When Nini crossed the doorstep, leaving the icy air of an early December evening outside, the house was unusually quiet. She shivered a bit for the changing of the temperature; she swept away some fresh snow from her coat, before hanging it on the hall stand and walking through the foyer. She sighed in frustration. No one was home.

Ricky had been in Vienna for a week, supervising the works in progress of his new hotel, and he wouldn't have come back until tomorrow. Although they were both used to staying apart for some days due to their work schedules, Nini didn't like when he wasn't home. Taylor used to become grumpy and she could never stop herself from feeling nostalgic; missing him made her more irritable than she generally was.

    Normally Ricky would have put someone in charge of the overseeing part, but she had been more dedicated and enthusiastic about this project than usual. During the last five years he had worked on expanding his activity abroad by opening a chain of luxury hotels, all around Europe and Asia; and the Palest Taylors was supposed to be the final masterpiece.

    ("It means Taylor's Palace in German." Ricky had told her showing her the plan, months before, glowing with joy and passion. "It will be majestic. He'll know all of this was made for him one day," he had added and Nini had felt so utterly proud and lucky that she had needed to shut him up with a kiss, to stop him from moving her to tears).

    The opening was planned for Christmas week and they were going to spend the winter holidays there. It had taken Ricky some time to convince her to break her tradition of passing Christmas in Utah (she loved hosting Christmas Eve dinner party almost as much as she loved doing it for Thanksgiving) but, eventually, she had given in when assured her that he was going to invite the entire family ("Our son would never accept to spend Christmas only with the two of us. He likes his traditions, just like his mother," Ricky had joked).

    Both Taylor and the dog, on the other hand, were having a sleepover at Red's. It was some sort of habit they had gotten used to during the past months, once Taylor had turned three and finally grown out of his free of sleeping away from home (but only if Bunny was with him, because ever since Bunny was born, Bunny had been sleeping in his nursery first and then directly in the kid's bed). Red enjoyed spending time with his nephew and Taylor was absolutely in love with him, so she happily agreed, pretending not to know that Red was going to allow the kid to stay up till late and have gelato for dinner ("I can't tell you what we did, mom. Uncle Red said it's our little secret," Taylor had answered to her questions, after the first time he had spent the night at his uncle's place, causing Nini to roll her eyes and shake her head).

    So, knowing she was going to be alone, Nini had invited Gina for a girl's night. She had managed not to turn hysterical during that exhausting day of work at the atelier only by holding onto the thought of having some time to catch up with her best friend, eating macaroons and drinking red wine while gossiping about all the people they didn't like; but Gina had cancelled on her an hour ago, blabbing about how E.J. Was going through some sort of crisis and she couldn't just leave him alone ("He's going to be my husband in a few months, N! I have to be here for him.").

    Nine had hung up without giving Gina time to apologize. She had texted her maid, asking her to make sure dinner was ready by the time she would arrive, to dismiss the rest of the help and to go home to her children as well. She was so peeved that she felt like she could really use some time completely alone in her house.

    Nervously, Nini left her keys fall on the small table in the center in the room and checked on the mail that her maid had left her there to read: they were all invitations to parties she and Ricky would have had to attend during that month. A satisfied smile appeared on her lips, as the thought of having to make a selection came to her mind and made her temporarily forget how angry she was at Gina.

    Ever since they had gotten married, they calibrated their public appearances with extreme car. Indeed, even though both of them enjoined having a rich and animated social life, they also considered themselves very exclusive guests; not just everybody was worthy of having Ricky and Nini Bowen to attend their events.

    Feeling a bit calmer, Nini sighed again and made her way to the stairs, before climbing them. Reaching the first floor, she immediately noticed a soft light coming from the dining room, which doors had been left open. She frowned in confusion, crossing the living room and stopping at the entrance of the chamber, from where she could see that four silver candle holders that had been placed on the cabinet next to the door. They were the only source of illumination. She slowly stepped in.

    Nine was just starting to look around when she felt the grab of two hands squeezing her hips. She gasped and closed her eyes for a brief moment, her throat tightened by the sudden scare, before recognizing that strong and familiar touch. She smiled, as he sank his face into her hair and she felt his lips on the curve between her shoulder and her neck.

    "You almost gave me a heart attack, Ricky," she whispered, her heart still beating fast from the shock. "You were supposed to come back tomorrow."

    "The devil lies, Nini," he said in her ear, before slithering his hands to her waist and making her turn to face him.

    Nine smiled at his sight and took a moment to study him, a satisfied smirk crossing his face and his dar, oblique, eyes, staring at her with that ill-concealed bit of lust and all of their charm. The first time she'd seen him again after being forced to renounce to his presence for some days was always a thrilling experience: he never failed to look more handsome than usual to her eyes, as if being apart from him had worn thinner her ability to resist him.

    "Where were you hiding?" she asked him, as she slid her hands on the red velvet of his jacket. "I didn't see you when I came in."

    "In the corner,' he answered, pointing out to his left. "Being my wife I thought you were a master at spotting things in the shadows," he joked, pulling her closer to eliminate any distance between their bodies.

    Usually Nini would have found at least ten proper answers to that statement—which was so incredibly true and even in its irony, because Ricky was nothing but an extremely acute person—but all she could do in that moment was to stare at the shape of his lips, at their elegant and aristocratic curve. She suddenly kissed her husband, grabbing his hair with one hand. As soon as their tongues met she shivered. All of the frustration she had accumulated during that day disappeared at the moment she tasted his mouth.

    "I see you've missed me," Ricky told her once she parted her lips from his, to catch her breath. Nini bent her head on one side and reached for his neck, smiling in pleasure when she felt him tightening the grip around her waist, all of his muscles suddenly tenses.

    "Let me show you just how much," she purred into his neck, trailing kisses across his collar bone.

    If only she had been able to see him, she would have noticed he was doing his best not to give in. But, since her eyes were closed, Nini felt surprised when he let go of her waist and stepped back, separating from her body. At first she looked at her in confusion. Then, noticing he had started smirking mischievously at her very disappointed expression, she gave him an offended glance.

    "Are you rejecting me, Bowen?" she asked, her voice suddenly more acute. Watching him, still grinning pleased in front of her; she felt anger rising in her chest. How dare he? He had been away for a week and now that he was home he was having fun torturing her. She crossed her arms, wrinkling her eyebrows in annoyance.

    "I could never," he assured her, using his best dramatic tone. He got closer again, taking her hand to kiss it. Nini swallowed, feeling the anger rapidly fading away, replaced at his touch by the unbearable desire to have him. It was a game, she realized, as he let her hand go and walked towards the table in the middle of the room; and now she knew she wouldn't have been able not to give up to how he was making her wait, because there was always something so fascinating in the many ways he was still able to surprise her.

    "Resisting you is always an agony and I wouldn't dream of being able to do it after not having had you for so long," he added. She couldn't see his face anymore, because the candle lights weren't strong enough to enlighten him properly now that he was a few steps away from them; but she could still hear his low voice. Nini trembled, holding her breath.

    "But there's something I want you to have first," he said, coming back in her field of view. He was holding a leather box in his hands, a certain indefinable sparkle in his glance.

    Ricky took her by the hand and she let him guide her closer to the candles, where the light was a bit more powerful. Nini was still in front of him, waiting.

    "I hope you have something in there worthy of the torture you're making me go through, Ricky," she complained, but he could feel how the curiosity had made her voice tremble with excitement.

    Ricky stared at Nine, intensely focused on her eyes. They were shining from so many different things, there wasn't jus arousal in the way her dark chocolate irises stayed fixed on him; there was also a glorious mix of vitality, energy and love. Even though she was still, nothing about her seemed to be passive, not the way she was biting her lips and breathing hard, her shoulders shaking every time her chest lifted and lowered. She looked magnificent; full of a mystery he knew he still couldn't completely understand, something about the power she had to make him feel contradictorily both weak and strong only by standing in front of him.

    The image of Nini, her seductive complexity, the way she always seemed to shine from her shadowy sensuality, had been one of the many things running through his mind when he had seen the piece of jewelry he was still hiding in the box. Although buying her gifts when he was away was a habit he couldn't—and didn't want to—fall out of (choosing things for Nini wasn't just a way to show her his devotion, but also a way to feel like she was somehow always with him and to realize every time he deeply he knew her), this one time it had been different. Remembering her, he had felt the irrepressible need to have it.

    "I can assure you it will be worth every minute of this painful wait," he said and he opened the case so that she could finally see what was inside.

    As soon as Nini's eyes fell on the jewel, she gasped. The necklace which was laid down on the silky fabric covering the inner of the most was one of the most incredible things she had ever seen. Though its chain was a trail of sparkling diamonds, the pendant was an oval-shaped black stone, which seemed to shine from its own darker light. It was breathtaking.

    Ricky smiled as he saw her staring at the necklace, her eyes completely captured by its beauty. Now the black diamond was reflecting Nini's irises and the soft candles' flames in a dazzling union of shadows and lights. He held his breath, thinking back to the moment he had seen that object for the first time and found Nini in its unique charm, in all its dark shades. It had reminded him of her in such a violent and powerful way that all he had been able to think about ever since it had bought it was seeing it worn by her.

    "It's beautiful," Nini said in a whisper, still looking at the black diamond. Then, after a few seconds of silence, she brought her gaze back to Ricky. When he met her eyes again, he lightly stroked her hip with the hand that wasn't holding the case and she turned, obeying to his touch and giving her back to him, so that he could take the necklace from the box and lace it around her neck. In the moment she felt the pendant on her skin, laying gracefully on her chest, Nini shivered. She reached for the diamond with her fingers and touched it softly.

    Like he had done earlier when he had surprised her by grabbing her hips from behind, Ricky pressed his body against hers, one arm possessively wrapped around her waist and his free hand covering Nini's, right over the black stone. He slowly caressed the back of her hand with a finger, before making her spin, so that he could finally admire her with the necklace on.

    When he did, Ricky felt out of breath. The dark diamond, contrasting with the tan skin that was left visible by the neckline of her dress, gave her the exact glow he had expected, something that reminded him of the moment he had really seen her, the night she had exploded in his arms, shining from the passion and wildness as he never expected her to be. He still cherished in his mind every memory of the way she had let him have her for the first time, knowing that she hadn't given him just her body, she had showed him a part of herself she had fought to cancel, to pretend it didn't exist. Nine had elected him as the person she wouldn't have hidden from, as the one who could see and understand every shade of her soul. She had chosen him and no one had ever chosen him before.

    "As soon as I saw it I knew it belonged to you," he explained, trying to put into words what he felt. "And to me too, because everything you are is something I belong to."

    "Why a black diamond, Ricky?" Nini asked suddenly, her voice a bit broken by the overwhelming emotion he could see in her glance. She put her hands on his hips and then made them slide till his chest, looking him straight in the eyes. Ricky smiled.

    "Because you let me see you. I was the one you chose to show yourself in your completeness to," he confessed her, touching her chin and entrapping it in between her fingers. He raised it up, so that their noses were almost touching and their mouths were separated by less than an inch. "All of you, even that darkness you thought you had been ashamed of. I want you never hide it, Nini. It makes you unique. It makes you mine."

    A moved tear fell down Nini's cheek, as a happy smile lighted up her face. Ricky dried that drop with his thumb.

    "Entirely yours," she said. Ricky felt Nini's back curving under his arm and her legs trembling and surrounding under his weight when he bent down to kiss her.

    That night he had her on the table, because they couldn't make it to their bedroom. They got rid of their clothes in a matter of seconds, before finally giving into the passion and enjoying the pleasure they had been forced to renounce all week.

    The necklace stayed on her neck for the whole time just to remind him all the ways she belonged to him. He was the only one who could see all the faceting of the black diamond she was: rare, precious and complicated. Ricky still felt proud, surprised and grateful for that privilege she had showed herself to him.

    The ballroom of Palast Taylors was full of people. The opening a few days earlier had been a huge success and they were now hosting a Christmas Eve party. Nini, along with Gina, who had fully accepted Ricky's offer to work as PR for his hotels chain (it had taken Ricky months to convince her, because his best friend had never liked people trying to help her understand what to do with her life), had organized the event and made sure it was absolutely unforgettable. Even if he wasn't in Utah, enjoying the company of his family in his hope, Ricky couldn't be happier, all of his loved ones were there.

    From where he was now, in the corner of the room, he could spot every single one of them.

    Red was dancing with Ashlynn, his hand peacefully placed on her butt, even though the music was a waltz and that move wasn't exactly appropriate. She seemed particularly happy about it, Ricky noticed with a smirk.

    Carlos was chatting with Gina, who was clearly only pretending to listen (she kept on checking her phone, probably waiting for E.J. To call her—and to make her feel guilty for not being in Utah with him, even though he had received an invitation and chose on his free will not to come, Ricky thought bitterly).

    His mother was making Taylor spin to the rhyme of the melody. His soon looked joyful in the suit he had appositely made his tailor sew for him (an exact copy of the one Ricky was wearing, because Taylor loved "looking like daddy."). There was a Christmas tree waiting for him in their suite upstairs, surrounded by so many gifts that Ricky had lost the count of how many he and Nini had brought and how many he had brought by all the others; and he couldn't wait to enjoy Taylor's face the next morning, when he could see all those colorful packages.

    He felt something warm in his chest when his eyes finally found Nini. She was laughing at something her mom had said in her ear. Even though the room was full of people chatting and the music was loud enough he thought he could hear the sound of her laugh, silvery and bright. She was wearing a gold gown and the black diamond necklace fell perfectly on her neckline.

    Ricky smiled and glanced down. He made his hand slide till the pocket inside his dark purple jacket and reached for the letter he had put into it. Nini had given it to him that morning, along with her Christmas gift, a pair of cuff links with black diamonds set into platinum circles.

    "I'm giving you this gift earlier only because I want you to wear whatever is inside tonight, Bowen," Nini had told him, handing him the small box all wrapped in purple paper. "And I want you to read this too, but when I'm not around," she had added, showing him the letter.

    It was the perfect moment, Ricky thought, as he brought his eyes back on on Nini, who had been approached by her mother and was now engaged in a conversation with her.

    Ricky opened the folder and extracted the paper, before starting to read.

    "Dear Ricky,

    I'm writing you this letter while we're on the plane that is bringing us to Vienna. I know you've been secretly worrying about this opening and about spending Christmas away from home, but everything is going to be fine. I've seen you failing in business and Christmas will be perfect anyway; like you told me, as long as we have us and our family, it doesn't matter where we are.

    You can't see me writing because you're trying to make Taylor sleep. Don't feel bad about it, it's not your fault if he can't you're doing your best, but unfortunately you're not Bunny and you know he can't sleep without his puppy. Maybe we should have brought him. You're a good father, Ricky. As simple as that may sound—and probably, Ricky, it's supposed to be simple—, the best thing you do for him is letting him know you love him. He's still too young to understand the great man you are, but one day he will. He will treasure all the memories you're building with him and know that all you're doing is meant for him to be happy.

    I went to buy your Christmas gift this morning, while you thought I was busy ordering the maid what to pack (I don't have to, she already knows). It didn't take long. The moment I saw it, I knew it was perfect for you. Buying it, I completely understood what you meant when you gave me that necklace a couple weeks ago (again, thank you, if I could I'd wear it every day).

    I am such a lucky person, Ricky, and not just because you loved everything I had to offer, even when I thought it was impossible to love. You also accepted what I couldn't accept about myself and fought hard to finally make me do it. I know now, and I've known it for a long time, that you would never let me hide my dark side, because you love me as a whole.

    I know it because I wouldn't either. I love you too much not to want everything about you, Ricky. I belong to every part of your soul, in such a deep and unconditional way that the power of my feeling used to scare me. I'm not scared anymore: I know who I am now and I know who you are.

    You, like I did, let me see you. Even though it used to terrify you, you found the courage to show me the lightest part of yourself and I found the strength to accept and want the darkest. I've loved and still love them both. I love them equally. I could never renounce one to have the other and I would never want you to. I wouldn't let you, because losing a part of you would be like losing a part of me.

    Our darkness is a piece of who we've been, who we are and who we will be. And it is, most importantly, part of our love. It's like a black diamond. It may shine from a darker light, a deeper light, but it still shines. And it'll keep on shining.

    Merry Christmas, Ricky. I love you. Every part of you.

    Entirely yours,

    Your wife, Nini."

    Once he finished and he raised up his gaze, realizing that she was standing in front of him. He didn't know how long she had been there, because the reading had taken some minutes, since he had to stop to dry his eyes a couple of times. She always had the power to make him cry—for joy or for pain.

    "Did I manage to make tears appear in the eyes of the great Ricky Bowen?" Nini teased him, putting her hands on his shoulders to let him know she wanted to dance. He folded the letter and put it back in the inner pocket, where it had been safe.

    Even though his eyes were still wet he smirked, wrapping her waist with his arm.

    "Shut up and dance with me, Mrs. Bowen," he said, without answering her question.

    Nine shook her head, but she let him take her to the middle of the room, where he made her whirl fast oil she had to grasp his jacket not to fall, because her head was starting to spin.

    She was his. Entirely.