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“Not bringing women here and being celibate are two different, unrelated things,” I say, not wanting to get into it any further than that.
She gets out of the car and meets me at the front bumper. She looks up at the house.
“When we first moved here, this was a typical two-story house with three bedrooms and two baths,” I tell her.
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. There aren’t a lot of houses for sale in Autre, and we didn’t want to build from the ground up, so we decided to remodel. Fiona liked the location because it’s close to the animal park.” I point. “She could see the giraffes from her balcony.”
Ruby shakes her head. “That’s incredible.”
I grin. “Because Fiona, Saoirse, Torin, and Cian were all going to live here along with Colin, Jonah, and me—and not just the royals were used to nicer accommodations and quite a bit more space—” I say with a self-deprecating grin. “The house washeavilyrenovated.
“There are actually two ‘wings’ in the house. Fiona, Saoirse, and Colin were in the east and the rest of us were in the west. Each room has a large bedroom that includes a sitting area and an ensuite bathroom. We all love each other and get along great, but it was important that we all have our own space too.
“Additionally, the house has a full gym in the basement and a huge living room, family room, and enormous kitchen on the first floor.”
“So why never bring a woman here?”
“There’s just something about this house, and this town,” I tell her. “This was sort of a haven. This felt more like home than anything had before. I think when we lived in Florida, Cian and I were younger, and things were a little more superficial. We were in college. We did a lot more partying and a lot more traveling. When we came here to Autre, we were more mature… at least I’dlike to think so. Life seemed a little more serious. We were a little more settled. The house didn’t feel like a big frat house like it had in Florida.
“And something about Autre felt more like coming back to our hometown, even though I lived here less time than anywhere else.” I finally shrug. “I can’t explain it. We went to New Orleans plenty, and partied and yes, met women. But nobody ever came back to this house with me.”
Ruby is looking up at me with a mixture of emotions. She seems slightly amused, but there’s also love there. “You sure you want to bring me here? We can go back to New Orleans.”
I turn to her swiftly and crowd close. “I want you in this town, in this house, in my room, in my bed. I want to make love to you in this house. And every time I come visit you, I am going to fuck you in that very fancy apartment I got for you. But I also want to bring you down here, hang out with the Landrys, and love you in this house.”
Her smile has died, and she’s watching me with wide eyes. But she slowly nods. “Okay.”
That’s all she says, but that’s all she has to say.
I lead her into the house and give her a quick tour of the first floor, but we’re both eager to climb the stairs. She doesn’t need to see anyone else’s bedroom. I sent Sammy back to New Orleans to his family after he had dinner at Ellie’s, so right now, we have the whole place to ourselves.
“How about you save the ‘wows’ and ‘holy crap, that’s huge’ until we get into the bedroom, and I have my clothes off?” I ask as she says the words for the fifth time since coming through the front doors.
She giggles, and I can’t help myself, I bend and sweep her up into my arms, carrying her the rest of the way to my bedroom.
I stride through the sitting room area to the huge bed and toss her onto it.
“Show me I was right about the panties,” I tell her.
We both strip off our own clothes, eyes glued to one another.
“Oh yes, you look very good on this bed,” I tell her, leaning over to brace my hands on the mattress and then climbing up. She scoots up until her head is on the pillow, and I am looming over her.
“This room is easily as nice as any of the hotel rooms we could’ve stayed in,” she says.
“Maybe,” I agree. “But another perk of this room, is I can get a stripper pole installed in here.”
She laughs. “That will cost you ten thousand dollars.”
I lean down and say against her mouth, “I expect you to make that worth every penny.” Then I kiss her.
As always, the heat flares between us quickly, the need climbing rapidly. But it also feels sweet. I want to savor this. Ruby is in Autre. Two of my favorite things are combined. I want to take my time.
My palms glide down her side, absorbing the silky feel of her skin and the way she shivers under my touch. I linger at her breasts, teasing the already stiff points. When I get to her hips, I squeeze, and she arches up closer to me.
Our tongues are hungry against one another, and we’re moaning and gasping as her hands also travel down my back to my ass and then up my sides.