Page 54 of Vicious Addictions

“You bought me a present?” I ask excitedly, completely taken aback by his thoughtfulness.

“Of course I did.” He shakes his head as if I should know better than to ask such a thing. “I was going to give it to you tomorrow during your party—”

“Nope. Tonight is better,” I interrupt, since who knows what will happen tomorrow night.

The dead can’t unwrap birthday presents.

I shake that thought away and smile instead.

“Fine.” He laughs, looking more like himself. “Can we finish the game first?”

“Nope.” I clap, jumping giddily in my seat. “I’m too excited. I want you to give it to me now.”

His eyes darken slightly before he gathers himself, and my cheeks flush at the fact that he might have picked up the connotation behind my double entendre.

Thankfully, Jude doesn’t acknowledge my slip of the tongue, preferring to get up from his seat to retrieve a small box from his inner coat pocket. I swallow dryly as he places it in my hands.

“Well, don’t just stare at it. Open it.”

My heart is hammering so loud that it takes me a second to open the velvet box. When I finally do it, I find a gold necklace inside with a stunning round pendant, boldly engraved with the letter ‘M’ and ‘C’ entwined together. I then turn it over, revealing an intricate chessboard design with an elegantly detailed queen piece standing proudly at the center.

“I… I don’t know what to say. It’s… it’s beautiful,” I stammer, tongue-tied and amazed by the pendant’s custom detail and fine craftsmanship.

“Do you like it?” he asks, his voice softer than usual.

“I love it,” I reply just as softly, completely in awe of the thought he put behind such a gift. “Will you put it on me?” I ask, handing it to him before turning my back and lifting my hair from my neck.

I stand like that for what feels like an eternity before I feel Jude press his chest to my back, his breathing sounding shallow to my ears.

“Which side do you want?” he asks hoarsely, his lips so close they almost graze my ear.

“The one with my initials,” I breathe out, turning my head just a smidge, meeting his gaze with mine. “I want the chessboard close to my heart.”

I watch his Adam’s apple bob twice before he breaks eye contact with me to fasten the necklace around my neck. Once it’s in place, I let my hair back down and run my fingers through it before I turn around to face him.

“Thank you.”

Our chests heave in unison as we stare into each other’s eyes, neither one wanting to be the first to step away from the other.

“It looks good on you,” he says, his voice dropping an octave when his gaze flickers to the pendant nestled in between the swell of my breasts.

“I’ll keep it forever.”

My insides feel like they have been set aflame with the unnamed fire in his eyes, and when he leans forward until our faces are within a hair’s breadth away from each other, I instinctively hold onto his forearms, fearing I might faint at any moment.

“Happy birthday, Mina,” he susurrates, leaning in and placing the tenderest of kisses on my cheek, so close to the corner of my lips that I pretend he missed his mark on purpose.

Maybe if I die tomorrow, it won’t be so bad.

Not if it means I still have tonight.

But then, he shatters the spell he cast on me by stepping back and away from me.

“It’s late. We should call it a night. You have a big day tomorrow.”

“But we haven’t finished our game,” I protest, unwilling to let this night slip away just yet.

“Mina.” He exhales sharply through his nose.

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