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“What time is it?” I asked blearily, lifting up on an elbow, my brain still foggy from sleep. By the time we’d finished in the shower and eaten a light meal, my lack of rest had caught up with me and I’d quickly fallen into an exhausted sleep. I’d been so out of it; I hadn’t even noticed when he’d left the bed.
“Not quite seven.”
I dropped back onto the mattress, groaning, and pulled the blanket over my head. “Too early.”
“I wish I could let you sleep longer, Gianna, but I can’t.”
Then it hit me.
“Sophia!” I yelped, tossing the covers off and jumping from the bed, stark naked.
“She’s fine,” he assured me, his eyes running hungrily up and down my body. “Mamma called about thirty minutes ago. Sophia slept well and her vitals are even better than they were last night.”
“Oh,” I sighed, feeling relieved as I pulled my robe off the post at the foot of the bed and wrapped it around my body. If I didn’t cover myself, I had a feeling I’d end back on the mattress with Nic’s hard body covering mine. Although the pleasure would be amazing, I wasn’t ready to fall back into bed with him when I was feeling flustered by the way he’d managed to convince me to accept his proposal last night. “Then what’s the rush?”
“There’s some people I need you to meet before we head back to the hospital.”
“Some people?” I quirked my head to the side and squinted up at him, trying to figure out what he was leaving out.
“Your security detail.”
“Security detail?” Great, now I sounded like a parrot.
“Yes, I’ve hired guards for the house and hospital, to protect you, Sophia, and my mamma.”
One of my hands reached out, searching for the mattress. When I laid my hand on it, I backed up until I sat down. “Are we in danger?”
Nic crouched down in front of me, one lean finger lifting my chin until we stared into each other’s eyes. “I won’t lie to you, Gianna. I don’t lead the safest of lives, but I swear to you upon my life that I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you and the rest of my family out of harm’s way.”
My breath heaved out of my lungs as my heart raced at the steadfast look in his gaze. Most of my hurt feelings fled at the way he so easily called me family and promised to keep me safe.
“The men I’ve hired are the best at what they do. They’ll keep you protected.” His finger toyed with the edge of my robe, trailing down from my neck to the top of my breasts. “But you’re not meeting them until you’re dressed.”
“Like I’d walk down there half-dressed, knowing there are other people in the house,” I huffed, pushing his hand away to get up and stomp towards the closet.
I yanked clothes that had mysteriously shown up in his closet off the hangers, muttering to myself about his high-handedness as I dressed. When I stalked back into the bedroom, Nic was waiting for me. I gasped at the sight of him kneeling down on one knee. He snaked a hand into his pocket and pulled out a tiny, dark blue ring box stamped with ‘HW’ on the top. With his thumb, he flipped the lid open and my jaw dropped open at the sight of the ring inside.
An oval-shaped diamond center stone, bigger than any stone I’d ever seen before, was framed by micro pavé diamonds. They were set on a glamorous micro pavé platinum band. It was a delicate, feminine design that I could easily imagine had been made especially for me, even though the diamond was larger than anything I would pick out for myself. One thing was for sure, though, nobody looking at me would miss it. I was sure that had factored into Nic’s thought process when he was picking it out, but this was one occasion where I wasn’t going to hold his caveman tendencies against him.
Tears streamed down my cheeks as he lifted the ring from the box and slid it on my finger. “Weren’t you supposed to ask me something first?” I sniffled.
He rose from his knees, pulling me tightly against his hard body. His head lowered, his mouth crashing down against mine in a thorough kiss. His tongue swept inside, tangling with mine. He didn’t stop until I was weak in the knees and leaning into him so I could stand.
“There’s nothing to ask,” he whispered against my lips.
I pushed at his chest, but almost forgot my point as the diamond ring twinkled up at me. Straightening my spine, I jutted my chin out at him. “You got down on your knee, but you didn’t actually ask me to marry you.”
“I didn’t need to.” He shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly.
