I look up at him, my eyes already filling with tears. "What?"
He takes the box from my trembling hands and carefully removes the ring. "The one you're wearing—the one we both got from the Council—that was forced on you. You didn't choose it. You didn't choose me, not really. Not at first." He takes my left hand, his thumb brushing over the band I've worn since our wedding day. "But you’ve chosen me. And I choose you. So I wanted to give you something that represents that, something you can wear because you want to, not because you have to."
I feel tears spill down my cheeks. “Sean… I love it. I love you. It’s… it’s perfect.”
"I love you too." He slides the first wedding band off, then slips the emerald and diamond band onto my finger. It fits perfectly, like it was made for me. “It’s the two things I love. The green of Ireland, and the diamonds for my precious wife, the most valuable things I’ll ever have.”
I nearly tackle him, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him hard. He catches me, laughing against my mouth, and rolls us over so I'm on top of him.
"I take it you like it?" he murmurs.
"I love it. I love you. I can't believe you—when did you even?—"
"I've been planning it for a while," he admits. "I had it made in Dublin before we left. I was going to wait to give it to you when we got back, but it felt right to do it now. I just felt like… I should. Start over here, where it started in the first place."
I kiss him again, deeper this time, and feel his hands slide up under my silk tank top. The ring catches the light as I run my fingers through his hair, and I can't stop looking at it.
I feel him harden beneath me as he kisses me, and I reach down, pushing my shorts to one side as I slip him free of hispants. Sean groans as I lift my hips up, angling him between my thighs, and I slide down his length, moaning as he fills me.
“Fuck,” he breathes, his hands on my hips. “God, I’m never going to get tired of how it feels to be inside of you. It’s so fucking good—” He breaks off as I start to move, my hips rolling back and forth as I find the rhythm I know we both love. He’s so big, filling me up completely, and I let my head fall back, moaning as Sean strips off my tank top and cups my breasts in his hands.
He pulls me forward, sucking one nipple into his mouth and then the other as I ride him, teasing and playing with my breasts until I’m panting and on the verge of my orgasm. Only then does he press his thumb against my clit, rolling it in the firm, quick pattern that he knows will send me over the edge.
I come for him in seconds, my pussy tightening around him as my back arches and I sink my nails into his chest, rolling my hips against him as I come all over his thick, hard cock. Sean lets out a shuddering moan, his hands flexing against me, and by now I know when he’s on the edge.
The moment my orgasm starts to fade, I slide off of him, capturing his cock in my mouth. Sean groans, his hand flying to my hair as I suck him hard, taking him as far into my throat as I can, the mingled taste of his arousal and mine sending aftershocks of pleasure through me. I feel him twitch and throb, and then he’s pouring down my throat, spurt after spurt of hot cum coating my tongue as he moans my name and quivers beneath me.
I look up at him when I’ve swallowed the last drop, a satisfied smile on my face. “Good morning,” I whisper sweetly, and Sean groans.
“God, there’s nothing fucking better,” he murmurs, sinking into the bed as I release him and fix our clothing, coming up to lie next to him. I lay my head on his chest as his fingers tracelazy patterns on my bare shoulder. The ring glints on my finger where my hand rests over his heart.
"We should talk about what happens next," Sean says quietly.
"Mmm. Do we have to?” I mumble, feeling sleepy all over again. “Can't we just stay here in bed forever?"
He chuckles, the sound rumbling through his chest. "As much as I'd love that, we do actually have to make some decisions."
I sigh and prop myself up on my elbow to look at him. "Okay. What are we deciding?"
"Boston or Dublin," he says. "Where do we want to be?"
It's a question we've been dancing around since the day he came back from the Council meeting. The house here is mine, and the Council still expects him to manage the estate and keep it worthwhile. But Dublin feels like it’s ours. Neither of us really wants to be in Boston, and we have friends in Dublin; all of our good memories are there.
"What do you want?" I ask, tilting my head to look at him.
"I want whatever makes you happy."
"That's a cop-out answer,” I tell him flatly.
He smiles and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "Okay. Honestly? I think we should go back to Dublin. At least for now. This house—it's beautiful, and it's yours, and we can always come back. But Dublin is where we became us. Where we fell in love. I don't want to give that up."
Relief floods through me. "I was hoping you'd say that."
"Yeah?"
“I don’t want to live here,” I tell him honestly. “There’s nothing here that’s good for me. Dublin has all of the moments between us that have been happy. I want to find a home there for us, one that we pick out together, and stay.” I pause. “Maybe we could turn this place into a bed and breakfast, or something. Make it profitable so the Council doesn’t get squirrely about it.”
We talk for a long time after that, planning and dreaming and imagining the future we're going to build together. We talk about the business Sean's been building in Dublin with Flynn, a legitimate security firm that could take the place of the work he does for the Council one day, if they ever let him free. We talk about what I might want to do, if I want to go to the university there, if I want to spend my days reading and writing and following whatever dream I might latch on to. The freedom is breathtaking. We talk about traveling, about all the places we want to see together, about the apartment in Dublin, and whether we should look for something bigger, somewhere with a garden and more light.
