Free Scars Of Defiance by Lorena Angell Page A

both got up.
Paul opened the trap door. He climbed out and turned around to help her. She
stood on her good leg, but the bedroom floor was at the level of her shoulders,
and she didn’t have the leverage to boost herself up and out.
    “I can’t get up.” She looked sheepishly at Paul. “You’ll
have to help me.”
    He reached under her arms and pulled her up out of the hole.
His feet slipped, and he fell on his back, with Sierra landing on top of him
with a thud. At least he kept her from hurting her ankle, and his body made for
a softer landing than the hardwood floor.
    She lifted her head off his chest to look him in the face.
The moment hung in the air, the clocks stopped, and the electricity crackled
between them. The situation was hardly professional, but very enjoyable.
    “Um, maybe you should boost me out of the hole first, next
time,” she said quietly, still lying on top of him and looking him in the face.
    “Yep, I was thinking the same thing. Wanna do it again?” He
smiled that crooked smile out of one side of his mouth.
    “Yes.” Why did he have to be so sexy? Did he realize how
attracted she was to him? She didn’t move from her position on top of him. She
didn’t want to.
    In one swift movement, Paul placed one hand behind her head
and the other on the small of her back and rolled over. Instantly she was on
the bottom now, without bumping her head, and Paul had his weight resting on
his elbows with his hands still under her and his legs at her side. His face
hovered directly above hers for a moment while he looked deep into her eyes.
Then he jumped up and held out his hands to help her up.
    They were both breathing a little heavy as they took their
positions on the bed.
    “You forgot to close the trap door,” she pointed out
breathlessly. He went over and closed it. He came back and sat down, but before
he’d completely sat, she made the doorbell sound.
    “Ding dong!” They both quickly and smoothly hustled over to
the closet, and Paul slipped down the hole. Sierra sat on the edge and put in
her feet and paused for only a half second till she felt his hands on her
thighs. A sizzling buzz shot through her. She inched forward, and he let his
hands slide up to her waist, then he lowered her to the ground using his body
as a supporting slide.
    At least his hands didn’t lift her shirt, but this was much
more exciting, having her slide down the entire length of his body to the dirt
floor. He closed the trap door and sat down beside her, breathing heavily.
    “Better?”
    “Yes, much better,” she answered, looking over at him. Her
eyes met his, and the earth stopped rotating. His eyes had a way of staring
right into her soul. He would never hurt her, she could sense it.
    Paul watched her face in the dim light of the crawlspace. He
watched her smile start with her eyes and progress down to her mouth. He had
the incredible urge to kiss her, but his mother’s voice saying “not
professional” echoed in his mind.
    He stood up to put some distance between them and popped
open the trap door again. This time he held her waist and boosted her up till
her top half was up lying on the bedroom floor. Then he meant to grab her legs
and push them up and out, but his eyes were drawn to her perfectly round bottom
positioned directly in front of him. He took a moment to appreciate the
wondrous view and then grabbed her legs just above each knee and pushed her up
the rest of the way. He jumped up and out of the hole to find her sitting on
the floor by the closet with her arms wrapped around her knees pulling them up
against her chest.
    “That was definitely better on the way down,” she said, “and
that’s what we need to work on. Getting back out isn’t s-so urgent.” A shiver
shot through her body.
    “Are you cold?”
    “Mmm hmm.”
    Paul reached over to the pile of blankets and grabbed a
thick one. He scooted closer to her and draped it over her shoulders, snuggling
it around her neck. This type of