A dreamy, contented sigh slipped out as my eyes met his. I could see how much he loved me by the tender way he was looking at me, and that knowledge made my insides squirm with happiness. How had I gotten so lucky to have someone like Ashton fall in love with me? He wanted to marry me. Well, he had asked me to in the ambulance, but he hadn’t said anything about it again so maybe he was regretting the rash decision. If he was, I didn’t even care, as long as he still wanted to be with me.

But I’d almost lost him. He could have died so easily in that room and I would have never gotten the chance to tell him how much he meant to me and how he’d changed my life. I would never be able to thank him enough for what he did for me. He’d refused to give up on me the whole time that I pushed him away.

“Ashton,” I whispered, “I missed you so much these last few weeks.”

“I’ve missed you too.” He smiled his heart breaking smile and my insides melted.

My hand hesitantly caught the bottom of his T-shirt, easing it up slowly. I needed to see the damage that had been caused; I needed to see for myself that he was alright.

He chuckled wickedly. “Easy there, tiger. I don’t think either of us will be able to do that much physical exercise this soon. Sex will have to wait a few days,” he joked.

I laughed and nodded, deciding to play along. “Hmm, I guess you’re right,” I agreed. “But if you feel up for it, let me know,” I added, smiling suggestively at him.

“I’m pretty sure you could get me up for it, Baby Girl,” he teased, winking at me slyly.

I grinned, loving how he could make me feel better in an instant. My hand tugged on the T-shirt again, pulling it up so the bottom of his stomach was exposed.

“What are you actually doing, Anna?” he asked, putting his hand on top of mine.

I blew out a big breath, looking down at the small patch of exposed skin on his stomach. I could see the beginning of a bruise there that led up under the material; I knew this would be bad. “I need to see how badly you’re hurt. I’m imagining all sorts of things,” I muttered. “I just need to see for myself that you’re okay, like you keep claiming.” I wouldn’t be able to rest easy without seeing it for myself. He frowned, seeming a little hesitant as his hand held mine still, not letting me remove his shirt. “Ashton Taylor, let me see,” I ordered, moving his hand away, being careful of his broken fingers.

He sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes again. I lifted his T-shirt up. Every inch of his stomach and sides that wasn’t covered in bandages and strapping was black and blue with bruises and little cuts. I gulped and swallowed my sob. This must be hurting him like crazy. I felt sick.

“I’m so sorry.” I was trying desperately not to cry again.

His finger hooked under my chin, tilting my head up gently so that I had to look at him. “You don’t need to apologise. I’m fine, I promise. It probably looks worse than it is, and anyway, I would die for you, so I got off pretty lightly.” He smiled his sexy smile and wiped the tears from my face, looking at me pleadingly. I smiled weakly and pressed my lips to his gently, silently conveying through that kiss how much I loved him and appreciated him. Love and passion washed over my body, making my skin break out in goosebumps. He broke the kiss and smiled down at me sheepishly. “I have something to show you. I’m not actually sure how you’re going to react to it.” He actually looked a little nervous as he tongued his split lip.

I raised a questioning eyebrow. “Something, like what?”

“I got a tattoo,” he stated.

I gasped, shocked by the revelation. Ashton Taylor didn’t strike me as the tattoo-bearing type. “You did? Seriously? Where?” I was actually strangely excited about it. I wasn’t actually a huge tattoo fan, but one on him would probably be sexy on a whole other level.

He pointed to his chest. “Right here, above my heart,” he answered, looking at me intently.

“Can I see?”

He sucked in a breath through his teeth and then nodded uncomfortably. “I hope you like it. It just kind of belonged there, so I had it done a couple of weeks ago,” he mumbled nervously. I nodded and looked at him expectantly. He sighed and gripped the bottom of his T-shirt in his broken hands, pulling it up to his throat. I gasped immediately at the sight of his damaged body. I forgot what I was supposed to be looking at for a few seconds, and then my eyes stopped on it. He had a tattoo on his chest, directly over his heart. An exquisite white rose in full bloom with one word underneath it written in beautiful, black script:

Annabelle

“You had my name tattooed over your heart?” I asked, shocked.

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s where you belong.”

I reached out and traced the letters with one finger. It was stunning. The artist had done an incredible job. The white of the rose and the black of my name contrasted shockingly well, and the whole thing placed against his tanned skin just made my whole body tingle. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. “But we weren’t together when you had this done. I told you I didn’t love you,” I murmured.

He shrugged. “It didn’t matter what you said, I loved you. I will always love you, nothing will ever change that.” He took hold of my hand that was on his tattoo and pressed my palm over his heart. “That right there belongs to you, forever.”

Happiness swelled inside me because of the sweet words that were coming out of his mouth. I bit on my lip as I looked at it again. A wave of desire for his body pulsed through me. “I love it,” I whispered, looking at it in awe. My eyes flicked back up to his face, seeing a breathtaking smile. “It’s so freaking hot, Ashton. I’m not kidding. If you hadn’t just been shot and I hadn’t just had surgery, I’d so be jumping you right now,” I purred.