(Blake’s POV)
“What happened, Blake?” Samantha was shocked when I brought Tara unconscious in my arms inside the house. Her mouth gaped open as she and Nana Shea stood up from the sofa. She moved, took her smartphone from her bag, but she stopped and trembled when she saw the blood in my arms.
“God, Blake...” Her eyes just widened, stepped back, and tripped at the sofa, landing her bottom on the seat.
“Doctor... ambulance... hospital...” I could not breathe, and I did not know what to do. “Sam!” I screamed at her when she just stared at me, making her jump from her seat. I could not believe I was crying, standing frozen in front of them. My heart has never been so terrified.
“Blake! Samantha!” Nana Shea raised her voice. The two of us looked at her, and we were not breathing, or maybe just me.
She took a deep breath and walked calmly towards me. She held Tara’s
(Blake’s POV)“You can come here, you know. It’s not nice listening to someone’s conversation,” Tara said, putting her cellphone beside her. She turned around in my direction to tell me that she was talking about me.My face turned red, feeling embarrassed and childish of listening to her conversation. My feet were stuck on the floor, and I could not move because, for one, I was scared to face Tara, and second, I was ashamed about everything that had happened today.“If you just stand there, you can close the door so that I can concentrate on my work,” She instructed but did not bother looking at me. She took her palette and started doing her magic with colors.I took a deep breath and gathered all the courage I had to face her. She scared me more than my Dad and my tough competitors. I slid the door slowly and started walking towards her. She pointed to the chair, maybe five feet away from her, w
(Blake’s POV)It was supposed to be a joke. I imagined a romantic moment with her, just us treading the water, and then I would kiss her, but I snapped out from that imagination with I saw the horror in her eyes. She was struggling and making an effort to breathe above the water’s surface.“Bla-” She couldn’t even finish calling me. I remembered asking her if she liked to swim, but she said she wasn’t sure about it because they lived in the countryside. My heart pounded as I realized Tara could not swim. She was within my reach, so I pulled her, and to my surprise, she held onto me and wrapped her arms around my neck.“Blake...” She cried, shivering and holding tighter on me. I tried to move away from her a little, but she shook her head vehemently and continued to cry. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, Kitten. I didn’t know,” I glanced in the direction of the dock,
(Tara's POV) "I will ask you just one question, but I want your honest answer. If your answer is no, I will walk away right now, and I won't bother you again," I swallowed. That one question will always be the hardest to answer. "Tara Evans, do you love me?" My heart skipped a beat. I was too nervous to answer that all I could do was stick my tongue against the inside of my cheek. If I answered no, and Blake would be true to his words, he would leave me alone. My heart would probably stop beating. If I answered yes, there would be no turning back. I would be happy, but why does it feel like it would open up a can of worms? "Tara?" I opened my mouth to answer, but an angel saved me from answering his question. We heard Sean calling. "Uncle Blake! Aunt Tara!" He opened the door and came in, running inside the bedroom. Following him was Samantha, but just like Sean, she also stopped a
(Blake's POV) “What are you going to do? Fly?” Tara asked, spreading her arms. She giggled when I tried to steer away from her. I glared at Samantha, but she just raised her glass to me. “Then explain yourself!” Stella screamed on the phone. “I’m confused, S.” She knitted her brows. “After I drink that, I got baffled,” She said, pointing to the empty glass on the countertop as if Stella could see it. “What did you drink?” Stella’s voice was still in panic. I was giving Samantha a look, but she was just smiling. Tara looked at the ceiling. “Coffee, water, juice, seawater-” “Seawater? What do you mean?” She interrupted. She made a face, amusing Samantha more. “Blake pushed me,” She shook her head. “Ah, no... he pulled me out of the boat, that’s why-” “Tara Evans, you don’t know how to swim!” She was screaming again. She covered my ears with her hands. “I kno
(Blake's POV) “Tara,” I moaned her name, kissing the hollow of her neck. “Tell me to stop,” I told her once again, and all I needed right now was her permission. I want to take her now and claim her as mine to hell with her answer.“I can’t,” She swallowed and took a long, deep breath. “I can’t breathe, Blake,” She said, hearing and feeling the shortness of her breathing like she was in pain. I froze and then slowly glanced at her as if she was hyperventilating. As if cold water splashed all over my body, I got up and helped her get up from the bed.“Do you have asthma or something?” I asked, my heart pounding. Samantha had struggled with asthma when we were young, and looking at her nasal flaring and labored breathing, and I could say she was having an asthma attack.She took a deep breath, then looked at me
(Tara's POV)I felt like I was going to have a heart attack as I stared at the red, lacy thong I hooked on my pencil.“What’s this?” My heart was pounding as I looked at other things in the luggage. I could hear Blake laughing, and I wanted to punch him now for making fun of me.“You don’t have to wear them, Tara, if you don’t like them.” He said, walking away from me. “I’ll be in the cockpit. Just find decent clothes to wear, for sure she included one, then decide if you wanted to go home right away,”Blake walked out of the saloon, leaving me looking at the contents of the luggage. The veins in my head were throbbing as I searched for something less seductive. I heaved a sigh as I chose the white summer dress and sniffed, preventing myself from crying, as I took the pair of cream-colored underwear. I took my pouch, which contained
(Tara's POV)“Because I want to have more of you. I want you, Tara,” He breathed, his voice low.I swear my heart jumped out of my chest when I heard those words. I could feel the warmth of his breath on my lips. My hands reached for his face, and my fingers started trailing his eyebrows down to his pointed nose and stopped on his soft lips.“Do you love me, Tara?” He asked in a whisper as if he was afraid to know my answer.This is crazy because I don’t know Blake much, but I am soooo head over heels for him. It was like my heart would explode to pieces if I part ways with him... if I didn’t see him again. Even with John, I have never felt this before.“Yes,” I answered, allowing my heart to answer for me. For one moment, I only thought about myself, forgetting my promise to myself and the rest of my family.All that matters to me right now is
(Blake's POV)My head slowly turned to Tara, who was so engaged in each photo. Where did she find the album? I closed my eyes and heaved a sigh before walking towards her. I was sure Samantha did not include it in her gift to Tara. “Kitten, let’s put food in your tummy first,” I said, trying to take it away from her, but she groaned. Her eyebrows creased, and she squinted her eyes on me. I raised both my hands to say I would not dare get it. Instead, she took the plate and placed it beside the photo album.“You’re so handsome,” She said, trailing my picture with her index finger. A few seconds passed without any word from her made my heart worry. “How old were you in this picture?” She finally asked.I glanced at it. “Twenty-one,” I focused on my food. I was not ready to talk about the past or... the future. What matters to me now is her,