Page 157 of Mountain Daddy (Mountain Men #2)

Kendra

I stand at the foot of my bed.

I can hear my dad calling after someone.

My heart pounds in my chest, and my pulse roars through my ears because I know who it is.

Who it has to be.

Then my door swings open.

And Luther steps into my room.

He kicks it shut behind him. Then he reaches back, locking the handle a second before it rattles.

“I love you too.”

He doesn’t waver.

He doesn’t hesitate.

He holds my gaze in his as he says it again. “I love you, Kendra. I have for so long.”

The air freezes in my lungs.

“What did you say?” my dad shouts through the door.

We both ignore him.

“You hung up too fast, Baby.” Luther takes a step toward me. “You didn’t give me time to catch my breath.” He takes another step. “Because that’s what you do to me. You take my fucking breath away. Every damn day.”

He takes one more step. And then he reaches for me. With both hands.

Tears roll down my cheeks.

Luther shakes his head as he rests his palms against the sides of my neck. “No more tears. Even if they’re happy ones.” His thumbs brush away the dampness. “Even if they’re because you love me too. I still can’t stand to see you cry.”

I reach up and grip his forearms.

“Now say it again.” He leans down, pressing his forehead to mine. “Tell me you love me again.”

I close my eyes and do the easiest thing in the world.

I tell him.

“I love you, Luther.” I inhale his exhale. “I have for so long.”

His grip on me shifts, and he tips my head back. So our eyes meet.

“Again.” His voice is so gruff.

So demanding.

I smile through the tears that keep streaming down my cheeks. “I love you. I think I will forever.”

Luther’s throat works. And his fingers flex as they circle my throat. “That’s good, Baby Doll. Because you’re it for me. Until my heart stops beating. And even then…”

I let go of his forearm with one hand and reach up, catching a teardrop on my fingertip. “And even then.”

His mouth pulls into a devastatingly sweet smile. Then it crashes down against mine.

He tastes like tears.

I kiss him back.

He tastes like home.

I open for him.

He tastes like forever.