to let him rest, we need you guys in Bastian's office. Now.”
His tone and body language had her more alert.
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