Mark of Love (Love Mark #3) - Linda Kage Page 0,126
reached down to take my hand, our fingers intertwining warmly. After a time, he began to hum “Singin’ in the Rain.”
Smiling, I whisper-sang the words along with his humming. “Why am I smilin’ and why do I sing?”
Turning his head to look at me, his eyebrows shot up. “You know that song?”
I laughed a little at the question. “I’ve been to Earth, so yes, I know the song.”
Looking delighted by that, he brought our locked hands up to his mouth and kissed the backs of my fingers. “After I went to live with my grandparents, Grandpa Atchison would sing it to me almost every night to help me get over my parents’ deaths. It was the only song he could remember from what his mother used to sing to him, but I always thought it was the absolute worst thing to sing to a grieving child. He was crazy; there was no reason to smile. But now…”
After releasing a long breath, he shook his head. “Now that I think back on all of them, I realize that stupid song did help me heal. I can remember everyone I’ve lost and smile now. I can be grateful I even got to know them. They were good people, and they loved me. I was lucky as hell for getting them as long as I did. Just like I’m lucky to be getting this moment with you right now.” Closing his eyes, he sighed as he brought our hands to his cheek and brushed the backs of my fingers across his jawline. “This night’s going to stick with me for a very long time. It’s what’ll help me get through the hard times ahead.”
A tight ache filled my chest as a delighted smile crossed his lips. I was lucky too, I realized. Lucky to get him right here and right now. I’d always been too leery to accept the fact that he was my true love before because I couldn’t believe I’d ever be able to gain something like love and affection from another person for long. But he’d just helped me see that it didn’t even matter how long I got it. Each moment of the good stuff was a gift all on its own. And it wasn’t how long you had it that mattered; it was how well you appreciated it while you did have it.
Opening his lashes, he grinned at me as he untangled our hands. “You know what else,” he said. “You were right.”
“About what?” My brow furrowed as I watched him look up at the sky, making out his profile perfectly in the moonlight, from the curve in his cheekbones to the swoop of his eyelashes, and every hair growing along his jaw. It was so striking and familiar to me, I just wanted to reach out and trace my fingers over his lines, wishing I could memorize this moment so that it’d always be fresh and distinct in my mind.
Rolling onto his side to face me, he looped an arm comfortably over my hip and sent me a smile that I felt straight to my toes. “You said to me that it didn’t matter what world or dimension you traveled to; men would do anything for sex. Well, I’m finally agreeing with you. I would do anything for this.” His gaze focused on mine. “I’d do anything for you.”
Well, that was handy. Because right now, I felt as if I’d do anything for him.
Reaching up, he drew a lock of hair out of my face so he could see my eyes better. “Would it be too tacky of me to thank you for waking me from a deep sleep and giving me the best night of my life?”
I blushed and bit my lip before answering, “Would it be too pompous of me to say you’re welcome?”
He grinned. “Not at all. Own it, empress.”
Then he kissed me, once on the mouth, then my cheek, behind my ear. His fingers ran down the opposite side of my neck until he met the base and encountered the necklace I wore. It’d been hiding under my chemise until I’d stripped bare, but he must not have noticed it after that.
“What’s this?” He tugged at the strap until the end reached his hand and he was holding an amber-colored jewel in his palm. When it glowed in the moonlight, he lifted his face slowly to look at me. “Is this what I think it is?”