"Apology accepted a hundred times over, darling," he says, soaking his own clothes as he holds her up naked in the shower. It will all dry and doesn't matter at all. He gently washes her- the make up, the dirt, the salt and sand, scrubs it from her hair and face and from every crevice of her until she is new and clean and heated through.

And then, there in the hot water, he lifts her chin and he kisses her so sweetly, so painfully slowly. His beard is wet and his lips are soft and warm.