“I’m open to suggestions.” She lifted her glass to her lips.
“You could wear one of my jackets. And nothing else.”
She sipped again. “Only that? That’s easy—if you can keep your hands to yourself at your grandma’s house.”
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “No. You’ll be in my room. In my bed. The walls are thick. And you could always bite my hand.”
Her cheeks flushed that shade of pink I loved. “Playing dirty?”
“You have no idea.”
Our food arrived, cutting off the game. We shared bites, talking about the meal and what we’d do for the rest of the trip.
Training and obligations would claim me again soon, but these weeks in Spain belonged to Kaia. I wanted her certain of me—of us—of the cloudless future we’d build together. One neither my mother nor her father could touch.
“I’m so full.” Kaia leaned back, dabbing her mouth with the linen napkin.
Nerves twisted in my gut. She didn’t know I’d planned another surprise. “Maybe you could make room for dessert?”
I caught the server’s eye near the kitchen. The lights dimmed, leaving only the glow of candles.
“Cumpleaños feliz,” he sang, carrying a heart-shaped cake to our table. Other diners joined in the chorus. Kaia pressed her clasped hands to her mouth, failing to hide her shock.
The waiter set the cake down to applause and cheers. I thanked him, then turned back to Kaia.
“I missed two of your birthdays,” I said, brushing a tear from her cheek. “But I’ll do everything I can not to miss another.”
“You didn’t have to,” she whispered. “I missed yours too.”
“It doesn’t matter.” I’d left her right after she gave herself to me. I’d caused her pain. Too late, but I had to show her—in every way I could—that things would bedifferent now.
“I bought this a while back.” I set a flat jewelry box on the table. “I was going to ask your friend to give it to you, but I doubt she could’ve explained this one.”
Inside lay a platinum bracelet engraved with a line fromThe Little Princeabout letting your dream devour your life, not the other way around. I’d meant to give it to her on her nineteenth birthday so she’d never lose sight of her own plans. I’d held onto it ever since.
Kaia sniffled, fastening the bracelet around her wrist. “I love it. Thank you, Ash.”
“I reread that book a lot,” I admitted.
Her lips curved. “You didn’t find it depressing, then?”
The first time we met, she’d been reading that book in the garden. I told her it was depressing—and in a way, it was. But when we were apart, it reminded me of her, and I clung to that memory to keep her presence alive in my mind. Even when I’d lost hope of us.
“It made me feel closer to you.”
“Like the books you gave me.”
Our gazes tangled before she dropped hers to the cake. “Think we can ask them to bring it to our room?”
Anticipation sparked under my skin. The want in her eyes said enough. I was already heading to the servers.
Kaia waited by the elevator.
The door slid shut, and I pulled her into my arms, covering her mouth with mine. My hand trailed down her waist, over her hip, to the hem of the dress I was desperate to strip away.
Her fingers threaded into my hair, the cool bracelet grazing my neck. I caged her against the mirrored wall and deepened the kiss until our breaths turned ragged.
The elevator stopped. We rushed out hand in hand, but in my mind she was already bare beneath me, ready for me to worship every inch.
