Page 60 of Reckless Hearts
By the time I got back, dressed in a pair of his sweats and a T-shirt, he was trembling less. I started to dry him off. It felt too intimate for where we stood now, but I couldn’t shake this urge to take care of him and make sure he was okay. I didn’t think this gnawing feeling in my chest would go away until he was dry and comfortable. I scrubbed at him like a madwoman and squeezed the rainwater out of his curls.
“I’m not an invalid,” he snapped, grabbing the towel from me. “I can do it, Delilah.”
I froze, standing between his legs. “I’m just trying to help. You could show me some gratitude, you know, considering I just walked into a goddamntornadofor you.”
He wrenched his jaw. “I didn’t ask you to do that.”
I scoffed. “What was I supposed to do? Let you stay there and die?”
His eyes flicked to mine, fierce with a kind of anger I hadn’t seen from him before. I stepped back as he shot off the cot, towering over me. “You weren’t supposed to risk yourself likethat!” he roared, voice booming almost as loud as the thunder outside. “What the hell were you thinking?! Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? What if you hadn’t found me? What if”—he ran a hand over his mouth, looking distraught—“what if something had happened to you?”
“I don’t know, but I wasn’t about to just sit here knowing that you were out there somewhere!”
“It was reckless, Delilah. You’re always so goddamnreckless.” He shook his head, looking away from me. “I’m not worth you risking yourself like that.”
“Not worth—” I staggered back with a bitter laugh. “Not worth it?You think you’re not worth it?” My hands curled at my sides, chest heaving. “I’ve been in love with you since I knew what it meant to love someone, Emmett! So don’t you dare tell me what you’re worth to me,” I yelled through tears. “You’re out of your fucking mind if you think I wasn’t going to come after you when your life was in danger!”
His face went slack, eyes wide. “What?”
“You heard me.” I was shaking all over, not from cold, but from finally telling the truth. A weight had lifted off my shoulders, and I finally realized how it felt to take a full breath for the first time in my life.
He swallowed. “Don’t think I did,” he whispered faintly.
My chest tightened, and the words came out shaky. “I love you. I’ve loved you this entire time. My whole life, it’s only been—” His lips were cold against mine, cutting me off. His hands trembled as they slid into my wet hair. But there was nothing uncertain about his kiss. It was punishing, intense,everything. As if he were pouring every ounce of feeling he’d felt for me into it. And it was—God, it was a lot.
“Say it again,” he breathed against my mouth. “Please, sugar. I need to hear it.”
I held his wrists, thumbs stroking his warming skin. “I love you, Emmett.”
His eyes searched mine, and time seemed to stand still. All I could hear was the pounding of my heart in my ears while I waited for him to say something. With a small smile, he said, “I’m in love with you, too.”
My breath caught. “What?”
Emmett’s smile grew, almost boyish in the way he was grinning at me—a besotted look I’d only ever dreamed he’d give me. “I’m in love with you, Delilah. I’ve known it since the moment you swung on Rhett.” We both laughed, holding each other. “But I’ve been falling for you since the first time you told me you trusted me. Everything about you has only made me love you more.” His brows knitted together, eyes turning glassy. “And I’ve missed you so much,” he said, voice pained. “This week without you has been terrible.”
His thumb swept across my cheekbone, wiping away my tears. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. “You love me?”
“Are you kidding me? Everyone you come across loves you, sugar.” He closed the distance between us, our bodies flush. “But not me.” He nuzzled his nose with mine. “I’minlove with you,” he whispered before pressing his mouth to mine.
I was ecstatic, overflowing with a rush that couldn’t be replicated even with twenty Red Bulls. I could scale Everest. Pretty sure I could fly if I thought hard enough. I rose to the balls of my feet, draping my arms over his shoulders as the kiss deepened. We moved slowly, savoring every moment. In a way, this was our first real kiss—the first one with everything out on the table. And it was the best one we’d ever shared.
Emmett’s forehead rested against mine, our breaths still uneven. Outside, the storm was still raging, just like the space between us. Everything felt charged—alive.
“You need to rest,” I whispered, even though that was the last thing on my mind. “I know how tired you get.”
“Can’t,” he murmured, his thumb brushing along my jaw. “Not when you’re this close. Not after I thought I’d lost you.”
“You’ll never lose me,” I promised, the words a breathy vow against his lips. I sealed it with a kiss and showed him just how much I meant it.
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Ch 19 - Emmett
“You’ll never lose me,” Delilah whispered. The soft brush of her lips against mine as she spoke gave me chills. She walked us back to the cot, pressing on my shoulders until I sat down.
My chest nearly cracked in two when she straddled me, hands sliding up my chest and into my hair, and murmured, “I love you.”
My hands settled on her waist, grip tight. I held her as if she’d disappear any second because that’s how unreal this felt. It didn’t seem possible that someone like her could love a guy as broken as me. But I’d spend every day for the rest of our lives proving to her that I was worth it.
