Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
The tug ripped open one of the leg straps, and moments later, Miguel slipped away from him, falling with a dull thud.
Nero’s brain was still all over the place, and he wasn’t even sure where the ground was anymore. But as momentum pulled him back up, his erratic movements must have fucked something up, because he found himself hanging with his head down and rope digging into his leg and pulling at the ankle.
“Oh fuck!”
“Are you okay?” Miguel yelled from somewhere Nero couldn’t see. “You’re like a human piñata.”
Nero’s head still spun when he looked past the shadow of the tree, at the sunny field beyond. “I’ll tell you when I know I haven’t broken anything. Where are you?” he asked, trying to shift, but moving only tightened the hold the rope had on his leg. He whined with discomfort.
Miguel came into view, limping a little and holding his crotch. “I’m here. It’s a good thing I didn’t plan children because I don’t think I’ll be having any after this.” He took a deep breath and removed his backpack. “I’ll cut you down.”
Nero laughed and attempted to reach for Miguel despite the strain on his limbs as his senses stopped focusing on danger and recognized the scent of sun-parched ground. “What did I tell you? Still alive!”
To his surprise, Miguel grabbed his hand and squeezed it. “Alive.”
Nero relaxed, enjoying the warmth of his hand as the wind made the leaves around him rustle. “Think back to this next time you want to say my ideas are bad.”
Despite the pain in his leg, Nero missed the fingers the moment they slipped out of his grasp. Miguel pulled out a knife and attempted to reach the tangled lines but ended up handing the blade to Nero.
“You cut it and I’ll catch you.”
Didn’t that sound like a dream?
“Help me reach up?” Nero asked, and when Miguel pushed at his shoulders from below, he grabbed the rope twisted around his leg like string around a sausage. Having no time to waste, Nero sawed at the damn thing, sweating as he maintained the awkward position, but the rope snapped at last, and it was as if he’d suddenly become a lead statue speeding toward the ground.
He froze, faced with the fragility of his neck, but Miguel broke his fall, grabbing at him, and they collapsed into the patch of long grass dividing the fields.
Despite the pain still throbbing in his leg as it regained blood flow, he rather enjoyed lying on top of Miguel. It was over all too soon when Miguel cleared his throat and patted Nero’s back while the cut ropes and the tangled parachute waved at them from above.
“Nothing broken?” he asked, and for a second, Nero wanted to lie about the extent of his injuries to get some care and affection.
He met Miguel’s eyes, which appeared translucent in the warm sunlight. His stubbly skin looked more flushed than usual, and he smelled more intensely too, as if the proximity of death had awoken something new in his body.
“You should check.”
Miguel’s eyelids fell in a familiar squint. “Off,” he said, but the way he nudged Nero was still gentle. As if he were disciplining a puppy.
Nero rolled his eyes but didn’t attempt to tease him any further, since they were on the run, not on yet another date that wasn’t romantic or sexual in nature. Still, he was careful taking his first step, and as adrenaline started wearing off, ignoring aches resulting from the fall became increasingly difficult. But he could walk, and move, and that was more than he could have hoped for.
“Let’s find some mode of transport,” he said, breathing in the scent of the sun-kissed plants.
Miguel got to his feet, checked the contents of his backpack and looked around the fields. “We have no idea where we are, but at least we’ve traveled a significant distance from the villa. Any other secret skills of yours I should know about?”
Nero gave him a sultry glance, already heading toward the setting sun. “I’m very good at relaxing certain muscles at will.”
Miguel frowned. “How so?” His face was serious, which indicated that he didn’t get the innuendo.
Nero rolled his eyes. “I guess that particular skill is easier shown than explained,” he said, walking faster as his confidence in the stability of his limbs grew.
The true meaning behind Nero’s words must have dawned on Miguel because his eyes widened. “You mean… Oh, God! You’re such a pig. Even now, when we barely survived, that’s where your mind goes?”
Nero shrugged but grinned at Miguel, satisfied with that reaction. “Miguel, people long for sex when they’re stressed. It’s a documented fact. You’re the only one who didn’t get the memo,” he said, rushing along the trees between fields of leafy vegetables.
“Guess I’m not people,” Miguel grumbled, frowning when something buzzed insistently, increasing in volume.