Page 35 of On Edge

“I was…er, making a phone call.”

“By killing yourself in the process? What part ofno one is allowed up heredid you not understand? This area is off limits for a reason. These walls are centuries old and rotting. The walkway on which you and I are standing has no support after the fire ravaged the building. All it takes is one gust of wind, and you’d be over that wall, smashed against the rocks below before you could even scream.”

It’s the most he’s said to me since I arrived.

“I-I was told it was safe.”

“Who told you?”

“Mundel.”

A dark look flickers across his face, but hardens into irritation before I can blink. “Mundel?”

“Why would he—” Then his voice goes flat. “And you believed him? Without question?”

I start to take a step back, but the turret platform is smaller than I thought.

“Don’t—” He grabs me, fingers digging into my shoulder like iron as he hauls me back from the ledge. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

I steady myself, brush off his grip. “That’s funny,” I murmur. “I didn’t think you had a heart.”

“What?”

“Nothing.”

Severin glowers as though I’m the bane of his life, which is amusing when you consider that he’s the bane of mine. I try to walk past him, but he blocks my path. Then, without warning, he hauls me against him.

The world tilts violently.

I give a little scream as he throws me over his shoulder so I’m upside down, in what I can only imagine is a fireman’s lift. Then he starts down the steps, carrying me like I’m nothing.

Every jarring step makes me feel like I’m going to slip right off his shoulder and then die from shame.

“Stop it. Put me down!” I keep on yelling at him, clawing his back, but he doesn’t stop.

At the bottom of the turret stairs, he finally comes to his senses and drops me like a hot coal onto the ground. But my legs are like jelly, and I crumple (again) at his feet. My face feels hot, my blood spikey as it surges through my veins. And something else…

When he held me, the feel of him so close made my stomach tighten into knots. It’s still knotted now, low in my belly, like a tightening between my thighs. Matching pace with my heart still fluttering like a trapped baby bird.

I don’t like it.

Swallowing it down, I focus instead on the red swarming across my vision, which isn’t difficult. Being carried like that wasn’t very nice, and I’m so tired of being manhandled. So sick of this island with its secret rooms and dangerous staircases.

I’m done.

“Why did you grab me like that?” I gasp, trying not to sound breathless.

He gives me an irritated look like I’m being unreasonable. “I’ll be dammed if I’m going to let you break your neck onmygrounds minutes before you’re no longer my problem.”

His problem.

“I could have walked down myself.” I’m trying to stand up, but the ground is uneven, and the asshole is just staring at me, watching me fall all over again.

After a minute, he rolls his eyes and sighs loudly, offering me his hand. “You can’t even stand upright. How do you manage in life?”

I slap his hand away. “I don’t need your help.”

“Don’t you? Because you stumble about the place like a newborn foal on acid.” His jaw tenses, sharp enough to cut, like he’s biting back something worse.