Chapter 72: Mine alone
Aira’s POV
The meal was incredibly delicious, though.
As a matter of fact, it was the best thing I have ever tasted. I did not care if I had to listen to more terrible fortunes, just as long as I would get to eat more mouth-watering meals like that.
Last night, I ended up eating more than I could handle and basically passed out right after.
“But you just woke up,” Alex whined after I told him that I wanted to go to bed.
“I don’t know; I am just so tired. I am sorry,” I said, pouting my lips. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“It’s fine. I wanted to take you somewhere, though, but I suppose it can wait until tomorrow,” he said, and I wrapped my arms around him and hugged him as tight as I possibly could.
“You know, the both of you remind me of my wife and me when we were you and in love,” the chef said, and I had completely forgotten that he was watching us. My eyebrows creased when I noticed that he was talking about his relationship in the past tense. Then he added, “Now we are divorced and completely despise each other.”
My mouth fell open as he threw his head back and released a hearty laugh. His shoulders shook as he laughed, like he had just cracked the funniest joke in the world. Alex noticed my discomfort and took my hand, leading me out of the restaurant.
Out of courtesy and respect, I look over my shoulder and wave the kind man goodbye. “Bye, sir!”
“Bye, young one! I hope you two don’t turn out like me and my ex-wife!” he said as he waved me goodbye. Whatever expression I had on my face completely vanished. I hoped so too.
Once we reached the room, Alex helped me out of my dress, and I sighed tiredly before burying myself under the covers. I felt a dip on the bed, and Alex joined me shortly after. My back made contact with his now-bare chest as he wrapped his arms around me.
I think that was one of the most peaceful nights I have ever had.
A groan leaves my lips when the sun’s light rays fall on my eyelids. I try turning to the other side, only to meet the same outcome.
A chuckle fills my ears, and I recognize it as Alex’s. “This is the universe telling you to finally wake up. Come on, it’s ten a. m..”
Incoherent words leave my lips, and to be honest, I am not even sure of what I was saying either. I hear his approaching footsteps and feel the bed dip beside me. A gentle hand pushes some strands of hair away from my face, and I can feel his eyes taking in every inch of my face.
“You have been sleeping quite a lot lately. Are you sure you are okay?” He asks, and I am able to detect worry in his voice.
I pop open one eye to look at him. Dear Lord, he looked so handsome in the morning.
His hair was messy, and some strands fell above his brilliant eyes. He was also completely shirtless, leaving his muscular and perfectly toned torso on full display.
It takes a great deal of strength to tear my eyes away from his torso and focus on his face. But then they fell on his lips, and all I could think about was having them against mine.
God damn it, snap out of it, Aira!
A groan leaves my lips, and I shut my eyes, clearly seeing that it was a mistake to open them in the first place. “I thought we were on vacation. This is precisely what we are supposed to be doing.” I inform him, and he sighs.
“But I had so much planned for us today.”
Once again, I open my eyes, but this time I find him pouting at me like a child who just rejected his gift on Christmas morning. A sigh leaves my lips, and I sit up, pushing some of my hair out of my face.
If there was one thing Alex was good at, it was making me feel guilty. “Fine. But if I sleep off in the most random place and manner, it is your fault. So you better do well to carry me back when you do.”
He smirks slyly at me, then nods, “You don’t have to tell me twice.”
He takes me by the hand, and we shower together once again. This time, also to my great surprise, we did not have sex in the shower. The moment was completely innocent as we helped each other wash up. Once we were done, we got dressed and headed downstairs to find our car ready and waiting.
When we hop in, Alex speaks to the driver. “The Colosseum.”
My eyes widen with excitement, and I look at him with an excited smile. “I always wanted to visit the colosseum.” I say, and a proud smile lifts the corners of his lips.
“Glad I made the right choice then,” he says cockily. We arrive at the scene a few minutes later, and it is even more magnificent than I had imagined. We joined a small group of tourists at the entrance, and I paid close attention to what the guide was telling us concerning the building’s history.
Alex could not care less.
Actually, it was at that point when the guide got to the most interesting part that Alex decided to release a loud, uncivilized yawn. The action caught the attention of most of the tourists, and they stared at him with disbelief.
It did not help that we were holding hands. Embarrassment fills me, and I shoot him a glare. “Did you have to yawn so dramatically?” I ask him in a hushed tone, and he shrugs nonchalantly.
“I am only here for you; I have no interest in business of the past. I am only interested in the future,” he states blatantly. I am about to tell him that the past affects the future more than he will ever realize, but I do not get the chance to do so as the ringing of his phone cuts me off.
Alex takes it out of his pocket and frowns when he sees who is calling. “It’s Arnold; I have to take this. Go join the rest of the tourists; I will be with you shortly.”
Before I get the chance to say anything, he lets go of my hand and walks off to somewhere a bit more remote. I join the rest of the tourists, but most of them have already dispersed and gone to look at different parts of the colosseum on their own.
“Need some company?”
I lift my gaze to find a young man who appears to be around my age walking up to me. He is as tall as Alex but not nearly as built; he has strawberry blonde hair and the prettiest shade of green eyes that I have ever seen.
“Uh, yeah, I suppose,” I said awkwardly, looking back at the trail Alex had wondered off to.
He grins at me and offers me his hand. “My name is Matteo, and what would be your name, gorgeous?”
My eyebrow hikes slowly. Gorgeous?This is from NôvelDrama.Org.
Before I could even get the chance to open my mouth, a large figure cast a shadow over mine. Matteo pales and retracts his hand slowly.
“If you want to keep that hand, I suggest you leave,” Alex says right behind me, and I roll my eyes. At this rate, I do not think I will ever make any male friends for the rest of my life.
Matteo swallows, then scurries away. I spin on my heel and place both my hands stubbornly on my hips. “How long are you going to keep on doing that?”
He acts completely oblivious to what I am talking about. “Doing what?” is what he asks.
“Chasing men away from me.”
“As long as I live,” he states blankly, and I sigh.
“Not all men have ill intentions towards me, you know? Some of them might be actual good guys and would just want us to be friends.” I try to explain to him, but he just stares at me like I have gone insane.
“No man shall be near you, not as long as I breathe. Even if I were to die, my spirit would haunt them to the ends of the earth,” he says, closing the distance between us and taking my chin in between my fingers. “You are mine. and mine alone.”
A tremble goes down my body at how much intensity he says that with. I could not find it in me to speak, so I just nodded. He smiles sweetly and places a swift kiss on my forehead. “Good. Now, onto the next stop.”
And to my greatest surprise, our next stop is a canoe. A man holding a rather large guitar and the person who would row the small boat were also present. I never would have expected Alex to arrange something like this.
A canoe was the last place I would ever imagine Alex in; I always saw him on private yachts and large cruise ships. But never a canoe.
“Alex, this is-”
“I looked up romantic things to do during our trip here, and this was one of them. I don’t really know; I am not quite big on romance. But if this is one of the things that would put that breathtaking smile on your face, so be it.”
Tears well up in my eyes, and my heart feels so full. Without wasting another second, I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest.
“I love you,” is what I whisper to him.
He wraps his arms around me, and I have never felt more secure in my entire life. I have no idea why he always feels like he hasn’t been protecting me. He has shielded me from dangers no man has ever had in my entire life.
Truly, I am blessed to have a mate like him.
“I love you too. More than you will ever know.”