Page 121 of Claim Me
But he doesn’t forget to send me a doubtful glance.
I step up to the first stair and lower myself into a crouch. "Go ahead."
This time Blue doesn’t hesitate. A second later, I feel his hands on my shoulders as he pushes off and climbs onto my back, his legs locking around my waist.
I straighten up with him, a little surprised at how light he actually is. This might be easier than I thought. He can’t weigh much more than about one hundred and twenty-five pounds, one hundred and thirty at most, and that’s not a load I couldn’t carry for about a thousand feet upstairs.
"Alright, let’s go," I say lightly, and start up the stairs.
I can feel him close against my back, and I have to admit it’s distracting in a good way. His proximity is intense, and it gives me a strange kind of energy.
I take the first few floors almost at a run, sometimes skipping two steps at a time, moving a little too fast, my steps light but controlled, the rhythm efficient and easy.
For a moment, it feels like I was right.
Blue’s weight settles against my back in a way that feels surprisingly natural, his grip firm but not tense, his legs locked securely at my sides. I can feel the heat of him through the fabric, the presence of his omega body aligned with mine, pulling at my focus.
"Too fast," he says quietly near my ear, his voice edged with a hint of warning. "You won’t keep that pace."
"I don’t need to," I answer, not slowing yet. "Just building time."
He doesn’t reply, but I feel the slight shift of his head, like he’s watching the stairs ahead over my shoulder.
By the time we pass the tenth floor, my breathing deepens, still controlled but no longer effortless. I switch to one step at a time without saying anything, lengthening my stride to compensate, keeping the motion smooth.
The stairwell is narrow and repetitive, each landing identical to the last, the numbers on the walls the only proof that we’re moving at all.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
My thighs start to register the climb, a dull heat spreading through the muscles. It’s not pain yet, just a reminder that this is real distance. Blue is light, but not nothing, and gravity doesn’t care about my confidence.
"You can put me down if you need to catch your breath," Blue says after a while, his tone quiet.
"I’m not putting you down," I reply, adjusting my grip under his thighs and pulling him slightly higher to secure him. "And I’m not letting you down."
There’s a brief pause.
"Noted," he says, and there’s something beneath it, something meaningful.
We pass thirty.
My breathing is heavier now, air moving in and out of my lungs with more force, each inhale deeper, each exhale more audible. Sweat starts to gather at my temples and along my spine, dampening the back of my shirt where Blue is pressed against me.
The pace drops again, subtly but inevitably. One step. Another. Keep it steady, Gabriel.
At thirty-seven, I take the first brief pause, just half a second longer on the landing as I shift my weight and roll my shoulders back.
Blue doesn’t comment, but his hold grows slightly firmer, like he’s making himself easier to carry.
We move again.
Forty-two.
This is where it stops being manageable and turns into a fight.
My legs burn now, a sharper sensation building with every push upward. My calves tighten, my thighs grow heavier, and the stairs feel steeper than before, like the angle has suddenly shifted.
