A thought suddenly comes into my head, the echo of an earlier conversation. I come up on one elbow and regard him curiously.
“Oh no,” he immediately groans. “What now?”
“Nothing.” I run my fingers through his chest hair. “It was just something Grey said.”
“Which bit? It appears to me that he’s said entirely too much.”
“Oh, chill out. I made him tell me.”
“Why did you?”
I shrug. “You don’t like hurting me.”
He ducks in and kisses me, his lips soft and full. “It still should have been me who told you. It wasmyresponsibility.”
I groan and fall to my back. “Yeah, I think we’ll stop that habit of taking on the whole world as your personal responsibility. It’s boring.”
“Just like that?”
“I’ll help.”
“That makes me nervous.”
“It should do.” I kiss his chest and bite his nipple, chuckling as he hisses and shoves me before immediately pulling me close again and arranging me so I’m curled into his side. “I’m simply going to take care of you and watch out for you.”
“Haven’t you always done that, even when you were mad enough to kill me?”
I blink. “Have I?”
“Yes, I seem to recall it was you who came to my hotel room in Positano when I fell ill with the flu. I’m equally sure that it was you who looked after me, got me medicine, and stayed until I was better.”
“Hmm. I’m sure that wasn’t me. Maybe I just wanted to make your hotel bill even more incredibly expensive than it was.” He laughs, and I pinch his nipple. “I’m not that silly soft person you seem to be implying.”
“You totally are, but don’t worry. I’ll keep your secret forever.”
“Anyway, getting back to Grey.” He groans, and I smile. “He told me you hadn’t fucked anyone since we got married.”
I expect him to say something sarcastic, but instead, he just shrugs. “Of course not.”
“So, it’s true?”
“If the speed at which I just came didn’t alert you to the fact, then I don’t know what will.” He holds up his hand. “Please allow me to introduce you to the second Mrs Langley.” He makes his hand into a puppet and says in a squeaky voice, “Nice to meet you.”
I snort but then hesitate and whisper, “I wasn’t a very stellar first Mrs Langley, was I?”
His eyes are impossibly soft. “Because you weren’t married in your heart, Xavi.” He hesitates. “But I think maybe now you are.”
“I am.” His smile is like the sun coming out—warm and cautiously bright. “There won’t be anyone else now,” I say quietly, the words falling into the soft quiet of the room. “Not for the rest of my life.” I reach out and hook his chain. The wedding ring runs down until it touches my finger—a tiny metal kiss. “How about we put this back where it belongs?”
“I would like that more than anything,” he says huskily. He sits up and unfastens the chain, handing it to me. I take the ring from him and put it back on his finger, dropping a whimsicalkiss on the knuckle where a scar lies, a relic from some long-ago accident I still haven’t heard about. “Back where you belong, little ring,” I whisper.
He cups my skull, his fingers fisting gently in my hair. Then he leaps out of bed. He goes immediately to my jeans lying on the floor and rummages through the pocket until he finds the pouch. When he comes back to me, he climbs onto the bed, kneeling amongst the sheets, his face suddenly solemn. His hair is wild, his eyes gleaming bright, and he has never looked more beautiful to me. He pushes the ring onto my finger and stays still for a second, looking down at my hand.
“I promise to love you forever and ever,” he says hoarsely.
“Right back at you,” I say softly, my whole heart in my voice. “Always, Roo.”
His face twists, and he pushes me down to lie on my back. He comes down on top of me and lays his head on my chest. I can feel the tickling flicker of his eyelashes and the hot dampness on my skin. I clutch him close, pressing kisses into his hair, and we lie close and warm.
