“You don’t have to thank me.” I lean in and kiss her softly. “This is what mates do. We take care of each other.”
“I know.” She cups my face in her hands. “But thank you anyway.”
“One more stop,” I say, steering her away from the truck.
“Tolin, we just bought enough furniture to fill three cabins. I don’t need?—“
“This isn’t furniture.”
I lead her across the parking lot to the electronics store on the corner. She doesn’t understand until we’re inside and I’m walking straight to the phone display.
“Pick one,” I say.
She stares at me. “What?”
“A phone. Pick whichever one you want.” I cross my arms, jaw set. “I crushed yours. I’m replacing it.”
“Tolin, that’s in the past. It’s not a big deal?—“
“I know. I’ve seen it. I step closer, my voice dropping. “I destroyed something that was yours because I was an asshole who couldn’t handle my own feelings. Let me fix it.”
There’s something in my expression that makes her throat work. This isn’t about the phone. It’s about me proving, over and over, that I’m not that man anymore.
“Fine.” She turns to the display, scanning the options. “But I’m picking the most expensive one.”
“Good.”
She doesn’t actually pick the most expensive one. She picks a good one, practical, with a great camera because she wants to take pictures of our life together. Our cabin. Our clan. Our baby when he comes.
I pay without blinking and hand her the bag.
“Thank you,” she says softly.
“Don’t thank me,” I say, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone. “I owe you a lot more than a phone.”
“You don’t owe me anything.”
“I owe you everything.” I kiss her forehead. “And I’m going to spend the rest of my life paying it back.”
We drive back to the cabin as the sun starts to set, painting the sky in shades of orange and pink. The boxes are still stacked in the living room from yesterday, waiting to be unpacked, but neither of us moves toward them when we get inside.
Instead, Imani turns to me with something hungry in her eyes.
“Tolin.”
Just my name. That’s all it takes.
I cross the room and pull her into my arms, kissing her deep and thorough. She melts into me, her hands fisting in my shirt, her body pressing against mine.
“Bedroom,” she gasps against my lips.
I don’t need to be told twice.
I lift her easily, carrying her down the hall to our room. Our bed. The one we’ll replace soon with the cherry wood set she picked out today, but for now it’s perfect because she’s in it.
I lay her down and cover her body with mine, kissing her neck, her collarbone, the mark I left there that tells the world she’s mine.
“I need you,” she whispers, tugging at my shirt. “Please, Tolin. I need you.”
