Chapter 230
I loved Victor even more for the proper marriage proposal, but my emotions were being overloaded.
Images of my future flashed through my mind. I wanted to go to a good university and have a career helping people. Wilson Inc. also needed me to oversee the new business model.
I had many goals that were important to me. Yet, I still wanted to be Victor’s wife and mate. I couldn’t be without him ever again.
He sat back in his haunches, his face a mask of concern and confusion. “Daisy? Say something, sweetheart.”
I burst into tears. “I …I love you too,” I sobbed. “So much. But I don’t want to get married yet.”
“I wasn’t planning on dragging you down the aisle tomorrow,” Victor teased. “But I wanted you to know how I feel about you.”
He stood and pulled me into his arms. “I need you to know I’m in this relationship forever.”
“Don’t let the other playboys hear you,” I said with a watery giggle. “They’ll kick you out of the Playboy Union.”
He tossed his head back and laughed. “My playboy days are gone for good. You are all I need.” He held up the ring in his hand. “But if you’re not ready for this, it’s okay.”
I put my hands on his chest and gazed into his eyes. “I want to be your wife, but I want to wait until I graduate from college. Can we have a long engagement?”
“It can be as long as you like,” he replied.
“Then my answer is yes. I will be your wife.” Wow, we were now engaged for real.
He lifted me from my feet and twirled me around. “Thank you, my love.” He placed me in the chair and kneeled in front of me again.
“I bought this ring weeks ago when I realized I loved you even if you weren’t Alex’s daughter,” he explained as he slipped the gold ring onto my finger.
I held up my hand and examined the ring. It was a gold halo-style ring with tiny diamonds surrounding the huge main stone.
“It’s perfect,” I sighed. “And humongous.”
“I wanted you to have the best,” he insisted.
“As long as I have you, I do have the best,” I said.
“Come on.” He pulled me to my feet again. “Let’s take a shower together.”
I followed him to the marble bathroom, and we removed our robes. Being naked with him now felt natural.
Victor turned on the rain shower head, and we stepped under the flow of water. Our lips met as warm water sluiced over us.
Our passions flared as we explored each other's wet bodies. My hands glided over the hard muscles of his biceps, and I pressed my breasts against his lightly furred chest. I loved the feel of my skin touching his.
He took a washcloth and began to wash me. First my back and arms, then moving on to my most intimate areas. After the water washed away the soap, he dried me off and carried me back to the bed.
He laid me on my back and ran his tongue over my breasts, making my womanhood begin throbbing with need again.
“You make my body come alive,” I panted in his ear. “I love it when you touch me.”
“Good. I want to make love to you again,” he said. “I’ll never grow tired of your exquisite body. It’s perfect.”
Soon, we were moving together to love's rhythm while lost in the grip of passion.
I woke the next morning to warm sunlight streaming into the bedroom and the delicious smell of coffee and bacon filling the room.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Victor said. He had a tray in his hands. “I made breakfast.”
“Good morning.” I sat up in bed, and he placed the tray next to me. I couldn’t resist admiring the diamond ring on my left hand. It was even more gorgeous in the daylight.
“I didn’t know you could cook,” I said. “I remember Jennifer and I were the only cooks at Lake Pocono.”
“I can fry eggs and bacon and put bread in a toaster.” He handed me a cup of coffee. “And I can operate a coffee maker.”
I slid out of bed and grabbed my robe. “There’s enough here for two. Let’s eat on the deck.”
Victor carried the meal outside, and we ate watching the tide come in. It was a peaceful and idyllic way to start the day. A kite flown by a small boy and his father further down the beach caught my eye.
“Oh, shoot. I forgot to text Alex when we arrived,” I said.
“I did it before I took the luggage from the car,” he assured me. “What do you want to do today? I made a reservation for dinner at the inn we passed on our way here.”
“Hmm.” I thought for a moment.
“We could go for a drive and explore the area,” Victor suggested. “Or maybe Findlay can arrange for us to go for a ride on a yacht.”
“I’ve never been on a boat,” I said. “That sounds like fun.”
Victor picked up a slice of bacon. “Then I’ll call Findlay after breakfast. I haven’t been on a boat in ages.”
“I’ll call Mr. Gray while you’re talking to Findlay,” I said. “I want to get started on Amy’s party as soon as we get home.”
After we finished eating, Victor took the tray downstairs, and I grabbed my phone from the bedroom. Then, I returned to the deck to call Amy’s dad. The restaurant wasn’t open yet, so he shouldn’t be busy.
I sat in a deck chair, tucked my feet underneath me, and made the call.
Mr. Gray picked up on the second ring. “Daisy, how are you?”
“I’m great,” I chirped. “How are you and everything at the restaurant?”
“I’m fine, and the restaurant is really taking off,” he replied. “I’m going to hire more help soon.”
“That’s good news. Is Amy nearby?”
“No,” he said. “She was out late last night with Justin, so I was letting her sleep in.”
“Good. I wanted to talk to you about her birthday.”
He sighed dramatically. “Yeah, I can’t believe my baby is going to be eighteen already. Where has the time gone?”
“I was thinking about throwing her a surprise party at my home,” I told him. “I'll arrange for good food and dancing, and I’ll get my family’s priestess to do her first shift ceremony.”
“I don’t know, Daisy,” he said. “You don’t have to go to all that trouble.”
“It’s no trouble,” I assured him. “I want to do this for Amy. She’ll love it.”
The phone went quiet for so long that I thought he hung up.
“Mr. Gray, are you still there?” I asked.
“Yes,” his voice was flat and distant. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I think it’s better if Amy experiences her first shift at home.”
“But she won’t be able to go for a run in the city,” I argued. “She would enjoy herself much more with friends in a safe place to shift and run.”
“Daisy, please.” His voice was growing higher pitched, almost frightened. “You don’t understand.”
“No, I don’t understand why you want to keep Amy locked in your apartment on her birthday. This is an important birthday. I want to make it special for her.”
“Daisy, I have my reasons,” he argued. “There are things about Amy that you don’t know.” He let out a hollow laugh. “Amy doesn’t know either.”
“What?” I asked. “What secret would keep you from letting her have a birthday party?” I like and respect Mr. Gray, but it was absurd.
“Daisy, my wife and I adopted Amy when she was a few days old,” he revealed. “And she isn’t pure Beta.”
“What do you mean?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Amy’s father was an Alpha, but her biological mother is unknown,” he replied. “Amy is either pure Alpha or a hybrid.”
I was stunned. “She doesn’t know?”
“I never found the right time to tell her,” he said. “But when she experiences her first shift, there will be no hiding it, from her or anyone else.”
