Enraptured

Chapter 33

"Demetri, am I really allowed no hints about where we're going?"

I hummed in affirmation. "It's supposed to be a surprise, and surprises mean no hints."

She pouted and pulled her head away from the car window. "I'm just curious. All you said was that we're going out of the city for dinner, but it doesn't seem like there would be any place to eat at out here..."

I guess I shouldn't have expected to be able to fool her for long after driving on a small road through a dense forest for over 30 minutes already. I squeezed her hand reassuringly, "I'm not going to try to kill you out here if that's what you're thinking."

She huffed and grumbled lowly under her breath, "It's not like anyone would find you way out here anyway."

I chuckled at her adorable comment. She really has become more comfortable around me, enough to let out her little spunky personality hidden deep within her.  "I picked this place because of its isolated nature. I know you're still not very comfortable around strangers yet, and I, myself, don't love getting close to people either, so it seemed like the perfect place."

She nodded understandingly as her eyes drifted out the window again.

Our fingers were still interlaced with each other, giving my free hand the comforting warmth that I never knew I yearned for before I met Belle. Her hand was so much smaller than mine that the tips of her fingers barely peeked out from between my thick digits. Everything about her was just so much smaller and more delicate than me. And it only made me want to cherish her all the more.

Pulling my attention away from her, the thicket of redwoods tree started to decrease as we entered a multi-acre clearing in the center of the forest, marking the edge of the property that we were heading towards. I slowed the car as we neared a set of gates, and I pressed one of the buttons in the car to open it.

Belle's eyes widened as I pulled into the long driveway and rolled the car all the way up to the front of the victorian-style castle. The exterior was covered in brick with vines growing along it up to the fourth floor. A few towers scattered across the structure ranged up to 5 or 6 floors in height.

It was an old building that had been passed down between generations of the Nikolaos family since the late 1800s. Most of the previous generations didn't see any worth in the property since it was so far out from the city, but it seemed like the perfect place for Belle and me.

Alongside other preparation, I spent the last week bringing in construction workers to fix up the interior of the building and add in a few extensions here and there with Belle's interests in mind. There wasn't a lot of time, but it seemed like it turned out alright.

I hesitantly glanced down at Belle as I helped her out of the car, praying that she would like it. But all my unnecessary worries were instantly washed away by the look of awe on her face.

She arched her neck so far that I feared that she toppled over from her own weight from looking up at the mansion. She whispered breathlessly, "It's like the castles in my books..."

I squeezed her shoulders lightly and urged her to move closer to it. "There's more I want to show you inside."

She nodded mindlessly, still stuck in a trance as she continued to take in every detail of the exterior of the castle. How her eyes drifted from the tip of one tower to another before trailing down its side, following the vines down to the base of the mansion.

I carefully guided her toward the front door that was hidden away in the corner. I opened up the cover of a touch-screen panel next to the door and placed my hand on it until the door opened with a click.