Page 134 of Dancing with the Devil

I wore a black off shoulder bustier dress with a perfectly fitted bodice that cinched in at my waist. The beautifully draped silk skirt fell flattering down my legs.

I heavily exhaled.My dress is fine. I’m fine. Everything will be fine.

They’re just a regular family. A mother and a father.Normalpeople. Like me. Except, they’ll probably torture me for saying the wrong thing. At least his father will. Maybe his mother will too…No, Nirah. Calm down.Take deep breaths.

Slowly inhaling, I ran my hands through my straight hair. I swung my hair over my shoulder and saw Antonio standing in my doorway.

He leaned against my doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest, a little grin playing on his lips. “You look handsome,” I smiled as I looked at him through the mirror, and I watched his eyes linger on my dress—longer than necessary.

I started feeling self-conscious, so I looked at myself again, trying to see why he stared so long. Before I knew it, he was wrapping his arms around my waist, kissing my neck. “You are breathtakingly gorgeous,tesoro,” he kissed my neck, and I let out a breath of relief. “I don’t think I’ll be able to keep my hands off you tonight.”

“Thank you,” I nervously said.

“Somethings missing,” he slightly tilted his head to the right as he looked at me through the mirror.

“Oh no, what is it?” I nervously asked. “Do you think your mom will notice?” I asked, spinning around in his arms to look up at him as I brought both hands to my chest.

He was quiet for a second, then reached into the breast pocket of his suit jacket. He handed me a black velvet box, and I looked up at him in confusion. “I’m missing a black box?” I asked, and he dropped his head. “Kidding,” I snickered before taking the box.

My smile slowly wavered as my eyes grew wide. A diamond necklace. He took the necklace out, and I looked up at him with unbelieving eyes. By my waist, he turned me to face the mirror, and his arms lifted over my head as he wrapped the necklace around my neck.

“Antonio…” I shook my head, gently placing my finger pads to the glistening diamonds. “Did you—”

“Buy my beautiful fiancée a piece of jewelry? Yes,” he kissed the top of my head. “And you look fucking incredible,” he said and I lifted my hand to gently touch the necklace again.

“No—it looks expensive,” I shook my head. “I can’t wear it.”

“You can. And you will,” he rested his hands on my waist. “And it matches these,” he pulled out another box and I took it.

“Oh God,” I breathlessly said as I opened it.Diamond earrings too?“No—you’re crazy. This is too much and you know it,” I said, turning around. “I can’t let you just—”

“Nirah, listen to me,” he cut me off, holding onto the sides of my neck with both hands—to not ruin my makeup. “You’re my fiancée. I’m going to spoil you whether you like it or not. I live and breathe for you now,” he gently ran his thumb up and down the side of my neck. “I wake up to see you. I go to sleep to hold you in my arms. I make money to spoil you. I do everything for you. You’ve become my life now.”

With teary eyes, I held onto his wrists. He leaned forward to kiss the top of my head and I closed my eyes. I felt my heart race at a thousand miles per hour.

“You’ll always be the most important woman in my life,” he softly said. “Now, I get to prove it to you. Prove just how much you mean to me.”

“You’re going to make me cry and ruin my make-up,” I softly chuckled, feeling my eyes sting with tears. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I threw my head back, blinking away my tears.

Lifting my head, I rested my chin on his chest. “You think your parents will like me?” I nervously asked. “I mean, I don’t even speak Italian—what if they think I’m not good enough?” I breathlessly asked and I could see him fighting back a smile. “This isn’t funny Antonio,” I reprimanded.

“They’ll love you just as much as I do,tesoro. I promise.”

“No you’re right,” I mumbled to myself. “If Amelia likes me—I’m sure they will too,” I nodded. “Amelia did say your mom was super sweet—” he cut me off with a kiss and my eyes fell shut.

He broke the kiss with a smile that spread warmth across my chest, and beautiful green eyes that made my heart flutter whenever he looked at me.

“I love you, Nirah,” he said against my lips and I felt my entire body go numb. Within seconds, it felt as though a flame rushed throughout my body and exploded in my chest.

My heart pounded against my rib cage as though it was going to burst with happiness any second now. With teary eyes, I pulled back.

Blinking up at him, I swallowed hard. “Say it again.” The words came out faint and he grinned down at me.

“I…” he leaned down to kiss my lips. “Love…” he continued kissing me softly. “You, Nirah Joy.”

The most genuine smile danced on my lips as I wrapped my arms around his neck, leaning up to smash my lips to his in blissful excitement.

His hands traveled around to my ass and he gave it a quick squeeze before pulling my body towards his.