Page 42 of The Darkest Hour

The waves grew taller and more violent.

But as long as Onyx was here, as long as we faced this together, I knew we had a fighting chance.

“Onyx.”

She quirked her brows.

“Come closer.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Why?”

“I’m freezing. You’re freezing. We should hold each other.”

“But. . .”

“We should.”

She parted her lips in shock, and I wondered if she would in fact come over to me.

A Cold Embrace

Havoc

Suspicion flickered in her eyes. “I don’t know, Havoc.”

“It’s too cold to sit apart. If we hold each other, we can share some warmth. And if our boat turns over, at least we’ll be together when we hit the ocean.”

She narrowed her eyes. “You’re not planning to do something bad, are you? Like kill or rape me.”

A dark smirk tugged at my lips. “I’ve already decided something.”

“And what’s that?”

“No killing or raping until we’re somewhere safe, I promise.”

Despite the dire situation, she let out a small, reluctant chuckle.

Mmmm. What a beautiful sound. I didn’t know I needed to hear that right now.

For some odd reason, my spirits lifted a little.

Then, she curled her lips into a smile, and that smile, even in the midst of this nightmare, brought an overwhelming warmth to my chest I hadn’t expected.

It was like a ray of light pierced through the darkest clouds.

She chuckled again, and it was a soothing balm to my soul, even easing the tension in my muscles.

I hadn’t realized how much I needed that, how much her soft chuckle would mean to me. It was a reminder that we were still alive, still capable of finding joy even in the most hopeless situations.

Once she finished chuckling, she let out a long, sad sigh. “What a gentleman.”

“There’s nothing gentle about me, but our chances of surviving rises if we work together.”

“Okay. Maybe. . .you’re right.”

I smirked. “You’ll find, Onyx, that I’m always right.”

Onyx's expression softened further, the tension between us dissolving as the icy wind continued to bite at our skin.