AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m the only man you’ve ever been with. You’ve been so sheltered…” I sigh, looking down at my hand clenched around the steering wheel. “If you truly love someone, you’re supposed to let them go. That’s what I’m trying to do, Orca. I want you to be free… to discover what you really want. Who you really love.”
Her warm hand slides over mine, softening my white knuckles. “I know who I love,” she whispers. “It’s you. It will always be you.”
I look into her eyes as a tear slips down her cheek. That force of attraction reawakens between us as she leans closer; her voice comes as a soft breath against my lips. “Don’t push me away, Adam.”
She kisses me.
Just like that, all my willpower dissolves, and I am defenseless, a weapon melted down into weakness, wanting. Her fingertips slide up my neck and into my hair—sending a surge of desire blazing through me like fire, opening up the floodgates.
I kiss her like I’m dying and her lips are the fountain of youth. My hands cradle the curve of her lower back, drawing her in closer until her knees bump the steering wheel, and she laughs, forcing us to break apart.
“Oh, Adam,” she breathes, sliding her hand over my chest. “I missed you.”
“I missed you,” I rasp, “so much it felt like dying a little each day.” I lower my face to the curve of her neck, pressing a soft kiss to her hairline.
She shivers, resting her head on my shoulder and gripping a fistful of my T-shirt. For a moment, we stay like that—embracing in the driver’s seat.
At last, I find the strength to pull myself out of the floodwater before it carries us away.
“We can’t do this, Orca.”
She eases back to look at me. “Why not?”
“Because—”
“If you say you’re too old one more time, I’m going to smack you.”
I manage a weary smile, taking her hand in mine. “Orca, you need to experience being with someone other than me. Someone your own age, someone spontaneous and adventurous like Jack—”
“I don’t love Jack.”
“Maybe you could. Maybe you would have if you’d met him first.”
Orca stares at me, stunned. “Are you saying that if Jack had crashed his plane and he’d been the one to show up at the lighthouse… I would have fallen in love with him instead? Is that what you’re saying?”
After a moment’s hesitation, I nod.
“Well, you’re wrong. I could never feel for Jack what I feel for you. Don’t you see? Fate brought us together—”
“I don’t believe in fate. Remember?” I look down at her hand in mine, running my thumb over her silky knuckles. “The choices we make are what determine the future. Whether those choices are big or small. Emotional… or rational.”
“Can’t the right choice be emotional and rational?”
“It can. Sometimes. But sometimes emotions trip us up. Make us blind to what’s right in front of our eyes.” I brush a strand of wild hair away from her face, my fingertip tracing the rim of her ear. “Just because we feel this passion for each other right now doesn’t mean our lives would fit well together… and I would never forgive myself if later in life you regretted choosing me.”
“That would never happen.”
“And what about your life on the island? What about your father?”
“I don’t want to talk about him—”
“You have to, Orca. He’s back at the lighthouse right now, waiting for you to come home. He loves you, and you love him. I know you do.”
Orca presses her eyes shut, shaking her head. “It’s more complicated than that. The day you left, we argued. I showed him the picture you found of Mama… and he denied hiding it from me. He acted like he didn’t mean to keep it a secret, but I know he did. He’s always kept her a secret. It’s like he’s afraid that if I learned about her, I might love her. And he doesn’t want me to love anyone but him.” A pained sob wrenches out of her, and she collapses against me, pressing her face to my chest.
“Shhh, don’t cry.” I smooth my hand over her hair.
“I only wanted to know what she was like. Who her family was… They would have been my family, too. I don’t even know if any of them are still alive.”
