Hey folks! Sorry for the absence, but I wasn't home last week. When I thought I would have time to write, I was seriously wrong! So no quote today, but I hope you'll enjoy the chapter anyway. Have fun and review as always if you feel like!
The corridor went deeper down, into the darkness, but Lara did not mind it. She had a lot to think about. What she felt was totally new to her. She had never opened up so much to anyone. Even after Alistair's death, she had rather avoided Zip and Winston so that she had not had to let them in. Lara had known that Zip had been worried. She had been able to see it in his brown eyes every time he had looked at her. The question had been always there. Had she been okay? Had there been anything they could have done for her? No, probably not. It had been just too much to bear.
And hardly a few hours later, she was walking down a corridor of a tomb, Kurtis ambling in front of her. The one man, she had never imagined to see again. Not in this life. The feelings he had awakened in her still scared her a little bit. Lara could not even remember when she had ever talked about her emotions. Burying them deep, hiding behind the mask was simply much more convenient than revealing her true face. Had it been a mistake?
She felt relieved. Lighter than ever before. As if a huge boulder had rolled off her chest and she was finally free to breath. Free to let go. Of course that did not mean that she would forget about him. Alistair would always be a part of her, but she needed to accept that he would not return. Kurtis did.
She watched his figure as he was walking in front of her, a torch in his left hand. Ever since that kiss he had not asked anything anymore. That kiss. Who had ever kissed her like this before? With so much warmth and acceptance. She could not remember. Her senses were still prickling with heat, she still felt his touch on her body. Would it be that simple? Could she just let herself fall for it? Yes, she was falling. Falling hard.
Her boots made no noise on the sandy floor when she walked after him in the utter silence. Somehow she did not feel like talking. Savouring this cuddling stillness, the warming relief was exactly what she needed. And his arms around her, and his lips on hers… oh come on, she ordered herself to other thoughts. A faint smile appeared on her face at the idea. How fast things changed.
She had to concentrate on the book, she reminded herself, but it was hard. The swirling thoughts and feelings did not let her. Lara stopped for a moment, and Kurtis turned back when he realized she was staying behind.
"What's wrong?" – he asked, holding the torch a bit higher to see her shape. She was standing there, the warm flames throwing flickering shadows on her body. Kurtis was wondering for a while how he had been able to stay away from her so long. No matter that they were in this tomb, she was beautiful. The sadness in her eyes could not be seen so much anymore. Maybe only a few more hours were needed to get her out of her misery.
"Nothing." – she replied finally. "I was just…. never mind." – she waved a hand.
Kurtis walked back a few steps until he could clearly see her face in the yellow light. "You know you can tell me anything, right?" – he held his gaze on her, watching her squeeze her lips together. "Come on." – he reached out, offering a hand.
"I need to find it." – she whispered, slowly grabbing his hand, letting him pull her closer. "You know I can't lose them."
"You won't lose them, I promise." – his voice sounded so calming, so determined, his words to true, his embrace so warm. His hand never let go of hers, moving it slowly behind her back when her body brushed against his. "We'll find it together." – he whispered, breathing a light kiss on her forehead. And your peace of mind, he added inwardly. He had to hold her a bit, he could not let go. Burying his face into her hair, he breathed in her scent that filled him like a sweet escape from reality. As if it was what he had always been looking for. Only a little bit more time, he repeated. That was all he needed. And Lara as well.
"How could I concentrate when you confuse me so much?" – Lara hardly believed she had said it out loud. When he held her, simply all her inhibitions were gone, demolished as if they had never existed.
"Don't fight against it." – he muttered against her skin. "That's all you need to do."
"I'm not sure I can." – her voice was soft, hardly to be heard, but her body was warm against his, slotting perfectly into his. How he wanted to just hold her like this forever. Until they both accepted the inevitable.
"You can." – he pulled back a bit, looking straight into her eyes. He felt her shiver in anticipation.
"Please don't kiss me." – she whispered, her voice completely contradicting her request. Kurtis could not stand a smile. It would have been so easy to take whatever he longed for, but he wanted her to give it to him. Only a little bit more time. Just a little bit.
"Feelings are complicated, Lara." – he caressed her face, complying with her desperate request not to kiss her. "But you can't close them out of your life. And they're not so bad after all." – he offered her a slow half-smile, then stepped away, instantly missing the lack of physical contact. Soon, he reminded himself, and started down the corridor leaving her there.
When Lara followed him, she found Kurtis standing in a huge room that she could not even describe. Huge stones were lying in front of them, building a kind of platform like a small pyramid, but the structure was surrounded with a wide pit filled with some nasty looking black liquid. At the top of it something was shining.
Lara looked around a bit lost, and then she glimpsed the two levers on the walls on both sides of the door they had come in.
"Would it be that easy?" – she mused aloud, stepping closer to one lever. "You need to help me!" – she called out to Kurtis, who understood right away what she meant. They worked together, and Lara tried to forget about the danger. She had to accept that she could not control fate.
When they pulled the levers, Lara spun around, but she needed several minutes to realize what had happened. There was no noise, no click, no sign. The only change was that a small tile raised out of the black liquid, in the middle of it a golden key.
"That's great." – she stood at the edge of the floor where the pit started. The key was about one and a half meters away from them, and something told Lara that it would not have been smart to get in touch with the liquid. "How the hell do we get that out of there?" – she muttered, looking for something to reach the key with when Kurtis grabbed her hand.
Lara started, looking up in his blue eyes that held her gaze steadily.
"Do you trust me?" – he asked with determination in his voice.