Page 74 of A Breath of Life (Shadowy Solutions #4)

I didn’t respond, but he seemed to sense I couldn’t, so he took it from my hand and tugged the strings apart, opening it. From within, he pulled an intricately woven silver chain. Hanging from the chain was a battered silver-colored ring with a faded engraving around its border.

Tallus let it swing between us for a second as he admired it, but the puzzled expression remained. “D, is this—”

“It was Boone’s wedding ring. Nana gave it to me a long time ago.

After he died. She said he would want me to have it.

It’s not gold or platinum. They didn’t have a lot of money after the war for extravagance.

The guy at the jewelry store, Joshua, said it’s nickel-based but silver-plated.

He said that was common back then. It isn’t worth much.

I know you like expensive stuff, but I’m not a wealthy man.

Its value is purely sentimental. To me, anyhow. To me, it’s priceless. Like you.”

“D—”

“Let me finish. The chain isn’t fancy either. I’m sorry. It’s not… I’m not asking you to marry me. I would. Marry you. If it was something you wanted, but I’m not sure I’m the marrying kind, so I didn’t want to put that kind of pressure on you, but… ”

I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Joshua helped me pick out the chain so it matched and was trendy. I thought, instead of calling it an engagement band, it could, I don’t know, be a symbol.

Something you could wear and show people so they…

Is that stupid? It could represent…” I blew out a haggard breath. “Fuck. I suck at this.”

“You’re doing great.” His smile warmed me inside and out.

“You don’t think it’s stupid?”

“No. I think it’s the best gift I’ve ever received.”

“We can get the ring sized. You can wear it on your finger. We can get married if that’s what you’d prefer. I just… I wasn’t sure if… I don’t know how to… Weddings are such…”

He pressed a finger to my lips. “No wedding necessary.”

I closed my eyes and inhaled relief. How did you tell the guy you loved that a wedding wasn’t something you wanted, but would give him in a heartbeat if he needed it? It turned out I didn’t have to say a thing.

When Tallus removed his finger, I continued. “I can’t mark this beautiful body the way you want me to, Tallus, but I can give you this, and you can wear it so everyone knows you’re mine.”

His smile took my breath away. “Help me put it on.”

My fat fingers fumbled with the clasp, but I eventually got it done up.

The silver band and its timeworn engraving rested in the valley between his pecs.

I kissed it, then him, my heart soaring in a way it had never done before.

This man loved me in all my imperfections.

We fumbled along in our relationship, maneuvering the ups and downs as we blended our vastly different personalities. Somehow, it worked. We worked.

Kitty was right. Sunny days lay ahead, and I would soak them up one at a time and be grateful for their existence .

The fever of our intimacy rose, and I wanted nothing more than to be inside him.

In tune with my urgency, Tallus unbuttoned my jeans and shoved them down my thighs.

I kicked them off the end of the bed and straddled him as I shed my T-shirt.

My life story was etched across my body in scars and art.

I had once been ashamed to be naked in front of Tallus, ashamed for him to see my history, but those days were behind me.

Before latching onto his mouth again, I paused. “Do I need a condom?”

“No. I don’t have my results handy. They’re buried in my email somewhere, but I used to get tested regularly. The last time was about eight months ago. Long after we got together. There’s been no one else, D. It was all negative then.”

Good enough for me.

I stripped him from his underwear and blanketed him with my much larger body, savoring the connection of our mouths as I touched him everywhere and our cocks brushed together, alighting with the delicious friction.

He hummed with pleasure and nudged me. “Roll over, D. You’re crushing me. I want to suck you and ride you until dawn.”

I groaned and complied, dragging Tallus with me as I repositioned us. Flat out on my back, I was at Tallus’s mercy. He hovered over me, my grandfather’s ring dangling between us. The swell of pride at seeing it around his neck was a joy I couldn’t express.

“Mine,” I rasped.

“Yours, Guns. Always yours.”

He sucked me hard and fast until I was going out of my mind and ten seconds from coming. With lube-slicked fingers, he gave me a show as he prepped himself—I wasn’t allowed to help. The seductive roll of his hips reminded me of the way he danced. It was a pleasure in itself .

I couldn’t take it anymore and guided him closer so he was positioned over my cock. He added more lube, stroking me a few times until I cursed, then lined up and descended, one slow, delicious inch at a time, until I was fully inside him.

“Fuck me,” he said through gritted teeth. “A second.”

I let him get comfortable, doing all I could to keep my hips still. The sensation of him around me without a condom was enough to tip me over the edge like I was a teenager again. I had to fight for control.

When he was ready, he found my hands and weaved our fingers together. Bracing himself, he rode me. Never once did our eyes stray from each other.

Sex between us had swung from one extreme to the other. In the beginning, it had been disconnected and unemotional. Robotic, Tallus had once claimed. Those days were long past. We now enjoyed passion, affection, pleasure, and a connection of pure love.

I might never be able to fully satisfy all of Tallus’s needs in the bedroom. He was far more adventurous than me, but I would give him what I could.

Without a barrier, my control slipped far too quickly. I couldn’t hold back as the fire in my belly burned hotter and hotter. Tallus sensed my imminent orgasm and brought our mouths together. “Fill me, D. Mark me. Claim me. Own me.”

I didn’t want to let go without him. Wrapping a hand around his cock, I stroked him in time with our furious pace. Digging my heels into the bed, I chased my release. A strangled noise left the back of his throat. His body tensed, and hot jets of cum splattered my chest.

Game over. My orgasm came on so suddenly, so intensely, I roared and stilled, clinging to Tallus as I pushed deeper into his body and unloaded .

He collapsed on top of me, and I cradled him in my arms, kissing his sweaty forehead and stroking a hand along his spine.

“Love you, D.”

“I love you.”

We lay like that for a long time, enjoying the moment, neither of us moving. Only when Echo whimpered at the door did we both chuckle.

“Poor girl. She hates being locked out,” Tallus said.

“She’s fine. I don’t need a dog watching us have sex. It’s creepy.”

“I’m sticky. Shower with me?”

“Yeah.”

Tallus peeled himself off and glanced around with a squint. “Where are my glasses?”

“I put them…” I lifted my head and searched the bed. “Shit.”

We both scrambled upright, but it was too late.

“Noooooo,” Tallus whined as he discovered them crushed under my body. We’d rolled on top of them in the heat of passion, and I hadn’t even noticed.

The frames were bent beyond repair. The arm on one side showed a stress fracture in the plastic.

“Motherfucker.” I took them from his hand, examining them. “They’re fucked.”

Tallus laughed. He laughed so hard he collapsed back onto the bed. “That’s it. I quit. No more glasses. Contacts from now on. Laser eye surgery.”

“Fuck that noise.” I manipulated the frames until they almost resembled their proper shape and slipped them onto his face. The left arm stuck out from his head, and they sagged crookedly. “You’re still the sexiest man I’ve ever seen.”

“Are you flattering me? ”

I sobered. “No. You really are.”

He touched the ring on the chain and smiled. I might not have proposed marriage, but I’d given Tallus every part of me I had to give.

“Is it enough?” I asked, suddenly wary.

“More than enough.” He clasped my hand and squeezed. “ You are more than enough, Diem.”

“I hope so.”

“I can’t believe I broke my fucking glasses again.”