Chapter 165

Afterwards, they lay tangled together on the rug, warm and sated, their breathing only just starting to slow.

"Thank goodness Maria didn’t come down for a glass of warm milk..." Ariston said.

Lucette stiffened. ‘She wouldn't?’

"She is known to on occasion. It helps her sleep.’ He kissed the top of her head. But don’t worry. No one came. Except you, that is.’

She laughed softly and snuggled up against him. "And you."

"Most certainly. And that, I have to say, was a long time to wait.

‘There wasn’t...’ She hesitated, not wanting to spoil the mood but needing to know. ‘There wasn’t anyone else? Since...?’

"No one," Ariston told her firmly. "No one but you for over two years now, Lucette ."

And there was no one but you for me, Ariston . Do you believe me?’

‘Yes.’

He spoke with such certainty that she relaxed once more into his embrace. Just asking the question had made her tense.

They lay there in a comfortable silence, as the sweat cooled on their bodies and the fire cast its shadows,