“What is this?” I ask as I step into Nero’s new apartment and find its familiar emptiness disturbed by a small round table set for two, candles lit, and low arrangements of red roses at the centre.
I inhale deeply, savouring the wonderful smell of food filling the space, and glance over my shoulder, searching for the blue gaze I’ve grown so fond of.
“You owe me a dinner,Little Fae,” he explains, nudging me gently aside so he can close the door behind us.
“Was this what you had planned for us? Last night?” I ask, guilt washing over me again for having left him waiting.
The confusion in my chest is still as alive as it was this morning, when I was woken by my mother’s argument with Nero. Except now, the feelings stirring it are different.
The confession from the man behind me sits at the centre of everything else.I think I love you.He said it as if it weren’t the most terrifying sentence in the world, and when I questioned him about it, his answer was that there was nothing to be done about it.
His exact words were:Actually, I’m sure, Little Fae. It’s a fact.
As if that weren’t enough, Nero laughed at my stunned expression, kissed my cheek, and said that if I wanted the kiss I’d been chasing earlier, I’d have to find him at his apartment tonight. I barely remember agreeing—too shocked—and yet, here we are.
“We can’t change what’s already passed, love.”
Oh. There it is. Since when does he call melove? His laugh draws my attention back to his eyes. “I don’t know which I enjoy more—your stunned face, or the way that word tastes in my mouth.” He steps closer, circling his arms around my waist. “It’s delicious,Little Fae. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop saying it.”
“Remember what I said about you making it very hard for me to keep feeling scared?”
“Mhm…” he murmurs, kissing my forehead.
“I was wrong,” I declare, and Nero laughs again.
“Let’s eat, love. Maybe you’re just hungry,” he says, winking at me.
***
“This is a really good bed,” I comment, nestling closer into Nero’s warm body. My eyelids are heavy, my body sunk into the lethargy that follows release.
“My assistant was truly incredible at choosing it,” he says, and I chuckle softly. “Maybe she should help me choose the rest of the décor too,” he adds casually—but by now, my alarmed brain is suspicious of everything Nero drops on me as if it’s no big deal.
I tilt my head back and open my eyes, already finding his gaze fixed on my face, a huge smile on his lips.
“What did you say?”
“Exactly what you heard.”
“You really need to stop saying things like that.”
“Or what?” he asks, a mischievous glint in his eyes that has nothing to do with sex.
I don’t answer. I simply curl back against his chest, ignoring the leaps my heart is taking. “I’ll take that as agreement. I’ll look up some design studios in Athens, and we can meet with the ones you like best next week.”
“Go to sleep, Nero,” I complain, trying to shut the topic down before emotional words leap out of my mouth before I’m ready for them. But he has other plans—of course he does. He always does.
“I don’t think I want to,” he says, shifting so his body hovers over mine, his legs straddling my hips. His cock rests against my stomach, and I steal a glance.
“Pervert,” Nero accuses when he notices where my eyes went.
“I thought we agreed you created a monster. The blame is entirely yours—but you’re spared another round. I’m sleepy. Last night wasn’t great.”
He clears his throat. “Sleeping next to Drako as an adult definitely doesn’t make my top ten favourite nights either.”
“Sleeping with Drako?”
“It’s a long story.”
