Ryder by R. Linda

Author:R. Linda [Linda, R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Limitless Publishing, LLC
Published: 2019-09-30T23:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Bailey

My hands trembled, and a cold sweat broke out across my skin as I stepped inside the lighthouse. It wasn’t that I was afraid of heights. Once I was up there, I was okay. If I didn’t look down. It was the getting up and down part that terrified me.

I was afraid of falling.

To my death.

With a shaky breath, I looked around as Ryder closed the door behind us. The room was circular, no paint, just plain concrete blocks. There were stairs to the left that wound all the way around the walls, and I wasn’t sure how many floors, or rooms. Did lighthouses have rooms? Floors? There was a ceiling above that I assumed was the next floor, but after that, who knew?

“You okay?”

Aside from a little tightness in my chest, I was. “I will be.”

I let Ryder take my hand and lead me over to the stairs. With him by my side, I shouldn’t freak out halfway up. He had a calming effect on me still, after all this time.

“Let’s go.”

Ryder let me move to the side next to the wall because it had the handrail. A little something extra that helped to ease my fear of falling.

My breath shook, and my knees wobbled a few times. I needed to stop the room from spinning. I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.

“Dammit,” Ryder hissed. His hands cupped my cheeks, and his lips pressed to my forehead. “Breathe.”

I hadn’t realised I had stopped breathing until he said that. The moment I sucked in some much-needed air, the room stopped moving, and I was steady on my feet.

“I don’t want you passing out on me.”

“I’m okay. I just forgot to breathe.”

“Well, let’s go. We’re halfway there, and I have a surprise planned for you at the top.”

“You do?”

He winked and climbed the stairs, pulling me along with him. “Just look straight ahead and focus on my touch,” he reminded me.

Easier said than done. I don’t know what possessed me, but I looked down, and my heart leapt into my throat. The stairs moved beneath my feet and…I sucked in air, but it didn’t help.

“What the hell did you look down for?” Ryder growled, pinching my chin and forcing me to look at him. His hand rested on my waist, thumb brushing across my rib gently, and combined with the harsh words, snapped me out it. The tightness in my chest eased, and the stairs beneath my feet stopped moving up to meet me. “You good?”

I nodded and held Ryder’s arm tight as we continued climbing the stairs. Every time I hesitated or wobbled, he’d remind me to breathe.

We eventually made it to the top, and I sagged against the wall, gasping for breath.

“That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

“It was horrible, but…”

He pulled me through the door in front of the stairs. “Worth it?”

Oh, my god. It was beautiful. My mouth fell open as I took in the sight before me. The butterflies in my stomach exploded. The four-hundred-thousand-foot drop behind me, forgotten.

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