wasn’t coming. Tears scalded her eyes but she wasn’t crying for herself. Yes, they’d left her here to die and they’d taken away the future she and Nicolo had so often dreamed of, but there was something they could never take from her; the knowledge that he loved her. Her tears were for him, because they would rob him of the belief that she loved him in return, and because he’d never know she’d sacrificed her life rather than denounce that love.
She closed her eyes and let herself fall sideways, a little stunned by how cold the stone floor was against her cheek but she was too weak now to do anything but lay there. She thought of Nicolo and the way he’d kissed her this morning before climbing out of bed and it warmed her from the inside out. She’d never leave him, never…
Nic bolted out of the observation room and all but ran to Rachel’s bed side where she lay rigid as a stone statue. At first he thought there must have some sort of power surge that made all the equipment malfunction at once. He’d told himself it had to be a problem with the power source because the readings couldn’t possibly be right.
Her heart rate had suddenly plunged, her respiration became barely discernable and brain function had nearly ceased, and yet he could hear her murmuring, so obviously her brain hadn’t shut down as the readings suggested. He’d turned the equipment off and rebooted everything but the results were the same; Rachel Delacourte was slowly dying right before his eyes.
Nic leaned over and placed his fingers on her throat, feeling for a pulse and was relieved to find it was strong and steady. His eyes moved to her chest which rose and fell evenly; further proof that his equipment had merely malfunctioned and that Rachel wasn’t in any danger. His attention was drawn to her face when she whispered his name but when he saw that her eyes were still closed, Nic wondered if he’d only imagined it.
He took in the perfection of her lips, the high cheek bones, the delicate line of her jaw, her glorious mane of hair, his gaze lingering for several minutes before it slowly dawned on him that something wasn’t quite right about the way she looked. A few more minutes ticked by as Nic tried to make sense of it, but there was no logical explanation. He reached down and lightly grazed the flawless skin on her cheek with his fingertips, completely mystified as to how all the electrodes he’d so carefully placed on her head and face had been removed.
It couldn’t have taken him more than a few seconds to get from the observation room to Rachel’s bed side and even if she’d somehow managed to pull them all out, her skin would have been red and irritated from ripping them off. Is that why the equipment had given false readings? Or had she removed them before he raced out of the observation room and he just hadn’t noticed? If she
had
removed them, she had to have done it in her sleep.
In the dimly lit room it was impossible to tell how deeply she was sleeping, not without getting closer to see how rapidly her eyes were moving beneath her lids. Nic leaned down, his face so close to hers he could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips. It was distracting to say the least, but it didn’t take more than a few seconds to determine she wasn’t in the REM state.
He didn’t want to wake her but without the electrodes attached he couldn’t complete the study, and since there was no way to get them all back into place without disturbing her sleep, Nic didn’t really have a choice. He touched Rachel’s shoulder, intending to give it a gentle shake when her eyelids suddenly fluttered open.
“Nicolo,” she said on a sigh, “Where have you been? I was so afraid I wouldn’t find you.”
Nic’s reply was lost when Rachel laced her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down onto hers. Somewhere in the back of his mind the
She closed her eyes and let herself fall sideways, a little stunned by how cold the stone floor was against her cheek but she was too weak now to do anything but lay there. She thought of Nicolo and the way he’d kissed her this morning before climbing out of bed and it warmed her from the inside out. She’d never leave him, never…
Nic bolted out of the observation room and all but ran to Rachel’s bed side where she lay rigid as a stone statue. At first he thought there must have some sort of power surge that made all the equipment malfunction at once. He’d told himself it had to be a problem with the power source because the readings couldn’t possibly be right.
Her heart rate had suddenly plunged, her respiration became barely discernable and brain function had nearly ceased, and yet he could hear her murmuring, so obviously her brain hadn’t shut down as the readings suggested. He’d turned the equipment off and rebooted everything but the results were the same; Rachel Delacourte was slowly dying right before his eyes.
Nic leaned over and placed his fingers on her throat, feeling for a pulse and was relieved to find it was strong and steady. His eyes moved to her chest which rose and fell evenly; further proof that his equipment had merely malfunctioned and that Rachel wasn’t in any danger. His attention was drawn to her face when she whispered his name but when he saw that her eyes were still closed, Nic wondered if he’d only imagined it.
He took in the perfection of her lips, the high cheek bones, the delicate line of her jaw, her glorious mane of hair, his gaze lingering for several minutes before it slowly dawned on him that something wasn’t quite right about the way she looked. A few more minutes ticked by as Nic tried to make sense of it, but there was no logical explanation. He reached down and lightly grazed the flawless skin on her cheek with his fingertips, completely mystified as to how all the electrodes he’d so carefully placed on her head and face had been removed.
It couldn’t have taken him more than a few seconds to get from the observation room to Rachel’s bed side and even if she’d somehow managed to pull them all out, her skin would have been red and irritated from ripping them off. Is that why the equipment had given false readings? Or had she removed them before he raced out of the observation room and he just hadn’t noticed? If she
had
removed them, she had to have done it in her sleep.
In the dimly lit room it was impossible to tell how deeply she was sleeping, not without getting closer to see how rapidly her eyes were moving beneath her lids. Nic leaned down, his face so close to hers he could feel the warmth of her breath on his lips. It was distracting to say the least, but it didn’t take more than a few seconds to determine she wasn’t in the REM state.
He didn’t want to wake her but without the electrodes attached he couldn’t complete the study, and since there was no way to get them all back into place without disturbing her sleep, Nic didn’t really have a choice. He touched Rachel’s shoulder, intending to give it a gentle shake when her eyelids suddenly fluttered open.
“Nicolo,” she said on a sigh, “Where have you been? I was so afraid I wouldn’t find you.”
Nic’s reply was lost when Rachel laced her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down onto hers. Somewhere in the back of his mind the
Similar Books
Broken Pixels (The Chronicles of Mara Lantern, Book 4)
D.W. Moneypenny
Bittersweet
Nevada Barr
The Party Boy's Guide to Dating a Geek (Clumsy Cupids)
Xara X. Piper;Xanakas Vaughn
Kiss Me, Katie
Monica Tillery
KNOX: Volume 1
Cassia Leo
Cera's Place
Elizabeth McKenna
Lady Eve's Indiscretion
Grace Burrowes
Ship of Ghosts
James D. Hornfischer