Basilisk (Dark Ominis Gaunt x OC gothic romance)

Chapter 47: Taking the Risk

And so unsure...

~~Marie~~

Marie was shaking, both from the cold and from the emotions roiling inside her. She'd been joking when she'd teased him that he would catch her, but then he'd said of course he would. As if it was obvious, as if it wasn't a huge deal that he would want to help her like that.

Her, of all people... and he wanted to catch her. He wanted to keep her from being hurt.

It made emotion well up inside her, and a strange fluttering came to her belly that felt familiar yet foreign. That feeling terrified her, because she had gone down this path before, and it had turned out so terribly.

She had realized as they were flying, that she had felt like her old self. Careless and free, smiling over to him as they flew along the coast. No bitterness, no waking nightmares, no abject fear at a man'a gaze. But Damien's looks were different. His eyes may be dark and wild, but they were also soft and filled with so much emotion. He was an expressive man, even though she was pretty sure he didn't always mean to show his feelings so openly.

He was gentle, kind and fiercely loyal to his friends, yet when he was flying he carried himself with a confidence she found dazzling.

She choked again, the emotions inside her terrifying her. She shouldn't be feeling this way at all! It was too risky, too scary! What if he looked at her differently after he found out what happened to her? What if he shunned her? No man would ever want a woman like her, someone so used and torn and broken.

He was a werewolf, too. How could this even work? How could any of this possibly work? It was a pipe dream, and a dangerous one at that.

She looked up at him again at his shocked expression, one he'd held since she'd said she had nodded that she wanted him to be around her.

She hardly believed that she had actually agreed to that, that she had expressed her feelings instead of hiding them like normal.

So dangerous... this was so dangerous...

"You do?" He breathed out, as if he couldn't believe it.

She looked up to him, saw the glimmer of hope in his eyes and nearly cried. Tears welled in her eyes, and her throat clenched as she fought them back.

He looked concerned by her reaction, and she saw his hand reach out again, stopping midway in a motion she was getting fairly familiar with. He was rethinking his desire to comfort her, and that just broke her heart.

"Look at us, we're both so messed up." She said with a weak laugh of amusement at how twisted this was.

He looked confused again, but his expression softened. "You're not messed up, Marie."

"Oh yes I fucking am." She laughed bitterly, wiping away the tears as they fell. "I just haven't told you yet, so you don't know."

He looked so worried as she cried, looking off to the side as if he didn't know what to do. "How can I help you?" He asked quietly, looking back to her.

Oh, that made the waterworks really flow, a soft sob wrenching from her as she wrapped her arms around herself to try and calm down. "I don't know." She whispered in fear.

"Marie-" he stepped toward her, but stopped a little distance away still, his face pained. "I don't like seeing you cry like this. Please... I know you wanted to wait until tomorrow, but at least tell me how I can make you feel better." He said in a strained voice.

Merlin, how was he so sweet? How was he possibly so gentle? How was this even happening to her? "Just..." she shuddered gently as she beat down the tears again. "Keep doing what you're doing."