Chapter 17 Rowleigh （Epilogue） #2
She practically vibrates against me with excitement. “What is it?”
“If I told you, then—”
“It wouldn’t be a surprise,” she finishes.
She pokes me in the ribs, right where I’m the most ticklish.
“If you’re going to ask me to marry you, the answer is yes, always yes, but we should at least wait until we’ve known each other for six months.
I don’t want my parents to have heart attacks for real.
They’ve been so good about our relationship, but if we took a step like that, I’m afraid they wouldn’t be able to handle it. ”
I’m lucky the safe is already open, and I can thrust the cash trays in without dropping them. I wheel around to find Bellatrix giving me that look that says she’s both serious and joking. “It’s not that.”
She edges up to the desk and perches on the corner with one long leg dangling freely, the sequins on her black dress glittering.
She wanted the lounge to be classy. The look of it already spoke to the past, so we gave it a Roaring Twenties theme. She has several incredible dresses she alternates between that look absolutely breathtaking on her and are all historical reproductions.
“I can’t believe I ever thought I was invisible,” she muses, completely unruffled by talk of marriage.
It doesn’t freak me out.
Like the other decisions we’ve made, we’ll talk about it together, but hearing her tell me yes, always yes, sends a fizzy shot of adrenaline racing through me.
“It’s kind of horrifying having everyone watch me while I play, but at the same time, it’s so much fun. I always get this super huge endorphin rush after every night, like a killer workout. Not that playing isn’t a workout. It’s a lot of effort to keep going for that amount of time.”
I’m immediately concerned. “We could switch it up.”
She waves the suggestion off, looking like a total glamorous queen with her hair piled up and that dress that hugs her tall frame so elegantly.
“I love it. I love it so much.” She slips off the desk and takes my hand.
“Hurry and lock up. If my surprise isn’t banging in some new position, then I need you to quickly give me the surprise you have planned so I can have the second surprise that’s not a surprise. ”
I’m immediately so hard that it’s going to hurt walking out of here. “I think I can roll that request into the surprise quite seamlessly.”
I take her hand and lead her toward the lounge doors after I lock up the office.
I lock those too, then head straight for the fancy elevators.
I already have the keycard in my pocket.
Despite not having to make any pit stops, we’re both tense on the way up, Bellatrix bouncing beside me with barely controlled energy, and me because I know what the surprise is, and I can think of at least forty-seven positions we haven’t tried, even though we’ve been quite imaginative over the past few months together.
When the elevator doors slide open, I wrap my arm around her waist and lead her straight to the most expensive suite on the top floor of the hotel.
The whole hotel is like stepping back in time, and this room is no exception. It’s practically dripping elegance, drenched in gold framed art, red carpet, marble, and crystal chandeliers.
“Oooooh, the presidential suite!” she coos excitedly, rushing into the room.
Bellatrix has seen just about every room in this place and a few of my other hotels during our travels.
She often comes with me for business. I’ve been trying to wrap a lot of it up, so I have more free time, but it’s not something I can just drop overnight.
And she gets that. She’s in this for the long haul.
Instead of demanding my time, she just joins me in whatever I’m doing so we can be together.
“I can see why you thought this room would mix well with my suggestion, but what’s the surprise? Because if this is it, then it’s a great surprise. I’d love to spend the night here with you.”
“What about every night?”
She tilts her head slightly to the side, which she does without even knowing it when she’s thinking about something deeply or trying to puzzle something out.
“Uh, like…”
“I was thinking maybe I’d like to sell my condo and move here. And that you might…maybe you’d want to do the same.”
There’s not even a second of hesitation before she turns, wraps her arms around my neck, and pulls herself flush against me. “Yes! Like, live here? In this suite?”
“More like the whole top floor. I was thinking we could renovate it into something that’s entirely ours. It would make going to work in the evenings extremely convenient.”
Her dress is so long that she can’t leap up and wrap her legs around my waist the way I can tell she wants to. So she takes my hand and pulls me to the bed instead, tugging me down on top of her.
“That’s a crazy suggestion, but it’s crazy in a good way. Yes, times a million. Times infinity. I love you, and I can’t wait to live with you.”
We didn’t exactly wait with the L-bombs. A few weeks into our relationship, I dropped it on her one night, but she just studied me with an expression I’d seen many times before but had never fully understood and told me how much she loved me back.
“We could get a cat. I know you’ve wanted to. When we’re traveling, we can hire a cat sitter.”
“Ahhh,” she sighs gustily. “You’re just right on the ball with fulfilling all my dreams tonight, aren’t you?”
“It would be my pleasure to be able to do that for you. Nothing is too big or too small if it makes you happy.”
“You make me happy. The universal distribution system knew what it was doing.”
I chuckle. “Isn’t that just for cats?”
She wriggles under me, and my dick responds, throbbing out its appreciation.
“If it’s a thing for people, then it kicks all the ass.
” A slightly guilty look crosses her face.
“Remember when I told you that Mika and I thought we’d have to character-assassinate you in order to get you out of your arranged marriage? ”
“I remember quite clearly.”
“I’m glad it didn’t come to that. We were going to call exterminators, and it might have resulted in this place getting shut down. That would have been awful. Doubly awful because this place is gorgeous. Literally a dream.”
I had no idea they’d planned on going that far. All I can do is laugh about it now, and she laughs with me.
On paper, maybe we should have been a disaster, but we fit.
Physically, we’re always burning this bright, but in every other way too.
I went from not even having a real idea as to how shut down I was, buried under layers of hotels, businesses, duties, and obligations, to having a heart so wide open that, some days, it actually hurts a little.
Bellatrix saved my relationship with Mika.
It’s amazing that they’re best friends, and they’ve only grown closer.
I viewed finding that vase as winning a lottery that brought me a lot of pain as well as riches, and I felt that way for nearly two decades, but everything that happened, good or bad, brought me to that night in the lounge, where I was ready for Bellatrix without even knowing it.
If the universe doesn’t design those things, and fate isn’t real, then we were just in the right place at the right time, and I’ll never take that for granted. I want to make it a point to try and make our lives as beautiful as they can be and experience as many breathtaking moments as possible.
Like this one.
With the woman of my heart staring up at me like I’m everything to her.
“What exactly were you thinking, my love?” I ask.
She hitches up her dress, wriggling and shoving and grunting with annoyance when it won’t slip past her knees, and she can’t get her shoes off. “For the renovations?”
“For right now.”
She freezes and blinks up at me, and slowly, her face transforms into something both shy and heated, giddy with anticipation and a little bit reserved too. “This is a big bed,” she points out.
“It’s a very big bed.” I grin.
“And we have all night?”
“All night long, and even then, as much time as you’d like.”
She tugs me down for a long, scorching kiss and then turns her face to whisper in my ear while I try to catch my breath. “In that case, you had best help me out of this dress. As far as positions go, I guess our imagination really is the limit.”
THE END.
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