Inside Out (22 page)
She dashed the back of her hand against her eyes and looked up at him, swallowing, and testing her own shaky voice. “The tattoo. You won’t believe it. It had special powers.”
Shane grinned. “I’ll believe anything after today.”
“I got it because I wanted to be sexy for you.”
Shane kissed her tears and in his eyes Olivia saw all his old love, every drop of it. As he took her mouth for their first deep, reunited kiss, the familiar tingles danced along her spine, and the look in his hooded eyes said it all.
“You didn’t think you were hot enough for me?” his question caressed her lips, his arms tight on her hips. “Livvy, you have
always
been insanely sexy to me, but I never thought you were interested in wild—”
“I am. More than you know. And now it’ll be easier for you.”
Shane frowned in confusion, and Olivia gestured to her figure. “You can’t deny it’s an improvement.”
Shane kissed the top of her head. “Silly. Hunter was gorgeous, yes, but I’ve never
met
her. It was always you in here. You I fell in love with. Twice in ten years. Jesus, I even started seeing you instead of Hunter.”
She nodded. “That night, before you came, you called my name. Only I thought it was the force of habit. Because having a woman like
Hunter
in your bed…”
“Stop,” he whispered, cupping her chin to kiss her lips again. “You, Olivia, are the woman I married. And you’re alive. I was an absolute mess without you, you know?”
“So I heard.” She smiled and he grinned down at her.
“You sure fooled me. How did you cope with Hunter’s smoking, drinking, and cursing?”
She grinned. “At first it shocked me how wild Hunter was. But then it kind of rubbed off on me. It gave me courage to be myself and not what was expected of me all the time. I discovered I even love motorcycles, for God’s sake!”
Shane threw back his head and laughed. Like he used to. Olivia looked up into his eyes and for a moment it seemed nothing had changed. There he was, holding her to him, his green eyes twinkling with love, the same man she’d married.
Total pride for who she was inside had finally replaced coyness. Confidence had replaced uncertainty. Even in her language
Jesus
Christ
had replaced
Good Heavens,
even if she’d happily given up the leather suits and eyebrow piercing for her usual pastels and simple elegance. She had undergone a complete change beyond belief. But he did believe her, and here was her second chance.
Shane gently wiped away her tears with his thumbs. “This fire in you, Livvy,” he whispered, “doesn’t come from Hunter. You’ve always had it. You just needed to overcome your shyness. Silly you, what magic did you think a little tattoo was going to do?”
Yeah, what was she thinking?
“Blimey, I almost forgot.” Shane grinned as he searched his pocket. “I’ve got something that belongs to you.”
“What?” she whispered although she already knew. He’d bought Hunter a ring.
Fuck.
Warily, Olivia peered inside the small velvet box as he lifted the lid.
There, on a bed of blue, were her engagement and wedding rings. Her very own from ten years ago. Tears blurred her vision, and she swallowed the knot in her throat.
“They’ve been to hell and back, but so have we,” Shane said with a grin, his fingers trembling as he slid her rings on. A perfect fit.
Who the hell cared if Hunter never cried. Olivia Hart did. So there. And yet, Hunter had given her more than a tattoo. She’d shown her Olivia’s real self, buried under all the ladylike things she did and said because she always felt she had to.
Olivia stuck out her chin and eyed him squarely. She was going to make the best of it, for the rest of their lives. And, magical tattoo or not, Olivia now knew how to make her husband one hundred percent happy.
“Shane?”
“Yes, sweetheart?”
“There’s a few new things I want to try with you at home. Let’s get the fuck out of this dump already.”
~ About the Author ~
Rowyn Ashby is the name of an erotic paranormal author who spends her time between Italy, the UK and her own dimension full of gorgeous men.
Find out more about Rowyn Ashby here:
www.romanceauthorrowynashby.webs.com
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