Dane stepped out the shower and began toweling off. The bathroom carried Sienna’s scent and the honeysuckle fragrance of the shower gel she enjoyed using.
Given their situation, he really should be worried what they would be faced with if the weather didn’t let up in a couple of days with the little bit of food they had. But for now the thought of being stranded here with Sienna overrode all his concerns about that. In his heart, he truly believed they would manage to get through any given situation. Now he had the task of convincing her of that.
He glanced down at his left hand and studied his wedding band. Two weeks ago when he had come here for his pity party, he had taken it off in anger and thrown it in a drawer. It was only when he had returned to Charlotte that he realized he’d left it here in the cabin. At first he had shrugged it off as having no significant meaning since he would be a divorced man in a month’s time anyway, but every day he’d felt that a part of him was missing.
In addition to reminding him of Sienna’s absence from his life, to Dane, his ring signified their love and the vows that they had made, and a part of him refused to give that up. That’s what had driven him back here this weekend—to reclaim the one element of his marriage that he refused to part with yet. Something he felt was rightfully his.
It seemed his ring wasn’t the only thing that was rightfully his that he would get the chance to reclaim. More than anything, he wanted his wife back.
Chapter 14
Dane walked into the living room and stopped in his tracks. Sienna sat in front of the fireplace, cross-legged, with a tray of cookies and two glasses of wine. He knew where the cookies had come from, but where the heck had she gotten the wine?
She must have heard him because she glanced over his way and smiled. At that moment he thought she was even more breathtaking than a rose in winter. She licked her lips and immediately he thought she was even more tempting than any decadent dessert.
He cleared his throat. “Where did the wine come from?”
She licked her lips again and his body responded in an unquestionable way. He hoped the candlelight was hiding the physical effect she was having on him. “I found it in one of the kitchen cabinets. I think it’s the bottle that was left when we came here to celebrate our first anniversary.”
His thoughts immediately remembered that weekend. She had packed a selection of sexy lingerie and he had enjoyed removing each and every piece. She had also given him, among other things, a beautiful gold watch with the inscription engraved, The Great Dane. He, in turn, had given her a lover’s bracelet, which was similar to a diamond tennis bracelet except that each letter of her name was etched in six of the stones.
He could still remember the single tear that had fallen from her eye when he had placed it on her wrist. That had been a special time for them, memories he would always cherish. That knowledge tightened the love that surrounded his heart. More than anything, he was determined that they settle things this weekend. He needed to make her see that he was hers and she was his. For always.
His lips creased into a smile. “I see you’ve decided to share the cookies, after all,” he said, crossing the room to her.
She chuckled as he dropped down on the floor beside her. “Either that or run the risk of you getting up during the night and eating them all.” The firelight danced through the twists on her head, highlighting the medium brown coiled strands with golden flecks. He absolutely loved the natural looking hairstyle on her.
He lifted a dark brow. “Eating them all? Three boxes?”
Her smile grew soft. “Hey, you’ve been known to overindulge a few times.”
He paused as heated memories consumed him, reminding him of those times he had overindulged, especially when it came to making love to her. He recalled one weekend they had gone at it almost nonstop. If she hadn’t been on the pill there was no doubt in his mind that that single weekend would have made him a daddy. A very proud one, at that.
She handed him a glass of wine. “May I propose a toast?”
His smile widened. “To what?”
“The return of the Beast from the East.”
He switched his gaze from her to glance out the window. Even in the dark he could see the white flecks coming down in droves. He looked back at her and cocked a brow. “We have a reason to celebrate this bad weather?”
She stared at him for a long moment, then said quietly, “Yes. The Beast is the reason we’re stranded here together, and even with our low rations of food, I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be...than here alone with you.”