Embracing Juliette (Texas Heroes: Station 9 #1)

Chapter 36

36

Juliette

I couldn’t pull my eyes away from his. Like melted dark chocolate, his eyes were warm, deep pools of pure goodness. Hearing him say those words still had the power to steal my breath away. “I love you too. So much.”

He pulled me even closer, and my arms and legs wrapped around him, my hands gripping his shoulders tight. His hands roamed over my back, my hips, my hair, like he wanted to touch me everywhere all at once. My eyes closed in contentment, and I made a sound suspiciously like a purr. Maybe not too surprising, since I did want to rub myself all over him like a cat. I wanted to melt into him. To fuse my body into his to mirror what my heart felt.

He kissed me sweetly, but when he started to deepen it, I pulled away. “No.”

“What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” His brows drew down with worry as his eyes and fingers searched my body, stopping on every wound.

“I’m okay, but if you kiss me like that, we’re going to have sex again.”

“I know. That’s kinda the point.” His worry faded, replaced by an impish grin that made him almost impossible to resist.

I leaned in and gave him a quick peck. “Save it for later. We aren’t missing this. You made me wait long enough. I want to go to the Sloppy Cow with our friends. Quinn said a few of the others will be there too. I’m excited to meet Erin, Corrie, Mack, and their guys. Sophie said I’ll love Mack, that when she’s around there’s no pressure for anyone else to talk at all.

Dylan laughed. Damn, I wanted to forget our plans and stay in this bed with him forever. “She’s right. Mack can talk the whole night if no one stops her.”

His smile faded and he looked serious again. “I love that you want to see our friends. I’ve spent a lot of time with the other firefighters, and now I get to share that with you. It makes me think of all the things I want to share with you. Forever, baby. I want to do everything with you for the rest of my life. My heart is so full it feels like it’s going to burst right out of my chest. I have everything I’ve ever wanted. I have my dream job, I get to work with my best friends, and now I have you.”

I threw my arms around his neck and squeezed tight, hoping he could feel that I never wanted to let go. Never. “I love you, Dylan.”

“I love you too, baby. Go get ready. We’re meeting up at Station 7, then we’ll all head to the bar together.”

A few minutes later, we were in the car, and I was whisper-singing along with the radio. I stopped mid-word, startled by the sudden realization of what I was feeling. Or more accurately, the lack of what I was feeling.

“You okay?” Dylan asked with a quick glance.

“Yeah, I’m good. Really good.” I really was. I was on my way to an unknown bar to meet new people, and I was so at peace that I was singing, not a single worry about what was coming. There was a hollowness in my chest where a stampede of wild horses should have been. The good kind of hollowness, like when Dylan and I were hiking, and the woods were empty and quiet and still, but inside that vastness, it was brimming with life.

I couldn’t stop smiling. I had Dylan’s hand in mine, his declaration of love running on repeat in my head, and hope in my heart.

Until the car, and all my dreams, came to a screeching halt.