Melt For Him(68)

We.

Her mind spun wildly as he put himself on the line for her and offered her something she’d never expected. Her heart rioted in her chest, dancing like a madwoman. She couldn’t hold back. She reached for him, looping a hand around his neck, lacing her fingers through his soft hair. Instantly, she felt him relax under her touch.

“I want nothing more than to have you with me,” she said, her voice breaking as stupid tears of joy threatened to overwhelm her.

“You do?” he asked carefully.

“I do,” she said quickly. “Yes, I do. So much. And I’m sorry I ran. I’m sorry I freaked out. I was scared because I feel so much for you that I don’t know what to do with it. It’s more than I ever thought I would feel.” She held out her hands, as if she were surrendering. Maybe she was—surrendering to love. “This is a done deal. This thing I feel for you isn’t going to go away. Nothing is going to undo it.”

“Are you sure?” he asked with concern in his eyes, but he moved closer to her, running his hand along her hip, then around her waist. She loved the feel of his hand on her. She didn’t want to let go of him.

“Yes,” she said, fighting back the tears, even though they were good tears this time. They were tears that came from a heart that was cracking wide open, not one she was trying to protect. “I was scared, and I’m still scared, but I want to be scared with you, here or in Portland or wherever we are. My heart belongs to you, and that’s not going to change whether I stay by your side or run. Loving you plays on every fear I’ve had since I was young. But I’m a grown-up now, and even though it took me a day to come to my stupid senses, I’ve come to them. Because I’ve fallen for you, and not just the bar owner I met the first night, but the guy who fights his way in and out of burning buildings. That’s who you are and that’s the man I’m in love with.”

…

They’d both used the L-word in their letters to each other. But today, they were saying it in person. He was hearing it fall on his ears as she looked at him with tenderness and trust. He flashed back to the night they met, to how simple it had seemed then. Now it was simple, but only because when you look in the eyes of the woman who changes your heart, everything is simple.

Amazingly, beautifully simple and true in its own way. Not every woman was going to sign up for the roller coaster of loving a man like him. But she wasn’t just any woman. She was his.

He cupped her cheek in his hand, and she leaned into him instantly. He gently ran the back of his fingers across her soft skin. “I’m so in love with you,” he said, then brushed his lips against hers because he couldn’t wait any longer to kiss her.

Kissing her was like coming home. The feel of her lips was passion and certainty all at once. It was everything he’d never known he wanted, and everything he could never give up. He slanted his mouth to hers, and didn’t stop kissing her. His pulse raced, vibrations soaring through his body. Her lips tasted spectacular, and even though it had been only a day since she’d seen him, it felt like forever. She kissed him back as if it had been, as if she’d been waiting for his return.

Finally, they pulled apart.

“Should we get packing?” he said with a smile. He was ready. He’d go anywhere with her. “I’ve got a truck; I can give my two weeks and we can get out of town.”

Her brown eyes glinted playfully. “I’ve got that all figured out, and I’ll tell you everything in a minute. But there’s something I want to show you first.”

She started stripping again. Just like when he’d met her. She winced as she unbuttoned her shirt and pulled it off. She wore only a white tank top underneath. She turned slightly to show him her bare shoulder, which was no longer bare. It was marked up with new ink.

His lips quirked up at the sight of her new tattoo to match the owl. The raccoon she’d drawn was now permanent on her skin.

“You have a raccoon firefighter on your shoulder,” he said in disbelief.

“Do you like it?” she asked, her voice wavering.

“I love it.” He gazed at the drawing she’d made that was now a part of her body. He looked in her eyes. They were soft and sweet and full of everything he’d ever wanted. “Just like I love you.”

“It’s permanent,” she said, gesturing to her new ink. “Like how I feel for you.” Then she wrapped herself up in him, pressing herself against his chest, and the feel of her perfect body was both too much and never enough. He needed her now.

“Good. Now let’s get inside so I can have you again and then you can tell me your plans.”