Miles’s breath hitches. “Bout damn time,” he whispers across my lips.
I catch his mouth in a kiss as he presses his chest flush to me. I’m already melting into him. He’s the sun and I’m a cube of ice on a hot day. His beard is rough against my fingertips as I pull him closer. I can feel my pulse everywhere. Hear it pounding in my ears.
One of his hands firmly grips my hip, pulling me in. The other tangles into my hair at the nape of my neck, gripping, combing through. Gentle and firm all at once. I sigh into him as a groan escapes the back of his throat.
He pulls away, cold air filling the space between us. My lips instinctively chase his until he’s too far. My eyes flutter open as he tucks a few pieces of my hair behind my ears. I’ve never seen Miles smile so brightly. It fills me with the most amazing, warm light that I want to bottle up and keep forever.
“What does this mean?” His eyes twinkle as he asks the question I’ve been waiting for, as if he already knows the answer. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s written all over my face. I’m not trying to hide it any more.
I take his hands in mine and take a deep breath. The words flow out of my effortlessly, as if they’ve been there all along.
“I’m in love with you, Miles. I’m not really sure what it means for us, but that’s what I feel. I want to spend as much time as you’ll let me by your side. I want to wake up and see your face, and fall asleep with a goodnight kiss. I’d rather fight with you every day than be just content with anyone else.
“All I know is I’ve never felt like this before, and I don’t want to let it go. I can’t let it go. The thought of driving back to Juniper Ridge alone just feels so wrong. And if it’s too late, if you don’t want me anymore, I understand. But if you’re feeling any portion of what I’m feeling, I think we should give this a shot.” I take a breath, my entire body buzzing in anticipation. I don’t have to worry very long.
“I love you, Katie. I want to be with you. I want you to stay,” he smiles. His words are choked with emotion and it sends butterflies free in my stomach.
I laugh, pulling Miles into a hug. His arms wrap around me holding me tight as if I might disappear if he doesn’t. “Oh thank goodness, that would have been so awkward if you had said no. Could you imagine?”
Miles’s deep laugh vibrates into me as we hold on to each other on the porch. I’ve never wanted anything more intensely in my life, and feeling him want me back is euphoric. I don’t ever want to leave this spot.
This feels like the start of something great. It’s hard to let go of the little voice in my head telling me that it won’t work out, that I’m not meant for this, that it won’t last. But even if all of that ends up being true, I know it’ll be an adventure. That’s all I could ever want. A new adventure with Miles.
So, I follow my heart for the first time in a long time. I give in to him completely, staying in the moment. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so present in anything, not thinking about anything else at all but Miles and the way he sets my heart on fire.
He sucks my bottom lip, giving it the slightest nip of his teeth that sends shivers down my spine. His hands roam up and down my back, from my waist to my shoulders. I don’t realize I’m gripping his shirt for dear life, pulling him closer even though we’re already touching. I let go, wrapping my arms around his neck instead.
We’ve done this before, but it feels different now. There’s a familiarity between us, but it still feels new somehow, too. Perhaps it’s that we know each other’s hearts. We’ve spent months around each other talking about life, our pasts, nonsense, and our deepest feelings. We’ve spent comfortable silences together just being near each other.
I may have spent all summer fighting the physical attraction between us, but somehow, the falling in love part happened anyway.
Miles pulls away, staring into my eyes as the fog of lust clears. I could look at him forever like this, lips puffy, hair mussed, staring at me so intensely I’m pulled into his orbit. There’s a spell around us, thick in the air. All of my senses are heightened towards him, blocking out the rest of the world.
I love it.
“Does this mean you’re staying?” he whispers so low I almost don’t hear it. I think back to the perfect vision of the future I’ve seen twice now while I’ve been at the cabin. His soft voice and strong arms wrapped around me.
A grin breaks out across my face, “I’m staying.”
“Well,” he starts, breaking away from my arms and backing up a few steps, “maybe I’ll see you around some time, Mac.” Miles drawls, turning away towards the driveway. “I’ll be sure to stay off your property, since cowboys aren’t your type and all.”
“Oh, shut up you big dork,” I exclaim, catching his arm and pulling him towards me so abruptly we both fall back against the cabin wall behind me. His expression darkens, his laugh dying in his throat as his hips press against me. There’s a new spark when his lips meet mine.
Miles does shut up. In fact, we don’t say much to each other at all for a while.
Chapter 32
You Started It
Sun shines through thespotless windows of the cabin in the morning and I wake up happier than I’ve been in… well, ever. I’m still in Wyoming, my vacation rental is finished and more beautiful than I could have ever imagined, and there’s a cowboy wrapped around me keeping me warm.
A little too warm, if I’m being honest, but I don’t dare move. His broad chest moves up and down at a slow rhythm.
I wait for the anxiety to creep in, for the freak out to start when I remember what I confessed to Miles yesterday but it never comes. Everything just feels so right, just like it did before. No rush in my blood to leave as soon as possible, no excuses running through my head of why this couldn’t work out.
Just calm, and peace. It’s a little weird, if I’m being honest, but I’m reveling in it. I’m not used to it. This brand new feeling I’ve never felt before. Not in relationships or family. Even with people I felt safe with, there was always the panic behind it all. The worry that it might all be taken away from me at a moment’s notice.
But now, I can just feel the certainty of Miles.
