Page 96 of Ablaze

As his ragged breaths waft against my own and he tugs me closer into him, I look up at the sparkling sky, accepting this as their blessing. This dream, that feels so close to fulfillment, within a fingertip’s reach.

Dean’s fingers drag wisps of my hair off my face and his stare pierces mine. “Either you’re moving back home or I’m moving to LA, but I’m not spending another goddamn second without you.”

I smile as my fingers dig into the coarse hair around his jaw. I love the feel of his scruff over my skin. “I thought you’d never ask.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

MALA

“You cut your hair. I like it.” I run my hands through his still-longish locks, tucking them behind his ear.

I’m straddled around his hip, my knees on the mattress. His back is against the headboard in the room we’re sharing at Grams’ house and his hands cup my ass.

We took a shower together as soon as we walked back into the room–making out like teenagers. Moments after he’d rinsed the shampoo out of my hair, Dean was inside me again, taking me up against the wall.

And now, not even ten minutes after we’ve gotten into bed, his erection is straining under the panties he protested me wearing.

“And they say men don’t notice things.” He smirks, those beautiful creases forming around his mouth. But was there anything about this man I didn’t find beautiful, enticing? “I lost a bet to Darian, and the bastard asked for my hair! I’m surprised you just noticed.”

I smile, but it withers quickly. I hate that I didn’t know the reason until now. “I noticed earlier, too. The day Grams died, when I was on a video call with Rohan and I saw you behind him.” My chin drops, remembering how I’d felt when I saw him through the camera after months of not seeing or talking to him. “I just . . . we hadn’t talked.”

Dean lifts my chin with his fingers, his eyes tender. “Hey. Don’t do that. We’re all good now.”

I nod, feeling that same knot in my throat. “I hate that we missed talking to each other all that time–an entire year where things felt off. I hate that I had to see your new hair–something you’ve never changed in all the time I’ve known you–through a call with my brother instead of you calling me to tell me about it or sending me a picture.”

He leans in to press his lips to mine, his hands sliding up and down my back. “I love you, and I’m sorry I broke the promise I made you. I swear to you, I will never cut you out like that again.”

“I hated every moment of it, Dean. I hated not being around you . . . with you.”

“You think it was easier for me?”

I shrug, knowing it’ll annoy him, but still wanting more of that honesty and vulnerability he gave me earlier on the beach. “It didn’t seem like you were struggling hard.”

Dean stares at me, his eyes flaring slightly. I know he’s trying to veil the hurt from his expression, but it’s all too obvious. “Want to know how hard I struggled? Want to know how much I died every day without you?”

Yes. Call me selfish, call me a glutton; I don’t care. But, yes, I want to know. I want to know because it’s taken too long to get to this point, and all I want are his words. His truth.

I swallow, keeping my eyes on him.

“The night you told me you were moving–the night I came over to your place late and saw the boxes in your apartment–I was going to tell you I was in love with you. That I’d always been in love with you but had finally grown the balls to tell you.”

I gasp softly. “But Jessie said–”

“Jessie didn’t know shit.” He pauses. “I even told Rohan.”

“You talked to my brother?” I knit my brows, placing my hand on his bare chest, feeling his warm, taut skin and the light smattering of his hair under my fingers.

My brother knew?

“I’d spoken with him a couple of days before that. Told him exactly how I felt about you.”

I think back to all the moments I’ve chatted with Rohan since then. We talked almost every single day. “He never said anything to me . . .”

Dean’s hand envelops mine. “I made him promise not to, and even up until the day you were leaving, he begged me to tell you . . . but I couldn’t.” His blue irises swim with regret. “I couldn’t hold you back like that, not when you’d finally gotten what you always wanted.”

My eyes fill on their own accord and my hands wrap around his jaw. “You’re what I always wanted, Dean. You. I just didn’t . . . I didn’t think you wanted me back. Plus, you told me it could never happen between us all those years ago . . .”

Dean sighs. “I was denying something my heart knew the second I met you. I’ve always wanted you, sweetheart. I just thought I was protecting you by staying away from you.”

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