When Xan said we’d spend our honeymoon in a castle, I didn’t think it would be an actual castle.
No clue how he even got us this whole mansion all to ourselves.
This area of Yorkshire has a lot of castles due to the wars that happened in the Middle Ages, but there’s something special about this one.
I run up the stairs, half escaping Xan’s merciless clutches, and half attempting to find out why I have an intuition that it’s a special castle.
My feet come to a halt when I reach the top, and it’s not because of the breathtaking view of the fields below — although that does play a part.
It’s the whole image of the high towers and the terrace. The stone railings and the smooth floor, which give a nostalgic view.
Everything is so familiar.
A hard body crashes into me from behind and I squeal as I lose my footing. Xan wraps his strong arms around my waist, steadying me in place as he spins me around to face him.
He’s breathing heavily, probably due to the run up the old stairs. I, on the other hand? I cease breathing altogether.
For a moment in time, I get lost in the deep magical blue of his eyes, in the rebellious blond strands falling all over his forehead, in the way he’s holding me close, as if he’s afraid to let me go.
I wind my arms around his lean waist because, in a way, I’m also scared of losing him. The thought of not having him in my life after I finally found him again gives me nightmares sometimes. The type he holds me through and coaxes me to completely forget about.
He raises a perfect brow. “You thought you could escape me, Green?”
“I wasn’t escaping.”
“Not that you could with these short legs.”
“Hey!”
“Or your stamina.”
“I’ve been working on improving it!”
“You mean we’ve been working on improving it.” He winks.
My cheeks flame and I stare to the side. “Shut up.”
He places two fingers underneath my chin and switches my attention back to him. “Did I tell you that you’re so fucking adorable when you’re shy?”
“I’m not a kid anymore.”
“No, you’re not. Doesn’t mean you’re any less adorable, Green.” He pinches my cheek and I swat his hand away as I fight the blood rushing to my face.
His attention remains on me as a beautiful, heart-stopping smile grazes his lips. It doesn’t matter how many times I see that smile or how long I spend with him. The way those dimples make an appearance will always be my weakness. I can’t resist stopping and staring and probably looking like an idiot.
This man is now my husband.
My. Husband.
The man I will share the rest of my life with.
I’m so lucky that I found him when we were young. We had a connection before we even knew what a connection meant. The whole separation in between, although cruel, morphed us into who we are today and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Neither of us are perfect, but we fit perfectly. After RES, we built back our relationship from the past. Even though we don’t agree on everything, we don’t clash. We don’t stay mad at each other for too long.
Every night, we crawl back into each other’s arms and sigh as we fall asleep.
It’s even better than all the romance novels I’ve read. Those are fictional, but my Xan is real.
Very real.
He’s the most real thing in my life and nothing will take that away.
“Green!”
“Huh?” Was he speaking?
“I asked why you came up here?”
“Oh, it’s…the view.”
“The view?”
“The castle. Doesn’t it look like it’s from one of those children’s books I got from Nana?”
He grins wide, his dimples deepening. “You noticed that.”
“You did it on purpose?”
He feigns a curtsy. “Your knight is always at your service, my queen.”
“God.” I can’t help smiling like an idiot. It must’ve taken him a lot of digging to find something remotely similar to what we used to read together.
I palm his cheek, thumb stroking his skin. “I’m so lucky to have you.”
“It’s the other way around. I’m the lucky bastard because you’re in my life, because you forgave all my fuckups and chose me. I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, Green. After all, you staked your claim on me when you named me your knight.”
“And now, I’m Mrs Knight.”
“I love my last name on you.”
“Me, too.”
He brushes his lips against mine, and although it’s brief, my breathing hitches and I snuggle further into the hard ridges of his body. There was too much distance between us in the past and there’s no way I’ll let that repeat.
But even with the distance, we saw each other. We felt each other’s darkness and demons, and I think that’s why we’re inseparable now.
That’s why we appreciate each moment spent in each other’s embrace. We take nothing for granted, because life is meant to be lived to its fullest.
“Do you know that I love you, Green?”
I laugh. “You kind of tell me every day.”
“It’s not enough. Nothing is enough when I’m with you. Now say it.”
“What?”
“That you love me, too.”
“What if I stopped?”
“You won’t.”
“Arrogant much, Xan?”
“No, but I will fight for your love all over again if I have to.”
“As if I would ever stop loving you. My heart and my soul are yours, Xan. They always were.”
“You forgot something.”
“What?”
“Your body is also mine.”
I squeal, then break down in giggles as he lifts me in his arms and throws me on the wooden bench.
Here we go again.
