Bound

29. The Gift

Valerio ignored them as he crossed pass the gate and straight inside an elevator.

Amara wiggled in his arms, silently demanding to be put down.

Valerio chuckled, placing her back on her feet gently just as the door closed and the elevator began moving upwards.

"Will you tell me where we are now?"

"You might recognise the place",he replied back mysteriously.

The elevator door's opened and Amara's eyes widened. "Wow," she said breathlessly.

Amara stepped out of the elevator, taking in the place. The room before her was huge with one half of the room converted into a game area consisting of  a pool table, ping pong table, bowling and air hockey machine along with a wall full of every type of video game system made and games to go with. There were couches and chairs scattered throughout the entire place.

"I-I don't understand",Amara fumbled, "Where are we?"

Valerio's lips twitched."Amara, I officially welcome you to Inferno, or commonly known as Hell for some."

"The tunnel leads us to the middle of the woods?!", she exclaimed, horrified.

"Yes",he smirked, "Come on, this isn't our stop",he continued, threading his fingers through her's and pulling her with him through another corridor.

They passed numerous guards on their way all of whom stopped at the sight of Valerio, bowing to him before continuing on.

Finally they stopped in front of another door where Valerio punched a code in the security system and opened the door, holding it for Amara to enter inside.

Now, this was a place Amara distinctly remembered. Valerio had brought her here after finding her lost in the woods. What did surprise her was the table of fresh food at the side of the room containing thick waffles with whipped cream and maple syrup, strawberries, blueberry muffins, and fresh squeezed orange juice.

"I ordered the staff to keep it ready before we arrived", he answered when he saw her puzzled expression.

Amara smiled at him, walking over the table and picking up the plate with the blueberry muffin. They were her favorite!

"Aren't you going to have anything?", Amara asked him shyly.

"It's all for you sweetheart",Valerio answered leaning back against the desk, his eyes trained on her.

"But blueberry muffins are your favourite," the words left her mouth before she could stop herself.

Valerio's eyes lit up with delightful humor, "How would you know that?"

"I... Um..",Amara fumbled, caught, her cheeks feeling hot all of sudden. She gripped the plate tightly, lowering her head to hide behind the curtain of her hair.

Valerio's heart swelled at her unintentional slip. To realize that she  cared enough to know such an unconsequential detail about him was endearing to him.

"Um...so what is this inferno? Damien and Allister haven't told me much about it", Amara asked quickly, hoping to distract him.

"It's just a hangout spot for the boys", he replied, looking at her with dark humor swirling in his eyes.

"Amara... I'd be lying if I said that I didn't have a reason behind bringing you here", he spoke suddenly,

Amara stood up, watching in confusion as he walked around the desk and opened a drawer, taking out a velvet box from inside it.