Every Breath Novel Novels & Stories

Brianna asked absentmindedly. She did not look anywhere else than the worried face of the man right in front of her. Brianna smiled faintly. Then she closed her eyes, leaning her head on the backrest of her seat. She inhaled deeply, and as she exhaled the air, she breathed all out. Another deep inhale followed. Then her breath outs became a blow of air as if she was trying to release whatever difficulties were inside her heart. “Anna…?”

To try to exist again. I breathe. I finally breathe. ---

His breathing changes. It's subtle. Controlled. The specific small shift of a man who's registered something and is trying not to show it, almost succeeding. The "almost" is in a single breath that's not quite the working breath, not quite the steady rhythm from before. One breath with a different quality, a depth that wasn't there a moment ago. He doesn't look up. I don't look up.

I will not be fine. “Shh. You’ve just got to breathe.” “But I can’t.” I only now realize that my breath’s caught in my throat. And I cannot seem to let it pass. I’m not in control of it. “Breathe, Heidi.” “I― I…” I can’t breathe! “I am commanding you.” I feel a sudden warmth inside me. It’s as if someone blew air into my lungs to release my breath, which elicits a satisfying sensation. The panging in my head doesn’t disappear, but it’s bearable. Maybe it’s because the noises outside have become tiny echoes to my hearing, or because Zavere is smiling at me, while I’m staring into his dark eyes; watching the light glisten in them.

You're in the book. I forgot how to breathe. Just for a second, I forgot. Forgot breathing. Forgot thinking. Forgot feeling. I forgot everything – everything but those words. When the breath finally came, sucking on the air like I couldn't get it into my lungs fast enough, my body juddered with the impact. ' M-me? '

My breathe hitches and I forget how to breathe. I can already see the headlines forming 'heiress dies a shocking death from forgetting to breathe in the presence of a hot heir'......... yeah, that doesn't sound so good. He reaches his hand forward and brings his fingers to the front of my neck to grasp the other end of the necklace. The trail of his finger on my skin sets my body on fire and my breathing starts to become erratic. I think I hear him do a deep intake of breath but that could just be my imagination. This is pure torture.

Sincerity in voice tells me it all true. I smile at him. "I like you too Christian, so much." He leans in to kiss me but realization hits me and I gasp. "What's wrong!?" He asks with a very worried voice. "Morning breath," I mumble placing a hand on my mouth. "Isn't it too late now to remember that?" "Better late than never." I shrug making my run to the bathroom and giving Christian a flying kiss. Then hearing him mumble something like 'she is gonna be the death of me.'

Every breath. How cruel.

Something that made my breath catch for a different reason. I closed my eyes for a second, trying to push it down. I felt him shift slightly, just enough that his face was closer now, his breath brushing faintly against my temple. “Breathe,” he murmured. I tried. I really did. But it came out uneven. The footsteps outside shifted again. My grip tightened on his shirt without thinking. My body tensed completely. Seconds stretched. And then—the sound of footsteps moving away. My lungs burned as I finally let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding. But I didn’t move. None of us did, because we couldn’t be sure.

My breaths tear out of me in ragged fragments, too fast on the exhale, too shallow on the inhale. I can’t breathe. Not properly. Not yet. The first sob is quiet, muffled against the curve of his shoulder. A soft, almost inaudible wail. The next shreds me a little more. Wet, jagged, and sticky like Nathan crying alone in the dark.