Page 68 of Dark Promise

I don’t say the words. Not yet. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say them out loud. But I feel them, deep and unshakable, and I know she feels them too.

When we step into the penthouse, I guide her to the couch, settling her down gently. I bend to remove her shoes. Then I grab one of the plush throws my interior decorator insisted were a must and drape it over her.

“Rest,” I tell her. “We’ll talk later, when you’re ready.”

She nods, her eyes already drifting closed as exhaustion overtakes her. I watch her for a long moment, my chest tightening with a mix of emotions I can’t fully name. She’s my queen. My savior. My everything.

And I will spend the rest of my life making sure she never regrets choosing me.

Together, we are unstoppable. Together, we will rebuild the ashes of what was taken from us.

Together, we will burn brighter than anyone dared to imagine.

25

Sabina

“Merry Christmas,”I say softly, sliding a sleek black box across the table toward Nikolai.

His blue eyes narrow slightly in confusion, then flick back to mine. The candlelight plays over his sculpted features, making him look both beautiful and dangerous.

“Sabina,” he says, his voice low. “You didn’t have to get me anything. I’m not…used to this.”

“It’s a little something sparkly,” I tease.

That earns me a low laugh, the sound vibrating through the air like a warm embrace. “Sparkly, hmm?” He tugs at the ribbon. “Christmas was weeks ago.”

“I know.” A smile tugs at my lips. “But it took me a while to get my hands on this. So, consider it a belated Christmas gift.”

He glances downat the box, his expression unreadable, though there’s a flicker of something—hesitation, maybe?—in his eyes.

The weight of the moment presses on us both, but I refuse to let it pull us under. Instead, I smile. “It’s about time someone spoils you for a change.”

He gives me a lecherous leer. “You spoil me every day, goddess.”

I laugh and nudge the box a little closer to him.

His lips quirk up in a faint smile as he reaches for it, his movements slow, deliberate, almost reverent. He lifts the lid, and for a moment, there is only silence. His gaze snaps to mine then back to his gift.

Inside the box is another box, one shaped like a sleek, angular Batman emblem, its glossy black surface interrupted only by the faint shimmer of silver etching.

Slowly, he opens that, too, and stares in silence.

Inside lies a masterpiece—a Jacob & Co. Batman-themed Gotham City watch. The dial is black-on-black, with the exception of the silver grey apertures and the yellow outline of the Batman emblem. The crown is decorated with the Bat-signal and covered with a rubber band patterned to mimic the tire tread of the Batmobile. The watch is conspicuous and discreet at the same time, but the case-back is not subtle at all, with a black Batman sketch against a shiny yellow background.

“Production was limited to 36 pieces,” I say, filling the silence when he doesn’t speak. I so desperately want him to like it.

His fingers brush over the watch, and when he looks up at me, his expression is unguarded, raw.

“Sabina…” he begins, but his voice falters. He clears his throat, his jaw tightening as he struggles for words.

“I wanted you to have something that reminds you of where we started, but also who you are,” I say softly. “Someone who’s been through hell and come out stronger. Someone who fights for what matters.”

His hand tightens around the box, and his lips part as if to say something, but instead, he sets the gift down and stands. Then he’s beside me, pulling me into his arms. His lips find mine, and the kiss is deep, tender, filled with a gratitude he can’t yet put into words.

When he pulls back, his hands frame my face, his eyes blazing with emotion. “I haven’t gotten a gift since my mother…” He pauses, his voice breaking. “This means more than I can say.”

I press a soft kiss to his lips. “So you like it?”

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