The Billionaire's Salvation(59)

“You’re not fucking dying here, sweetheart. Not today. Not on any day. I just got you back,” he replied, his voice guttural and raw.

She couldn’t see his face, but he was determined, and at the moment she was cursing his tenacity. “This is crazy. We’ll both die.”

“Nobody. Is. Dying,” Max grunted, moving slowly down beside her, grasping another small branch hanging from the rocks as he came level with her body.

Mia gasped for air, her fear getting the best of her. Max was barely clinging to the rocks, his grip even less stable than hers. Her terrified eyes met his, and his hazel eyes held a liquid fire—a driven, feral, and resolute look that she’d never seen before on his handsome face. “Max. Please.” Tears streamed down her face, her whole body quivering from the knowledge that Max didn’t give a damn whether he died trying to save her sorry ass. She’d gotten them into this situation by stupidly stepping too close to the edge, but Max hadn’t hesitated to come after her. “Stubborn, pigheaded man,” she whispered desperately. “You’re supposed to be the cautious one.”

“Not when it comes to you,” Max answered grimly. “You’re going up, sweetheart.”

“Max. You can’t—”

He put a hand under her ass and hefted her body upward, moving to take her place as he pushed. “Climb, dammit,” he demanded, spotting her from underneath her body.

She wasn’t far from the top, and Max’s stern voice made her scramble to find a hold above him to keep him from falling. One final mighty push from beneath her sent her upper body over the top of the cliff, and she clawed her way over, panting and breathless as she collapsed on solid ground.

She swung her body around awkwardly, hanging her head over the edge of the cliff and gasped as she spotted Max just as the foothold she had been standing on gave way, collapsing beneath his foot. He’d put too much weight on the wobbly rocks when he’d shoved her over the edge, and his body swung insecurely for moment, the longest moment of Mia’s life, until he found purchase again.

Please. Please. Don’t let him die.

She nudged her upper body slowly over the ledge, trying to get closer to him.#p#分页标题#e#

“Get your ass back over that edge now,” Max commanded gratingly, finding another handhold and inching his powerful body upward.

Mia inched back, but not much, determined to help Max. “You can grab my hand.”

“Just. Move. Back.” Max’s voice was rough, his powerful body moving up the cliff from pure male strength and stubborn will.

Realizing that her immovable husband wasn’t going to risk pulling her over, Mia moved sideways, leaving him space to launch himself over the edge as he found a foothold to help him mobilize. She grabbed the waistband of his jeans and tugged with all her might as his upper body hit the rim of the cliff.

She gasped as he grabbed her around the waist and rolled, protecting her with his body as they moved away from the edge of the jagged rock wall. He didn’t stop until they hit grass, coming to rest against the trunk of a tree, her body sprawled on top of him.

He got up and pulled her to her feet, his eyes shooting fire. “Are you okay?” he asked abruptly, his hands everywhere on her body at once, checking for injuries.

Mia expelled a pensive breath, her body still shaking. Max was scraped and scratched, but he was all in one piece. “I’m fine. I was just afraid you’d kill yourself. What were you thinking?” she asked, adrenaline firing through her body as she shot him an angry look. “That was a stupid, risky thing to do. Don’t you ever do that again, Maxwell Hamilton. You took at least twenty years off my life and scared the shit out of me.” She punched him in the shoulder. And then did it again, relief coursing through her that she was punching the solid muscle that was Max.

Max picked her up calmly as she continued to punch at him, carrying her flailing body down the incline, stopping about halfway down and setting her gently on her feet. He captured her wrists and pinned her against an enormous tree, subduing her with very little effort.

Her adrenaline still high, she stopped punching at him and started to sob, her fear overtaking every one of her emotions. “What would I do if something happened to you, Max? I couldn’t stand it.”

“I know. That’s how I felt for over two years when I thought you were dead, baby,” Max answered, his voice coarse and raw.

Mia stopped struggling, the truth of the hell Max had really been through hitting her straight in the gut. She’d had a few minutes of agony, wondering if Max was going to die. He’d had over two years of not knowing, thinking she was already dead. She’d been lonely, mourning Max, but at least she’d known he was still alive. “I couldn’t have borne it. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” The full force of what Max had suffered filled her with remorse, anguish, and grief.