“Good girl,” I murmur, watching her eyes twinkle as I lean down to touch my lips to hers.
“I’m all gross and sweaty, but I’m going to rinse off before I hop in the hot tub.” She looks around, seeing the broken-down cardboard boxes standing in a stack next to the couch, and her eyes widen as her head jerks to the bookcase I’m standing in front of, seeing all her books displayed. “You set them up for me?” she asks, her voice full of surprise. “I didn’t mean for you to do all that. I just needed to borrow your muscles to haul the boxes inside. I could’ve done the rest.” She smiles up at me.
“It was no problem, goddess.” My chest swells with pride for having impressed her.
She turns her body to face the bookcase, her eyes scanning to the right until they reach the corner, and then she keeps going, her eyebrows lifting. “You gave me four bookcases? Whoa. I don’t even have to double-stack them! I’ve never not had to double-stack my books before.” At my puzzled look, she explains, “A row in back and a row in front on each shelf.”
“That’s blasphemy,” I reply, and she rewards me with a giggle.
“It’s why I started buying everything on Kindle except for my very favorites that I wanted to collect,” she explains.
“So… question,” I start, and I gesture to the three shelves of VB Lowe books.
She sees the spines, and her whole face brightens. “Isn’t that crazy? I had been reading Vivian’s books for years, and lo and behold, she’s married to one of your Imperium Security guys. Talk about a small world.”
So that answers that question.
“Second question. When you said you love trashy novels, and Seth labeled all the boxes Astrid’s Porn, this is what I pictured,” I say, gesturing to the bookcases of mass market size books with the Fabio lookalikes in cheesy costumes. “What, my goddess, is going on over here?” I sweep my arm to include the other three bookcases that are now full of nothing but BDSM romance novels.
Her face falls slightly, and just her eyes turn from her corner of the study to meet my gaze. She shifts on her feet, apparently not knowing how to answer. She swipes at her forehead then fidgets with her ponytail, glancing back at the couch behind her.
“Ummm… this sounds like a shrinky question,” she tells me, and I look to the heavens and let out a loud sigh.
“Have you been talking to your brother-in-law?” I grumble.
She furrows her brow. “I talk to Seth frequently, yes. But about what are you referring to?”
“The fucker tells me all the time I have a shrinky face and a shrinky voice. And now you’re saying that sounded like a shrinky question,” I gripe, meeting her eyes once again.
“I mean… he’s not wrong,” she replies, and I growl. “Anyway, I could do the whole lay on your couch while you do your therapist thing, but as I said, I’m gross and sweaty, and the hot tub is calling my name. So if it’s all right with you, I’d like to take my session out there.”
“Goddess, we can talk about anything you want, wherever your heart desires. As long as I get to hear about this obsession you have with BDSM books,” I tell her, stepping up to her and watching her head fall back on her shoulders as she looks up at me.
“Shower first, and then I’ll meet you out there.”
“Deal.” I press a kiss to her pillowy lips, and then she spins around and hurries out of the study. Not even a full minute later, I hear her call down the stairs.
“Neeeil!”
I stroll out of the room to look up at her from the bottom of the staircase, a smirk on my face. “Yes, goddess?”
She crosses her arms over her still sweaty chest. “Where is all my stuff?”
“Oh, you mean all your stuff that was taking over my guest bathroom?”
With her true personality coming through these past three days, I’d expected to be met with her sexy haughtiness. What I did not even consider was instead for her response to be worry and unease. She lowers her arms, breaking eye contact and shifting on her now bare feet. “Yeah, that stuff,” she replies, her voice low, bringing her hands together to wring.
I’m halfway up the stairs in the blink of an eye, and then I slow my ass down when I see her take a step back into the hallway. I speak gently while I climb the rest of the way up like I’m approaching a frightened animal. “Your stuff was taking over my guest bathroom when, as far as I’m concerned, you’re no longer a guest.” Apparently, I’m being too vague, because her knuckles crack she tightens her fingers so hard. She obviously thinks I’m kicking her out, even though I just emptied her boxes of books. So I make it really fucking clear what I mean, even though I was originally worried I’d freak her out. “Meaning, according to me, you’re now a permanent resident of this estate.” The last word leaves my mouth as my second foot hits the landing. “And all of your girly shit is now covering the counters of our bathroom until you figure out how you’d like to organize it.”