Cristian opened the first suitcase with clear suspicion.
I, Nadia Yates, calm elementary school teacher, promptly choked on my own spit.
Inside the case lay stacks of gold coins. Hundreds. Thick and heavy and shining like they had been stolen from a king’s treasury.
Stunned, I knelt beside it. “Are those real?”
“Real,” Cassian confirmed. “They belong to Cristian. Always have.”
Cristian lifted a handful of coins and let them fall back into the case. They clattered loudly. “How did you transport this from Europe?”
Cassian shrugged. “I met with old acquaintances. People who owed us. People we helped. People who have held our things for centuries. It pays to have connections, especially the kind who do not die.”
I blinked hard. “You two are terrifying.”
“Thank you,” Cassian said.
Cristian frowned. “Why now?”
Cassian leaned on the back of the couch. “Because I finally can. Because I am free. Because we are not puppets anymore. And because you deserved it.” He stretched. “I am tired. Not tired enough to sleep. I want to sit in the dark for a while.” He jabbed a thumb toward the stairs. “I will be in my room.”
Without another word, he wandered upstairs and shut his door.
I turned slowly toward Cristian. “What are you going to do with all that money?”
“I am going to spoil you.”
My stomach flipped. “Cristian.”
“It is the correct choice,” he said simply. “I like giving things to you.”
My cheeks warmed. I covered my face with both hands. “This is unfair. You cannot say things like that.”
He moved my hands away from my face and kissed my forehead. “I can.”
I melted into him as he slid his arms under my legs and back. Before I could ask what he was doing, he lifted me against his chest with no effort at all.
I gasped. “Cristian, what are you doing?”
He strode toward the stairs. “I am carrying you to our room.”
“Why?” I asked, even though I knew exactly why.
He smiled at me like I was the best choice he had ever made. “Because I want to ravish you.”
I wrapped my arms around his neck. “Then go.”
He took the stairs two at a time. When we reached the master bedroom, he set me on the bed and brushed my hair back with careful hands.
My heart knocked hard against my ribs. “You look like you want to say something.”
He sat beside me and cupped my cheek gently. “I woke because of you. By accident. A moment I never imagined. You saved me on purpose.” His thumb brushed my jaw. “I did not think I would ever have a life again. You gave me one.”
My throat tightened with emotion. “Cristian.”
“I want every day with you,” he said. “Whatever it looks like.”
I slid into his lap, straddling him, my hands curling into his shirt. “Then you have me.”
