No hesitation. No fear. No pretending. The words hit me harder than the sirens, the smoke, the chaos. He didn’t just save her. He claimed her. He claimed both of us.
Something molten spreads through my chest—terrifying, overwhelming, undeniable.
“Saxon,” I whisper again, because I can’t form anything else.
He swallows hard, eyes locked on mine, expression stripped bare.
He’s not the captain right now. Not the grumpy, controlled, rule-bound firefighter.
He’s just a man. A man who ran into fire for my daughter. A man who shielded her with his body. A man who came out burned and shaking—but alive. A man who loves her. And—God help me—maybe even a man who loves me.
Somewhere behind us, Rowan shouts, “Medic! Cap’s burned!”
But Saxon doesn’t look away.
“It wasn’t fake,” I whisper, voice cracking. “None of this was ever fake.”
His eyes soften. “I know.”
“And I was so afraid?—”
“I know.”
“And I—” My throat closes. “I can’t lose you.”
“You won’t,” he rasps.
I press my forehead to his, Junie clutched between us, his breath ragged against my cheek. He smells like smoke and sweat and adrenaline. He feels like safety and danger wrapped into one. My voice comes out broken. “You’re our home.”
His breath catches. Just once. Then his eyes darken, fierce and reverent all at once.
“And you,” he murmurs, “are mine.”
I suck in a shaky breath. One of the medics reaches us. “Captain, we need to look at your burns?—”
Saxon doesn’t move.
He cups my jaw with his uninjured hand, thumb brushing my cheek, gaze burning straight through me.
“Later,” he growls without looking away. “Not done here.”
The medic hesitates. “Saxon?—”
“I said later.”
His voice drops to a whisper meant only for me. “I need you to know,” he says softly, “that I would run into fire every damn time if it meant bringing her back to you.”
Everything inside me folds inward—soft, shaking, undone.
“This is forever for me, Briar,” he murmurs. “Not fake. Not for show. Not just because of her. Because of you.”
Tears spill down my cheeks. I don’t look away. He doesn’t either. Junie sniffles between us. “Captain Saxon… don’t leave.”
Saxon swallows hard and presses his forehead to hers. “Never, kid.”
My heart splits wide open.
Then the other medic steps closer. “Cap—now.”
