‘I mean it. It’s one of the many things I love you for.’
‘Hugh?’ Frantically Julia fought against his cleverly roving hands, so that she could get a clear view of soft grey eyes. ‘Hugh?’
He smiled, and the blood rioted through her body. She took a shaky breath. ‘You devil!’
‘I was saving the best until last,’ he admitted. He watched the tears that glittered in her eyes with a curious, detached wonderment, not offering to kiss them away. She allowed him this piece of refined cruelty, even as she cursed him for it, for she understood the reason for the casual way he bestowed his unique gift. There were still fears that only a lifetime of loving could finally allay.
‘You swine … you rat… you beast…’ she sobbed.
‘You love the beast in me, remember?’ A gentle finger moved at last to brush away her tears. ‘I can remember every word you’ve ever said to me. If I can forgive you some of your words, you can forgive me my lack of them. I had to be sure, first. I love you.’
‘Oh!’ Her head fell back and she shuddered with a kind of ecstasy that transcended the intense physical satisfaction they had shared.
‘And now …’ he returned to the matter at hand. ‘I calculate that we have at least twenty-four hours before the phones are working and the roads cleared. I think we should use each and every one of them to our mutual … exquisite … advantage.’
‘But, Hugh,’ she gasped, as he picked her up and tossed her into the feathery depths of his bed as if she was but a feather herself. ‘What about your work … you’re supposed to be …’
‘To hell with work,’ his growl vibrated against her skin as he burrowed down alongside her. ‘This is a civil emergency. It’s our duty to support each other in time of need. Can’t you feel how much I need you?’
Julia laughed and he laughed with her. Their joy rose to fill the quiet room … to settle there. How she always loved to hear him laugh!