Page 31 of Diesel
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.“I didn’t know what else to do.”
“I get it.But next time, you call me.No matter what,” he told her.
“I will.”
He kissed the top of her head, arms tightening around her.For long minutes, they sat there in silence, the steady beat of his heart grounding her.Eventually, she tipped her head back to look at him.
“Why’d you come?”she asked softly.“You could’ve waited for the others, but you didn’t.”
Diesel’s gaze burned into hers.“Because you’re mine, Sophie.You don’t walk into hell without me by your side.Ever,” he said.
Her breath caught.No one had ever claimed her like that—fierce, protective, without shame.
“Am I really?”she whispered.
He cupped her cheek, eyes softening.“Yeah, sweetheart.You’ve been mine since the second you kissed me back.”
Tears welled again, this time not from fear but from something deeper.
“I’m yours too,” she said simply.
Diesel kissed her then.slow and tender, lips moving over hers like a vow.When they parted, he rested his forehead against hers.
“Now get some rest,” he murmured.“I ain’t leaving you alone tonight.”
“You promise?”Sophie asked.
“Swear it.”
She finally smiled, eyes fluttering shut against the steady thrum of his heart.
Wrapped in his arms, warm and safe for the first time in what felt like forever, Sophie let herself drift.
****
Diesel woke to thesoft warmth of Sophie pressed against him.
The morning light filtered pale and golden through her curtains.Outside, the town was just stirring awake, but in here, the world was still hushed, suspended.
For a long moment, he didn’t move, just breathed her in.He rested his head against hers, one arm wrapped tight around her waist.She was still asleep, her breath slow and even against his chest.Her fingers were curled loosely against his shirt, her body nestled trustingly into his.
And Christ, if that didn’t undo him.Diesel stared at the ceiling, jaw tight, as everything from yesterday came rushing back.The bridge.Kane’s sneer.That gun pointed at her beautiful, stubborn head.
He’d thought for one gut-wrenching second that he was going to watch her die right in front of him, just like he had with his sister.That old wound ripped wide open then, raw and bleeding.He could still hear his sister’s voice in those final moments, the helpless way he’d failed her.And if he’d failed Sophie too...
His arms tightened around her instinctively, as if his body needed to remind itself that she was here.Safe.Warm.Alive.Not this time.Not her.
Diesel pressed his face against her hair, letting the familiar scent of her shampoo calm the storm in his chest.I won’t fail again, he vowed silently.Not with her.Never with her.
Sophie stirred softly in his arms.A small hum escaped her lips as she blinked up at him, eyes still hazy with sleep.
“Hey,” she whispered, voice rough with the morning.
His breath caught.She looked so damn beautiful like this, bare-faced, sleepy, soft in his arms.Completely his.
“Hey, sweetheart,” he rumbled, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek.“You sleep okay?”
She nodded, then tucked her face against his chest again, sighing deeply.
