Because the past is a pile of ashes.
And this? This moment, with her shaking in my arms and the fire warming our feet, this is the only thing that matters.
She melts into me, clinging tight, burying her face in my neck.
When she pulls back, her voice is steadier. “We’re here now. We’re back. And we’re not leaving.”
I nod.
And silently, I swear to never let her go again.
Chapter Thirteen
Holly
The ring’s still warm on my finger.
He kissed me like a man who knew he’d been starving—and just rediscovered breath.
And now we’re alone. Inside. Just the two of us. Again.
He doesn’t say anything right away. Just watches me with those slow-burning eyes like he’s carving me into memory.
“I’m so sorry–I just didn’t know how to tell you about her. I have so many regrets now.”
“I know, you’ve already apologized. It’s in the past.”
Silence stretches between us like a chasm.
Then he steps closer.
“I was scared,” I say, almost too soft to hear.
Jack lifts his gaze to mine. And his answer is quiet, gruff, raw. “Me too. But I’m not anymore.”
My breath catches.
He closes the space between us in two strides, takes my face in his rough palms, and lowers his mouth to mine.
And this kiss?—
This kiss is nothing like the ones before. This one is slow. Intentional. Honest. It tastes like everything we never said and everything we still might.
He backs me toward the open floor of the cabin’s unfinished room, where the planks are smooth and sanded, still smelling like cedar and sweat. His hands move down my back. My shirt comes off. His flannel lands beside it. Then his mouth is on my throat, my collarbone, the swell of my breast.
“God, I missed this mouth,” he murmurs against my skin. “I missedyou.”
“Then show me.”
He lifts me like I weigh nothing. Lays me out on the cool wood. His jeans scrape mine. His chest brushes my bare skin. And when he finally slides his fingers beneath the band of my underwear, I don’t flinch. I open for him.
“I want to learn every part of you again,” he rasps. “Every sound, every shiver. I want to know what you look like when you fall apart for me, because this time I’ll remember every fucking second.”
I reach for him, nails scraping his spine, breathless and shaking.
“Then stop talking,” I whisper. “Anddo it.”
Chapter Fourteen
