Page 62 of Peripheral Vision (Tethered in Darkness Duet #1)

Chapter

Thirty-Eight

FLETCHER

TWO MONTHS LATER

T he sound of our footsteps crunch along the grass in the backyard, the air thick with the scent of pine and damp earth. The season has changed to something much cooler, a bite in the air as we get back into position. “Again,” I say.

Dylan nods at me, wiping sweat from her brow with a flicker of determination in her eyes, a sign that she’s trying.

It’s been one of the only ways I’ve been able to touch her, one of the only ways she wouldn’t flinch every time I reached out toward her.

But that's all I need because she hasn’t run from me, and that’s enough.

We’ve been at this for several hours now, the steady repetition of the drills wearing down the last remnants of fatigue.

I step forward quickly, feinting a jab and she reacts just in time, her arm coming up to block with the technique we’ve been drilling.

It’s smooth and controlled, no hesitation to her defense as she strikes and blocks.

She stumbles a little when I angle her into a takedown maneuver, but she catches herself and corrects the mistake with a swift pivot, regaining her balance with a sharp breath .

“Good, you’re getting faster.” The tension in her face softens for a second and I can see the smallest hint of a smile tug at her lips.

It’s fleeting, but it’s progress. Her muscles tighten as she squares off again, readying herself for the next round but I decide to call it.

“We’re done for the night, little viper. ”

She exhales sharply, her breath misting in the cool air as she relaxes her stance. Her chest rises and falls with steadying breaths. “You know, you’ve never told me why you call me that.”

I chuckle, shaking my head as I gather up the equipment from the grass.

“Well for starters, you’ve got a bite that could take down a bull if you wanted to.

Your defiant little tongue is… wicked in more ways than I can count.

But now, it’s to remind you of your strength.

You’ve got a level of venom to you now, an edge, even when you don’t realize it.

Hell, especially when you don’t realize it.

Most people would fold under the pressure you’ve been through.

But you haven’t. I’m just really fucking proud of you. ”

She doesn’t respond right away, her focus shifting as she watches me, eyes calculating like she’s trying to piece together the meaning of my words.

It’s always been like this with her, so much unsaid and beneath her surface, even before she was kidnapped.

But lately I can tell she isn’t shutting me out as much.

These training sessions have given her a newfound sense of confidence, a means to channel her hurt and trauma into something she has control over once again.

It’s been working better than her therapy sessions so far, more often than not she comes back more pent-up after those and needs a self-defense lesson to wind her down.

I don’t know what they talk about in them, I never ask because I know she would tell me if she wanted to.

I used to want her to give it up, that control, to allow me to be in control of her, but now all I want is to have her back and after everything that happened, I’m more than happy to take things at her pace. “You really think I’m strong?

I stop what I’m doing and turn to face her fully. “I don’t just think it, I know it. You’ve been through hell, and instead of letting it destroy you, you’ve turned it into fire. That takes a kind of strength most people can’t even dream of.”

“I don’t feel strong, I mean I feel stronger than I did, but most days it still feels like I’m treading water,” she mutters, kicking at the dirt with the toe of her boot.

“That’s the thing about strength,” I say as I step closer. “It’s not about how you feel in the moment, it’s about what you do when the world tries to pull you under. And when you feel like you’re going to drown, you’ve got me to drag you to shore.”

She laughs, and it’s so unexpected it causes me to freeze mid-step. “Yeah, I’ve noticed that. You’re like a bad habit I can’t kick.”

“You’ve known from the start that you aren’t getting rid of me, try as you might,” I say as I stop in front of her. “Let’s go inside before you catch a cold.” I turn around and start walking away but she grabs my hand.

“Fletcher… I don’t want to get rid of you.

I haven’t… for a really long time. Even before everything.

You may not be the definition of a good man, but you’re the only one who’s ever truly seen me.

And I’m tired of being invisible.” Her voice is so soft, but I’m stopped dead in my tracks, afraid to move, worried that it’ll scare her off.

So I turn slowly. She’s standing there, her cheeks flushed and her eyes brighter than they should be, like she’s fighting back tears.

Her hand tightens around mine, grounding both of us.

“But I’m scared. Scared of what this means, of what it’ll change.

I’m scared of losing you if I screw this up. I can’t lose anymore.”

I step closer, giving her time to pull back if she wants to, but she doesn’t.

I place both of my hands on her cheeks. “You’re not going to lose me, I’ve been here through the worst of it, haven’t I?

Do you really think I’d leave now, just because this is new?

Because it’s scary? Because you finally want me?

” Her lips part like she’s going to argue but I don’t give her the chance.

“I’m not letting you drown, and I’ll spend the rest of my life proving you were right to stay.

” And then I kiss her, soft and steady, like a promise I intend to keep.

She doesn’t pull away. Instead, she deepens the kiss .

Fire lights my insides, spreading throughout my body despite the frigid air and she squeaks when I brace my hands under her thighs and lift her into my arms. “Are you sure?” I can feel the way her heart is racing, the rush of adrenaline mixed with potential fear rushing through her veins.

She squirms in my grip before she relaxes, not saying a word.

It wasn’t a no. I adjust my grip slightly, but the moment I shift my weight, she jerks her knee upward, catching me enough to make me flinch.

Before I have a chance to regain my composure, she twists in my arms, bringing her elbow down against my collarbone which causes me to release her.

Without pausing, she pivots and sweeps her leg behind mine, causing me to fall to the ground on my back.

For a second neither of us moves as I try to catch my breath and as she holds my gaze. There’s pride and a level of… mischief there that I haven’t seen in a long, long time. “You’re going to have to try harder than that. I’m not the same girl you pulled out of that place.”

I laugh, low and amused as I sit up. “Is that a challenge?”

“I’m done being afraid.” She steps back to give me space to stand. The flush on her cheeks, the spark of adrenaline in her eyes—it’s the most alive I’ve seen her in months.

“Careful, sweetheart, you don’t know what you’re asking for,” I say as I stand up.

She takes another step back, her gaze never leaving mine, and for a moment the world narrows to just us.

The challenge in her eyes shifts, but the fire is still there.

She takes another step, then another, until the distance between us is almost taunting.

“I know exactly what I’m asking for.” Before I can respond, she turns on her heel and darts away from me, away from the safety of her house, and across the tree line into the woods.

The very spot we began. I give her a few seconds as I watch the sway of her silhouette as she disappears into the fading daylight.

And then my instincts kick in, the pull to chase and to claim what’s already mine.

I sprint after her, the sound of my boots crunching against the fallen leaves.

She’s fast—faster than I expected—but she forgets that I’m also the one who’s been training her. I know how she moves, how she thinks.

“You know you can’t outrun me, little viper,” I call out, my voice carrying through the night.

Her laugh floats back, light and free. “That sounds like a lot of confidence for someone still behind me.”

I push harder, my breaths forming clouds in the cold night air.

She’s just ahead now, the faint moonlight catching in her hair, her figure cutting through the trees like she belongs to them.

But she doesn’t, she belongs to me. And then she glances back, a rookie mistake.

Because I’m on her now, reaching out to grab her wrist and pulling her to a stop as we enter a small clearing.

She twists again, trying to slip free, but this time I’m ready.

I grip her waist and pin her to a nearby tree, careful not to hurt her but firm enough to keep her still.

“Caught you,” I murmur against her neck.

“Took you long enough,” she breathes out, her voice shaky, but sure.

I press closer, my hand sliding to cup her jaw as I use the other to grab her hair, tilting her head back. I inhale deeply. “You’re definitely trouble.”

“And yet, here you are,” she whispers, her words brushing against my face like a dare.

“I’ll always be here, little viper,” I promise, and this time when I kiss her, it’s not just soft or steady.

It’s consuming, a wildfire sparked by the chase and fanned by the fact she let me catch her.

But she tenses in my arms, caught off guard by the intensity of my passion and I immediately retreat, giving her space.

She reaches out, stuttering over her words. “N-no. Don’t stop, please. I need to do this. I just… can we take it at my pace?”

“Tell me what you need me to do,” I say as I step back toward her.

She wraps her arms around my neck. “I just need you to hear me.”