Page 180 of Dove
The soles of my feet hit gravel as I stumbled down the steps, running to the man I couldn’t live without, because life wouldn’t be worth living if he wasn’t in it, and nothing I did would ever matter if he wasn’t by my side.
I just hadn’t realized it until the possibility of losing him became my reality. But I knew it now, and I wasn’t ever going to let him leave me again.
He paused in shock as he saw me barreling towards him.
“Jesus, Dove, what are you?—”
I leapt without hesitation, uncaring of my weight or that his arms were full, trusting that he would catch me.
And he did.
Just like I knew he would.
His bags hit the water-logged driveway with a heavy thud as he let them go, choosing to hold me instead.
I breathed him in, the familiar scent of him wrapping around me like a balm, steadying the tremble beneath my skin. I clung to him, arms and legs wrapped tight, and he held me easily.
“You’re getting soaked,” he admonished.
“I’m aware,” I breathed—then I kissed him, pouring every ounce of myself into it. Every fractured piece of me he’d helped heal, every part that already belonged to him. I needed him to understand that without him, there was no me.
Our lips slid together, wet from the rainwater pelting down on us. We were drenched in seconds, but I hardly felt it. All I could focus on was the heat of him beneath my palms as I slid my hands across his shoulders, holding on tighter.
He kissed me like he meant it, like he needed it, sucking raindrops from my lips, nipping at the bottom one until I opened for him with a soft gasp. His tongue swept in, and I moaned, my legs tightening around his waist.
I never wanted him to leave me again. Don’t leave me.
“I won't,” he murmured between kisses. “Never again.”
I blinked, realizing I must’ve said that out loud.
“I didn’t want to leave.” He pressed a fierce kiss to my lips. “Ineverwant to leave you. I love you, Dove. Where you go, I go, baby. If I ever have to leave again," he vowed softly, brushing rain-drenched hair from my face, “for any reason at all... you’re coming with me.”
“I don’t want to be an obligation, Josh.”
“God, you’re not. You’reso farfrom that.” His forehead rested against mine. “Farm or no farm—I just wantyou.”
My eyes fluttered shut as I reveled in the warmth of him, so thankful he was safe. Thankful he wasmine.
“We can sell it,” I whispered. And for the first time the thought didn’t break me.
“What do you want to do, Dove? What’s your dream?Because if it’s this farm, I promise you I’ll do everything I can to save it.”
His vow had me swallowing around the tightness building in my throat, blinking the rain from my lashes.
“You’remy dream, Josh. I don’t know what I want... I just know I want it withyou.”
This close, I felt his smile before I saw it, the shape of it pressed into my lips as he kissed me.
“I can arrange that.”
“I’m sorry I told you to leave,” I said on a shaky breath. “I didn’t mean it.”
He ran a soothing hand up my back. “I know, baby.”
“The farm is my home,” I started, then stopped, those words not quite matching how I felt anymore, but unsure of how to explain what I meant to Josh.
“I know it is. And wherever you are—that’s mine.”
