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“Did I get lost the first time I came here?” she asked.
“The next morning—after our first date. You wound up coming into the
kitchen through the backyard.” I dropped the duffel at the foot of the stairs
and slid the box onto a table. “Give me that.” I took her box and put it on
top of mine. “You have choices to make.”
“Do I?” A flirtation flicked across her lips and quickly straightened as if
she’d gotten control of it.
“We’re not sleeping in the same room.”
“Yeah.” She tried to get control of a smile, but wound up biting her lips.
“So, my bride, let me show you option one.” I led her through the foyer,
then the kitchen, and out to my backyard.
Eight-foot hedges surrounded the space, with a grass patch between the
patio and pool, a built-in barbecue and wet bar, and at the rear edge of the
property, a two-bedroom guesthouse.
“You can use a code or a key,” I said, punching in my numbers to open
the front door. I let her in first. “It’s got furniture already, but you can
replace it if you want.”
She didn’t hesitate to look around the kitchen, peek past the shower
curtains, open closets, or sit on the bed. She bounced on it and ran her hand
over the texture of the duvet. How long would it take for me to not think of
fucking her whenever she sat on a bed?
“Do you ever have guests stay here?” She leaned back.
“Friends from college, when they’re in town. Spillover family, but now
that we have Crownquarters, they’ll stay there.”
I sat next to her as if I was at the end of a semester on Not Touching
Ella 101 and this was the final. Multiple choice.
You’re sitting next to Ella on a bed. She’s half reclined. The afternoon
light makes her skin glow and reflects in the irises of her brown eyes,
making them sparkle with what could be either adventure or danger.
Do you:
A – Put your hand on her knee
B – Kiss her without warning
C – Say something suggestive and gauge her reaction
D – Keep your mouth clean and your hands to yourself
“It’s nice,” she said, then sprang up as if it were her final too, and she
chose D. “I like the kitchen.” She left for the center room and I followed.
She stayed on the other side of the island, talking fast. “The warehouse is a