Love Me If You Dare (Safe Haven) by Kate Laurens

mind.
    I
grinned down at him.
    “I’m
just enjoying myself. I’m not crazy.”
    He
nodded, that face sealing itself over with stoicism once again. I would have
paid a lot more than a penny for his thoughts.
    “How
do I get down?” I actually kinda wanted to just stay up there, at least for a
while.
    I
couldn’t. I had friends in town, friends who were probably wondering where the
hell I’d disappeared to. And I needed to start job hunting. I couldn’t hang out
on a mountain all day.
    But
I already knew I’d be back.
    “Hang
on to the rope, lower yourself over the edge. Plant your feet on the wall and
walk down. I’ll be lowering you.”
    I
was dubious about how easy he made it sound, but this time when the frissons
came, they were excited rather than scared.
    Going
down was faster than going up. Before I was ready, I was on the ground, red faced
and panting.
    “How
was that?” Dylan asked, a smirk curling the corners of his lips.
    I
bit back my answering smile and shrugged with nonchalance. “Oh, you know. It
was okay.”
    Reaching
out with one hand, he ran his fingers through a curl that had escaped my
ponytail. His knuckles grazed my cheek, and I felt myself grow even warmer.
    Is
he going to kiss me again?
    God,
I hoped so.
    No! The shreds of my sanity screamed.
    I
ignored them.
    “My
turn.” Instead of leaning forward into the touch, Dylan broke away to face the
wall. Without bothering to strap himself into the harness that I was struggling
out of, he began to scale the wall.
    I
knew I was ogling him as I watched him climb. Any woman with two brain cells to
rub together would have. The sun had continued to climb, and its pale lemon
light highlighted his muscles, the sharp planes of them stretched tight beneath
tanned skin.
    He
got to the top much quicker and more gracefully than I had. I could feel my
pulse pounding as I watched him.
    “Damn.”
I whispered. He seemed so incredibly sure of himself.
    We
had both lost Ella. I had spiralled out of control.
    Dylan
had pulled his shit together.
    I
wasn’t quite sure what to think.
    Shaking
away the troubling thoughts, I shaded my eyes and looked up. Dylan was doing
the same thing, blocking his eyes from the sun, looking down at me.
    “What
are you thinking?” he asked. His expression was intent, like he was trying to
see into my mind.
    “What
are you thinking,” I called up to him, sidestepping the question.
    He
ran his hand through his hair, ruffling the strands in the exact way that I
wanted to.
    He
exhaled deeply before replying. “I’m wondering who the real Kaylee is.” Even
through the distance of the top of the rock face to the bottom, I felt myself
pinned by those gorgeous eyes.
    I
should have been irritated, but this time there was no judgment in his tone.
Going around about how much we’d both changed wasn’t going to be productive,
but still it was there, a barrier that was invisible, scentless and tasteless
yet ever present.
    “People
change, Dylan.” I swallowed hard as my sister’s face swam before my eyes. Her
life had been cut off. I’d never know how she would have changed. Would never
know if she’d have managed to pull herself out of the quicksand of drugs and
mental illness in which she’d mired herself, or if she’d have only gotten
worse.
    “I
know they do.” Dylan’s voice was rough. I think he knew where my thoughts had
travelled.
    “You’ve
changed.” I continued. How could I make him see that I’d done what I needed to
do to survive? I wasn’t the polar opposite of my twin anymore, true enough.
    But
I wasn’t about to change back. This was me now, for better or for worse.
    Dylan
didn’t reply. I held his gaze as an idea slid into my mind.
    “This
is me, Dylan. The real me.” Continuing to hold his stare, I fisted suddenly
sweaty hands in the hem of my tank top.
    I
saw his eyes widen, just the smallest fraction, and then the view was cut off
by the soft weave of my shirt.
    I
peeled it off and tossed it to the