Page 32 of Diesel
“I didn’t want to wake up,” she murmured.“Not if it meant losing this.”
Diesel’s throat worked.
“You’re not losing a damn thing,” he said softly.“I’m here, Sophie.Not going anywhere.”
She tilted her head back to meet his gaze, eyes full of something deep and quiet.
“You mean that?”she asked.
Diesel cupped her cheek, thumb stroking over her skin.“Yeah, I do.”
The words weren’t easy.They scraped past all his old scars, all the things he’d buried for so long.But looking at her, knowing how close he’d come to losing her, there was no way in hell he was keeping this part of himself locked up anymore.She deserved more than half of him.She deserved everything.Sophie brushed her fingers against his jaw, tender and sure.
“You saved me,” she whispered.
His chest tightened.“I almost didn’t,” he admitted, voice rough.“You don’t know how close that was.If I’d been even a minute later—”
“Don’t,” she said softly, pressing a finger to his lips.“You were there.That’s what matters.”
Diesel closed his eyes for a moment, letting her words sink in.
“I’ve told you about Emily, about my sister,” he said.Sophie nodded, expression grave.She was listening.“She needed me, and I wasn’t there in time.”
She stilled against him, her breath hitching.“Oh, Diesel...”
He shook his head, eyes dark with old grief.
“Since then, I promised myself I’d never let anyone get that close again.Couldn’t risk it.Couldn’t risk failing someone like that again.”
He looked down at her, voice raw.“But you wrecked all that.First time I saw you smile, I was already lost.And last night, seeing Kane point that gun at you, I knew I’d burn the whole damn world to keep you safe,” Diesel said.
Tears welled in Sophie’s eyes, her fingers sliding into his hair, pulling him down until their foreheads touched.
“You didn’t fail me,” she whispered.“You never will.I trust you, Diesel.With everything.”
Those words cracked something wide open in him.No woman had ever said that to him.No one had ever looked past the scars and the darkness and given him their trust so freely.He swallowed hard, his arms pulling her impossibly closer.
“When I said I’m not letting you go, I meant it,” he whispered fiercely.“You got that?You’re mine now, Sophie.And I’ll spend every damn day making sure you know how much that means.”
She smiled through her tears.“Good.Because you’re mine too.”
Diesel kissed her then, slow and deep, pouring every ounce of feeling into it.This wasn’t about lust or fire anymore.It was something deeper, more dangerous.A need that ran all the way down to the bone.
When they finally broke apart, Sophie traced his jaw with her fingers, gaze steady.
“Will you stay today?”she asked softly.
Diesel didn’t hesitate.
“I’ll stay as long as you want me,” he said simply.
Relief washed over her features, softening her expression.
“Good,” she whispered.“Because I don’t think I can let you go just yet.”
He pressed another kiss to her temple, arms tightening once more.“Sweetheart, I’m right where I want to be,” he told her.
They lay there together as the sun climbed higher, wrapped in warmth and the fragile beginnings of something too big and too real to name just yet.
