“I wanted to get it for you…as a reminder.”
She slipped the chain around her neck and it rested low on her chest. The chain was long and it dangled just above her breasts over the loose gray T-shirt she wore. “What is it supposed to remind me of?”
“Draco is a constellation in the sky, near the North Star. It’s always in the sky, no matter what time of day and no matter what season.”
She nodded, watching me, her face unreadable. Her fingers went to smooth over the glass surface. “Uh huh…” she said, sounding like a child listening to a story, prompting the storyteller for more.
“It’s the lost Zodiac constellation.” I pointed to the diamond that represented a star in the head of the dragon. “This is Thuban. Four thousand years ago, this star was the North Star. Now it’s forgotten because the earth’s axis has shifted. I chose it as the symbol for my company because it reminded me never to take my eyes from my goal, my true north. So I thought I’d get this as a reminder for you.”
She concentrated on the tiny recreation of the constellation. “My true north. And what is that?”
I wanted so badly to supply that answer for her. Us. We are, I wanted to say. I watched her for a long moment, hoping she could figure that out for herself. It wasn’t something I could ever provide for her. “It’s what you have to figure out. It’s your reminder to be strong. To have hope. To keep being the warrior I know you are.”
Her lower lip disappeared into her mouth, her eyes teary. The rest of her froze. Then suddenly, she leapt toward me so fast I thought she would crash right into me. But she hooked her arms around my neck so tightly that she was in danger of cutting off my airway.
“Easy now,” I chuckled. Wow…this got me a much better reaction than the engagement ring. I’d really screwed that one up, hadn’t I?
She held me tight, her knees practically in my lap. My arms came around her to hold her lightly to me. She rocked in my arms before turning her head. “If I didn’t have barf breath, I would kiss you so hard right now.”
I turned and kissed her cheek and loosened my hold on her. “Are you safe from puking again?”
“Probably. I’m going to brush my teeth.”
I got up and went out into the bedroom while she dug through her bag and brushed her teeth. I was messing with the awesome windows when she came in. “I had them install these in my room, too. They are kick-ass! The whole house gets them next. But I had to wait and put them on order while they make them. They also control how much heat comes into the room, and they can make the window one-sided so people can’t see in even while you can look out.”
“You’re such a gadget addict,” she said, watching the windows go from opaque, to frosted, to transparent, and back again, one time abruptly and another time gradually.
I pressed a few more buttons. “You say that like it’s a bad thing. This remote is also an intercom.”
“An intercom? You mean so we don’t have to shout down the hall to each other?” she said, and her voice shook a little when she said it. I glanced at her but pretended not to notice. I was still getting that weird, nervous vibe from her. She’d said as much—that she feared us walking down the same crappy road we’d traveled down before. Not if I could help it. Hopefully I had enough safeguards in place to prevent it.
“Yeah, in case you—well, in case you need me.” I showed her the button to press. “There’s one in your bathroom and I’ve got one in my room and my office and downstairs, too.”
“Can’t I just ring a bell instead? And have you bring me a tray in bed while dressed only in a speedo and bow tie?”
I suppressed a laugh. “I don’t wear speedos.”
She eyed me playfully. “Too damn bad.”
Suddenly a rush of heat rose under my collar. The way she was looking at me…I had to take a deep breath and remind myself that she was sick. There would be none of that, no matter how much my body protested. She’d just been on the floor, puking.
Before I could stuff in another thought of protest, however, she came up to me, stepping gingerly and slipping her hands around my neck, lacing them at the back and pulling me down to kiss her.
I tasted the peppermint of her toothpaste and another taste, strong and medicinal, like she’d rinsed her mouth with mouthwash. Her hands tightened around my neck and her kiss deepened, her mouth opening. She pressed her chest against mine and—What was I supposed to remember, again?
My hands slipped to her lower back, pressing her against me. She was saying something but I barely heard over the rush of desire roaring in my ears. She was thanking me for the room, telling me she’d missed me. I opened and slid my tongue into her inviting mouth.