Damien Doukas’ POV
Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid.
Ugh, fucking stupid! What was I thinking? I cursed myself. Blurting out to Adrianna that her parents were going to be my future in-laws.
I still remembered Adrianna’s stunned expression. I, too, was stunned by my own declaration and immediately tried to play it cool by acting nonchalant. I knew I was not too good an actor, but I was surprised that Adrianna really did buy it.
But the good thing was Adrianna will be moving in with me into my apartment. It was the day after Trevor’s birthday event, and Adrianna was packing her belongings to move them into our home. I liked the sound of that.
“Damien, are you going to just stand there and stare at me or are you going to help?” she asked, flustered.
“Sure, where is your lingerie drawer?” I teased, and Adrianna rolled her eyes before giving me a pointed look. “Damien, if I am not able to finish packing today, I would not be moving into your home.”
My eyes narrowed, and my jaw tensed. Was she blackmailing me or was she goading me?
“Fine, I’ll help. But we will be cleaning every room in my apartment. And I have seven, excluding the kitchen, dining room, and the lounge. So today, we will be doing ten rooms.”
I smirked as Adrianna gaped at me, speechless. I stared intently at her cheeks, waiting for them to turn a pretty pink. “Just help me pack these into boxes!”
I stifled a laugh, grabbed a pair of her heels and placed them into the box she provided.
“Why do you women need so many shoes, anyway?” I muttered as I placed another pair of red heels into a box.
“It is not a sin to have many pairs of shoes. Anyway, they go with my clothes,” Adrianna said distractedly as she folded her clothes.
I raised my eyebrows when I noticed I had been packing five pairs heels of the same design. The only difference was the color of them. “It is a sin when you have the same five pairs of shoes but with different colors.”
Adrianna pursed her lips. “They had a sale,” she mumbled before frowning at me. “Why? Is there a problem? Having second thoughts about me moving in? Because if there is, I would not mind not moving in with you.”
“I did not say there were any problems!” I said quickly before giving Adrianna a glower. Adrianna smirked at me before turning back to folding her clothes. This woman knew how to press all my buttons!
I sighed heavily and continued to pack.
***
“Damien, since when did you have an extra closet?” Adrianna stopped.
“Hmmm? Oh, that? All along. You just probably did not notice it.” I brushed it off and turned away from Adrianna who was scrutinizing me.
“Are you sure? It was not there the last I was here.”
I smirked. “Are you sure? It was there all along. You may have thought it was gone when we were on my bed having—”
“Okay!” Adrianna hastily interrupted me. “Where do I put my items?” Her cheeks turned the beautiful pink it always did when I brought up our sex life. A slow grin spread across my face as she intentionally avoided my amused smirk.
Adrianna admired the huge closet before hauling her suitcases and some boxes into the closet. I admired her shapely behind before following her in. Adrianna was too busy stacking her boxes to see that I was standing behind her.
A wicked grin curved onto my face as I leaned towards her. My nose glided from the top of her neck down to her shoulders whereas my lips found the place where her neck met her shoulders and kissed it slowly, savoring the feel of her silky skin before sucking gently.
Adrianna stiffened before moaning softly, and I smirked against her neck and wrapped my arms around her torso. Her back was against my front as my arms caged her to my body tightly.
“D-Damien, what are you doing?” Adrianna stammered.
My lips caressed her neck. “We have plans to do some christening, remember?”
Adrianna laughed before slipping away from my hold. “Stop! I still have to pack.”
A frown marred my face. “What? Why not later?”
Adrianna gave me a mere glance before continuing to unpack her boxes. “Damien, come on, you can help me pack. The faster we pack, the faster we can…” Adrianna trailed off before giving me a sly grin.
I stared at her before another wicked grin appeared. Adrianna still had the ability to surprise me.
“All right but be prepared, Adrianna dearest, you would not be able to walk.” I flashed a wolfish smirk to her, and Adrianna flushed before continuing to pack.
***
“Oh, god!” Adrianna moaned, and I watched her hungrily.
“This is way better than sleeping with you!” She moaned out and took another bite. I glared at her.
“What? How is eating a chocolate cake better than sex with me?”
Adrianna glanced at me before shrugging. “Have you tasted this? It is amazing. Where did you get it?”
“I made it,” I muttered and glowered at Adrianna, still not pleased that chocolate was better than me. For fuck’s sake, how could a mixture of flour and cream be better than me, Damien Doukas?
“All right, all right., sleeping with you is first. The cake comes second?” Adrianna asked as she tried to soothe my wounded ego. “But you’re serious you made it?”
“Yes,” I muttered and took another swig of wine, but I couldn’t help watching Adrianna take bites of the chocolate cake and moaning in delight.
“Could you make another that I could bring back to Spain for my mother? She likes chocolate as well.”
My ears perked up at that information. That could help win favor for me when I meet Adrianna’s family. “All right, I will if you tell me more about your family.”
Adrianna smiled at the subject of her family, and I pulled her away from the kitchen counter to the lounge. Adrianna curled her feet up under her, and I lay down on the sofa, my head resting on her lap. Naturally, her fingers ran through my hair rhythmically, and I closed my eyes at the feel of it. I could really get used to this.
“What do you want to know?”
“Anything, everything,” I replied, and Adrianna hummed as she thought of what to say.
“My family is not as lively as yours. But we are one of the most distinguished families in Spain due to my ancestors having connections to the royal family back in the day,” she paused and shifted on the sofa to get into a comfortable position.
Continuing, “I am the youngest and only daughter in my family. I have an older brother, Andre. He is five years older than me. I do not know what to say about him. We are not very close. My mother has a gentle soul, but she is very protective of her family. My father can be very judgemental and may seem rough around the edges, but he truly loves all of us.”
“Would your father approve of me?” I blurted out my question before thinking, and Adrianna sighed.
“Honestly I have no idea. Mama would. She will be immensely happy that I have moved on.”
“Would you still be with me if your parents do not accept me?”
Adrianna gave a silly laugh. “Feeling a little insecure?”
I had glared at her before Adrianna said quietly, “Damien, I would. I have come to care very much for you. And I even agreed to move in with you all the way here in New York. That should say something should it not?”
I released a huge breath I had not known I was holding and replied gently, “I have come to lo— care about you very much too.” The words I wanted to say were burning on the tip of my tongue, but I knew it was not the appropriate time for them to be said.
Adrianna gave me a brilliant smile, and she kissed me lips before continuing to run her fingers through my hair as we watched the night sky out of my apartment window from the sofa we were on.