Page 63 of Savage Knights (Princes of Devil's Creek 3)

“You’re making me nervous,” she muttered.

“This is a good surprise, baby. You have nothing to worry about.”

We climbed the stairs to the fourth floor. Marcello and my father had rooms at opposite ends. I had saved one room for Alex a long time ago, waiting until the day she became my wife.

At the end of the hallway, I stopped in front of a set of double doors and handed Alex a skeleton key. This was an old house, built back in the early 1900s.

I dangled the gold key from a silky red string.

Alex’s eyes widened as she grabbed it. “What’s inside?”

I tipped my head at the doors. “See for yourself.”

Apprehensive, she turned her back to me and shoved the key into the lock. I hit the light switch on the wall, and Alex gasped.

Her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh, my God, Luca.” She spoke between her fingers. “You did this for me?”

I guided her into the room by her hip. “Everything I do is for you. Don’t you know that by now?”

Her eyes darted around the expanse of the room. It was a replica of my mother’s studio with hardwood floors and the same domed ceiling. Except this one was free of my mother’s influence. The studio belonged to Alex. Every painting in the Many Faces of the Devil series hung on the walls, along with framed photos of Alex from every art school exhibition and all of her sketches.

“How did you get these?” Her mouth widened as she looked at me. “You weren’t even at my showcases at RISD.”

I smirked. “I have my ways.”

She shook her head in disbelief. “I’m speechless, Luca. This is incredible.”

“You can paint your own fresco.” I waved my hand around the room. “The walls and ceiling are your canvas.”

Her eyes watered as she looked at me.

Then she strolled across the room and stopped in front of the paintings from her final year at the Rhode Island School of Design. “How did you get these? I gave them to the school.”

“I made a sizable donation.”

She wiped away her happy tears and sighed. “You are such a psycho, Luca.”

I hooked my arm around her, breathing in the scent of her delicious perfume. “A psycho in love is more dangerous than a man in love. Remember that the next time you test me.”

“No kidding,” she quipped. “I wish I could say I’m surprised you went to such lengths, but I always knew you were never far. I could always sense your presence, even when we were apart.”

“I have everything you ever painted.” I pointed at the drawings on the wall. “Even the sketches you threw out.”

Her mouth widened. “You went through my trash?”

“There was never a time I didn’t have someone watch over you. You are too important to me.” I motioned toward the framed papers on the wall. “I asked your brother to make a collage of your scrapped designs. I thought maybe one day you could use them as inspiration.”

She laughed. “You’re anything but predictable, Luca.”

“Do you like your new studio?”

The corners of her mouth turned up into a smile. “No, I love it.”

I slipped my fingers through her curls. “This room is yours to do with as you wish. You shouldn’t have to live in the shadow of my mother. This house is yours, too. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

She threw her arms around my neck and kissed my lips. “I love you so much, you crazy lunatic. Thank you, Luca. Thank you for protecting me, even when I didn’t know I needed your protection. For loving me in your own way.”

“There is no line I wouldn’t cross for you.”

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