The man's attention to detail is truly remarkable, I'd never been in a relationship really before him. I'd had the occasional boy I'd fancied or been with my teachers in school, though we never did anything beyond sexual favors. I'd read books and watched movies, there were supposed to be acts of kindness and things that showed endearment that hadn't really meshed well into our lives.
I knew he loved me, and in his own ways, he did small things to make my life easier, but to remember the details I'd requested in our argument about the build of our home in France was not what I expected.
The front gates weren't changed much, save for fixed into place from where they'd been torn down and remodeled to open and close by a keypad. A stone and iron fence formed the front entrance that spaned a healthy distance in both directions. The long driveway was no longer gravel, but paved in a familiar cobblestone and lined with new growth trees that resembled the entrance to my home in Romania. While the trees weren't the same species, I recognized it instantly and could picture what they would look like once they'd grown in.
Silent, we drive down the long path, Verando tracks the improvements with an occasional grumble while I absorb every detail. A man on a small motorized quad vehicle chases the herd of black cows back towards the rear lot, I tilt my head and Verando scoffs at my confusion.
"The place had to stay running, darling. It is a working farm, I didn't know if you'd want to keep the animals or not. not much a fan of the work myself but there is plenty of land here for it. Tyler's father seemed insistent that we at least try to maintain it as it should be."
I almost crack, laughing deeper than I had in weeks. "You, farming?"
Shrugging one shoulder, he sighs, "I was a slave, remember? What do you think I did during that time? I assure you, it wasn't house chores." He reminds me, making my mouth fall and I stare ahead as we pull up to the home.
"What... did you do? As a slave?" I ask, we really hadn't spoken much about that time of his life. I knew he belonged to elves, that he'd been discharged to Taryek in the end and that was his final destination before liberation. I knew he'd been bought and sold a few times, but not much of what that life was like. It had been a hard topic, considering my family had owned many of the lycan slaves we'd created.
Considering this, he cocks an eyebrow at me as I put the car into park and turn it off. "This is what you want to talk about right now?" He questions, though the tone of his voice is flat, not guarded as I'd expected.
"Living here is going to bring back a lot of memories. I want you to know that I'm open to talking about it... My family owned a lot of slaves, sometimes, when I used to go into purgatory when I'd used to much, my father would show me the past and one time..." Hesitating, I keep my hands firmly on the wheel, looking back into the shadowy memory that I'd tried to forget so many times. "I saw you, I saw him turn you through his eyes. I try not to think about it much, but I want you to know that I.. do.. think about it."
Quiet, we sit until Tomas pulls in behind us and Verando simply climbs out of the car to move to my side and open the door for me. I take his hand, his expression was much more controlled, deep in thought I'd imagine as he gestures for me to head toward the house. The large wrap-around porch as impressive, I note that the home is an attempt on its former glory though much less modern and more designed towards a late 18th-century Victorian home. It takes my breath away with its height, larger than I'd thought he'd ever want to dwell in again.
Massive pillars from the large harvested trees form the bones of the porch, intricately carved molding decorating the rafters and leading to the polished front door.
Three healthy stories, with a small tower to the front, the cone-shaped peak at the highest point of the home though behind it held a flat space. I push the large, oak front doors open and see the grand staircase climbing to the upper level, the open floor plan, and stone floors. It'd be cool in the summer, we'd need that with our lycan lineage. I worry about the chill in the winter, taking in the pale color scheme and letting my eyes settle on the various, large-scale photographs marking the walls on canvas prints.
Our children, our wedding day, and a few candid shots of me that shocked me as I hadn't even noticed he'd taken them. Standing next to me, he takes it all in as Tomas shambles in behind us carrying as much luggage as he could stand. "Aye, Randal, ya could at least not stand in the way."
Verando rolls his eyes, wrapping his arm around my waist to pull me to the side. "I'd like to call it a remodel but honestly, we tore the whole thing down and rebuilt. The house really wouldn't do for what we wanted." It was as if he was trying to explain away faults with the home, I could only blink away the shock as I look up at him. He was scrutinizing, picking apart every fault.
"Randy, it's gorgeous," I tell him firmly, determined. "It's... it looks like home."
"It should, we will be living here." he retorts bluntly, making me narrow my eyes at him as I slip out of his grasp to explore. The open floor plan continued throughout the house, with a nice flow into the large windows and plentiful window seats, a well-designed oak dining table that stretched 16 seats long and held a sizeable chandelier over it. I lament having to clean it, entering the kitchen to see the space was thought out for entertaining.
Bookshelves line the walls of the living space, holding a massive stone grand fireplace, glistening from a fresh polish, catching the light of the overhead skylight that allowed the sun to trickle in. I brush my fingers over the plush couch, there was more than enough room for the kids to run and play, and the floor plan was much more welcoming to young bodies running rampant than our other home with its various levels on the main floor.
Climbing the stairs, Tomas jumps the banister much as my husband scolds him for scuffing the floors. Oak-topped stairs lead to the upper level, a much more spacious hallway with average-sized rooms for the children, though I know there are 4 rooms coupled together. On the other side of the stairs, separated by a laundry room and a guest bathroom, was our bed chamber.
I press the door open, noting the different handle that would give small fingers pause, quietly giving Adriam a silent thank you. I step in to spy the open double doors leading out onto a second patio that overlooked the acreage. The canopy still master bed, with its large pillared columns and matching dresser. Stepping out onto the patio, I cross my arms on the railing, taking in the scent of the woods and filling my nose with the breeze. From here, I could even smell the faint hint of the river.
Verando joins me, standing beside me with his arms crossed over his chest. "How do you like it?"
"It's incredible." I manage. "You got everything I asked for. How did you remember all of this?"
"I love you and it was important to you. Not to say I'd ever want to build a home again, this was a nightmare. But, Steffan says I have a knack for management... can't imagine why. I don't believe the builders would ever work for me again, but I kept them ahead of schedule. He's putting together a business plan for some real estate investments, Adriam seems to have enjoyed the decorating aspects." Dusting off the railing, he catches me looking at him and I spot the hint of embarrassment. "What?"
I can't help but chuckle once more, "Those poor builders, dealing with a warlord on a mission. I bet they were horrified."
"Mmm.. perhaps if they did their job more effectively I wouldn't have to cast judgment upon them." He suggests, sighing with relief as I slip my arms around his waist and bury my face in his chest. Those strong arms wrap around me, I feel his lips brush against the top of my head and squeeze him as tightly as I dared. "I'm so glad you like it, darling. Once we get settled, you'll have to take a drive to the auto shop and decide what you want to do with it."
I'd entirely forgotten he'd practically funded my own business. "The auto shop. We still have it?"
"Of course? Why would I sell that? Tyler had his cousin refurbish a lot of it, so it is operational but a reputation in an area like this is hard to build-"
I hook my arm around his neck, pulling him down to my level and ignoring the grunt as I crush my lips to his. Parting his lips with my own, I deepen the kiss, knotting my fingers in his hair as I stretch onto my toes to keep him from pulling away from me. "When do Tomas and Rowan leave?" I manage, breathless against his lips.
"Don' worry, I've got yer bags unloaded. I'm going to do a quick once over and then I'll be out of yer hair." Tomas calls from the door, disappearing quickly down the hallway as I flush and bury my face in Verando's chest.
"Randy?" I listen to the pounding of his heart, refusing to let go, holding onto him so that my body is pressed as close to his as possible. "Did you find immortality changed your sexuality?"
"Are you having second thoughts?" he scoffs, flinching as he uses the railing to support himself. I sigh, taking his arm and guiding him back into the bedroom. Playfully, and carefully, I push him back onto the bed and climb up to straddle his waist. "What's with the in-depth questions today?"
"I'm feeling very insightful. I want to know everything about you, all over again." I tell him, trailing one of my fingers from his collarbone, down his shirt, to his navel. I admire the rise and fall of his chest, the way his jeans hung from his hips, and the way he responds to my touch. A previous me would be patient, waiting for Tomas to leave, but the way I'd been feeling prevented me from honoring such courtesy.
Considering this, he folds his arms behind his head, making me bite my lower lip at the way the position flexed his biceps, he knew what that did to me and he wasn't playing fair. "I'm not interested in men, though I can't say I wouldn't have had sex with one when I was younger. I think I might have done anything to get my hands on opium in my youth, at the peak of my addiction. Everyone save for Caspian.. it meant too much to Caspian and I couldn't do that to him. I'd kissed him, but not in a way that I felt anything... more to humor him."
Staring at the canopy top, Verando clenches and unclenches his jaw, frowning slightly. "I suppose you could say that I'm bisexual, but wolves don't really think that way. I saw you and felt something I'd never felt before, but I think I could have ignored it, moved on even.. until I spoke to you. You were funny, threatening me despite how tiny you were... so young, so willing to die. I admired that, the more I talked to you, the more I realized that what I felt for you was attraction.
It took me a long time to realize that I was in love with you, but I also think it took me a long time to realize I was capable of loving anyone. I'd never loved anyone before, not the way that I love you. So in a roundabout way, no, I don't think immortality has changed my sexuality but I think the wolf made me more open to accepting the person, not the gender. I think the only one who could love you more than me is Alpha."
Climbing up his body, I kiss him once more, supporting myself on my palm by his side as I claim his mouth. For a creature who could decimate cities, he could set my soul on fire. "So.. you're not attracted to Tomas?"
Verando scoffs, chuckling against my lips as I sneak down to kiss his jaw and neck. Dragging my nose against the stubble of his chin, skirting my teeth over his jugular with a hum in my throat. "Are you out of your mind?"
"You're always with him." I sink my teeth into his neck, earning a sharp inhale that makes me grin. I lick the offending spot in a slow pass of my tongue. "Can I not be jealous?"
"I mean, he is red-haired..." Verando muses, making me dive my hand between his legs to grope him through his pants. My warlord inhales sharply, growling at me as I meet his gaze with a plea and a challenge. "For the love of the Gods, no, I'm not attracted to Tomas. I don't think Tomas fancies me either. He used to be married to Penelope, let me remind you?"
"You were with plenty of women." I retort shortly, sitting up to slip my hands into the collar of his shirt and shred it down the middle. "Oops." I shrug, shivering at the sight of his pierced nipples. "Please tell me you're healed up enough to indulge me."
Those light eyes meet mine with a warning glare. "I think we both are due for some rest, you haven't been well."
"I think you have just the medicine for that," I respond, rolling one of his nipples between my thumb and index finger, earning a gasp as he moves to snatch my hand but I stop him, pinning his wrist above his head. "It's been weeks." My body was on fire, a smolder instead of a burning flame. I could think around it, enjoy it, savor it as I roll my hips against his. Feeling the bulge in his pants, rocking against it as I tease him with my lips hovering over his. ''You're mouth-watering."
"Cheeky minx.." he murmurs back, shuddering as I toy with his nipple. "You're also driving me wild with that."
Leaving his chest, I hook my finger in his mouth, admiring the tongue stud as he growls and bites me. "You've got no right to be this damn hot," I tell him shortly, kissing him once more as he bucks his hips against me only to flinch against my lips. "Let me do the work. You just try and behave."
"Tomas hasn't left yet." Verando exhales as I sit up to unbutton his jeans and unfasten his belt. Letting him spring free, my eyes widen as I swallow, marveling at my handy work. "I told you you were driving me crazy..."
"That's practically a weapon." I manage, glancing over my shoulder to see we were quite exposed with the door to the patio and our bedroom still wide open. "We could scare him away, I'm not planning on being quiet."
"Nic..." Randy sighs, gripping my hips, grinding me against him as I whimper. "If you want this now, you'll have to be quiet. I need Tomas to not abandon us."
"It's been almost a month!" I remind him, frowning.
"Then you should probably wait until we're alone."
Wriggling against him, I was unsure of how much self-control I had, yet I was also unwilling to allow my husband to stride out of here without knowing my gratitude. With a single nod to him, he flips me over, stopping himself from gripping his side as he climbs off the bed to close the bedroom door but leaves the patio door open. "You'll have to be quiet," he reminds me again, grabbing the bottle of lube out of the nightstand as he returns to bed, sliding between my legs as I shimmy out of my pants. Hooking one of my ankles over his shoulder, he kisses down my thigh. "You're so beautiful."
"We don't have a lot of time." I remind him impatiently, shivering as he applies a generous amount of lube to my entrance. Using his skilled fingers, I feel exposed as he watches me while I squirm beneath him. Placing the back of my hand over my mouth, my body aches, feeling hypersensitive to every touch. His free hand slides up to my chest, massaging one of my pectorals and making me groan at the sensation.
"You really are desperate. You're trembling all over." He murmurs, making me flush as I peek up at him over my hand.
"You have no idea." I manage, stifling a moan as he teases me, he'd hardly touched me and I was already getting close. "I'm not going to last if you keep doing that."
"Aren't you supposed to be quiet?" he reminds me, releasing me from his torturous fingers to apply the lube to himself. I pant, flustered, my hands grip the pillow over my head as he jerks my hips up towards his so that I'm curled beneath him. Trapped between him and the headboard, I start to consider if maybe I've bit off more than I could chew before he sinks into me, and I struggle to cope with the position.
"Ah!" I manage, reaching to place my hand on his stomach, wanting more and wanting to escape all the same. "Randy-" I manage, with him between my legs I couldn't control the depth, his hands slide up under my knees, pressing them up towards my chest to leave me exposed. "I can't-"
"Remember you're supposed to be quiet." he reminds me, raising an eyebrow, making me swallow as I narrow my eyes at him. "Do you want me to stop?" Yet even as he speaks, he's moving, thrusting into me and sending wave after wave of shocking intensity down my spine. With a moan, I know he's having a hard time controlling himself. He was going as easy on me as he could, gritting his teeth as he grips my thighs. "God you feel so good."
I was torn between being at my limit and wanting it to never end, crying out against the back of my hand, at his mercy as I squirm beneath him. I shouldn't have teased him, he might have been merciful if I hadn't played the game like a seasoned pro. It'd been too long and my body wasn't used to it, "Randy-" I manage, eyes wide when I hear the phone ring. "Don't you dare..."
It was a plea to not stop but also to not answer.
With a grin, he picks up the phone, "Yes, Tomas?" He manages, never dropping pace, more determined than ever as he fills me completely. I crane my head back, curling my toes, shaking as I fight to stay quiet. "Good, thanks for the report. I'm showing Nic the upstairs so I might not be able to come down just yet. Old bones and what have you... he's very invested in the designs Adriam has come up with for the office."
Shaking my head, I sink my teeth into my lower lip, whimpering as he uses me. I was getting impossibly close, struggling to ward off my completion as he shoves into me. The size of him, the depth at which he takes me with each stroke, I glare up at him through my fingers at his torment and he cocks an eyebrow.
"Do you want to talk to Nic?"
"Fuck you.." I mouth, yelping as he bucks against me.
"He's in a mood," Verando explains away my behavior, pressing a button he puts Tomas on speakerphone. "Tell me one more time about the perimeter check?" I listen to the Irish man drone on, while that sinful man glares into my eyes with the same sultry gaze that made me fall for him all those years ago. It was hot, it was embarrassing, it was my warlord in his element and I was at my wit's end. "Thanks for your help, Tomas." He hangs up the phone, I reach up to pinch his nipple, earning a snarl as he pulls my hips back against him.
"You're such an asshole." I curse under my breath, panting, chest heaving.
With a chuckle, I feel him getting close, "Don't bargain with payment you can't fulfill, darling." He growls, sliding two of his fingers into my mouth as I sink my teeth into the digits. "You're absolutely stunning when you're coming apart like this."
"Stop talking and take me." I snap back at him around his fingers, thankful for the offering as I struggle to contain myself with his relentless punishment. He buries himself in me, finishing as I arch off the bed and find my completion. Riding out the waves, we're both spent as he pants, hovering over me. My body falls limp back onto the bed, in a heap of ecstasy.
"Oh my god..." I manage.
"You really turned me on with the nipple play." He admits, running a hand through his hair. "I... like.. when you tell me that I'm attractive. Right now I'm really not feeling myself."
"Noted," I murmur, trying to catch my breath as he withdrawals and slides back over to lay on his back beside me. "How's your side?"
"On fire. I got carried away."
"Worth it?" I manage, frowning, a pang of guilt hitting me at provoking him.
With a smirk, he takes my hand in his, kissing my knuckles. "If I wasn't worried about you, I'd have you until the sun came up. If it kills me, it'd be a hell of a way to die. I accept the challenge, and all its burdens."
The prospect was too tempting to decline, "I'm yours for the taking, Mr.Mercer. Have all of me until you're completely satisfied."