Let It Burn (A BBW Paranormal Erotic Romance) Read online

  Epilogue Jo fussed irritably with the oxygen tube running under her nose, and fretted with the neckline of the dreadful hospital gown as she stared at the purple sky just outside her window. She wanted nothing more than to go home, use her own shower and then sleep in her own bed. It was a little shock when she remembered that nothing of her own existed anymore.

  Inevitably her fidgeting woke Kevin, who’d taken the hospital by storm the previous night. He’d swept through the Emergency Room in full fire gear and, when the resident on duty hadn’t been quick enough to tell him where Joanna was, he’d started a room to room search.

  Sometime after they’d moved her to a private room he’d managed to wash up in the bathroom. Then he’d scooped her into his arms, oxygen mask and all, and settled into the bed with her. She’d fallen asleep to the steady beat of his heart and the low music of the oxygen hissing. It was near dawn now, and Mother Nature was gearing up to paint the sky with the red and gold of breaking day.

  She tipped her head back, letting her eyes meet his, and gave him a little smile. Last night he’d been filled with grief and rage. He’d been nowhere near ready to talk. Now the rage was dying down to confusion, and while he might not want to talk, she knew he needed to in order to heal.

  “My hero,” she whispered. It would be a while before her throat recovered enough from the smoke for her to talk easily.

  “I’m no hero,” he responded in an equally ragged voice. “Chief Caldwell is dead. A beam from the ceiling landed on him, crushing his ribcage.” He shut his eyes briefly, a spasm of pain contorting his beautiful features. “He set the fires.” It wasn’t a question. He’d seen and heard enough to piece things together. “I just don’t understand why.”

  Quietly Joanna told Kevin the story of the Great Fire, of Chief Caldwell’s culpability and his father’s actions to save his son.

  “I don’t think he was entirely sane, toward the end,” she added thoughtfully. “He seemed more concerned with his father’s reputation than his own. And his anger felt odd, impersonal.”

  Kevin shook his head, resting his hand over her heart. “Sane or not, I almost lost you to him.” He gave her a sad, crooked smile. “My first impulse is to blame myself, you know.” She felt her eyes widen, and opened her mouth to argue, but he placed a finger over her lips and continued. “Maybe if I’d listened to you sooner we’d have figured things out. Maybe, if I’d paid more attention, I’d have realized something was wrong with the Chief.” His smile grew, just a little. “But this remarkable woman I know taught me you can’t live your life punishing yourself for all the maybe’s you might have missed.”

  Jo felt her own lips begin to tip into a smile.

  “A remarkable woman, huh?”

  “Remarkable. Strong. Miraculous, even,” he assured her. “Maybe even brave enough to be with me.”

  She met his gaze with her own, searching the glittering depths for the proof of what she was sensing from him. True, there was pain. So much pain, both old and new. But stronger by far, there was hope. And joy.

  “Oh,” she murmured, “I think she’d have to be braver to be without you.”

  “You think?” He brushed a light kiss on her lips, ducking his head to avoid the oxygen tube. Running his finger along the bit of plastic he sobered. “I wanted you from that first moment you answered your door all warm and sleepy. Couldn’t stay away, even though I tried.” He buried his nose in the snarl of curls by her ear. “But, Joanna, it’s so much more than just wanting. You showed me it was okay to heal. Okay to want a future.” He licked teasingly at the delicate skin behind her ear and she tried to wriggle even deeper into his arms. “I want that future to be with you.” He lifted his head to meet her gaze, eye to eye, breath to breath. “I love you, Joanna Balentine.”

  She felt the smile burst through her in shades of magenta and gold, like sunrise. “I should probably warn you,” she rasped against his lips, “that I want babies.” His eyes glowed like gemstones, and his smile matched hers.

  “At least two,” he agreed.

  “And I want them to have your eyes,” she continued.

  “And your hair,” he elaborated.

  “And all our love,” she concluded on a sigh. “Kevin, I love you so much. You’re like a fire inside of me, heat and light and comfort, and I’d do anything for it to never go out.”

  “If our love is a fire, baby, let it burn.”

  Then he kissed her nose and settled her deeper into his embrace as they watched the sunrise paint the sky in all the colors of flame.