“Yeah. I’ll see you back in England,” he says with a smile and a quick kiss.
I nod and disappear down the stairs two at a time. I open the midway door that leads to the second floor and practically trip over CK who is sitting on the floor outside the door staring at his phone. He tucks it away as he sees me, no doubt counting down to make sure I am on time.
“Hi,” I say and hold out my hand to help him up.
“Hi,” he says and takes it. “You are well?” he asks formally.
“I’m fine,” I say with a smile. “Now about those plans you had…” I pull him closer to me and he stiffens slightly but then relaxes as he sniffs delicately and comes up with soap and water. I have to sigh inwardly at him. Well, all Vampire men. They are so territorial, CK more than most.
“Ah, yes. My plans to sweep you off your feet,” he says as he does exactly that and I laugh in delight as he twirls me round. “First things,” he says and Teleports us outside into the weak, late February sun and gestures to a picnic he has had set up in the gardens.
“Perfect,” I say, clapping my hands and then throwing my arms around his neck. He kisses me quickly and then pushes me down to sit. He hands me a pair of Ray-Bans as he dons his own and sits on the blanket kitty-corner to me. I gratefully put on the sunglasses. My eyes stop squinting and I take in the beautiful view as he hands me a glass of champagne. “Bit early,” I chuckle as I take it.
“Makes no difference to us, my sweet. We can drink all day, every day. Just enjoy it and stop being so moral,” he teases me, and I snort in amusement.
“It really tickles me that you all go around calling me moral. By most human standards I am the most immoral being on the planet. I should be walking around with a scarlet ‘A’ pinned to my front.”
He chokes on his champagne as he stifles his laugh. “Oh, my love, if I thought I could get away with it, I would pin it on you myself.”
I smile prettily at him and he beams at me. “There is a lot you could get away with, but you don’t want to try,” I say darkly in contrast to my sweet smile.
His own expression darkens. “Don’t tempt me, you might regret it.”
“Doubtful,” I say cheerfully and take a swig of my champagne.
He takes the high road and ignores me, changing the subject to something else. “Aefre, there are some papers I want you to sign,” he says and leans over to pull out a blue folder from the basket.
“What is it?” I
ask, taking it from him. I flick through it and my eyes widen in surprise.
“My reasons for going to Geneva were twofold. This is one of them.” He hands me his Montblanc pen and I just stare at it.
“No. CK this isn’t necessary,” I say, closing the folder.
“No, it isn’t, but it is something that I want to do.”
“I don’t need it, it is…” I wave my hand about, trying to find the right word.
“It is what I want. I want you to be named on everything that I own, Aefre. It doesn’t matter if you need it or not.”
“The castle is enough, Constantine,” I say with a frown and he returns it as I have used his full name. “It is enough that we have a home together, something that is ours. I don’t need all the rest.”
“I know you don’t need it, but I want you to have it.” He is getting annoyed now and I smile inwardly. Only he would get mad at me for refusing to take half of his vast, vast fortune that makes my own look like pocket change. I never actually knew exactly how much money he has, but I counted thirteen figures on his bottom line and that is just his bank accounts. With this place and all the other properties and investments he has, I start to shake as I take in the enormity of his estate. It is bordering on unreal.
“It is what couples do, Aefre. They share,” he says to me as I remain silent and shaky.
I slap my hand to my mouth to stop myself from laughing out loud as, oh my gods! Did he just say that to me? He, who couldn’t even bear to let me share his bedroom officially with him for centuries, making sure that I had my own to go back to.
He glares at me as he sees the laughter dancing in my eyes. “Yes, I can see that this turnabout amuses you, but there is no need to make fun.”
“Oh, my love, I am not making fun of you,” I say, chastised. “It is just a huge shock, that is all. It’s staggering. Can I think about it?”
“You want to think about it?” he asks in disbelief. “Every other woman in the universe would have signed before I had even given them the pen.”
I take a very great offense to that and put on my most haughty expression. “Well, I am not ‘every woman.’ If that is what you want: someone who will take your money without a second regard, then I suggest you look elsewhere.” I throw the file back at him, along with his pen and he catches it with a look of pure delight.
“Oh no,” he says. “That is most definitely not what I want. You misunderstand, my sweet. It is your reluctance that warms me. That makes me fall in love with you all over again. And that expression on your face is a picture. Only you would throw this back in my face as an unnecessary course of action. It is only you that I want.”