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“Then you’ve come to the right place of pleasure.”
He grimaces. “Please don’t use that word in such an icky way.”
“Come on.” I pull the sheets back. They’re sticky and damp but I don’t think either of us care about that right now. “Get in.”
“Let me take care of you first.”
I lie back and let him wipe between my legs and over my abdomen and torso. Once, this would have been awkward and I’d have got up and left. Now, the towel is warm, and his touch is so gentle that I let my thoughts fly away. He tosses the towel somewhere and slides in behind me, immediately drawing me close. He drops a kiss in my hair.
“I love you,” I say softly.
“I love you more.”
“Impossible. I don’t think I can sleep,” I admit.
He squeezes me tight. “Yes, you can,” he says firmly.
And he’s right because my eyes drift closed before he even finishes his sentence.
I wake later that afternoon. Levi’s body is behind me, his arm thrown over my middle. The sheets are warm around us, and outside the wind howls and rattles at the shutters. I move a leg cautiously and wince. My whole body feels like I was in a fight for several weeks with something very big.
However, I need the loo, so after moving Levi’s arm carefully, I ease out of the bed. His lips purse in a small frown, but then he slips back into sleep. I eye him affectionately, this husband of mine. His hair is over his forehead, his face creased by the pillow, and he looks very young suddenly. I drop a kiss on his mouth and skedaddle off to the bathroom.
When I come out, I’m fully intending to climb back into bed, but I feel too restless. It tugs at me—a sense of gentle melancholy—and I pull on my pyjama shorts and wander downstairs. The house is quiet. I was half hoping that Branok and Dog would be waiting for me, but the kitchen is still and silent. I let out a measured breath and start the kettle to make tea.
Once it’s done, I grab the throw off the sofa and let myself out onto the patio. There’s a hot tub out here that we haven’t had a chance to use yet. There are also a couple of Adirondack chairs with thick cushions. They’re positioned against the stone wall of the cottage and face the sea. I take one, setting my tea down on a small table and wrapping the blanket around me.
The wind is strong, howling in a lonely fashion around the cottage, and dark clouds are loitering ominously out at sea. I put my face up towards the sky and breathe, relishing the quiet and the chance to collect my thoughts.
A while later, Levi pads out onto the patio dressed in pyjama shorts and my hooded fleece. He’s carrying a mug which is no doubt filled with tea and he’s rubbing his eyes sleepily with his spare hand. “Alright?” he asks, the word disrupted by the enormous yawn he lets out.
“Well, I was. But now I’m thinking I’d better get some ballast, or I’ll be sucked into that black hole,” I remark.
“Use your arse. That’s fat enough.”
“Levi,” I say, spoiling the indignant note I was aiming for when I laugh. “What the fuck?”
He rolls his eyes. “It’s a spectacular arse and you know it. Those squats are well worth it.” He settles down in the chair next to mine and looks at the clouds with a jaundiced air. “More rain on the way,” he says in a disapproving tone.
I nudge him. “Gives us more chances to shelter in bed.”
His mouth quirks in a smile. “True. Look at you gazing at the silver lining.”
“I wouldn’t get used to it. It’s not my natural state.”
He sits back, sipping at his tea, and a comfy silence falls between us. I grab his spare hand, playing idly with the fingers. Then I jerk. “Branok and Xander’s rings have gone.”
He nods. “They were missing when I woke up. What do you think that means?”
“Who the fuck knows?”
He snorts. “And this is why I always look to you for advice.”
“Shut up.” I eye him. “How about the amulet?”
He pats his chest. “It’s still here.”
“Do you want to return it?”
