Page 189 of Heir

“Blue’s watching their ship now. I need to leave soon. We’re gonna burn their ship.”

“Is that safe?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it. I will always come back to you. To you and our child.”

I blinked away the sting in my eyes, trying to keep from begging him to stay here with me.

“I have something for you,” he said suddenly.

I pulled back. “What?”

He reached behind him to the nightstand, showing me his bare back.

My fingers traced the cherry blossom tree there, finding three new additions to the branch.

He tensed when I touched him there.

Turning his head, he met my eyes but let me explore his back.

“My dad did ’em.”

“He did? It’s good. I noticed you are adding more cherry blossoms. The tree is not done?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“Oh.”

The way he kept adding them, like they were…

Like trophies of some sort.

Oh.

He turned back to me fully, watching me carefully. I worked hard not to show any emotion on my face.

I had already known the kind of man Kai was. Did he think this would turn me away?

I smiled a little at him and kissed along his jawline.

He let out a hiss of air through his teeth, almost as if he was in pain.

When I pulled away, his eyes glinted with some unnamed emotion.

Then he pulled his hand back, and in his hand was a shiny gold necklace, a pretty heart pendant hanging from the chain.

“Kai. This is pretty, but I don’t need anything—”

“Hush now, baby.” He quickly clasped the necklace around my neck. I looked down at the way it rested against my skin, the pendant cold and beautiful. “Just say thank you and give me a kiss.”

“T-thank you,” I said, kissing him.

He grabbed my hand and held it in both of his.

I tensed in the kiss when I felt him slip something on my left ring finger.

A ring.

I pulled away and looked down at it. The diamond glittered, even in the dimness of the room. It was the perfect size.

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