31. Luc
31
LUC
I ris and I wandered towards the house, Apollo crashing around in the leaves at our feet. I could honestly say I’d never been so happy. Had never known my heart so full. Thankfully, Apollo had stayed soundly asleep while Iris and I were on the rug. She’d laughed, saying she didn’t want to corrupt him.
I glanced up and ran my eyes over the woman I never wanted to be apart from. Her blonde hair hung in messy bundles, courtesy of the rug and the naked swim we’d taken.
She met my gaze, fair eyelashes fringing her eyes as they glowed.“What?” she asked. “Do I still have charcoal on my face?”
She tucked her hair behind her ear. I’d seen her do it a hundred times, but each time, my lips craved to touch the warm spot behind her lobe.
Pulling her into my body, I planted a kiss on the side of her head. “I’m pretty sure I checked every inch of you already, but if you’d like me to double-check…”
She giggled. “In your dreams, buddy.”
The corners of my lips bowed. I could listen to her laugh all day. “Where to now?” If I had my way, we’d head straight up to my studio.
She smiled at me. “I have plans, but I need to be a responsible parent first. I left Chloe with Stuart. I didn’t know I’d get so distracted, and I can’t guarantee she hasn’t moved in and ordered room service.” Her head snapped up. “Oh crap! Agnes! She’ll go nuts if she finds Chloe in my room. I mean, your room.”
“Like I said before, leave Agnes to me. She’s not as bad as you think. She’s worked for our family for years. I remember she used to let me hide from my father in the kitchens when I was a child. I often wondered if she and Thierry had a thing.”
Iris’ eyes widened. “Are you serious? I’ll be honest, Chloe and I thought she had a crush on you.”
I could hardly contain my belly laugh. And hell, it felt good to laugh. Like a heavy weight was lifted off my shoulders.
“Stop! We didn’t know.”
“I can assure you, Agnes and my relationship is purely professional.” We passed by the winery, and I nodded my head back towards the door. “Do you want to pick up some wine?”
“What do we need wine for?”
I unwound my arm from around Iris, taking her hand instead. “Maybe we could take a few bottles down to the fire pit later. I quite enjoyed masquerading as your French boyfriend.”
We passed the pool, and Iris curled her fingers tighter through mine and ran her other hand over my shoulder. “Hey, slow down Henri. I’m kind of spoken for now.”
“Only kind of?”
“Oh, believe me, I’m all in. But Luc, it’s our first night together. I think we could give other humans and the fire pit a miss. Besides, I look like a scarecrow, and didn’t I say I had other plans for us?”
My dick nudged at the thought. “When do these plans begin? ”
“Once I’ve settled Stuart in. You actually met him, right?”
“I have. He’s, um, feisty.” That was an understatement. When I’d taken him from Iris’ ex, I poked my finger through the carrier door to give him a tickle. He bit it.
We’d stopped off overnight at Esmé’s in Paris before flying back this morning. It had taken me ten minutes to extract him from her curtains. I still had the scratches to prove it.
Iris grimaced. “He got you? I’m sorry. He can be grumpy, but once he gets to know you properly, it’ll be fine. I forgot to ask. How did you get him here so fast? There must be procedures for him to cross international borders?”
Stuart and my journey had been remarkably easy. Once we made it to Heathrow Airport, thankfully, the officials turned a blind eye to private jet owners smuggling domestic cats for their fake fiancées.
“We took the jet,” I said.
Iris huffed a laugh and waved one hand in the air. “Well, I definitely can’t leave Marsan now. He’s had a taste of the high life.” She turned to me, her smile contradicting her narrowed eyes. “And if you gave him cream as a deal sweetener, he’ll never go back to Whiskas. I’ll have to get him back on a solid diet of kibble. I don’t want him to grow up with a silver spoon in his mouth.”
I swept my thumb over the back of Iris’ hand as we walked through the formal gardens amongst the statues. Memories of the time we spent together here crashed into my brain. Memories of Iris’ fingers tangled in my hair as I kneeled at her feet.
“You know, this place always freaked me out as a child. Now it’s taken on a whole new significance.”
Iris glanced at me, a delicious grin on her lips. “This place freaked Chloe and me out, too, for entirely different reasons, I assure you. I never knew the men of ancient Greece had such large spears.”
I chuckled, twisting her around and gently pushing her to rest against one particularly large-speared warrior. “Just the men of ancient Greece? What about the men of France?”
Iris pressed against me a little, her breasts meeting my chest. “Well, for thorough research purposes, I’ll need to start with a few case notes.” She brought her mouth to mine and ran her tongue along the length of my bottom lip before giving it a gentle bite.
“And you promise you’ll stay?” I whispered. “I didn’t dream it?”
She shook her head gently, her chest rising and falling fast against the cotton of her dress. “I can’t leave.” The corners of her mouth lifted. “I don’t have a pet passport for Stuart, and I don’t have the luxury of limitless funds and a jet to smuggle him through customs.”
Iris took my hand and threaded her fingers through mine, bringing the inside of my wrist to her lips. “With that said, we’re still unofficially-officially engaged. Don’t people do that whole ‘What’s yours is mine’ thing? Technically, I can take anything I want, even your jet.”
At her words, my heart pulsed in my chest. “We’re still engaged?”
She tipped her head to one side, the smell of her shampoo mixing with the heady scent of the gardenias. “Well, I don’t see why not. Unofficially, of course. I don’t want your grandmother or Stuart to get too excited. He’ll probably freak when he sees the gardens here. There are so many mice in the vineyard. He’ll be the size of a small country within a couple of weeks.”
I ran my eyes over Iris’ smiling face—her turned-up nose with its covering of light freckles, and her pink cheeks. I was so happy I thought my heart might explode. “I really do love you, Iris. So much”
She threaded her arms around my neck and looked up at me, her eyes sparkling bright. “I know,” she said, pressing against me. “And I can assure you, the feeling is very mutual. ”
As I leaned in, her thigh nudged between my legs, and the second our lips met, a calm settled over me.
In such a short time Iris had become my world. She was the only woman I’d ever wanted, the only one I’d ever needed. For the first time, I looked forward to the future.
As we kissed, Apollo barrelled past, knocking into us.
“Merde,” I said, running my hands down Iris’ arms, checking she was okay. “I think I told you before. My dog can be rude.”
Iris chuckled, watching him disappear, running towards the house. “Does Apollo like cats?”
I took her face in my hands and kissed the end of her nose.
“I guess we’ll find out…together”
The End