I closed my mouth and took a deep breath in and out. “Okay.”
“Thank you. Secondly, I would like you to know, though I’ve said it before already, that I am inordinately pleased that you married me. You have made me feel as if I am the happiest male in the galaxy and for that I thank you. Truly. You are everything I could ever have wanted and more.”
I swallowed around the knot that had formed in my throat, blinking away at the tears gathering in my eyes. I opened my mouth to tell him that I was happy too but he pressed his fingers to my lips.
“Ah, not yet. I’m not finished.”
I rolled my eyes, smiling against his fingers but nodded. He replaced his fingers with his lips in a quick kiss before taking my hands again.
“And lastly, because we are about to go into a battle and Goddess knows when I’ll get the chance to get you alone again once you are reunited with your friends, I wanted you to know before you go flying into a warzone simply that… I love you. Most ardently.”
The butterflies exploded into fire breathing dragons and my heart decided to go ahead and burst.
“Rathal…” I started, my voice cracking.
He interrupted me. “I don’t expect you to feel the same way, of course.”
“Rathal—”
“You have, after all, been very clear that you will need time, which I respect.”
“Ra—”
“I just wanted you to know where I stand. Which is madly, desperately in love—”
“Rathal!” I shouted, grabbing his face with both hands to stop his rambling.
He stopped, looking at me with a hopeful kind of confusion.
I was smiling, but there was a suspicious wetness on my cheeks that I was staunchly ignoring.
“Yes, my darling?” he prompted slowly, his own eyes looking a little moist around the edges.
I leaned in. “I love you too, you big idiot.”
Have you ever seen a seven foot tall Egyptian god’s jaw quiver? Well I have.
He drew in a shaky breath. “Oh. Well then,” he said, and leaned forward to kiss me. We met in the middle with me using my hands on his face to drag him to me, and him cupping the back of my head to pull me into him.
It was a clashing dance of teeth and tongue. A confirmation of our wild, totally not normal, perfectly insane love for each other that came out of left field and upended my whole life in the best of ways.
A knock interrupted just in time to stop my hands from snaking into Rathal’s pants. He was wearing a loser fit today, almost sweat pants like, though Rathal would never wear something so bland. No, these pants were a black shimmering material that matched the loose, yet stylish long sleeve shirt he was wearing.
Rathal laughed, grabbing my wrist. “I feel the same, darling, but we don’t have time. Save that thought for after the Assembly.”
I glowered at him but let him pull me to my feet. He stopped me again just before opening the door to hug me tightly.
“Tell me again?”
I hugged him back, tilting my head to stare up at him. “I love you.”
His breathing hitched. “Again.”
I grinned. “I am in love with you, Ra Rathal NulKal Som’Val Ra’Roshal Johnson Ramirez.”
He kissed me quick and hard. “And I love you,” he said against my lips.
A scratch broke the moment between us.
