The Highest Bidder

❊ Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ Sɪxᴛʏ﹣Oɴᴇ ❊

I wasn't sure why Enzo insisted that I sleep with him, but I didn't complain. Somehow, I felt comfort knowing that he was next to me throughout the entire night. I didn't like being alone while sleeping anymore. It only reminded me of how vulnerable I was. Sleeping, I couldn't protect myself if something were to happen. But with someone else, there was a chance that they would hear something I wouldn't and vice versa.

Somehow, I slept better with him. He didn't make me wake up at five o'clock every morning. Instead, he finally let me sleep in whenever I wanted to. I wasn't sure what we were to each other, but I knew we weren't just friends anymore. We were something more. Something much more.

I also wasn't sure what he was paying me for anymore. I hadn't done much of anything since waking from my coma. Although, that was partially because Sophia wouldn't let me do anything. But even then, Enzo didn't tell me that he wanted me to clean or serve his guests. So basically, I was getting paid to sit around and look pretty.

I sat down on Enzo's bed and fell back, closing my eyes when I hit the soft mattress. Until his bed, I had never felt something so comfortable. It hugged my body in all the right places and I never woke up with any pain. It felt like I was sleeping on a cloud.

Enzo laid down next to me. "How was your day?"

I peeked one eye open. "Oh, you know. Normal. I sat around doing nothing all day. How was yours?"

He chuckled and grabbed my hand in his. "Busy."

I knew that without asking. When he wasn't speaking with Ron in the dining room, he was upstairs in his office working on something. I didn't mind it so much. I needed to get away from that stare he continued to shoot my way every time he saw me. It caused an unfamiliar warmth to pool at the pit of my stomach.

With Vince, there was lust involved - obviously, seeing as though I got pregnant with his child. But I never felt that warmth with him. With Enzo, it spread throughout my entire body and made me feel light. My heart skipped each time I saw him, whether that be in his normal business attire or his basketball shorts.

He looked like a dark angel. Always planning. Always calculating. Always beautiful.

I rolled over and rested my ear against his bare chest, listening to his even heartbeat. It sped up when I ran my fingers over his abdomen, tracing the lines of his muscles. They tightened under my touch and I smiled slightly.

I turned my face and kissed his chest, letting it linger before moving it to his collarbone. His heart began beating harder against my hand, which I placed over it just for that reason. I wanted to feel what I did to him. The heart never lied.

It sped up even more when I got to his jaw, placing small pecks over the light amount of stubble. He groaned, clenching his jaw beneath my lips.

I grazed my teeth over his earlobe and I wondered how fast his heart could actually beat before it exploded. It was pounding erratically against my palm as I pulled away to look at him. His eyes were clenched shut again and he was breathing in and out through his nose in the vain attempt to calm himself.

When I stopped my assault on him, his eyes opened and he searched my face through hooded eyes. His hands moved slowly, waiting for me to stop him, as he lifted my tank top over my head. When it was on the floor, I leaned forward and kissed him.

His eyes were questioning as he fingered the hooks of my bra. I guess the look in my eye told him that it was fine, because it was off in a matter of seconds.

He stared at my breasts completely unabashed, biting his full lip between straight white teeth. Then, he glanced up at me before taking a nipple in his mouth. He watched as my face heated and I clenched my jaw, a grin tilting his lips before he pulled me closer, sliding his hands under the waistband of my plaid pants. They gripped my hips before he lifted me up and had me straddle his waist.

I moved against him and he groaned, rolling so that I was on my back and he was on top of me. His lips moved across my collarbone, down my chest, to the scars on my stomach. But unlike last time, it didn't bother me knowing that he could see them. He didn't care about the scars. I knew that. And the way he kissed me didn't make me feel anything less than beautiful and worshiped.

He slid my pants down over my hips, his eyes asking if I wanted him to stop. I shook my head slowly and moved so that it was easier for him.

His lips followed the trail of his hands as he ran them back up over my bare legs, leaving a trail of heat in its wake. He made appreciative noises as he ran his tongue over my upper thigh, making me grip the sheets below me.

"I love you," he whispered before taking my panties in between his teeth and pulling them down.

He stripped off his shorts and boxers slowly, watching me fight against the urge to cover myself. A smile graced his face, his dimples appearing in full force. He looked like a child who got the best Christmas present a kid could ask for. And that made me smile shyly back.

He positioned himself above me, grabbing my thighs and leaning down to take my nipple in his mouth again. "I said...I love you."

"I love you too," I groaned, arching my back. "God, Enzo. I love you too."

He ran his tongue up my neck as his fingers massaged my inner thighs. He grabbed my earlobe in between his teeth and pulled gently. "Then marry me."

My eyes widened and my breath ceased.

He turned his face so that he could see mine. "I can't bring myself to let you go, Eva. I don't want you to leave. I want you to stay here, with me, as my wife."

I couldn't think straight. My answer was on the tip of my tongue, but I couldn't bring myself to get over the shock enough to answer. I hadn't known Enzo for long, but I could see myself with him for the rest of my life. I could see myself growing old with him.

"I..." My voice was soft. "Enzo..."

He tilted his head. "Eva Rose Whelan. Will you marry me?"

His right hand appeared by my chest, holding a small black box. It was closed, but I knew what was inside. And I knew why it was closed. It was probably worth more than my yearly salary as a journalist.

How long had he thought about asking me? I didn't even remember him leaving to go somewhere to get the ring. But he had to have left at some point, didn't he?

We had gone through so much together in the short time that we spent in each other's lives. And if we could get through all of that, I knew we could get through anything.

I reached up and pulled him down, kissing him as a tear slid down my face onto the sheets. "Yes, Enzo. I will."