Page 78 of Semper
The cake was delicious, rich, and sweet, but it was hard to focus on anything other than the man beside me, and the secrets that now bound us tighter than ever before. I found myself laughing along with Bishop and Emilio, even as my mind continued to swirl with everything I had just learned. It was unsettling how normal it all felt—how easily I was slipping into this role, sharing a meal, talking with them as if nothing hadchanged. As if I wasn’t now aware of the twisted legacy, I was a part of.
Alexander leaned in; his breath warm against my ear. “You’re doing well,” he murmured, his voice low, meant only for me. I turned my head to meet his gaze, and there it was again—that magnetic pull that refused to let me go. Even though my world had been upended, even though everything about us should have felt wrong, sitting here, sharing a plate with him, surrounded by his—our—family, it somehow felt right.
We didn’t head back to the estate that night. At some point, as the hours grew late and the house quieted, Alexander took my hand and led me upstairs. Esther had already disappeared to bed, and the rest of the family had scattered, leaving the house cloaked in an intimate stillness.
"This was my room," he said as we reached a large, intricately carved door at the end of the hall. His voice, deep and low, sent a shiver down my spine. He opened the door, and I stepped inside, momentarily speechless. The room was breathtaking. Dark, elegant, and undeniably gothic, it looked like something pulled straight out of a dream.
Tall, arched windows framed by heavy drapes allowed the moonlight to spill in, casting soft shadows on the floor. The furniture was all dark wood and rich textures, every piece exuding an old-world luxury that made the space feel grand and intimate all at once.
There were rose petals.
They were everywhere, scattered across the bed, the floor, and even some on the windowsill. Their deep red stood out in stark contrast to the black linens and dark furnishings. Candles flickered in every corner, their flames casting a warm, golden glow across the room, filling the space with a sense of intimacy that wrapped around me like a second skin. It was beautiful. I stood there taking it all in, knowing that he had set it up this way for me.
Me.
I moved further into the room, my fingers trailing lightly over the carved wood of a nearby dresser.
As I took it all in, I could feel his eyes on me, watching my every move. When I turned to face him, his gaze was unwavering, the weight of it sending a pulse of warmth through me.
“What are you thinking,delicium meum?” he asked, his voice a low, velvet murmur. The words slid over me, wrapping around me like a possessive embrace.
I shook my head, my mind racing with a thousand thoughts. Everything that had happened tonight, the truths I’d learned, the reality of the life I was being pulled into. It was all overwhelming. But right now, in this room, with him standing there, none of that seemed to matter. I took a slow breath, finally meeting his gaze. “I’m thinking... you know exactly what you’re doing.”
He grinned, that devilish smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. "I may have an ulterior motive beyond making you feel cherished," he said, his voice dripping with dark amusement.
I swallowed, my pulse quickening at the way he looked at me, so sure of himself, so sure ofus. I almost told him he didn’t need to do all of this, that he already made me feel cherished without grand gestures like this. The truth of it hit me before I even finished the thought—he had a way of making me feel like I was the only person in the world when we were together, as twisted as everything else might be.
Then something else crept into my mind—his past. The fact that he had been marriedtwice. I had known this for a while, and it had never really bothered me before. Standing there in the room he once called his own, surrounded by the effort he had put into making this night special, the thought of it weighed heavier than I expected. Had he done this before? Created this kind of intimacy with them too? And if so, how did that make me any different?
"You’ve done this before... haven’t you?"
He locked the door behind him, the soft click echoing in the room like a final decision.
My heart thudded in my chest as he moved further inside, the space between us shrinking.
“I didn’t do a half of this for them. I never wanted to.” He closed the remaining distance between us in a few slow, deliberate steps, his hand finding its way to my chin, tipping my face up to meet his gaze. “They never mattered the way you do,” he assured me, “What do I need to do to prove this is all only for you? Thatyouare everything?”
His fingers trailed down to my throat, resting there lightly, his thumb tracing the delicate skin, but the weight of the gesture wasn’t lost on me. “In case I haven’t made it clear, I want all of you,” he murmured, his grip tightening just enough to send athrill through me. “Every thought, every fear, every dark corner you try to keep from me. No one else has ever had that, no one else ever will. I don’t just want to possess you,Lolita. I want to consume you. There will be no space between us, no other thought in your mind except me.”
His words filled me with something I couldn’t quite name—more than desire. It was darker, more powerful. I didn’t know what to say, didn’t know if I even could say anything as the intensity of this man always overwhelmed me. His grip on my throat tightened slightly, his thumb brushing over my pulse as he leaned in, his lips grazing the shell of my ear.
“I’m all yours,” he promised, his voice like velvet and sin, making my knees feel weak. His hand slid lower, grazing my collarbone before trailing even further, sending shivers through me. “You’ve infected every corner of my mind,” he continued, his lips brushing over my neck now, leaving a scorching trail in their wake. “I’ve never wanted someone like this—neverneededsomeone in this way.”
He pulled back just enough so that I could see his face, his eyes burning with something raw and untamed. “You’ve made me a madman,” he confessed, a truth that sent a rush of heat through me.
“And you know what else?”
I blinked, still caught in the intensity of his presence. “What?”
“They never had me working countless hours on the design of a ring.”
I frowned slightly. “I don’t have a ring.”
He tilted his head, that dark grin widening as he reached into his pocket. “Don’t you?”
Before I could say anything, he pulled out a small black box, his gaze locked on mine. My breath hitched as he slowly opened it, revealing the most striking ring I had ever seen—deep red, like blood on black steel. It wasn’t just a ring; it was a declaration, a claim. The rich crimson stone glowed darkly in the candlelight, surrounded by intricate black detailing that made it look both regal and dangerous, just like him. I glanced from the ring to his face, my heart pounding in my chest.
“You already have my name and crest on your skin,” he murmured. “You’ll have every title I can give. You deserve this too.”