Page 106 of Begrudgingly Yours
The smile that takes over him is shy, but still just as vivid as usual. He’s always the brightest light in the room. Even in this auditorium that has so many of them, he’s still the brightest one, and he’s shining that light right at me.
It’s not the usual spotlight I’m used to being under, but I love it just as much.
“In that case, I think it’s time I give you this.” He pulls out a tiny square box, red velvet soft under my fingertips as he places it in my hand. “And don’t say anything about getting this and the house in the same day. You were stunning on that stage tonight, you deserve every gift andmore.”
I don’t recognize the label, so I’m guessing it’s from anexpensive store I’ve never shopped at before. In spite of that, I find myself opening it up quickly, desperate to see what’s lying inside.
The first thing I see is a padlock. The chain attached to it is cold under my fingertips, the silver authentic and hefty. It’s fucking stunning as it shimmers underneath the street lights as I pull it from the box. “Holy shit, Dax. Is this real silver?”
He gives me a cheeky grin. “There’s an inscription,” he whispers, rich and sultry as he points at the blurred blobs at the bottom.
“My love, are those even words?” I squint at them as best as I can. “They’re tiny as fuck.”
He gives a hearty laugh. “I know, silly. I wanted the words to be just for you and me. So no one could accidentally read them and ask you about it.”
Dax gives me a tiny gray device and I balk at him. “It comes with its own loupe?!”
The laugh he emits is full of even more humor. “Just look at it.”
I hold the loupe to my eye and then pull the padlock up so I can see clearly. It takes a second for the words to form and become readable, but my heart squeezes the second they do.
Forever grateful I didn’t lock that door.
I try and fail to hold the gasp in, fully letting the dramatics take over as I read the words. It makes sense now, the padlock, and the shy nature he had while handing it to me. This is special, and I feel myself closing my hand over it as if to protect it.
“Iloveit,” I tell him. I put the box down with my stuff and then hand it to him. “Can you put it on me?”
“I’d love to.” He takes it from me, handling it with just as much care, as I turn around and let him slide it around my neck. The second I hear it clasp together, a piece of my soulslides into place. I can feel his happiness radiating through the bond, his alpha content that I love the thing he’s gifted me.
“You are my heart,” he says for my ears only. It tickles the skin of my neck and leaves goosebumps running down my body. “And you have mine.Always.”
Our lips meet over my shoulder, and I don’t even care about the awkward way I bend my neck to do it because his mouth is warm and gentle, roaring of the seriousness he’s putting on the table. He’s always been my comedian, my larger-than-life person. But in these moments, he allows himself to be subdued, to show me the real him underneath the hockey star and the party animal. It’s everything to me, and with the reminder of it around my neck, I’ll never, ever forget it.
FORTY-NINE
“My mom wants me to call her as soon as we get the rest of your stuff in because she has a million house-warming gifts that she wants to send to us,” Everett says from the driver’s seat.
“We’re going to have a lot of knick-knacks then, because my family also wants to send a lot of stuff. Like each individual parent is going to send us a personal gift and I know they don’t understand packing light.”
Jett snorts. “Well, we see where you get it from, Dax.”
My blond alpha smacks him in the backseat.
I don’t mind having a plethora of gifts. It’ll balance out the fact that Jett and I don’t have parents that will send us housewarming gifts.
Although Stacia did say her alphas wanted to send over some essentials. Kendall included a baking set so we can learn to make our own desserts. I’m just hoping none of us burn the kitchen down in the first week.
“Also, there’s no way your parents are sending us knick-knacks,” Jett adds, talking to Dax. “That’s another thing you gotfrom them.Expensivetaste. Things I have only ever heard of in movies about billionaires. Never in reality.”
“Like the grand piano your parents had in their den,” I say, still thinking about it. “How did they even get it in there?”
“It came with the listing.” Dax shrugs.
“But how did it get up there?!” Jett says in frustration.
Everett laughs. “Alright, no pianos,” he agrees. “But they’ll be more functional than you think. The last time Addison got me a gift, it was a fancy skate-sharpener. I haven’t had to get my skates sharpened by someone else in a long time.”
Jett grins. “That is useful.”
