Page 135 of Oblivion

My heavy footsteps faltered the moment Jackson stepped aside to reveal the pair of cerulean blue eyes I’d missed so badly it hurt. The air punched from my lungs as if I’d been physically attacked.

“Penny.”I breathed her name in disbelief.

Ignoring Jackson and Chen’s matching smirks, I reached for Penny and buried my face in her neck, holding her to me with my arms wrapped around her torso.

Her touch wove across my shoulders and squeezed tight, exactly how I needed it to. A sob I didn’t feel coming escaped my chest. I muffled it within her oversized sweater, where the soothing scent rose off her clothing.

Her arms clung harder, grasping me while fragile parts barely held together. I’d been struggling for strength, and now that Penny was here, I shamelessly fell apart in her embrace.

I needed something other than grief and heartache to focus on. That solace was her subtle perfume. Sweet, like honey and vanilla, with a hint of something floral. I’d grown to love it over the weeks I’d spent with her, and it was like coming home after a harrowing deployment.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” I murmured into her neck, still unable to ease my hold.

Her voice strained against my ear. “I wasn’t sure if you even wanted me here. I thought since you didn’t return my calls that—”

“Fuck, babe.Yes,I want you here. I’m really glad you came. Jackson… thank you, man.”

“All good, brother.” He clapped me on the shoulder and walked past, allowing me and Penny a private moment.

I held my breath and squeezed my eyes closed hard, willing all the broken pieces back together so I didn’t make a complete blubbering fool of myself. The effort had me shuddering, and eventually a sob escaped when I couldn’t hold my breath any longer.

“It’s okay. They’ve gone,” Penny whispered, smoothing her hands across my shoulder blades in one never-ending loop.

I relaxed, knowing it was just me and her. My anchor. My home.

Easing my hold, I looked down into her baby blues, blinking rapidly until my vision of her cleared. I was hopelessly searching for a saviour, and found her gazing up at me with affection and concern etched into her expression.

My heart tripped, stumbled, and completely lost its footing, before lumbering to a painful rhythm.

It was at that moment I wholeheartedly accepted that I was head over heels in love with this beautiful woman. And I couldn’t live without her.

* * *

PENNY

Dante clung to me like I was his saving grace. I clung back. It was all I could do.

Take him, hold him, and wait until he made the first move. The relief of him not pushing me away made tears flood my eyes, and feeling him grapple with his emotions pushed the moisture down my cheeks. I ached for him so damn hard. All I wanted to do was take his pain away.

Today had been a whirlwind. Every hour crawled by at a pace that drove me to the brink of insanity. During those endless hours, I fluctuated between craving and dreading the moment I saw Dante again. The fear of not knowing what reception I would receive had me picking at the edge of my fingernail until it bled; the sharp reminder of how out of my depth I was, because I was falling for him.

Somewhere within our time together, the connection we formed in Vegas had grown deeper and flourished. It wove throughout every part of my body and reached my soul, until I knew without a doubt thathewas the one I wanted.

I drew him impossibly closer. Held tighter. Crushed him. As soon as Jackson and Chen left, Dante melted against me. I locked my legs to support his weight and shoulder some of the grief he was trying so desperately to hide. When his arms finally eased and he withdrew just enough to look me in the eye, my heart spasmed and burned. He wasn’t the confident, headstrong, charming man I’d lived with. He was now nothing but an empty shell with vacant eyes, imploring me to help him even though I didn’t know how.

He was simplybroken.

So damn lost.

Dante’s outward showing of sorrow started a fresh bout of tears. I blinked them away as best I could, and smiled despite feeling anything but happy.

His expression softened, and he smoothed his hands from the top of my head down to cup my jaw. He then brought his lips to my forehead and inhaled deeply.

“You have no idea how much I needed you right now.”

I looked up at him from under my wet lashes, meeting his amber gaze and getting lost in the breathtakingly raw moment we found ourselves in.

“I was worried about you.”

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