AllFreeNovel
Share Us
ChapterSeventeen
Two weeks had passed since I moved in with Alex, and I was in paradise. The days flew by as I attended school, with a bodyguard discreetly following me to my classes, and studied at the library afterward. He went to work, doing whatever it was he did during the day. Weekend nights were spent at his club, and Sunday dinner was at his mother’s. Outside of that, the time was our own. It would’ve been perfect if I didn’t volley back and forth between two different realities, torn between dreaming of a future between us and fighting with myself to smother any unrealistic hopes.
Stretching in his large and luxurious bed, I woke up with aching muscles after another vigorous night. It was particularly hard, waking up surrounded by his scent, not to succumb to imagining that this could be our life. Beams of sunlight seeped through the chinks in the Venetian blinds. Lifting my head, I found Alex, wearing a pair of perfectly fitted pants that tapered slightly down to his ankles. His naked, broad back was to me, and he spoke softly into his cell phone. The lilting sounds of Romanian, a Romance language similar to Italian and Portuguese, danced in the air like dust motes on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Shrugging on a crisp light-blue shirt, he buttoned it up and strapped on a holster before bending down to a safe hidden in the bureau beneath the plasma TV hanging on the wall. There was one thing I could say about that TV. I’d never watched more soccer in my entire life than I had in the past two weeks. There was always a soccer game humming in the background, whether on the TV, a laptop, or coming from his phone. He pressed his thumb on a small pad, and the door swung open. Crouching, he slipped a gun out and tucked it into his holster.
After a few bouts of sex last night, he’d left me boneless to take care of business, armed to the teeth with guns and knives. While I didn’t like him leaving in the middle of the night, I cuddled into the warm covers he’d tucked around me and fell back asleep, not even hearing when he returned.
The man didn’t seem to need much sleep. From what I’d gathered, he rarely slept more than five hours. Six, tops, if I’d really worn him out. He was a machine, constantly fielding calls, working throughout the day, coming in and out during the night. He was so capable and responsible. Pride filled me that I was with someone who took care of things, including myself, so thoroughly.
By the brightness from the thin rays of light coming through the blinds, it was already midmorning. I shifted and flinched at the twinge between my legs, quickly followed by the chafe on my backside from the little spanking I got yesterday. Our playing in bed had gotten rougher. Not that I was particularly surprised. Alex oozed dominance, and while I hadn’t heard about his tastes before, I was sure that was partly what drew me to him. Everything we did, even when it elicited a frisson of fear, left me in a puddle of need at his feet.
Seeing me awake, he came toward me. My gaze dropped to his strong hands, and I felt…swoony thinking about how they’d pummeled my behind. God, I was getting wet. Seeing his strength, I only thought of when he’d next get to use it on me.
It was times like these when I missed Tasa most. We’d gab about my situation with Alex, sifting through the range of conflicting thoughts I had. Of course, I understood why she’d left the way she did, but she was my person. There was a dull ache left behind at her absence. Several times a day, my thoughts drifted to her, wondering where she might be, how she was doing, or thinking of something I’d talk to her about.
In the end, I knew the advice she would’ve given me about Alex. Not to blindly follow society and its stupid rules. If it made me feel good to be with him, then I should enjoy myself and not overthink it. She’d remind me I was strong enough to stick up for myself if he did something I really didn’t like. What she wouldn’t need to remind me of was that Alex would never intentionally hurt me. Only for play and in the name of the game when we gave each other mutual pleasure.
Taking a knee at my side, he brushed his lips against my temple. “Who’s the birthday girl today?” he crooned.
I blinked up at him, swallowing hard.
He’d remembered. We hadn’t spoken of it since the night I lost my virginity to him, and I hadn’t brought it up. While our intimacy had deepened, nothing about our relationship had changed on the outside. I’d still lied to his mother the last two times I went to Sunday dinner. No wanting my birthday to become a flash point, I’d refrained from bringing it up. It was painful, but I wanted to be realistic, if nothing else, so I went on the assumption that I would celebrate it with my family alone that evening.
“Thank you,” I mumbled. Afraid to bring up the subject of “us,” I watched his face carefully for any clues as to what he was thinking.
Opening the nightstand of bleached wood framed in lapis lazuli, he pulled out a flat velvet box.
My eyebrows lifted in surprise, and I struggled to prop myself up against the headboard.
“What is this?” I asked in a hushed tone, somewhat cowed by the gesture.
“Open it,” he said with a nod.
I gently creaked open the velvet box and tilted my head to snatch a peek.
My gaze jumped to his, and I smacked the lid down.
“You can’t be serious.”
He gave a light chuckle, as if he hadn’t just offered me an unbelievable rare luxury. Sitting on the bed beside me, making it dip to one side, he placed his large warm hand over mine. There’s no way… He couldn’t possibly… My thoughts flew away like wisps of smoke in the air.
Tugging the jewelry box out of my tight hold, he snapped it open. Shards of light fell on a jade cabochon shaped in the head of a Lupu wolf dangling from the center of a thin gold neck cuff.
“Th-that’s imperial jade,” I stammered out. Anyone who knew jade knew it was the most valuable form of jadeite, it was that recognizable. Its color and transparency rivaled the finest emeralds and was highly prized in China. The thing cost tens of thousands of dollars.
One of his eyebrows tilted up. “You know it?” he asked mock-innocently.
“Yes, of course, I know it.”
“Then you like it? I want you to like it,” he murmured.
“Of course, I like it. It’s gorgeous, but it’s too much—”
“Don’t say it’s too much for you. If you don’t accept my gift, it will hurt my feelings. My ego will be bruised,” he said with a playful pout although his gaze pinned me in place, hinting at his unwillingness to compromise.
I could never deny him the pleasure of giving me a gift. Lowering my gaze, I took in the splendid hue of green. It was unbelievably beautiful. More than that; it was an incredibly thoughtful gesture. He already knew I loved jade, and this was the most exquisite jade available, aside from the fact he’d personalized it.
