Page 69 of Vendetta

He holds my hand as we walk down through the ornate garden and towards what looks like a palace.

“Welcome to your new home.” Nico says.

“What?”

“I bought this house for us. For new memories. For a new start.” He states kissing me and it’s hard not to lose myself in it.

“What was wrong with the old house?” I ask. Surely we could have repaired the damage, it wasn’t that bad was it?

“It wasn’t grand enough for you.” He says. “You deserved more.”

“No I don’t.” I say just as Blaine and Preston appear.

Nico looks at them and they both nod as if in unison.

“What is this?” I ask.

“Come Eleri.” Nico murmurs taking my hand again, leading me through the house. Inside it’s gleaming, white marble is everywhere, the hall way cuts through the entire centre so from the front door you can see out to the veranda beyond. There are huge Crittal glass doors and as they slide open I can see dozens of candles, all flickering against the night. Rose petals have been strewn across the floor.

Nico leads me out and as I stare about he drops to one knee and though I know a millisecond before he does it, I still can’t help but gasp.

“Eleri Gordon.” He says. “Will you marry me?”

“Yes.” I say without hesitation.

He grins pulling out a huge princess shaped ring that he slips so perfectly onto my finger I wonder if he’s secretly measured it while I was sleeping.

“My perfect queen.” He murmurs.

“My perfect king.” I reply.

He kisses me again and we hear both Blaine and Preston applauding in the background. Apparently they both approve, apparently my show of loyalty earlier was enough to finally win them to my side.

As he leads me back inside I know where we’re headed, or at least, what we’re going to do. The stairs are so ornate, they wind around, splitting into two then come back together again. At the very top I stop to admire the huge crystal chandelier that hangs from the ceiling.

We walk through to the bedroom. Nico has undoubtedly had this restyled to his tastes. It’s rich, ornate, but there are the same satin sheets he favours.

“I’ve had all your things brought across.” He says.

“Everything?” I ask.

“Everything.” He says smiling. “Including Sarpedon.”

I drop his hand, walking through the door to where I assume the walk in wardrobe is and I smile, I think my pet is growing on him after all. As I begin rifling through the drawers Nico appears behind me.

“What are you looking for?” He asks.

“You’ll see.” I reply. “Give me two minutes.”

He shakes his head but he does it, walking back out and I find what I’m looking for. An underwear set he’s not seen.

I unzip my dress, discard everything on the floor and pull on the lacy set.

When I walk out he’s laid on the bed, in just his boxers. He runs his eyes over me and lets out a low whistle.

“Worth the wait?” I ask.

“Always worth the wait.” He says beckoning me over.

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