Page 192 of Burning Daylight
“I love you,” I breathe.
She stares at me for what feel like the longest seconds of my life, her bottom lip getting chewed half to death, and then the most beautiful smile graces her face, and I think it might kill me.
“I love you, too,” she whispers back.
My heart gallops, stutters, rages against my ribs like it’s trying to tear me apart to stay by her side…but I ignoreit. Because I know that tomorrow, she might think of me differently.
She moves to her knees and scoots close, wrapping her arms around my neck, her perfect fingers threading in my hair. “What’s wrong?” she whispers.
I grit my teeth. “I can’t—” My voice breaks, and I choke back a sob.
“Roman,” she murmurs, leaning in and pressing kisses to my face. To my eyes, my cheeks, my nose, my lips. “It’s okay, Trouble.”
It’s not.
I lean in, gripping her face in both of my palms like she’s the only thing tethering me to Earth, and I force her gaze to mine.
“I need you to hear me,” I tell her, my voice thick. “No matter what happens, I will love you for the rest of this life, and every one that comes after.Youare my reason, Juliette. I’ll spend every moment sketching you into the corners of this world.” I pause, swallowing hard. “And when I’m gone, I’ll paint you in the sky.”
She sucks in a breath. “You’re scaring me.”
“And you’vewreckedme.”
In this moment, there is nothing else that matters. There is only Juliette.
I press my forehead to hers, trying to memorize her smell, her breath, the warmth of her skin beneath my palms. Maybe if I can burn my touch deep enough, it’ll stay with her after I’m gone.
She’s mine. I’m hers. That’s an irrevocable truth of the universe.
But if this is all we get in this life, then let this be the moment I carry into the next.
My breath falters, chest squeezing like the fist of death is closing around it.
And then I kiss her.
Our mouths crash together, messy and urgent. It’s not pretty, our teeth bump and our breaths tangle, but it’s real.
It’sus.
She moans into me like she’s starving, and I grip her tightly, terrified she’ll vanish if I let go.
She pulls away, her lips brushing mine as she whispers, “Promise me something.”
I groan, my body thrumming with fire. “Anything,” I say, my voice hoarse.
“Promise me that no matter what happens with us, even if we have to stay away from here for years, you’ll try to mend the rift between our families.”
A lump forms in my throat. I want to tell her the truth. That the damage runs too deep now, and that some wounds never heal.
But for her, I’ll die trying to reach peace, anyway. “I promise.”
She nods, slipping her arms around the back of my neck, pressing her forehead to mine. “I know something’s wrong, and I won’t make you tell me right now. But I do want you to tell me.”
“Juliette.” My voice cracks.
“Shh,” she soothes, her fingers running through my hair.
We stay like this, suspended in a fragile moment where nothing else exists other than her breath against my skin, and her heartbeat echoing mine.
