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“You look like you’re in your natural habitat,” I teased.
She handed me a glass, and then brought hers against mine. “Cheers to my husband.”
I swallowed, and for a moment, I couldn’t speak. The sudden wave of reality washed over me, and my thoughts moved to a dark place without warning. Every day, these moments with her were dwindling. We had so little time together, and she had no idea. She was comfortable with me now. She had placed her trust in me. Possibly, she even had real feelings for me. I simultaneously wanted it and dreaded it.
“Lucian?” She reached out and touched my hand. “Where did you go?”
I offered her a stiff smile. “Nowhere. I was just trying to remember this moment. How beautiful you look right now.”
Her cheeks pinkened, and she wrapped her arms around my waist, resting her head against my beating heart. I wondered if she could sense it growing weaker, and I hoped she never did. If she knew how much it tormented me to think of leaving her alone, she would try to change it.
“I already told you that you don’t need to remember,” she murmured against me. “I’m right here.”
My answer was to kiss her, which was cheap. She deserved so much more from me. She deserved the truth, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell her. I couldn’t risk that she would run away too early because selfishly, I wanted her in my life until the end.
“Can we sit out on the veranda?” she asked as she toyed with the hem of my shirt. “I bet the sunset is amazing here.”
I led the way, and we found ourselves on a couple of deck chairs, side by side, the ocean breeze gently teasing our senses as we waited for the sun to fall from the sky. It was a comfortable silence, but I could tell Gypsy’s mind was turning, and soon enough, she gave her thoughts a voice.
“Do you ever talk to your family?”
“No,” I admitted. “Since I went to prison, things have been tense between us.”
“That was a long time ago,” she said softly. “And you were exonerated, right? So why wouldn’t they want to talk to you?”
“It was a long time ago.” Gypsy waited for me to explain, but I wasn’t proud to acknowledge that I’d never forgiven them. “They’ve tried to reach out several times, expressing their regret and confusion over the situation. Maybe I should have been a better man, but it’s been difficult to let go of my resentment. Especially when I consider that if they had listened to me, maybe Dawson would still be alive today.”
Gypsy didn’t argue or judge me for what I said. She simply nodded. “I can’t say that I would feel any differently if I were you. Some things are just unforgiveable, but who knows. Maybe someday it will be different.”
“Maybe,” I lied.
She pointed her toe over at the plunge pool. “Want to test it out?”
I couldn’t deny that. We had full privacy on this veranda, and with no prying eyes, I had some ideas about this pool before we even got here. I drained my glass of champagne and took her hand, helping her up from the chair.
In the middle of the sunset, under a sky of burnt orange and vivid blues, I undressed the goddess of a wife I never thought I would have. I stripped her down until she was naked, and then she did the same to me. Her pupils dilated when she snuck a glance at the cock hanging down between my thighs. Already, blood was moving through my body and swelling uncomfortably as my eyes roamed over her full, soft breasts and curvy hips. I wanted her now, but Gypsy had other ideas as she dipped a toe into the water, testing it before she climbed inside and rested against the jet.
She gestured for me to sit beside her, and together, we leaned over the edge and watched the sun sink into the ocean.
“What does it mean?” I felt her fingers graze the inked skin on my back. “Revelations 21:4?”
“It’s for Dawson,” I told her. “I got it to remind myself that he’s in a better place. That even if I hate every second I’m not with him, he’s at peace.”
Gypsy was quiet for a moment while her fingertips fluttered over the design, taking it all in. “I guess that’s probably the best way to look at it,” she said quietly. “Isn’t it?”
The torment in her voice made me wonder what was going through her mind. “That’s the only way I can look at it. That’s how I’ve managed to survive the past seventeen years.”
Her head dipped, and she tried to hide her emotion. “I understand. It’s just that, if I were to believe in your God the way that you do, it would mean Birdie and I are going to hell.”
