Somewhere Over the Freaking Rainbow - By L.L. Muir Page 0,38
car.”
Skye didn't like the sound of that. Either she’d master his contraption, or he'd take her back to her car and be done with her.
She didn't want him to be done with her. Not yet. Not until he asked for more than she wanted, or was capable of giving. She wanted to be wanted, even if she couldn’t be had.
“Fine. But if I fall and die, I'll kill you.”
“It's a deal.”
A few moments and a few artful squeals later, she was seated calmly in the center of the pallet, gripping ropes above her head and being hauled up into the darkness.
“Okay, hold tight. Don't try to climb off, all right?”
“Okay.” She added a whimper for good measure.
“I'm locking the gears, then I'm going to climb up and help you off.”
The pallet jolted, then held firm. Sounds of Jamison climbing to her rescue gave her a little thrill, and she wondered if he could tell she was smiling in the inky shadows beneath the canopy of leaves. He slipped and cursed, then the shuffle of shoe on bark resumed.
“Just about there. Are you okay?”
“Yes. Be careful. I've decided to let you live until you get me on the ground again.”
“Oh, now. You've gotten all the way up here, it would be a shame to not take a look around before going back downstairs, don't you think?”
“Stairs. What a perfectly lovely idea. Maybe I'll stay up here while you build some.”
“Fine by me.”
He was there, steadying her flying carpet.
“Skye?”
“Yeah?”
“Open your eyes, sweetheart.”
She’d clamped them shut and gripped the ropes while she’d concentrated on NOT letting Lucas or Jonathan into her head. The last thing she wanted was for this night to be scrutinized and analyzed with her sitting between two Somerleds like a motor being disassembled and the malfunction being identified.
“How do I get off?”
Jamison showed her the branch she could grasp and use to pull herself onto the tree. While she hadn't noticed many footholds along the trunk, there were plenty of thick boards to stand on just below the structure, probably used by the people building the house. A couple of rungs led up to the bottom, but the opening looked to be boarded up.
“How do we get in?”
“Through the door. Watch.” Jamison removed a metal bar from a line of rings and he carefully lowered the door, then tossed the heavy bar up inside, where it landed with a muffled clank. The boards across the door had only been for show. “I'll go up and pull you in after me.”
“Whatever you say.”
His legs disappeared.
Skye had nothing to fear. If she fell off the branches, she'd land gently on the ground; gravity had minimal effect on her. But she’d given a superb performance. In fact, the entire night she'd been just a bit too into the character.
She had to knock it off. After tonight.
“Skye!” Jamison sounded worried.
“I'm here.”
“Good. Come on. Climb up as far as you can, then I'll lift you the rest of the way.” He still sounded worried.
She moved under the hole and grabbed onto the sides of the opening, then climbed up the last two rungs, finding herself seated on the floor of the clubhouse without needing any help from Jamison.
Although the only light came from the gap around her knees, Jamison moved around the pitch black room without bumping into much. Then he was next to her, nudging her to move away from the hole, pulling the door up and sliding the metal rod through something on the top of the door.
“What happened to the windows?”
“You’ll see. It’s a surprise.”
He moved behind her and she waited for a flashlight to come on. Her eyes were straining to find some pinpoint of light, some shape a bit darker than the rest, but there was nothing.
His head lowered to her shoulder.
“Do you trust me?”
“No.”
He laughed. “Why not?”
“Because you’ve been acting funny all night, and now you won’t turn on a light.”
“I will if you’ll promise to trust me.”
“I can’t make that promise.”
“Are you always so honest?”
“Always.” After all, acting the simpering damsel wasn’t lying, technically. If it had been a sin, she surely wouldn’t have been able to do it.
“Excellent.” He pecked her shoulder. “Well, can you at least pretend to trust me for a minute?”
“Okay. I can pretend.”
“Wonderful. Now, keep pretending.”
He kissed her behind her ear and his mouth moved down the slope of her neck. She was waiting for his hands to head somewhere they shouldn’t, but they didn’t touch her.