Page 63 of Into the Fire
“No, baby, more like not enough,” he said and let out a low chuckle, one hand sliding to the small of her back—the bare, delicate skin. “This is doing terrible things to my restraint.”
He took her hand to walk towards their table, but leaned in closer so only she could hear. “I like it too much. I’m about ten seconds away from dragging you out of here and showing you exactly what this dress does to me.”
They mingled for a while, but Levi never lether stray far. His arm was always somewhere low on her back, curling around her waist, a hand brushing her thigh when they sat for dinner.
After dinner, Levi shrugged out of his suit coat, draping it over the back of his chair at their table as they stood to go to the bar for a refill, when someone asked her to dance. Levi stepped forward with an easy grin that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Appreciate it,” he said coolly. “But she’s with me.”
As if on cue, an old country tune with a slide guitar played, and Levi didn’t hesitate.
He offered his hand, palm up, eyes on her like nothing else in the world mattered.
“Dance with me.”
Emery took his hand without a word.
The second her reach met his, Levi laced their fingers together and guided her to the center of the floor. Barn lights twinkled overhead, casting soft shadows as couples swayed to the music, boots scuffing softly on the wood. He pulled her close.
One hand on her lower back, warm and strong,the other keeping her fingers locked in his. She could feel the heat of him, the steady thrum of his chest as he pressed her against him. His dark button-down sleeves rolled to the elbows, showing off sun-kissed, muscled arms that flexed with even the slightest gesture.
“You do this often?” she asked, voice low and teasing as she tilted her head up.
“Not in a long time,” he murmured, his thumb rubbing soft circles against the base of her spine. “Never like this.”
She gave him a look. “Like what?”
“Like I love you.”
The words hit her hard in the center of her chest. She blinked up at him, lips parting, but nothing came out.
“I’m in love with you, Emery.”
Her heart cracked open like the sky before a storm. “Levi—”
His eyes locked on her, dark and full of something that nearly knocked the wind out of her. “You don’thave to say it back, not until you’re ready. I just need you to know.”
But she didn’t hesitate.
“I love you, too, Levi Walker. I think I started falling the moment I met you.”
They swayed together in time with the music, Levi’s touch grounding her, his presence calming and completely intoxicating. People around them blurred. His breath brushed her temple every time he exhaled. His hand drifted over her back, like the open back of her dress was a temptation he couldn’t ignore. Like he needed to take in every inch of her in this moment.
“You’re something else,” he said, his lips brushing her ear.
“I could say the same about you.”
“No,” he said with a crooked grin. “You’re somethin’ fierce. Brave. Smart as hell. You show up in my life, set everything on fire, and I haven’t been the same since.”
She felt her throat tighten. “I didn’tmean to set everything on fire.”
He pulled back to look her in the eye. “You brought me back to life.”
Her breath caught.
The music slowed even more, the singer drawing out the last line, the fiddle fading.
Levi pressed his forehead to hers, eyes closed, as he kissed her.
Right there in the middle of the dance floor, surrounded by twinkle lights and murmured conversation, Levi kissed her like it was a promise—a promise that there was no one else in the world he’d ever want more than her.
