Page 56 of Darling Wildfire
I pulled her to me and kissed her. “Can’t wait, gorgeous.”
I walked into the room she’d just left and walked over to the bed Cole was in. I kissed him on the forehead as I pulled the covers up under his chin.
“Night, bud,” I said.
“Night, Dad,” he answered, his eyes already heavy with sleep.
I walked over to the other bed and kissed Emy’s nose. She wrinkled her face in protest but couldn’t help the giggle that escaped.
“Night, Em,” I said.
I headed for the door and turned off the light.
“Love you,” Emy said.
“I love you too.”
“I love you more,” Cole chimed in.
“Impossible,” I said with a smile, before softly shutting the door.
I walked out onto the back porch and found Whit sitting on the steps looking out over the moonlit lake. I sat down behind her so she was sitting between my legs and wrapped my arms around her.
“Cole asked me about God today,” I said dryly.
Whit chuckled. “Yeah, he’s been hanging out with Tommy at school lately.” She leaned back against my chest. “Tommy has been being bullied, apparently.”
I smiled against her hair. “I don’t know where he gets his kindness from.”
She laughed. “I have no idea. But I think it’s sweet.”
“He’s a good kid.” Pride swelled in me at the thought of how kind and thoughtful Cole was. “So is Emy.”
“Emersyn is chaos reincarnate,” Whit said dryly. “But we know where she getsthatfrom.”
It was my turn to laugh, and I nuzzled into her neck, nipping her ear.
“I don’t know—I seem to recall there being countless summer nights you ran wild around town.”
She turned her head and met my gaze, her eyes reflecting the moonlight.
“It was all to catch your attention,” she said mischievously.
“You have it, baby,” I whispered. “You’ve always had it.”
I brought my lips to hers and kissed her before pulling back and patting her thigh.
“Come on—”
We got to our feet, and I took her hand, pulling her towards the dock. At the edge I yanked her back into me and she laughed breathlessly, running a hand down my face and looking at me with a reverence that made my heart ache. I didn’t know if there was a God, but when she looked at me like that, I had to believe there was something divine.
We undressed each other in the moonlight, and for a moment I stood soaking in her raw beauty. She looked like a goddess of the night. All shadows and curves with hints of silver when the moon hit her dark hair.
“Stunning,” I murmured.
I grabbed her hand, and without hesitating pulled her off the dock with me into the water. We surfaced, and she immediately was in my arms, legs wrapped around my waist as I kept us afloat. Her lips found mine, and we breathed each other in as though our shared breath was the only thing keeping us alive.
Maybe it was.
