A Touch of Sin |18+|

53

VALERIO

Slowly, a smile crept on her face but the prettiness of it did nothing to ease the nerves I felt. I was hovered over her, barely able to keep myself up on the hand resting next to her face.

My arm flexed, the desperation for her to give me the answer I wanted causing my entire body to be riddled with tension. Tension only she was capable of relieving.  If only she said yes.

Please say yes.

The question had been on my mind for a copious amount of time, but my patience ran thin and I needed to know. Perhaps it was too soon, or perhaps she had no intention of marrying me. The latter seemed like the worst case scenario, and my face went stoic and my brows scrunched together at the nasty and intruding thought.

"Wow," she breathed. "Is that why you look like you're about to pass out?"

"Oh, my God," I groaned, rolling over to fall onto my back as I held a hand to my forehead. "Don't tease me right now."

It was the last thing I needed because she was right, I was close to passing the fuck out from how hard my heart pounded.

Alani chuckled, shifting to lay on her side and she rested a flat palm on my chest. "I'm not teasing you. Open your eyes."

I did as I was told, forcing myself to open my eyes and I stared at her through a half lidded gaze. Alani was grinning, and she bent down to kiss my lips while she whispered, "Calm down. Of course I'll marry you."

I'll marry you.

I pulled away from her, my face just inches away from hers as I took a moment to register what she had just said. Before I knew it, I had both hands on her cheeks as I let her forehead touch mine.

She was grinning, partially in amusement and I knew it was because of the fact that I was a nervous wreck and there was possibly no reason for me to be. I couldn't control it. Her answer meant everything to me, and I wasn't afraid to let her know that she ran my fucking life.

My world was centred on her and the slightest impression that she was unhappy meant that I felt it harder than I could ever imagine. If I had the power to change how I felt about her, yes would be the farthest thing from the correct answer. 

"Let me hear you again, amore," I whispered, running my thumb along the soft skin of her cheek.

Alani bit her lower lip, her smile still on her face as she leaned forward. "I'll marry you."

My eyes fell close and I took a deep breath in, the relief of her words heavy and all too consuming. With one last kiss on her lips, I pushed myself off the bed and headed over to the bedside table. I felt her gaze on me as I opened the draw, picking up the square and black box. A ring. Her ring.

When I met her eyes one more time, her smile was no longer there but her face had softened. She sat up, crossing her legs underneath her as she watched me.

Seeing her eyes light up with amazement—even when she hadn't seen her ring yet had me smiling at her as I sat back down. From the slightly shell shocked look on her face, I figured that she wasn't expecting a ring yet. How could I propose without one?

It was the first thing I set my heart on getting. It was hard hiding from her, but I had spent days looking for the perfect ring until I decided to have one custom made for her with her favourite gemstone.

A small and round stone in the centre of diamond halo on top of a white gold band. It wasn't massive, it was dainty as it was only her engagement ring and I had hoped that she could choose her own wedding ring—if she wanted to.