It’s clearer than those nights we spent on my roof; we’d lie there for hours, me telling him about the stars in between him telling me he’d do anything to keep me happy.
I’d never felt so content in my entire life.
Tears well in my eyes as Saint wraps his arms around my chest, his head resting atop of mine. “Do you want to know what my letter said?”
My body freezes, thinking he’s had it all this time, but he doesn’t move, doesn’t even shift.
The only movement between us is his thumbs drawing circles against the joints of my shoulders, his shallow breaths a soothing rock.
“Take. Your. Time, I’ll wait for you, Indie. Until we’re old and grey, if I have to. I know one day we’ll find our way back. It doesn’t matter how much time passes, because loving you is like breathing. I can’t live without it. Every second with you has been a gift, one I often don’t feel worthy of. But you’remyperson,myentire universe. There’s no number of miles that can separate us that will change that. And one day, those orbs you love so much will guide our souls back home. Just know that whilst I’m not with you, I’ll do everything I can to make sure the earth you walk on is safer for you.” His jaw flexes against me, and his next words come out strained.
“Because I fucking love you.”
Hairline fractures erupt across my protected heart. The toughened scar tissue deep beneath it ruptures, letting the entirety of the love I’ve contained within it seep through like a bursting dam.
The last clasp on my feelings clicks, no longer able to withhold how I truly feel, and I throw that damn lock right across the edge of the peak.
I drag in a shaky breath, the twinkling lights ahead of us smudging into a haze of white and amber, tears blurring my eyes.
“How do you remember it?” My voice is barely above a whisper, so low, I’m taken by surprise that he hears it.
“Those very same words have been my thoughts every single day since I walked away from you.”
The question clings to the back of my throat, but I push past it, letting it come out hoarse, desperately needing to know. “Do you still feel that way?”
It feels like there’s no sound in the world; the sway of the trees has calmed, and my breathing has stopped.
All that remains is the steady drum of my pulse as I dare myself to look over my shoulder at him.
His grey eyes burn into mine, and he tugs me to take his place, arms caging me in at the sides against the open trunk.
“I need you to get this back in your head, darling. Seeing as that wasn’t clear enough.” He dips his head, getting to my eye level. “I love you more than those stars bleed for the night. More than the sun’s need to burn from its core. I never stopped, Indie. There wasn’t a second gone by where your name wasn’t whispered in my mind like a cruel curse.”
My breathing hitches, and I don’t even fight it, allowing the warm droplets to break free and roll down the chill of my cheeks.
Saint catches them, cupping my face with his hands, thumbs gently stroking across my cheekbones. “I’ll always fight for you. Worship you until my dying breath, then search to find you in the next life, just to learn new ways to show my love for you.”
My face is soaked, and I battle with the sob that aches to be free, battle with the wings that want to break out of my chest.
Then…his gaze blends in with the night.
“But I’m a different man now, Indie. I’m not the same one you knew six years ago. If there ever comes a time where you try topush me away again? I won’t walk away. I’ll take you kicking and screaming, because you fucking belong tome.” His jaw grinds. “Never. Underestimate my love for you.”
A hand slips behind my nape, and our lips crash together.
Our kiss mixes with my salty tears. It’s raw, full of pain and dependence. We might have been physical the last couple of weeks, but this?
This is what I need more than anything.
It’s above it all.
His love is the anchor I’ve so desperately needed in the world.
He pulls back, gaze beckoning me to his every command. “I’ll getthem. Every single last one of them. I won’t rest until the Montgomerys’ world is consumed in flames.”
Everything catches up to me at once, the love, the moment, the devotion to one another.
I wet my bottom lip, my throat painfully tight with emotion in my response. “We’llget them. We’re in this together now. You saved me once before, Saint. Now I need you to stand beside me whilst I light the match.”
