Oleander - Bucky BarnesxOC

CHAPTER SIX: FASTLOVE

"Unless you want to sleep alone?" James announces.

"No," she whispers.

That smile kills her every time.

"Good, because you'd be breakin' my heart if you said yes."

She gets butterflies and her face heats up. James sticks out his hand and Dahlia's fingers slide against his.

"Come on."

He leads her up the gigantic spiral staircase and to a large room near the back of the house. It's beautiful. There's a king sized bed with light pink and white floral fabric, a beautiful hardwood floor, plants hanging from the ceiling (Dahlia assumes so that Alpine can't eat them), a large dresser, and a walk-in closet filled to the brim with clothes, shoes, bags, hats, and pretty much anything else a person could want.

"Rebecca doesn't exactly have your taste in clothes, but I'm sure you can find something for tomorrow." He grabs a pair of silk pajamas from a drawer. He gently takes the tags off of them. "She bought these at an airport in Milan and never wore them, so they can be yours when you stay here."

"As in, stay here again?" She asks meekly. "You want me to stay here again?"

He wraps an arm around her waist and nuzzles his nose against her cheekbone. She sighs contentedly.

"Dahlia, you have to accept the fact that I want you."

"I think I can do that."

"You're free to take whatever you need from Rebecca's room. She's generous, and she won't mind at all. Here, I'll show you my bedroom."

He tucks her pajamas underneath his arm and leads her up another set of stairs. Up here, there's a large bedroom, a bathroom, and a home gym that Dahlia cranes her neck to peek into. It's the same one from the picture he sent her, and it looks like it has everything. Dahlia mostly just jogs, but she thinks she wouldn't mind waking up and padding to the gym to see James dripping in sweat while he lifted weights or let loose on a punching bag.

She's still a little caught up in the fantasy when he leads her to his bedroom. It's dimly lit and beautiful, with one dark blue wall behind his bed. The rest is painted a kind of pretty slate grey and his bed is a sea of deep ocean blue with white pillows. James seems to be a fan of only a few colors, whereas Dahlia's room looks like someone threw 14 different cans of paint on the walls and called it a day. She and Wanda fought over what they like to call the "Jackson Pollock" room, but Dahlia won in a coin toss. Wanda was pissed and ended up getting stoned and painting a huge mural behind her bed.

James observes her as she looks around. He sets his wine glass down on the dresser and takes Dahlia's from her as she realizes that she probably gets to fuck one of the richest guys in LA in this room. Wanda is going to be so proud.

She glances up. There's a ceiling fan that looks more like a fancy chandelier hanging above the bed. The walls are adorned with black and white photos, mostly abstract art - hands, oil slicks, and strange patterns. They're nice. She just has movie posters on her walls. In comparison to this, her place is starting to feel like a college dorm room.

Despite James's choice in paint and the sheer size of the room (it's bigger than her entire apartment), it's calming and cozy. There are bookshelves, a large chair near the window so that he can read, a desk that's neatly organized and tidy, and a large antique dresser adorned with colognes, jewelry (rings and watches, mostly), and some grooming supplies.

"Wow," she breathes. "This is gorgeous."

"Thank you." He begins to unbutton his dress shirt and Dahlia's jaw drops. She looks away and hears him laugh.