His hands don’t grab.
They settle.
One at my waist.
One cupping my jaw.
“First, I swear to you, Evan will never be a casualty of us.And what his father did?He’ll know the truth someday and judge him for himself.And that’s all because of your influence.You’re raising a wonderful boy, Kelly,” he says, low and steady.
My heart squeezes—Christ, I didn’t know how badly I needed to hear someone say that.
I clear my throat and blink against my suddenly blurry vision.
“Now, do you really think I want someone I can swallow?And even more ludicrous, do you think a firework like you could even be swallowed?”
I gasp.
His thumb brushes my cheek.
“I want you, Kelly.I want all of you.I want the woman who stands in front of a room full of lumbermen and doesn’t back down.I want the mother who’s tough enough to raise her boy without any help from anyone.I want the soft, vulnerable woman I danced with tonight.All of it.”
“J.T.,” I whisper closing my eyes.
Then I feel his forehead touch mine.
“You’re not too much.You’re not too big.And you’re damn sure not someone who disappears into the background.”
My breath catches.
“And if you ever feel like you are,” he continues, voice roughening, “I’ll remind you exactly who you are.”
And before I can second-guess myself—before I can build another wall—J.T.kisses me.
And this is not a polite meeting of lips.
This is something dark.
Something deep.
Intentional.
His mouth moves against mine like he’s proving something.
Like he’s laying claim to me—choosing me.
The kiss steals the air from my lungs.
It also steadies me.
J.T.kisses me like I am the only end game he has in mind.
Not a strategy.
Just me.
Like I’m the destination he’s been driving toward his whole damn life.
His mouth is warm and sure, not frantic, not demanding—just certain.
