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I don’t want to be a burden. I almost say the words out loud but know he won’t listen.
I place my plate on the coffee table before I let tears fall into my food.
Landon’s words haunt me.
You don’t deserve this, an inner voice whispers. He shouldn’t sacrifice his time for you.
“Sweetheart.”
Landon’s voice is soft, his eyes tender as he looks at me. “Sit with me. Breathe with me.”
It’s another soft command. I lean back against the cushion of the couch, exhaling sharply.
He moves minutely closer to me, still respectfully giving me space.
“One more time, sweetheart. Inhale slowly.”
I suck in a deep breath, allowing his calming scent of earthy woods to fill me.
“You’ve always smelled like home,” I murmur. “Even the first time I scented you. It felt like I was coming back to a place I’d been before.”
When I meet his gaze, his pupils are huge.
“I’m not leaving you,” he croaks. Slowly enough that I could push him away if I wanted, he reaches out to take my hand. Our fingers intertwine as his palm engulfs mine, and I sigh at the contact.
I take another breath in, allowing my body to relax.
Landon squeezes my hand tighter.
“May I…” He clears his throat. “May I hold you?”
A smile spreads across my face. “Of course.”
Landon, with his quiet strength, brings my heart back to life.
I’m in his arms in an instant, and he gently cradles the back of my head as I lean into his muscled chest, his purr rumbling.
He strokes my hair, fingers catching the tangles in the strands as I hum contentedly against his chest.
He presses a kiss to my hair. “I love that sound,” he whispers. “The sound of your happiness.”
His arms tighten around me as I drift in and out of sleep.
“Breathe, my love,” he whispers. “Breathe for me.”
My love.
I take a deep breath in. Then out.
Pine. Forest. Warmth.
I move my head to nuzzle my face into his neck, rubbing his scent on me.
His grip on me stiffens as my fingers fiddle with his tie.
I didn’t realize how much I missed the simple things.
Tugging on River’s scruffy hair. Messing with Landon’s tie.
