Page 162 of A Breath of Life
“No. Yes. There’s more.”
“More?”
“Something… visual.”
Tallus frowned. “What do you mean?”
Every part of my body was on fire. Why was this so difficult? “Taking you bare is for us. It’s personal. Intimate. A claim no one else will know about or see. You can’t exactly show it off to Memphis like that stupid hickey.”
Tallus smirked. “Maybe not, but I can tell him all about it in disgusting detail until he squirms, which is way more fun.”
“Or…” I dug inside my jeans pocket again—the other one—and withdrew the small velvet pouch I’d been carrying around for days as I worked up the courage to broach the subject.
I presented the pouch, but the words I’d rehearsed got stuck in my throat.
Tallus raised a querying eyebrow. “Is that a teeny tiny ace of spades? Because if so, it’s not funny.”
“What? No.”
“I’m kidding. What is it?”
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.Weworked.
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.”
