He jumps up and follows me back to the bedroom. Taking the jewels from the case, I hand him an emerald and diamond necklace. He takes it from me and clasps it around my neck.
Fingering the four-carat emerald dangling near my cleavage, he murmurs, “Matches your beautiful eyes.” I raise an eyebrow at this very rare compliment to my natural form. I bend to retrieve the earrings from the case – two perfect three-carat drop emeralds – and poke
them into place. Literally. Permanently pierced ears on Vampires are a no-go as we heal, but if the earrings are already in place it stops the healing process until they are removed. Flinching slightly at the pinch, I finish the task and then spin and ask, “Well?”
“Beautiful,” is the reply as Cole reappears after his shower. He whistles and moves to kiss me.
“You look amazing,” he whispers.
Devon backs off and heads to the shower as I pull out the diamond and emerald tennis bracelet to complete the look.
“Holy crap,” Cole says as I fasten it to my right wrist.
I glance up. “What?” I ask, surprised.
“You. All that jewelry,” he gestures.
I smile serenely. “This is nothing, wait until it’s tiara Sunday,” I joke, but he remains serious. Narrowing my eyes at him as he turns to dress, I watch him, enjoying taking in his every move. Conscious of my gaze, he eventually turns to me with a cryptic smile. I raise an eyebrow at his look, and he cocks his back.
“Like what you see?” he asks seductively.
I breathe in deeply. “Oh, yes,” I reply.
He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out a small pale blue box. My breath catches and I take a step back.
“You need one more,” he says as he drops to his knees in front of me and opens the box. Inside is a perfect circular five-carat black diamond ring with three quarter-carat clear diamonds on either side in a platinum setting.
“Marry me,” he says simply.
My brain fights to keep up as I stare at him.
“What?” I ask in horror.
“Marry me,” he repeats. “I love you and I don’t want to be without you, Liv. Please say ‘yes.””
I inhale deeply and try to quickly process this. Marriage is one thing; him growing old and dying while I continue to get stronger is something else entirely.
“Cole…I…” I falter.
He knows the root of my hesitation and looks me straight in the eye. “I don’t want to ever be without you, Liv. My answer is ‘yes,’ if yours is.”
“How do you know what my question is?” I ask stupidly.
He laughs quietly. “It’s been the elephant in the room for a few weeks now. I know I can't be with you unless you turn me, and my answer is ‘yes.’”
“What?” I say again, sounding like a complete imbecile. I can’t turn him. Not now, not after this prophecy nonsense. I can’t risk it coming true, or worse, Gregor and Eloise finding out and killing me before I can do it. Or even worse, they kill Cole before I can get to him. That thought turns me cold inside. I just stare at him.
Dropping to my knees in front of him, I clasp his hands in mine, searching his eyes. “Do you know what you are asking for?”
He nods slowly. “I do,” he says, firmly.
“Really, truly, no going back? This is what you want?” I press.
“Yes,” he says with conviction.
“Are you sure?” I insist, trying to put him off. I haven’t sired anyone in five hundred and six years, and I’m reluctant to start again now in case CK is right. Oh, and Devon is going to be pissed beyond belief.
He nods again. “Positive. I want to make history with you, Liv.”