Those big brown eyes of hers turn into slits. “Please.”
“Please, who?”
She sighs, but there’s no mistaking the excited tilt of her lips. “Please, Mickey.”
God, it’s so good to hear her say my name. “That’s better.”
She holds out her hand expectantly, waiting for the bag, but when a breath passes, her expression turns hesitant, then worried, then scared, all in a matter of two seconds. The heat in my blood returns because that’s not something my Bella does. Not if I can help it.
“I’ve decided to drip feed.”
The creasing of her brows is seriously cramping my vibe.
“I want to see each of your reactions.” I wink, attempting to lighten the mood.
She bites her lip and looks up at me from her lowered lashes like she’s too scared to say what she wants. Which is completely fucked up by my standards. I like Bella whichever way she comes, but I like the real Bella the most.
And Jesus, do I want to kiss her.
“First up,” I say as I stick my hand down into the ripped paper bag and pull out a book. Rejected by the Alpha. She stares at the book, then me, then back at the book with so much bewilderment that I might as well have pulled out a gun.
Jerking forward, she goes to snatch it, but I hold it out of her reach. Bella looks around with frantic eyes before scrambling for me to grab the book.
“Down, Mouse,” I tease, putting two fingers on her forehead and gently pushing her back.
This wasn’t the reaction I was expecting, but I ain’t mad about it. She keeps glancing around like someone might see.
“Remember the day before you left, when we went to the bookstore?” With each passing second, her skin glows redder and redder. I cock my head. Why is she so flustered about the fact I got it for her? She picked it off the shelf, read the back, then checked how much she had in her wallet. Then promptly put it back. “I’ve held on to it since then.”
“You…” She’s completely beet red as she blinks a couple more times at my outstretched hand. Bella clears her throat and sits up straighter. “You can’t afford it.”
“Money can’t buy everything.”
Translation: I stole it.
My lips stretch into a grin. “But I’ll give this to you on one condition?”
“What?”
Her breath hitches, and she leans forward slightly, looking around again like someone might catch us doing something illegal.
“You read it to me.”
She blanches, completely mortified, before turning redder than she was before. Whipping her head around, she spots the only person in earshot—one person with headphones—and then she covers the side of her mouth like the guy might hear, and she squeals, “That’s an R18 book.”
Oh. Oh, this is too good. I tsk and lean back against the bench. “Unrestricted access to written porn will ruin you, kid.”
Naughty, naughty girl.
To a bystander, it probably looks like we’re dealing drugs with how quickly she snatches the book from me and shoves it into her bag.
“Thank you,” she says under her breath. An adorable wrinkle forms along the bridge of her nose.
I chuckle and take it as my cue to move on to the next gift—something that won’t get her so wound up: a heart-shaped locket. There are a bunch of random ass swirls on the outside, and I know she’ll swoon over how “pretty” and “delicate” it is. Which is why the necklace is perfect for her.
“How did you afford—Who does this belong to, Mickey?”
“You.”
“Roman,” she warns.
I wince internally. She’d never wear something special that belonged to someone else, and I only have so much adult money—but my latest extra-curricular activities have changed that. I don’t make much, but the very first thing I bought was that necklace. I mean, it also meant that I had to skip a few meals, but it was worth it for her.
I’m not the best with my hands—not in the way that I want in this situation. I have my drawings, and Bella has her bracelets and anything else she puts her mind to, but it’s not enough.
Bella is sentimental, and I want to give her something that will withstand beating a window or running away from the cops—if she ever needed to. If we’re ever separated, a part of me will always be with her, around her neck and near her heart.
Though nothing will ever separate us. If she hasn’t realized it by now, she’s in for a surprise.
“I saved money.” Not a lie, but I’m not ready to tell Bella the whole truth just yet.