“Yeah, baby. Now.”
She nodded and grabbed her phone.
* * *
Isla
Arric took my hand, leading me into the lift and kissing me gently as the doors closed. We were staying two days at the Balmoral in Edinburgh before our handfasting ceremony. After the party, we were heading out on a cruise for a week. Our world had been filled with so much chaos, I couldn’t wait for us to be all alone for longer than a few hours.
The lift arrived at our floor and we made our way to our room, my heart racing the closer we got to our portal of love.
“Ready?” Arric asked, handing me his room key before lifting me.
I grinned. “So ready.” I unlocked the door, and Arric carried me over the threshold, letting the door close behind us.
I let out a gasp. “Wow.”
My parents had booked us the Scone and Crombie suite and it was stunning.
“Jesus,” Arric breathed out, setting me on my feet as we took in the room. Delicate blues and grays were the colors of choice, along with paisley bedding, and opulent drapes and tapestries. If I could design the perfect bedroom, this would be it.
I’m gonna keep that in mind.
I chuckled. “For when we find our dream home?”
“Yeah. If this is what you want, this is what you’ll get.”
I slid my hands up his chest, cupping his neck. “Anywhere you are will be perfect.”
I was suddenly overcome with love and I let out a quiet breath.
“Need to make you mine, baby,” he said, and I nodded.
“First, I have something for you,” I said, pulling away just long enough to grab my purse.
“I have something for you too,” he admitted, sliding his hand into his pocket.
“You do?” I asked as I pulled out the small box I’d painstakingly wrapped.
He pulled out a tiny velvet box and held it in his palm. We swapped gifts and I nodded to mine. “Open mine first.”
He grinned, tearing at the paper and prying off the lid of the cardboard box. Inside was an ounce of pure gold in the shape of a stone. “No way.”
“Do you get it?”
“Well, I get that you’re expecting sexual favors from me,” he said. “I’m not a sexual object for you to exploit, Isla.”
I laughed and he grinned, leaning down to kiss me. “I love it. Now, open yours.”
I lifted the lid of the box and gasped. Inside was a pendant, the white gold chain holding a diamond-encrusted penguin. “Arric,” I breathed out. “It’s beautiful.”
“I wanted you to know that even if we hadn’t been mated, you would always be my penguin.”
Tears slipped down my cheeks and I tugged it gently from the satin. “Help me?”
He nodded, sliding it around my neck and securing it as I held my hair back. I slid my hands to his face. “I love you.”
“Love you too, baby.”
