A dark eyebrow raises at me. "You're giving me that look."
I cross my arms over my chest. "Rexxan, I've honestly never felt less like sex in my life."
He gives me a small smile, but it’s warm and full of understanding. "I know, my love."
Love. He said that word to me last night, and a blush creeps across my cheeks. It meant the world to me, even If I am not in the greatest headspace to articulate that to him right now. "I meant what I said last night, Rennalya," he reiterates, reading my mind. I feel my flushed face get warmer. "I knew you'd arrive here soon enough. You're addicted to our bathroom."
Our. The little butterflies in my chest fly a little faster at that three-letter word that holds so much meaning. I slowly walk towards him and he unlocks the door, stepping aside to let me walk through. When I see the sight before me, the butterflies threaten to break out of my rib cage, going berserk.
"Wow!" I breathe, lost for words. He's made it special…for me. Candles line the edge of the pool, flickering slightly in the reflection of the steaming water. A little pathway leads to the steps into the bath, lined on each side by bright yellow roses, my favourite of all flowers. I can't help but smile. This room, with my favourite flowers, candles—wait, candles? "Rexxan, you don't let anyone have candles!"
"Onyx told me how much you love them. I'll survive just one night with them. Plus, I’ve recently met a very kind lady who cools them for me,” he replies, his voice impossibly deep as it carries over the ripples of the pool.
“She sounds like a catch. You shouldn’t let her go.”
“I don’t intend to.”
I bend down to smell one and shut my eyes. "Lavender scented? Mmm." My heart lifts even higher when I spot the basket of chocolate-covered strawberries at the water's edge. I let out a shameless squeal, kneeling in front of it to take one out and eat it. Sweetness bursts on my tongue and I hum in pleasure. This is my idea of heaven. If I'd been good and on my best behaviour in life—which I really have not—butifI had, I'd come to this very room after I die.
I hear a breathy version of something that sounds a lot like ‘oh my fucking gods, this woman’behind me, and I stand and turn to see what he could possibly be grumbling about now. Rexxan is holding a small wooden box, on his knees opposite me. Fuck down ononeknee, he’s on both. The sheer emotion in those orange eyes as he looks up at me through dark brown lashes is staggering. His scars are highlighted by the orange candlelight, and suddenly I'm crying again.
Something about seeing his scars illuminated by the very thing that caused them just so he can make me happy brings me to my knees opposite him.
"Rennalya, the love of my life," he whispers, his eyes slightly glassy. "With you at my side, nothing feels insurmountable. To wake up beside you for the rest of my life would be an honour I don't deserve, but it is an honour I am asking for nonetheless. Make me the most fortunate man in Yterras and be my wife."
"Rexxan," I whisper, past the lump in my throat. "I already said yes!"
"Not properly. Not like I wanted."
I move a little closer on my bruised knees opposite him. "Do you promise we can have strawberries for breakfast in the garden sometimes?"
"Every fucking day," he says, laughing.
I take his face between my hands and kiss him. "Yes, Rex. A thousand times over." I’m not good at emotional speaking, but I wish I was so he could understand the depth of my feeling for him.
He kisses me again, his teeth tugging on my bottom lip slightly as he pulls away. His huge hand takes my own and gently slides a ring over my finger. "It's small!" I say, through a sob. He could've bought me the biggest diamond on the earth and he's got me the smallest, most subtle ring and that makes me cry harder. It's everything I'd have wanted.
"Do you want a bigger one, angel? I can make it bigger."
"No!" I say, blinking to clear my vision and examine it. Delicate leaves are carved into the gold band, each one coloured green by a tiny emerald. It looks like a little vine creeping around my finger.
"For your love of the outdoors," he explains. "I had it made for you last month but the world got in the way."
"It's perfect for me," I say, trying to pull myself together. I've become one of those snivelling criers that I complain about.Thanks for that, Stell. Making me look like an idiot even after death. "We have so much paperwork to do before I marry you.”
"It wouldn't be a royal wedding if there wasn't paperwork."
"About that...do you want to know the only thing I hate more than fish?"
"You hate fish?"
Gods. I'm marrying this man and he doesn't even know that my single greatest fear is a fish touching my foot while I'm swimming. "Yes! But I hate weddings more. We're not having a wedding." That's a non-negotiable.
He laughs, his head tipped back as if he's baffled by me. "Fine, so what will happen then, Your Majesty?"
I smile through my horror at that title. I don't want to be a 'Your Majesty'. "I don't know. Just a small dinner with our friends? We'll read our speeches at the dinner table and that'll be it."
"Whatever you want is yours," he agrees, his words caressing my skin as we sink into the hot bath together. He pours some honey-scented soap onto one callused hand so he can wash my hair, his giant paw spanning my head. He’s a gentle giant when he wants to be. “One day, we'll celebrate that you've agreed to be mine, but I must get back to the river after this."
