Chapter Fourteen
~ Chase ~
She loved me. Thank God!
As we’d waited for transportation back to the ship, I’d contacted Marco to have him prepare the cabin for us. I wanted everything ready and for no one to disturb us tonight. We were supposed to go to the special Christmas Eve party the crew was throwing, but I had a feeling Emerson wouldn’t mind skipping that—not once she saw what was in store for us.
I held her hand, carrying our things as we headed back to our suite. Looking at us, you wouldn’t guess she’d been propositioning me and I wanted to jump her.
I did, but nerves roiled in my gut. What if she said no to us? What if she hated the surprises I had in store for her?
My concern notched up as I ushered her through the door ahead of me. As if I hadn’t worried enough, Emerson eyed the gifts under the tree warily before turning a glare to me. Hell, she was pissed.
“What is all this?” she demanded.
“It’s Christmas.” I shrugged.
“It’s Christmas Eve,” she huffed as she took in the room.
I led her farther inside. “My love, I intend to spoil you rotten. This is just the beginning.”
“I don’t need anything,” she insisted. “I…have you. Don’t I?”
Her anger disappeared in an instant, her gaze now full of an apprehension that nearly broke my heart. It was almost enough to make me fall to my knee and propose that instant, but I held myself in check. The moment would come soon enough.
“Of course, you do,” I whispered before brushing a kiss across her lips.
“It’s not fair. I haven’t gotten you anything,” she said, glancing back at the pile of wrapped presents. Knowing her background now, I wondered how long it had been since she’d been spoiled with gifts or if she ever had been. She would be from now on.
“You’re all I require,” I said. I took her hand and led her to the tree. “Open them.”
“It’s not Christmas,” she argued again, though she allowed me to sit and pull her to the floor with me.
“Tomorrow will be busy,” I reminded her.
“Yes,” she agreed, frowning. “I still have to pack. What time are we leaving?”
The sadness in her tone confused me. I knew she wasn’t completely happy on the ship, and I thought she’d be relieved to be disembarking.
“The ship docks at eleven.”
“I’ve gotten so used to the warmth out here,” she said, toying with a ribbon on the box closest to her. I hated the hollowness of her tone. “I’m not looking forward to returning to the bitter cold of Chicago in December.”
Anger burned through me as she talked of returning to that place. She belonged with me in Nevada. I almost said something then remembered we hadn’t discussed the future yet. Again, the urge to slide the ring on her finger, to prove once and for all that she would never leave my side again, grasped my heart.
“Open your gifts,” I said, some of my agitation coming through in my tone.
“Chase, are you all right?”
“I’m fine,” I assured her. “I’m just excited to see your face as you see what I’ve chosen for you. I hope I’ve done all right. When I selected things, I didn’t know you as I know you now.”
“I’m sure you did fine,” she said. “It’s already too much.”
I grabbed a package and dropped it in her lap, eager to move along. She was probably right. I’d gone a little overboard. But I wanted to ensure her Christmas was special. At first, because I wasn’t sure I could convince her to marry me. But now, I wanted her to always look back at the first Christmas with me as nothing more than a drop in the bucket of excess I was prepared to shower on her.
She glared at me again, but she still chuckled as she turned back to the present and tore the paper off the laptop I’d gotten her.
“You’re insane,” she said, running a hand over the box. “What is this? I’ve never heard of this model.”
“It’s a prototype,” I answered dismissively. “They promised if there were any bugs, they’d replace it once it’s fully released to the public. I wanted to be sure you had what you’d need for your coding. But honestly, you’re a million times smarter than I am, so I have no idea what that would entail. If it’s not right, we can send it back and get you something more properly suited.”
I took the box from her and set it aside then grabbed the next package off the pile. She shook her head but ripped it open.
We repeated the process for twenty minutes. She opened jewelry, electronics, shoes—thankfully in the right the size—and argued with me about the necessity of all of it. I ignored her protests and insisted she continue.
She never got in the spirit as I’d hoped, but she seemed pleased overall by the gesture. When everything under the tree had been opened, she sat back and looked around with clear amazement.
“Is that it?” she teased.
I glanced around, making a show of inspecting the tree.
“Are you too tired to continue?” I asked.
“Continue? I was joking.” Her gaze darkened, and the look she gave me made my cock instantly hard. “Do you mean I have another gift to unwrap?”
She gave me a naughty grin as her gaze slid over me. My body instantly reacted. Then she crawled over to me and kissed me, her tongue running over my lower lip and her hands on my shoulders, pushing firmly to lay me out on the floor underneath her.
“Em,” I said, pulling away from her mouth. “You’re kind of stealing my thunder here.”
“Why?” She nuzzled my neck before nipping at my ear. “You’re my last present, aren’t you?”
“I am,” I assured her, gently pushing her up. “But there’s one that…um, comes before me.”
I stood and went to the tree, holding
