Page 72 of Protecting Christina

He placed both hands on either side of his plate and leaned across the dining room table to kiss me. “These lips are mine,” he growled.

I smiled and kissed him back.

Walking toward the cabinet, he pulled out a red bag with white tissue paper inside and placed it next to me.

“What’s this?” I asked.

“Open it.”

I yanked the tissue out and peeked inside. Black leather and a gold chain laid inside. Pulling out the purse, I examined the logo. “Is this real?” I asked, the words coming out of my mouth before I could stop them.

He laughed. “Yes. Of course.”

Squeezing the latch, I unzipped it. The black suede inside was soft to the touch and smelled brand new. Despite my salary, I’d never purchased an extravagant gift like this for myself before. I never grew up with money and saved what I made in an emergency fund. Sure, I bought nice clothes, but I never bought myself a nice purse. At least not one worth a month’s salary,

“Nikole suggested it. She helped me pick it out.”

I nodded, and my head swam with thoughts of Will asking Nikole to help him shop for me.

“Do you like it?” His voice was hesitant. It was unexpected coming from him, who always appeared so confident.

I looked up at him, blinking. “Yes. It’s beautiful.”

He watched me as I opened every small zipper inside and stuck my fingers into every tiny compartment.

“I’m not sure whether I should give you the next gift yet or not. You’re not smiling, so I’m not sure how you feel about presents.”

“You bought me something else?” My voice came out a little more high-pitched than I would’ve liked, but I couldn’t hide my surprise.

“Yes. And I think I’d better do it now.”

He walked back to the same cabinet, and this time returned with a box wrapped in white paper and a black bow. The box was a little larger than my hand when he placed it in front of me. Tentatively, I lifted it. My heart raced. I wasn’t sure why exactly. But my body reacted in a way I wasn’t accustomed to. Slowly, I pulled at the black ribbon and untied the bow. The ribbon fell away and I slid a finger underneath the tape to unwrap the rest of the gift. When I was done, I held a blue velvet box in my hand.

“Open it,” Will chuckled when I simply stared at it.

The box creaked open and my breath caught when I saw what was inside. The most beautiful necklace sat within a white satin frame. A thick white gold collar with a blue sapphire pendant at its base.

My heart hammered in my chest as I stared down at it.

“Christina? What’s wrong?”

“It’s too much,” I whispered.

He shook his head. “No. It’s not. It’s only a small token of how I feel about you. I want you to know how much I care for you.”

My hand holding the necklace shook, and I had to set it down on the table, clasping my hands on my lap. Confused, I couldn’t make sense of my reaction. It was all just… just so much.

Standing, Will walked over and unhooked the necklace from the satin buttons. Then, he swept my hair away from my neck. Goosebumps spread across my shoulders and I shivered.

I closed my eyes when I felt the cool metal fall onto my chest and inhaled sharply. Will clasped the necklace and lifted my hair back into place. Then he ran his hands up and down my arms and kissed my neck. “It looks lovely on you.”

I pressed my lips together and nodded.

“Let’s go back to my bedroom. I want to see you wearing only that necklace.”

I inhaled deeply, my breath catching when my stomach fluttered.

Will reached for my hand and led me down the hallway.

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