With a melodramatic sigh, he brought the hand not tracing patterns on my skin to rest above his head, as if settling in to tell a tale. “Excluding primary school sweethearts, at high school there was one serious girlfriend. Justine Miller. She lived in Alnwick and was an absolute swot.”

“What’s a swot?”

“Someone that prefers school and learning to socializing. That was Justine. But she was cute and funny, and when she made time for me, I liked being around her.”

“Did you lose your virginity to her?”

“Aye. She actually was the one that pushed for it. She had a thirst for knowledge about everything, including sex. We were fifteen.”

“Wow.” My eyes almost bugged out of my head. “That is young.”

“I suppose. It didn’t seem so to us. We grew up knowing about the mating rituals of animals,” he chuckled. “Sex was always around us.”

“I guess.”

“What age were you?”

“Eighteen. Chace had been pushing for it since we were sixteen, but I wanted to wait. Still pisses me off that he’s the guy who took my virginity.”

“No regrets, Evie. Justine wasn’t the love of my life, but she was my first time. No changing it. And I wouldn’t want to. She’s a piece of my story. Just like Chace is a piece of yours and without him you’d be a slightly altered version of yourself. Who wants that?”

Huh. That was true. “You’re very wise.” I snuggled deeper into him. “Okay, tell me more about your women.”

Roane chuckled. “You speak as if there was a harem of them. There wasn’t. Justine and I broke up just before graduation. Then first year of uni, I met Saskia. She was from Kent and so gorgeous and popular, I judged her as shallow before I really knew her.”

Ugh. She sounded stunning. Her name evoked an image of a tall, tan blonde with feline green eyes. Someone who could play tennis and ski and hobnob with royals.

Jealousy was an ugly creature stirring to life in my chest.

“But . . . well, she fancied me.”

I bet she did.