Chapter 9
Tiago
I hate to cover her. I’d rather strip the rest of her clothes off and eat her pussy until she’s had so many orgasms she finally relents and agrees to marry me. It would be coercive, like taking advantage of a drunk person. She’d be high on orgasms.
It’s okay. She won’t hold out for long. She knows I’m right. She’s just as into me as I am her. It’s just that Reagan’s fighting against it in her head. She can’t grasp the possibility that two people could fall in love so fast and race to the altar. It’s making her panic.
I help her sit, slide her bra up her arms, and reach around to fasten it before slipping her tank top over her head.
“You’re supposed to be choosing a room, naughty girl.
You distracted me by luring me into your web.
It’s time to stop tempting me with your body and decide which room or rooms you’d like to claim before several more cousins show up. ”
She giggles. “This is so surreal. I can’t pick a room for you. You’ve already picked one. This is fine.”
“This one is at the end of the hall and shares a wall with a linen closet instead of another room.”
“Why do we need two rooms?” She narrows her gaze at me skeptically and then lifts her hand and quickly adds, “No. Don’t tell me. I refuse to take you seriously when you talk about babies and filling me with your swimmers. I’m not ready for that, Tiago. I’m not even ready to get married.”
I can tell by her tone she doesn’t fully believe her words anymore. She’s just saying them so she can continue to keep a foot in her old world, so she can pretend she’s not two seconds from agreeing I’m right about everything.
I grab her hand and tug her off the bed. “Rooms. Now.” I pull her toward the door.
“This one is fine, Tiago. I don’t know a thing about architecture or the type of wood furniture is made of.”
“Choose them by the color, then. Or maybe you have a preference about whether they face the front or back of the house.” I’m wearing her down.
I know it will feel more real to her if we pick rooms and explore them.
I will take her home tonight, but I want her to lie in bed thinking about the rooms she picked out and what it will be like to sleep in one of them in my arms.
I head down the hallway, opening every door, holding my girl’s hand and dragging her into each and every room.
At first, she just stares at me, but eventually, we come to a room in pale blue. It’s very feminine even though it’s blue. Ruffly and dainty. I know she loves it immediately. She releases my hand to wander in deeper, touching the edge of every piece of furniture and the queen-sized bed.
“What do you think?” I ask.
She stares at the corner. There’s nothing in the corner at all. When she speaks, her words surprise me, “A baby slept in here,” she whispers reverently.
My breath hitches. “How do you know?”
She shrugs. “I can feel it.” She points to the corner. “The crib was over there. See where the four legs scraped slightly on the hardwood?”
Reagan’s right. I see now. “Is it creepy?” I ask.
She shakes her head. “No. It has positive energy. I’m not saying it’s haunted or someone died.
It was probably your father or one of your uncles.
I’m just noticing this was once a child’s room.
” She points toward another corner. “Look at the wall. It hasn’t been painted in a long time.
You can see where tiny hands belonging to a short human touched the wall a thousand times. ”
She’s right about that, too. She’s very perceptive.
“Do you like it?”
She heads toward the armoire and tries to peek behind it before smiling and giving it a shove. It’s far too heavy for her, though. I don’t ask questions while I help her move it.
When we finally manage to shove it about two feet, I grin.
“Huh. Look at that. My woman’s got some weird psychic abilities.
” I reach for the handle on the door we just revealed and turn it.
I’m not surprised when it opens, nor am I surprised to step through it into a larger room done in darker blues.
She comes to my side. “I guess one of your relatives had the same idea as you and made adjoining rooms.”
“I don’t know why. My father and uncles never lived here with their wives.”
She turns to me. “You said this house was built in 1910. Maybe more people lived or stayed here when your grandfather was a baby.”
“Could be.” I pull her into my arms. “The vibe is good? You want these two?”
She giggles. “Sure. I’ll humor you and pretend I’m going to move in here and occupy these rooms if it makes you feel happy.”
I grab the back of her hair and tug her head to one side so I can kiss her neck, loving the way she moans and relaxes against me.
I whisper in her ear, “When you go to bed tonight, you’ll think about sleeping in this room with me.
You’ll think about how good it will feel to sleep naked in my arms for the rest of your life. ”
Another giggle. “Naked, huh?”
“Mmm. Once I get you naked, it will be a long time before I let you have clothes again.”
She pats my chest and shoves me away. “We’ll see.”
The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life is drive my woman back to her grandfather’s house, where I’m going to leave her to sleep alone, not in my bed.
I have no choice. I don’t think her grandfather would necessarily balk at me moving Reagan into the mansion, but I don’t want to give him the impression I’m sleeping with his granddaughter when I’m not.
I know that bringing Reagan home at a reasonable hour every night will win Dwane over completely.
When I pull into her driveway, she fidgets. “This is weird.”
“Yeah. It’s going to be strange leaving you here and driving away.” Excruciating. My world is not the same as it was this morning. She’s fully in it, and I don’t like the idea of her sleeping under a different roof. It makes my skin crawl.
But I need to do this. She needs this, too. She needs time to realize I’m right about us. The distance will help.
I round her car, help her out, and walk her to the front door.
She glances at the street where Dallas pulled up behind us in his car to take me back to the mansion. “You didn’t have to drive me home, you know,” she says for the tenth time. “I’ve been driving for ten years. I’ve never had an accident.”
I grab her hips and pull her in close to me.
We’re standing under the porch light. If any of her neighbors are looking or Dwane peeks out the window, they will see us in an amorous embrace.
“I’ve been driving for nearly thirty years.
I’m sure you’re a fine driver, but when you’re with me, I’ll do the driving, and when you go out with me, I will pick you up and bring you home. ”
She chuckles. “Of course you will. Otherwise, how could you control everything?”
I tuck my fingers into the belt loops on her jean shorts and haul her even closer. “Sassy girl.”
She flattens her palms on my chest, her expression serious. “This is weird,” she repeats.
“It’s not forever, only until you realize I’m right and agree to marry me.”
She chuckles. “You stole my vibrators.”
“Yep, and don’t touch that pussy without permission.” I lift a brow. “Your orgasms are mine now.”
“So bossy…”
“Very. And you love it.” I lower my lips to hers, kiss her deeply, and then turn her toward the door. I reach around and open it before guiding her inside.
When we step into the living room, Dwane looks up from where he’s sitting in front of the TV. He mutes it and stands, grinning. “Did you have a nice time? How was the mansion? I went there a few times, but it’s been many years.”
“Yes. From what I saw, I doubt it’s changed much since you were last there.”
I set my palms on Reagan’s shoulders from behind.
“She’s right. We’ve been referring to the estate as a monstrosity.
Much of it is run down from years of neglect.
Apparently, my grandfather was a miser who spent most of his time in his rooms watching his bank account grow and sharing it with no one. ”
“That does seem to be the case,” Dwane agrees.
“Hopefully, my siblings, cousins, and I can get repairs going all over town as soon as possible.”
Dwane smiles. “Well, I know a lot of people are hopeful.”
I slide a hand up to tip Reagan’s head back so I can look her in the eyes.
“What’s on your schedule for tomorrow, baby?
” I’m putting on a possessive performance for Dwane.
I want him to know I’m a good guy, that I will take care of his granddaughter, and that she’s mine.
The sooner she stops worrying about what other people think about how she feels about me, the sooner I’ll have her under my roof.
“I have a group scheduled for a sightseeing tour at nine. I have to meet them and see them off with their guide.”
“Then you’re free the rest of the day?”
“I guess.”
“I’ll pick you up here at ten. Claire will love having another woman around as we continue exploring the various rooms in the mansion and make decisions. We’re hiring several people who used to work at the estate to get the place back in shape, but it’s going to take time.”
Without waiting for her to respond, I lean over and kiss her before turning back to Dwane. “So nice to see you again.”
He’s grinning wide. He likes me. That’s half the battle.