Chapter 153 Never stopped loving

Chapter 153 Never stopped loving
Emma’s POV

Have you ever kissed someone and felt like your body was simply trying to catch up with something your soul had already known?

No?

Then you're missing out.

Because on this particular Saturday afternoon, Dylan kissed me like we had never broken up.

Like the months apart had never happened.

Like every argument, every misunderstanding, every night we had spent pretending we could live without each other had only been a very long pause between one kiss and the next.

The kiss turns passionate so quickly that I barely have time to process it before Dylan's arms wrap around me, pulling me against him with enough force to send a shiver through my entire body. I immediately wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him back with everything I've been trying not to feel.

I know exactly where this is going.

And judging by the way his hands are moving, so does he.

“Dylan...” I murmur against his mouth, though there isn't a single part of me that actually wants him to stop.

He groans softly, his lips moving against mine as though he has been waiting all day to do this. His fingers tighten around my waist before he suddenly lifts me off the floor.

I let out a surprised little sound, immediately wrapping my legs around him.

“Dylan!”

He laughs against my mouth. “What?”

“You can't just…”

I don't get to finish.

He kisses me again, and whatever protest I was about to make disappears completely.

His hands move lower, squeezing my ass as he carries me toward the couch. The gesture sends a burst of heat through me, and I bury my fingers in his hair as his mouth moves over mine.

God.

This man.

I have missed him so much.

The thought hits me so suddenly that I almost forget how to breathe.

I have missed his mouth.

His hands.

The way he touches me like he knows exactly what my body wants before I even have to tell him.

Dylan lowers me onto the couch without breaking the kiss. He follows me down immediately, one hand braced beside my head while the other remains firmly on my waist.

His mouth moves against mine with a kind of desperation that makes my heart pound.

“I couldn't stop thinking about you all night, baby,” he murmurs, his voice rough against my lips. “I couldn't go a full minute without remembering how good it felt to kiss these lips again.”

My heart does something ridiculous inside my chest.

I pull him back down and kiss him harder. “Me too.”

He pauses. His lips are still barely touching mine when he pulls back enough to look at me.

“Really?”

The smile spreading across his face is so ridiculously pleased that I can't help laughing.

“Yes, really.” I say and his eyes brighten instantly.

I brush my fingers over his cheek. “I dreamt of roughly a hundred positions I want you to put me in.”

His smile freezes for half a second. Then it slowly turns into something far more dangerous as his hand slides beneath my shirt.

The moment his palm cups my breast, my breath catches. I arch instinctively into his touch, my head falling back against the couch as his mouth moves from mine to my neck.

Maybe it's the rush of pleasure, or maybe it's the comfort I used to have around him slowly returning, but I can't seem to stop talking.

“You don't know how badly I want you,” I confess. “I even practiced moaning in front of the mirror because it had been so long since I'd done it. Yesterday barely counts.”

He shakes his head, his teeth grazing my skin and definitely leaving a hickey behind.

“Still my naughty girl.”

His lips move to the sensitive spot beneath my ear.

I close my eyes.

“Only yours.”

The words slip out before I can stop them.

Dylan goes completely still.

His hand stops moving.

For a second, the only sound in the room is my own uneven breathing.

Then he slowly lifts his head.

His eyes meet mine and the expression on his face is not what I expect. He looks stunned. Almost like he isn't sure he heard me correctly.

“Did you...” His voice is quieter now. “Do you mean that?”

I stare at him for a moment before nodding. “I do.”

Something shifts in his face.

“I'm yours only,” I reach up and touch his cheek. “And I want only you too, Dylan.”

His eyes don't leave mine.

“I don't care if we don't define this right now. I don't know what we're supposed to call this or what happens next, but...” I swallow. “I don't want to share you with someone else.”

His expression softens. “Baby...”

“I mean it.”

He takes my hand and presses a kiss to my palm. “I don't want anyone else either.”

My chest tightens.

“Just you,” he whispers. “Always you, Emma.”

The words are so simple.

But they reach somewhere inside me that has been aching for them for months.

I smile.

Then, because there is one thing I still need to know, my smile fades slightly.

“But what about... Kate?”

Dylan's expression changes immediately. He lets out a slow breath and sits up. I sit up too, adjusting my clothes as we turn to face each other on the couch.

For a moment, he says nothing. Then he reaches for my hands.

“I guess not setting boundaries was on me.”

I remain quiet.

“But Emma, I promise you, there is nothing going on between me and Kate. There never was.”

I study his face.

“After our...” He pauses, searching for the right word. “Breakup, she happened to be there.”

I look down.

“She was a good listener. A good supporter. She stood by me when I was at my lowest, and I appreciated that.”

His thumb brushes over the back of my hand.

“But I never dated her. We never had a relationship. We never crossed that line.”

I look back up at him.

“She thought I was leading her on,” he continues. “Maybe I should have made things clearer sooner. I should have set boundaries instead of allowing things to continue the way they did.”

His jaw tightens slightly. “But I never wanted her.”

I say nothing.

“Not like that.”

The honesty in his voice makes something inside me slowly loosen.

“She misunderstood my signals,” he says. “And maybe I didn't realize how badly she misunderstood them until now.”

I stare at him.

“But I promise you, I've taken care of everything.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means she knows.”

I raise an eyebrow.

“She knows that I only want to focus on being a good father to Dawn and being there for you whenever you need me.”

My lips part slightly.

Dylan squeezes my hands.

“We won't be talking anymore.”

I continue staring at him, because I know that if I try to, I won't be able to form coherent words.

“She's out of my life for good now.” He says and against my wish, I smile.

“Dylan...”

“I promise.”

“Okay, okay.” I laugh softly, squeezing his hands. “Enough with the promises.”

He looks at me for a second before the corner of his mouth lifts. “Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Because I can keep going.”

“I know you can.”

“I'm very good at promising things.”

I roll my eyes before shifting closer to him. Then I climb onto his lap.

Dylan's eyes immediately drop to my legs before returning to my face.

“Emma.”

I wrap my arms around his neck. “What?”

He shakes his head, already smiling.

I lean forward and kiss him.

He responds immediately, his arms winding around me as I settle against him. The kiss is softer this time, but only for a few seconds before it starts deepening again.

When I finally pull back, I keep my face close to his.

“You know,” I murmur, “you don't have to praise her so much before describing her as a friend.”

For a second, he stares at me.

Then he laughs.

“Jealousy looks good on you.”

I narrow my eyes. “I'm not jealous.”

“Of course not.”

“I just like protecting what's mine.”

The words leave my mouth so easily that I don't realize what I've said until Dylan's expression changes.

His hands tighten around my waist.

“So...” His voice turns teasing. “I'm yours now?”

I hesitate.

The question is playful.

But there's something beneath it.

Something real.

I look down at him, my fingers slowly moving over the roughness of his stubble.

The familiar texture makes my chest ache.

Dylan watches me carefully.

“Unless you don't want to be?” I say, my eyes lifting to his.

His smile fades slightly.

“Of course I want to be.”

The answer comes so quickly that I can't stop myself from smiling.

Then he pulls me closer and kisses me.

Hard.

I melt against him immediately, my hands sliding into his hair as his mouth claims mine. The kiss is filled with everything we have been holding back. All the words we haven't said. All the feelings we have tried to bury beneath co-parenting schedules and careful conversations.

I feel his hand move up my back.

I feel the way his entire body responds to me.

And for one perfect moment, I let myself forget every single reason we should be careful.

Because this is Dylan.

This is us.

And it has always felt like this with him.

When he finally pulls away, we're both breathing heavily.

His forehead rests against mine.

“Emma...”

The way he says my name makes my heart start beating faster.

“What?”

He looks at me.

His eyes are so full of emotion that my smile slowly fades.

“I don't think I can wait until dinner to say this.”

My heart stops.

“Say what?”

He brushes his thumb over my cheek.

For a second, he simply looks at me.

Then he says the words I've spent months trying not to hope for.

“I still love you, Emma.”

Everything inside me goes completely still.

I stare at him.

Dylan swallows, his eyes never leaving mine.

“I still love you.”

My lips part, just like the way every wall I've spent months building around my heart crumble.

He lets out a shaky breath and gives me the smallest, most vulnerable smile.

“I never stopped.”