“It’s not an engagement ring, either.”
She blew out a breath and smiled. Though they’d spent countless hours together the last few
weeks, she wasn’t ready for “the question.” Especially since she hadn’t been to a Gathering yet.
She untied the cord and pulled out a white velvet box. Lifting the lid revealed a pair of diamond
solitaire earrings that sparkled in the firelight. She gasped. “Oh, Chase, they’re beautiful! Thank you!”
He took the box from her and fidgeted with the clasps. “I wanted to get you something you could
wear even while you’re dancing.” He handed her one at a time and showed her how to lock them in
place.
She grinned as she turned them in her earlobes. “I feel like a princess.” She stood taller and lifted
her chin, eyes sparkling.
He couldn’t resist pulling her back into his arms. “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world and
I will always treat you like the princess you are.”
He kissed her again, and she slid her hands up and over his shoulders, opening to him. He held
her tighter, ignoring the warning siren screaming in his mind. She pressed her hips against his and he
groaned, burying his fingers in her hair.
Stop!
He pulled away, chest heaving, and rested his forehead on hers. Her eyes were wide, her lips
swollen. His jeans had grown uncomfortably tight and when she glanced down at his hips, they grew
even more so.
“Can’t we just—”
“No, Sabrina. We can’t.” He walked to the window across the room, sucking in long breaths to
calm his racing pulse. A couple strolled down the street and he watched them until they disappeared
around the corner and his body had cooled. He turned back to Sabrina. “Sabrina, I—”
Sabrina stood where he’d left her, head hanging low, her hair hiding her face as she picked at her
nails.
He sighed, guilt burning in his chest. “I wish we could. Believe me. But you mean more to me than
that.”
She gave a small nod, the curtain of hair shaking with the movement. “I know.”
Chase chewed on his lip. Was she near her breaking point? It’d been almost a month since
Richard and Tom had become her temporary Masters. A month since she’d had sex.