Chapter 89

Ava

“Well? What do you think?”

Chris’s deep voice echoed through the large, lavish hotel room from behind me as I slowly turned in a circle, taking it all in.

“Chris, this is… wow,” I breathed, unable to find the right words to even begin to describe it.

An ornate crystal chandelier hung from the vaulted ceiling, catching the fading evening light. A plush bed sat against the far wall, piled high with velvet and satin pillows. There was an entire seating area with a flat-screen television, a small kitchenette stocked fully with all kinds of coffees, teas, and finely-wrapped pastries.

And most of all, there was a large patio with our own personal heated infinity pool overlooking the city.

It was like something out of a movie, to say the least. A very expensive movie.

Chris chuckled softly from behind me. I heard his footsteps approach, and a moment later, his strong arms circled around my waist.

I swallowed and shook my head as I took in the opulent hotel room. “Are you sure this isn’t too much?” I asked, looking up at him over my shoulder. “This place must be a thousand dollars a night…”

“A drop in the bucket,” he murmured against the crook of my neck. “And if you keep letting me bring you on dates to the human world, I’ll spoil you like an absolute queen. Just you wait.”

I couldn’t help but hum contentedly at the thought, allowing my eyes to flutter closed for just a moment. Ethan had never, ever, taken me on expensive trips like this. Not that I ever asked, nor would I have even really thought of it, but… still.

When my eyes fluttered open again, my gaze immediately landed on a decadent spread of fine chocolates and a chilled bottle of champagne sitting on top of the ornately carved coffee table. A soft giggle bubbled up from the inside of my chest.

“You’re already spoiling me,” I teased, extricating myself from Chris’s arms to cross the room and pick up one of the chocolate truffles from the silver tray. “I don’t know what more anyone could possibly want than this.”

Chris grinned as he watched me take a bite of the truffle. The fragrant, almost earthy dark chocolate seemed to explode inside my mouth, causing my eyes to roll back ever so slightly of their own accord.

“Oh my Goddess,” I muttered, turning to Chris and holding the truffle out to him. “Try this.”

Chuckling, Chris crossed over to me and cupped my wrist in one of his hands, raising the truffle to his lips. As he took the truffle into his mouth, his tongue grazed my fingertips. He chewed slowly, swallowed, then gently sucked on the end of my thumb to get off a bit of chocolate that had been left behind.

“Mm,” he murmured, capturing my wrist a little harder and pulling me flush against him. “Delicious.”

…

Later that evening, after indulging in the guilty pleasures that the hotel room provided, I found myself standing in front of the bathroom mirror with a curling iron in my hands. Soft music played on the speaker as I carefully twisted strands of my chestnut hair up into a sweeping updo, my makeup slightly shimmery beneath the bathroom lights.

I was so engrossed in my work, in fact, that I nearly jumped out of my skin when a pair of strong arms suddenly wrapped around my midsection from behind.

“Hey!” I cooed, flinching away from the heat of the curling iron. “I almost burned myself.”

“I’m sorry,” Chris murmured against my neck. “I just couldn’t help myself… Here. Will this make up for it?”

I watched him through the mirror as, suddenly, Chris gently placed a string of pinkish white pearls around my neck. They seemed to glow almost like moonstones in the dim amber lighting, and somehow happened to match my eyeshadow perfectly.

“Chris…” I whispered, my voice catching in my throat as I set down the curling iron and reached up to lightly trace the pearls with my fingertips. “These are... stunning.”

“You like them?” he asked. “I was worried you wouldn’t.”

I opened my mouth to respond, but then found that the words couldn’t seem to come. A sense of guilt washed over me; I knew how pearls were often sourced here in the human world. And it wasn’t good.

As if sensing my thoughts, Chris pulled back just enough to look at me.

“I know what you’re thinking,” he said softly. “And yes, they have been ethically sourced. I made sure of that.”

“You really went to all that trouble?” I murmured, turning in his arms to face him. “For me?”

Chris chuckled again. “Of course I did. I know how important it is to you… and to me.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “You have no idea how much that means to me. But…” I looked down at the pearls, gently tracing them with my fingers again before lifting my gaze to meet his. “You know I don’t need to be showered with gifts. You’ve already done so much just by bringing me to this lavish hotel.”

“Too bad.” Chris shrugged and kissed my forehead before gently extricating himself from me and tightening his tie in the mirror. “I want to. Let me spoil you.”

I felt my resolve quickly crumbling as I looked up at him, watching his taut jawline stand out starkly against the collar of his shirt.

“Alright,” I finally conceded, shaking my head amusedly. “I’ll allow it. Just this once.”

…

Before I knew it, we were ascending the front steps to a lavish mansion. The twinkling of golden lighting spilled out of the large windows, bringing with it the sound of music coming from within. I felt my heart lodge in my throat as I looked around at all of the other human socialites filtering in and out of the mansion, feeling utterly out of place amongst them.

As we climbed the steps, I could feel the eyes of the humans on me. No doubt they were looking at my moonflower tattoo, which was glowing particularly bright tonight with the full moon so close. Swallowing, I carefully pulled my velvet shawl a little tighter around my shoulders to hide it.

“Relax,” Chris said gently as he ushered me through the front door, his hand resting coolly on the small of my back. “You look beautiful.”

“Everyone’s looking at my tattoo.”

“Because they think it’s interesting, and beautiful,” he explained.

I let out a soft sigh and nodded, relaxing my tension on my shawl a bit. The soft velvet fabric fell to reveal my bare shoulders—I had opted for a thin-strapped black dress that night—and Chris placed his cool hand there, pulling me close.

As we stepped into the exquisite home, I couldn’t help but feel my lips part in awe. The place was enormous, to say the least—with a double curved stairwell leading up to a second floor, a pristine white piano in the center of the foyer, and glittering chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Every wall seemed to be adorned with massive art pieces, everything from Renaissance art to contemporary.

But before I could even get a word out to Chris, the sound of a woman’s voice echoing down from the top of the stairwell caused us both to stop.

“Chris, darling! Is this your lovely girlfriend?”