‘Tis the season of Wicked Deeds (A Holiday romance Book 1)
‘Tis the season of Wicked Deeds: Chapter 32

The ambiance of the resort is so lively and festive that it instantly lifts my mood even higher. I was worried that I might have overdressed, but it turns out I was worrying for no reason because everyone is dressed lavishly.

Makes sense.

We’re here to welcome a new year.

The place is packed without feeling too crowded. The rooftop restaurant isn’t the only attraction. There’s an underground club too, and a private bar.

Kingston and I ride up in the elevator with a French couple behind us. I study our reflection in the mirror. He truly looks like a sexy lumberjack tonight, big and muscular with dark stubble that sharpens his masculine features.

Even in my heels, I barely reach his shoulders. Our height difference should intimidate me, yet all I feel is protected and cherished.

We’re opposite in every way, but fit together like two halves of a whole.

I turn crimson when he catches me staring and winks right before the door opens, leading us into a dimly lit lobby where we turn right.

The hostess smiles brightly and asks if we have a reservation in a thick accent. Kingston answers fluently in German and I think I catch a hint of a blush on the woman’s cheeks. I’d be jealous if it weren’t for the fact that that’s just the effect he has on people. Also, because I know he only has eyes for me. So, there’s no room for insecurity.

A waiter appears next to us within seconds and ushers us through the gate beside the hostess’s stand.

I’m completely blown away.

The high ceilings are designed in an ancient style, with dazzling chandeliers hanging off them. The restaurant is divided into two seating areas. Private booths line the inside, while the terrace is set with dining tables.

Live music plays in the background, giving the atmosphere a romantic touch.

I gaze through the glass partition at the view… and oh my God.

Bright, colorful lights dance toward the sky while the shadows of mountain peaks provide a lovely backdrop. Every now and then, the rays of the sparkling lights shine on them in the distance before vanishing.

There are Christmas decorations all around the interior, giving the perfect holiday feel.

“Do you like it, darling?” Kingston softly asks while running his palm down my ass discreetly. It manages to distract me.

“It’s a beautiful place,” I rasp in awe to him, my eyes wide. “Was this the surprise?”

“No.” Kissing my forehead, he shares, “That’s coming later.”

My jaw drops and I complain, “How do you expect me to concentrate on dinner then?”

“You made me wait for six months to have you,” he teases. “You can handle a few hours.”

“I pined over you for those months too, you know.”

His gaze darkens and his tone drops an octave. “Not as much as I have, Twinkle.”

The yearning in his confession sends a shiver coursing down my spine. We finally reach our booth at the far back, in a secluded corner. Warmth and something like love spread through my chest when my gaze falls on the candlelit table set for us.

Roses and lilies sit in a vase in the middle of the table, their scent wafting around the space.

“Please have a seat,” the waiter says. “I’ll give you a minute and return to take your order for drinks.”

“That’s fine,” says Kingston. “Just a glass of scotch and a cranberry vodka.”

The bubbly and gooey feeling in my belly intensifies because he remembers my favorite drink from all those months ago.

“Perfect. I’ll bring them right away.”

I slide into the booth and grab Kingston’s hand before he can sit across from me. “Sit beside me.”

His gaze softens and a blinding smile etches on his face as he slides his muscular body right up against me.

“You remembered my drink,” I chirp, my eyes sparkling with delight.

He stretches his arm along the back of the booth and begins to play with a loose curl from my bun. “You’re so cute. No one forgets their first date, especially when the girl really tries not to like you back.”

“So, you admit I was a challenge to you.”

A low, throaty laugh slips out from him. “I wouldn’t have you any other way. You, my darling, are a treasure and any man should earn the privilege of having you in his life. If I have to, I’ll fight till the end of time to make you mine.”

His declaration is like a balm to my soul.

One flaw that I’ve always known about myself is that I have abandonment issues. I mean, who wouldn’t if their own parents forgot of their existence? That kind of scars you for life…

Hearing Kingston make such an earnest promise heals my broken parts.

“You’re the kind of man that every woman yearns to call hers, King.” Resting my palm over his thundering heart, I confess, “The past week has been the most unforgettable, dreamy, and perfect week of my entire life. It’s all because of you. You said I’ll be wishing for another day when it’s time to leave because of this town. You’re wrong about the reason, because it’ll be you.”

He exhales roughly as though my words sucker-punched him.

Like he was doubting for a second that I don’t feel for him as strongly as he does for me.

Summoning courage, I say past the sudden dryness in my throat, “I know you haven’t asked about me leav—”

A swirl of pain and trepidation shadows his sharp features as he presses a finger against my lips and shakes his head.

It’s the first time I’ve seen such emotions reflect on his handsome face and it breaks my heart that somewhere along the way, it began beating just for him.

“Tonight, I don’t want to think about what’ll happen tomorrow, because it’s a conversation I want to have when it’s just us back at my cabin,” he says thickly and cups my jaw. “I promised you that we’ll live in the present until your last night here. So, that’s what I’m going to do. We’re going to eat, dance, and celebrate together.”

Tilting my head, I kiss him deeply and whisper, “Okay, King.”

We pull apart when our drinks arrive and we clink our glasses. A nice buzz thrums through my bloodstream by the time I finish the second one halfway. Together, we read the menu, and I jump up in excitement when I see there’s sushi.

Kingston notices and chuckles. “I guess I know what you’ll be having.”

“I haven’t had it for months.”

“Why not?” he casually asks, flipping the page and browsing the options for himself.

“Because every time I thought of ordering it, it reminded me of you.”

He freezes at my whispered confession while I try to act breezy by absently peering at the starters section in the menu.

Capturing my chin, he tilts my face up to his and asks roughly, “Do you want to know how badly I pined over you?”

The intensity of his stare, full of possession and bone-deep longing, causes my breath to hitch. “How?”

“Since I was fighting not to ask you for a second chance and ached to be near you, I bought candles that smelled like you so I could feel closer to you. I probably searched hundreds of shops before I found the one that reminded me of you.”

The mental image of him walking into shops and smelling candles to replace the one that reminded him of me is both adorable and romantic.

What kind of man even does that?

The one who is in… I don’t finish the sentence.

“Do I look like the kind of guy who buys scented candles for his house?”

I smile, biting my lip. “No.”

“Exactly. But that’s the kind of effect you have on me.” Dropping his voice, he rasps, “I love that you were as crazy about me as I was for you. That I wasn’t the only one losing my mind.”

“You weren’t.”

He smirks. “Thank God!”

“I hope you didn’t take your friends while shopping for candles,” I tease.

My eyes widen when a little color appears on his cheeks and he drawls, “Well…”

“Oh fuck! Who? Josh or Pierce?”

“Josh,” he groans. “Which means I’m never going to hear the end of it.”

“Aww, don’t worry,” I mutter, smothering a laugh. “It’s cute, really.”

Kingston’s eyes narrow playfully. “Keep it up and there will be no sushi for you.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” I gasp.

Before he can retort, the waiter interrupts us, and we both place our orders. And yes, I get my sushi. Kingston also orders Swiss cheese fondue, which is one of the specialties in Switzerland. I can’t believe I’m finally trying it on my last night here.

The delicious aroma of the melted cheese wafts to my nostrils when it quickly arrives, making my mouth water. It’s served with bread cubes to dip and eat.

Kingston also orders white wine, saying it goes perfectly with our meal.

As soon as the waiter leaves after pouring our glasses, Kingston takes a bread cube with a fork, dips it in the bowl of hot gooey cheese, and blows once before raising it to my mouth.

“Open,” he softly commands.

I obey, causing his gaze to drop to my lips as I take a bite.

A little bit of the cheese catches in the corner of my mouth. Before I can lick it off, he swipes his thumb and sucks it into his mouth, along with the remaining piece of bread. My stomach somersaults at the intimacy.

I swallow my own bite and close my eyes at the savory taste.

“Like it?” Kingston asks.

I nod, meeting his riveted gaze. “It’s yummy.”

Grinning in satisfaction, he feeds me another bite after making sure it’s not too hot for my tongue. Just when I think he couldn’t get any sweeter, he surprises me once again.

I focus on the plate of sushi, which I completely forgot about. Using the chopsticks, which have taken a lot of practice to ace, I grab one and dip it in the soy sauce. Lifting it toward Kingston, I coo, “My turn.”

He shakes his head and pushes it toward me. “You first.”

I quickly eat it and give him the next piece. He chews and hums in the back of his throat. The sound is sexy to my ears. Every little thing he does is.

After sipping on my wine, I ask him, “When do you go back to New York?”

Wiping his mouth with a napkin, he answers, “We’re actually thinking of expanding overseas.”

“That’s amazing, King,” I reply excitedly, proud his company is growing. “Where?”

“India.”

Surprise makes me go speechless. He just dropped the bomb in the coolest tone.

“You’re joking.”

“I am not.” His expression is unreadable.

Hope flickers in my chest, sending a jolt through my system at all the possibilities it opens for us. But I remind myself they’re just in talks; nothing is solidified.

Placing the wineglass down, I murmur, “Why didn’t you tell me before?”

“I didn’t want you to feel like I was manipulating you into dating me,” he replies, massaging the top of my thigh absentmindedly. My pulse rises when the watch I gifted him glints on his wrist. “You also made it clear that you didn’t want to think long term, and I didn’t want to push your boundaries. It would’ve been too soon, anyways.”

But now time is running out, because I’m leaving tomorrow.

“What does it mean? Will you be moving to India soon?”

He watches me softly, as though he’s afraid I’ll stand up and run away scared as we talk about the future. It’s something I’ve avoided touching with a ten-foot pole in the last week with him.

He answers, “Nothing is concrete yet. We know we want to expand, whether by opening our own offices or through a merger. The only decision finalized is that I’ll be running it. So, yeah, I’ll have to move to India.”

A part of me feels elated that another hurdle is no longer in our way. If his company expands.

The cynic in me, however, thinks that maybe he wants to continue seeing me because it’ll be convenient for him. You know, easy booty call. Plus, he won’t be staying forever. I don’t even know if he’d even move if it wasn’t a business move.

“Stop,” he commands.

“What?” I conceal my emotions.

Or so I think.

His hand circles my thigh possessively as he speaks, “I know what you’re thinking, Twinkle. So, ask me.”

My heart beats faster as I try to form the words. Despite being scared of his answer, I had to ask the burning question.

“Would you still move to India if it wasn’t for the expansion?” I bravely ask. Even though I have no right to ask that of him, I still wanted to know.

Although it feels like I’ve known him forever, we’ve only been seeing each other for a week. However, he’s become my happy and safe place in the blink of an eye.

The thought of walking away from him pains me physically, like ripping off a limb.

My heart has already made the decision about us. It’s just my mind struggling to accept and get on board.

I release the breath I’m holding when Kingston runs a knuckle down my cheek.

“For you, yes, darling,” he utters without a flicker of a doubt.

“What if you hate it or, worse, regret it?” I nervously probe, tears welling in my eyes. “What if I don’t make you happy, King?”

His face falls at the stark fear in my tone and without wasting a second, he picks me up and places me sideways on his lap.

“Oh, darling, how can you even say that?”

I inhale his scent and bury my face against his neck as he hugs me tighter.

Why is this so hard for me? Why am I so scared of being with him?

Why am I not sure about us the way he fearlessly is?

“You can never make me unhappy,” he buries his face against my hair, and tilts my head back with a finger under my chin. “If only I could show you how I see you and the bundle of emotions I feel for you, you’d understand how wrong you are.”

Pressing my palm against the side of his neck, I say, “I just wouldn’t want you to move somewhere you won’t like. It’d be selfish to even ask you.”

“With the way I’ve grown up, I’ve learned that a city doesn’t make a home. A person does.” Kissing my lips, he whispers passionately against them, “You’re my person, Twinkle Seth.”

“King,” I whisper with emotions clogging my throat, and a tear escapes.

He brushes it away.

“There’s not a place on earth I wouldn’t move for you, Star.”