Chapter 62: Getting Spoiled

DAMON

I was heading towards her school to pick her up and then take her out for a cozy lunch, wanting to spend some quality time with her before the mission tonight. The weight of what was coming later made me crave these peaceful moments with her even more.

"Hey cupcake… I'm coming to pick you up, should I stop by the school parking lot or come further than that?"

I asked over the phone, and her voice echoed in my ears. Fuck, I loved hearing her voice—it sounded so beautiful and sweet,

"Ummm, drop by the car park, I'll come over to you now."

She said, and I nodded even though she couldn't see me. She never allows me to come further than the school parking lot, and I respect her wishes. As far as my men are there to guard her, I'm content with that arrangement.

I waited in the parking lot for three minutes before I saw her coming out from the hallway towards my car, her backpack slung over one shoulder, looking every bit like the college student she was. But fuck, she was so much more than that to me.

My men were within walking distance of her—I always warn them about her privacy. Be there but don't be there, that's the rule. I wouldn't want to dare jeopardize her sense of normalcy or make her feel suffocated.

One of my men opened the car door for her, and she slipped in with a little sigh, immediately filling the space with her presence.

"Hey daddy."

She smiled, and her scent filled my nose—that sweet, floral perfume mixed with something uniquely her that always drove me fucking wild.

"Hey cupcake."

I said, cupping her face with one hand, my thumb brushing across her soft cheek. I leaned forward, pulling her lips towards mine as we kissed slowly, savoring every second. Her lips were soft and warm, and I could taste the cherry lip gloss she always wore. We took our time, neither of us in a rush to break the connection, before we finally detangled.

"You had a great time in school today?"

I asked, my hand still resting on her face, and she nodded, her cheeks flushed that beautiful shade of red. She always flushed red anytime we kissed, and it never failed to make my heart flutter. Yes, I wanted her to fall in love with me—completely, desperately, the way I'd already fallen for her. I wanted to marry her, wanted her to carry my children, and damn anyone who tried to come between us.

"Yes, I did. I've been preparing for these exams, and I'm actually excited for my first exams at this school."

She said, her eyes lighting up as she spoke, that spark of determination that made me so fucking proud of her. I roared the engine to life and steered out from the parking lot, my other hand finding its way to her thigh.

"Cool car, I haven't seen this one around."

She said, looking around the interior, her eyes sparkling with admiration as she took in the leather seats, the high-tech dashboard, the way everything screamed luxury.

It was a sports car—a McLaren 750S that had cost me more than most people's houses—which I'd gotten a few days ago but was driving for the first time today. I'd been saving it for a special occasion, and any day with her qualified as special.

"Well, I think you like it. I can get you one, in your favorite color of course."

I said, turning to look at her briefly before focusing back on the road, already mentally noting to call my dealer about getting her a car in that soft blue she loved so much.

"What? No, no, I don't need a car right now."

She said quickly, shaking her head, and I had to suppress a smile. She really didn't know that she already had her own cars sitting in my garage—everything that belonged to me was hers, but she was never the type of person to request anything from me. And honestly, I didn't like that. I wanted her to ask me for the world so I could go get it for her, wanted her to understand that nothing was too much when it came to her happiness.

"Cupcake, I hear you…"

I said, dropping my hand back onto her thigh while I drove through the lane that led to the restaurant where I'd made reservations for us—a small, intimate place that I'd rented out entirely so we could have privacy.

"Where are we heading to?"

She asked, looking at the GPS screen in front of us which displayed our location and the route ahead.

"Well, I wanted us to eat out before we head home. I know you must be famished, and you've been dropping some weight lately. I don't like that."

I said, my voice carrying a hint of concern as I gazed at her body. She was still perfect to me—every curve, every inch—but I could see the stress of school affecting her, and it worried me more than I cared to admit.

"I'm a student, it's bound to happen."

She said with a little pout that made me want to pull over and kiss her senseless. Instead, I rubbed her thigh in slow, circular motions, feeling the warmth of her skin through her jeans.

"I've got a gift for you."

I said, and immediately her eyes lit up with that mixture of shock and happiness that never failed to make my chest tight with emotion.

"Really?"

She whispered, and I nodded, putting the car on autopilot as I reached into the back seat to retrieve the wrapped box I'd been hiding there.

"Open it, cupcake."

I said, and she smiled at me before setting the box in her lap. But first, she leaned over and gave me a hug that smelled like her shampoo and felt like coming home.

"Thank you so much."

She said against my ear, and I pressed a kiss to her temple before she settled back to examine the gift. She loosened the ribbon slowly, carefully, like it was made of spun gold instead of silk. That was Anna—she made everything feel special, sacred even, and it was one of the thousand things I loved about her.

Her eyes widened as she took in the contents of the box.

"Oh my God, did you just get me the latest iPhone, the latest iPad, and the latest MacBook?"

She said, shock evident in her voice as her mouth fell open. She threw her hands over her mouth, staring at the gift box before looking at me with those beautiful eyes that could bring me to my knees.

"Well, I figured you'd need them for your studies and your fashion designing."

I said, trying to play it casual even though I'd spent hours researching exactly which models would be best for her coursework, which colors she'd prefer, what accessories she might need.

In that instant, she threw her arms around me, and even though the car was still running on autopilot, I could feel her breath catching, could sense the emotion overwhelming her.

"Hey cupcake, you're not going to cry over this, are you?"

I chuckled against her ear, and I heard her laugh through what sounded suspiciously like the beginning of tears.

"You bought me a painting by that famous artist worth over sixty million dollars, and now you're giving me gadgets worth thousands more. Not to mention all the shopping, the dinners, everything—it's like I'm living in some kind of fairy tale. So yes, of course I'm going to be emotional."

She said, and with that, she kissed me. Hard. So hard it caught my breath and made my world tilt on its axis. My cupcake had mastered the art of kissing, and knowing that I was the one who'd taught her everything made me harder than a fucking rock. I kissed her back with everything I had, our lips moving together desperately, hungrily, like we were trying to consume each other. Her hands fisted in my shirt, pulling me closer, and I could taste the salt of happy tears on her lips. When we finally broke apart, we were both breathing hard, both staring at each other like we wanted to devour one another right there in the car.

I was hard as stone and fuck, I wanted her. So badly it was almost painful. So intensely that everything else—the restaurant reservation, the mission tonight, the world outside this car—faded into nothing. And I knew she wanted me too, could see it in the way she was breathing, in how her eyes were looking into mine like she was going to climb over the center console and make me forget my own name.