Imdalind 01 - Kiss of Fire

moved closer to him. In all honesty, I was comfortable, and I knew he had planned to watch that stupid movie for this reason. So what, if he wasn’t the only one who enjoyed it?
    The minutes ticked by, but I didn’t notice. Ryland’s hand continued to trace the lines of my back, his heartbeat steady in my ear. The movie had returned to the menu, the light from the screen casting the room in a stagnant, blue glow.
    “Can I ask you something?” I said, his hand still rubbing up and down my spine.
    “MmmHmmm?”
    I heard his voice more as a vibration through his chest.
    “Did you mean what you said?”
    “I say a lot of things,” he said, his voice almost a whisper.
    “About not wanting to be like your father. About not wanting to run his company?”
    He hesitated, and my body tensed. Was that not the right thing to ask him? I heard his heart rate accelerate and I went to move away from him, but his strong arms held me in place.
    “Yes, I meant it.”
    “But, you always wanted to be… I mean, you have always tried to be…” My words came out all jumbled. I paused; I wasn’t sure how I wanted to say this.
    “Growing up, yes, I always wanted to make him happy. I always wanted to become what he wanted me to be.” His fingertips stopped for a minute, tracing the skin at my neck before returning to my spine. My breath caught at the touch of his fingers against my skin; I could almost feel his smile at my reaction.
    “Then what changed?” I asked.
    “You have seen my father what… maybe a handful of times?”
    I nodded in agreement.
    “I see him every day of my life. He is a vicious, ruthless man, who uses people and throws them away, just to get what he wants. He used my mother to give him a son; he uses Timothy to make him powerful; he uses…” He stopped suddenly like he’d caught himself. “I don’t want to be anything like him.”
    “Then what do you want to be?”
    “I want to be good; I want to look back on my life and be proud of what I see and what I have done.” His hand moved from my back to tangle through my hair, his fingers running down the long strands that fell down my back.
    I felt my body tense for just a moment, but put it aside. I shouldn’t be worried about a stupid mark right now.
    “Well that shouldn’t be too hard. Just do it.”
    “I wish it was that easy.”
    “Why can’t it be?” Our voices were whispers.
    He paused. “I have to leave.”
    My hand tensed against his chest. Leave? What did he mean? Like leave the house, leave the state, leave the family? Where?
    “Leave?” I asked in a panic, hoping for some clarification.
    “Yes, leave. I don’t know where to yet, but it has to be far away.”
    My heart felt like lead in my chest; a tense, unbeating mass, causing more pain than joy.
    “I’m planning to tell him tomorrow. And, to be honest, I am terrified.” He laughed to break the edge in his voice, but his heart rate still hadn’t decelerated.
    “Why are you so scared?” I reached my hand up and placed my palm on his chest, right over his heart. His heart rate increased again before dropping. Hearing the change made me smile.
    “I am afraid of what he will do to me. He has… a temper.” His last word ended as if it was not what he had meant to say. The idea of Ryland getting hurt by his father in some way made my skin crawl.
    “Then, just stay, Ryland. Don’t leave.”
    “I have to go; it would be worse if I stayed.”
    I didn’t know what to say. His voice was so calm, but the terror behind it was so evident; it made my heart hurt. I wrapped my arms around his torso and pulled him toward me; he responded to my gentle tug, pulling me into him further.
    “Will you wait for me?” His breath caught on my hair as he lowered his head to whisper in my ear.
    “Wait for you? What do you mean?” I turned my head up to face him, surprised to see his face only millimeters away from mine; my words got caught in my throat.
    “Oh, Joclyn,” he sighed. “You are the reason I want to be good, the reason I have seen the evil in my father. You make me good. You make me whole.” He paused, studying me as his fingers moved over the skin of my cheekbone. “I need to leave; for you, for me.” He paused, his eyes searching deep into mine.
    I could have stared into the endless depths of those eyes forever. I could have asked a million questions to dissect the mysteries behind them. But, he stopped me with three words.
    “I love you.” He whispered it, his