Carefully, he eased himself onto the bed beside her, being mindful of the IV tube and monitors as he took her in his arms. “You’ve brought so much light, so much happiness into my life, Tessa. I was alone and lonely and didn’t even know it until that day you walked into my office. You were so damned young and innocent - too young, I told myself - and then I discovered too damned married as well. My heart broke into a thousand pieces that day. I knew I should have sent you away - I almost did - just so I didn’t have to face the pain of seeing you every day and knowing I couldn’t have you.”

Tears began to trickle unheeded down his cheeks and he buried his face against her neck. “But in the end I couldn’t bear the thought of not seeing you again. So I kept you nearby, where I could still see your beautiful face every time I walked past your desk. Even though I couldn’t have you for myself, I still thought it preferable to not seeing you at all. So you have to wake up now, darling. Because I didn’t waste two and a half years waiting for you only to have you taken away from me now.”

Ian, a man who never cried, at least not since he’d been a boy of three who’d fallen down and skinned his knee, now wept as though he were that same small child. His tears fell unchecked onto Tessa’s hospital gown, the cotton fabric already dampened by her feverish body, and his body shook from the force of his sobs.

The touch was so light, so imperceptible, that at first he wasn’t even aware of it. He thought perhaps he was dreaming, that his exhausted body had finally succumbed to sleep, or that his weary brain was playing tricks on him.

But then, in addition to the whisper soft touch of a hand stroking his hair, he began to hear the barely discernable murmuring as well. He forced his eyes open to find Tessa gazing at him drowsily.

“Ian.”

Her voice was weak, her hand against his cheek limp, but there was clarity in the half-lidded blue eyes that gazed steadily at him.

“Tessa.” His hands cupped her cheeks, his lips finding hers in a soft, careful kiss. Anxiously, he felt her brow, and his tears fell anew as he realized her fever was finally beginning to break. She still felt a little warm and definitely clammy, but not burning up as she’d been for far too many hours.

“What - what happened?” she whispered wearily.

“Hush.” He brushed his lips against her cheek. “Plenty of time for all that.”

“No.” She clutched his hand a little tighter. “Vegas. You’re supposed to be in Las Vegas. Your meeting -”

“Went on very well without me there,” he assured her. “The whole damned world can get on without me for as long as it takes to get you out of this place and have you well again.”

She shook her head. “But your meeting was important.”

“No. No, Tessa. You are important. You’re the only important thing in my entire life,” he told her urgently. “Without you, nothing else exists for me. So forget about the meeting, or work, or anything besides the two of us. You are the only thing in my life that matters.”

Tessa touched her fingers to his cheek. “You’ve been crying. Am I - was it that bad?”

He shook his head. “No. No, darling. I was worried, that’s all. And you’re going to be fine now. After all, I’ve got a great many plans for our trip to Tuscany next month, and there is no possible way I’m going to allow you to spoil any of them.”

She linked her fingers with his and nodded. “Well, we can’t have that, can we? And speaking of surprises, weren’t you supposed to be bringing me one back from Las Vegas? But I guess you didn’t have time to go shopping.”

He grinned at her. “Actually, I did. And I’ve got your surprise here in the room. Want to see it?”

“Hmm. Black lace, I suppose?”

“Of course. You know how much I love you in black lace.” Ian didn’t bother to add that he’d also bought her a number of other things from La Perla, in a wide variety of colors.

Tessa thought about it for a moment before giving a little shake of her head. “Maybe later. I’m so tired. Besides, I don’t think black lace would go very well with this hospital gown.”

He laughed and hugged her close. “Darling, don’t you know? Black lace goes with anything. So long as you’re the one wearing it, that is.”

Epilogue

September - Tuscany

Tessa gazed out at the acres and acres of vineyards spread out in the valley below as the sun slowly began to set. It was cooler now, something of a relief after the heat of the day, and she thought about going back inside the house for a wrap. But it felt too good to lay back on the chaise and admire the gold and purple colors of the Tuscan sky. Ever since she and Ian had arrived here at his family’s villa two days ago, they’d done very little besides what he’d jokingly referred to as their “S” activities - swimming, sleeping, sipping wine, and sex.

This was their last night alone here, since Ian’s parents were due to arrive tomorrow, and his brother Colin and his family the day after that. They were to remain here another week at the grand estate, located about an hour’s drive south of Pisa, before flying to London for a few days. There Tessa would meet the rest of Ian’s family, including his brother Hugh and Uncle Richard.

It had taken her some time to fully recover from the uterine perforation and resulting infection. Though she’d been able to leave the hospital two days after her fever had broken, she’d been on strict instructions to rest and take it easy for at least two more weeks. Ian, of course, had taken those directions to the extreme and hired a nurse to look after her while he was busy at the office. It hadn’t been until a follow-up visit with Jordan, where the handsome OB/GYN had proclaimed her fully recovered, that Ian had reluctantly agreed the nurse’s services were no longer required.

Jordan had also prescribed a new brand of birth control pills for her, these with a very low dose of hormones, and so far she hadn’t experienced any type of side effects. The issuance of her new prescription had coincided nicely with the timing of her recovery, along with Jordan’s blessings, given with a huge grin, to resume sexual activity.

Ian had been gentle, tentative even, afraid of hurting her, until she’d rather impatiently taken control of things. He’d been both startled and amused when she had pushed him onto his back, just before straddling his thighs and impaling herself on his cock, and then taking him - as he’d half-joked - for the ride of his life. Since then they had scarcely been able to keep their hands off each other, not only making up for lost time during her recovery, but being conscious of the fact that they wouldn’t be alone after today for well over a week.