"Oh?" He propped himself up on an elbow, gazing down at her with interest. He took it as a very, very good sign that she was voluntarily bringing up the subject of house hunting. "What might that be? A swimming pool? Sauna? Herb garden?"
Sasha laughed. "Not that all three of those things don't sound amazing, of course, but what I was really going to suggest was that you make sure the place has excellent soundproofing. I, ah, think we were pretty loud right now. I just hope we didn't put on a show for Casey a few minutes ago."
"Nah." Matthew waved away her concerns. "First of all, his bedroom is clear on the other side of this place. Second, if he's playing video games online with his buddies I guarantee he's using headphones. Specifically, these very high tech ones with a built-in microphone. And as loud as those games can get, he wouldn't have heard a thing coming from this room. But I get your point. One of the criteria for this new house might be having the master suite on a different floor than the other bedrooms. After all, if I'm going to have all this extra time on my hands after selling the company, I can't think of a better way to spend it than locked away with you in our bedroom."
"Hey, you're not playing fair here," she protested weakly. "You're supposed to be giving me space, letting me figure out if I'm ready to move back in with you, and where we go from here. Instead, you keep tempting me with talk of this veritable dream house, with all these incredible features that I can't even imagine existing in the same place at once. And that's not even counting the way you just made love to me. That was - extraordinary, Matthew. It brought tears to my eyes. And made me ache just a little. Right here."
She picked up his hand and brought it to her heart, which was beating at a pace almost as erratic as his own. He cupped her breast reverently, teasing the small, dark red nipple deliberately.
"That ache you feel?" he whispered, bending his head to brush a kiss over her heart. "That's love, Sasha. I know because I'm feeling exactly the same thing right now. But it's a good ache. One that will always remind us of how much we love each other. And as for not playing fair." He grinned devilishly. "All's fair in love and war, sweetheart. And if I thought for one moment that there was a way I could tempt you into moving in with me, I'd do it in a flash. So tell me. What could I do for you, buy for you, that might sway your decision?"
Sasha pretended to think the question over carefully, tapping her finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Well, as you know, stuff like clothes and jewels and cars don't interest me much. And you've already offered to include a yoga room and a sauna and an herb garden in whatever house you buy. That just leaves one thing, really, that might tempt me into saying yes - a beach house in Kauai," she added jokingly.
Matthew immediately surged to a sitting position, then grabbed his phone from the nightstand and began tapping out a text.
Sasha regarded him curiously. "Who are you texting?"
He winked at her, his grin nearly splitting his face. "My new realtor. To see if he can find us a place in Kauai as well as here in San Francisco."
She jackknifed to a sitting position, peering over his shoulder at his phone. "Matthew!" she protested, when she glimpsed the text he'd just sent. "I was just teasing, you know. I wasn't serious about buying a place over there."
Matthew set his phone down, then tumbled her back onto the pillows. "I am," he stated firmly. "In fact, I can't think of anything I'm more serious about. Well, except for you, maybe. And I think a second home in Kauai is a fantastic idea. That week we spent there was one of the best times of my life. If we had a place of our own, we could go there whenever we wanted."
Sasha wound her arms around his neck. "As bribes go, that's a pretty extravagant one. Most guys I know would probably start with sending flowers or an expensive dinner or maybe a weekend away somewhere."
He shook his head. "I know that sort of thing doesn't work with you. No, buying a house in the place you said felt like home to you from the first time you stepped off the plane – that's not a bribe, Sasha. It's a promise."
Epilogue
June – Island of Kauai, Hawaii
"Exactly how early did you get up this morning? You've obviously been doing yoga down at the beach again, and it's barely seven a.m."
Sasha turned as her husband emerged sleepily from the main house onto the wide, covered verandah where she'd been watching the waves for the last ten minutes. Their home here in the Hanalei Bay area of Kauai afforded them both spectacular views and easy beach access, two of the "must-haves" on their wish list when they'd begun searching for properties.