Chapter 213 Chapter 213
“Goodnight, Maxwell,” she whispered. He hummed and drew gentle circles on her back to help her fall asleep more quickly. Her breath soon evened, and she drifted off to sleep, leaving him alone with his thoughts. While it could be a little boring to wait for her to wake up in the mornings, he did enjoy the deep peacefulness and the calm that she radiated throughout it. The feeling was pure bliss to him.
And most importantly, in these moments, he had her all to himself and didn’t have to share her with anyone. Not even that stupid, arrogant cat.
A barely noticeable smile settled on his lips as he watched her in the darkness. Silver moonlight fell through the windows and bathed her body in an ethereal glow. Her long black hair was spread around her head like a halo and looked dark blue in this light. He brushed its silky strands with his fingers, careful not to disturb her in her sleep. She must have been very tired from the long flight—he rarely saw her fall asleep so easily. Maybe she was having a little bit of jetlag too… He thankfully would be spared that hassle.
Many hours later, when the moon had disappeared, the warm rays of the sun roused her from her sleep in a gentle manner. Valerie found herself surrounded by pleasant warmth. It felt nothing short of delightful. The familiar scent of cinnamon that accompanied it made her smile. She blinked, opened her eyes, and let them adjust to the brightness of the sunlight.
“Good morning,” Maxwell said, wearing a wide smirk on his lips. The cheeky glimmer in his eyes drew her attention, so she sounded curious when she replied to him.
“Morning,” she said. “Did something happen?”
“Yeah, something very interesting,” he said slyly.
“Care to elaborate?” she asked. His arrogance was extremely noticeable this morning. It seemed like his ego had somehow grown bigger overnight, and she had no idea why that had happened.
“You talk in your sleep sometimes,” he smirked, causing her to pale and then blush. Mortified, her eyes widened.
“What did I say?”
“Oh… you repeated my name a few times,” he drawled arrogantly and raised his eyebrow. “Want to tell me what that dream was about?”
“I don’t remember,” she answered and flushed. “Did I say anything else?”
“Well, you declared your undying love to me,” he smirked. “And you also mentioned that I’m very handsome. Apparently, you like it when my eyes are red, and you find my face chain attractive.”
He looked very pleased with himself, radiating haughtiness in such an exuberant way that she had to fight the urge to scoff at his attitude.
“Not like you didn’t already know that,” she said and pouted at him.
“It’s better to hear it from your pretty mouth, love,” he grinned, placing a teasing kiss on the corner of her lips. They were lying very close to each other, their legs tangled as their bodies touched under the cover. No wonder she felt so comfortable when she had woken up—right now, it was so cozy in bed that she didn’t want to get up anytime soon. So she cuddled up to him, prompting him to chuckle.
“Clingy,” he teased, caressing the back of her head and planting butterfly kisses on her neck. She sighed, loving the feeling of his soft lips as they gently traced her neck.
“Please don’t stop,” she whispered, practically melting.
“You like it?” he asked, amusedly with a glance at her blissful face.
“Yes,” she smiled. “I love it.”
“Good answer,” he replied before he continued where he left off.
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The first day on the island, they spent exploring the area around the hotel. It was located near the beach, their room offering a magnificent view of the ocean and the shore. Not far from it was a town called Santa Cruz—Valerie already made plans to visit it within the next few days. She wanted to go shopping, maybe buy some souvenirs for their friends. At first, she had suggested that they come along, but Maxwell had been adamant about wanting to be alone with her. And as it usually happened, he ended up winning, convincing her with his irresistible kisses.
On the second day of their vacation, they decided to stay at the beach, later returning to sunbathe near the pool area of the hotel. Valerie was still struggling a little with jet lag, so she used the opportunity to take a nap.
When night fell, they had dinner at the hotel’s restaurant, sitting on the balcony that overlooked the moonlit ocean. The rushing of the waves mixed with quiet music and the voices of people as they conversed with each other. The atmosphere was romantic, almost intimate, and Valerie enjoyed it to the fullest. So far, she loved their vacation since it was all she had wanted it to be. Spending time with him from morning till late at night was happiness in its purest form.
She could tell that he enjoyed it too, since he had been much more relaxed than before. Not even the countless humans nearby bothered him. He was fully fixated on her, watching her over the flickering light of a candle. His eyes gleamed blue, though a hint of red was visible as well.
When the waiter brought the salads they had ordered, Valerie got to witness a rather entertaining scene. The demon shoved the food into his mouth and chewed—but then he gagged, coughing and forcing himself to swallow. Thinking he had choked on his food, she worriedly glanced at him, only to be met with his smoldering glare right after.
“Valerie,” he exploded. “What is this crap?”
“Huh?”
“Don’t tell me you humans eat this green poison shit for dinner. What’s wrong with you?” he said, offendedly.
Before he could cause a scene, she tried to calm him down and find out what the issue was. “You don’t like the salad?” she asked.
“The salad is fine, but this is a problem,” he grumbled and picked up a piece of cucumber with his fork.
She snorted, hiding her wide smirk behind her hand. It was hard to hold back a chortle when she realized that he made such a fuss over a little bit of cucumber. “It’s a regular vegetable,” she grinned, a little surprised he had never tried it. “Very healthy.”
“Hell no, this is poison.”
She snorted, hiding her smirk before he saw it and fighting to keep her composure. He got all worked up over the cucumber in his salad and began a long rant over how humans couldn’t make proper food.