Chapter 47
Luca
“Look what I found!” I rarely hear such enthusiasm in Noah’s voice, and I follow it through the house to find him on the sofa with the tablet in his hand.
With a quick kiss, I sit down next to him, but he doesn’t even have time for that.
“Look at this! The house is perfect! It’s originally a three-family house, but based on the floor plan, we should be able to open it up.
Right now it has ten rooms in total; if we change the floor plans on the top three floors, we could have ten kids’ rooms up there alone.
The ground floor would have the common areas, therapy rooms, and the offices.
” He’s already got everything mapped out in his head.
The children’s home has always been my dream, and the fact that Noah is living this dream with me makes me incredibly happy. “Where is the house, and how much is it supposed to cost?”
“The house is in the Eastside, a super central location near all the schools, and now hold on to your hat—it only costs 850,000 euros. It needs to be completely renovated, but we have to make so many changes, we’d have these costs either way.
We should easily be able to manage that with the 2. 5 million from my parents.”
Yeah, that number made me gasp, too. That was the amount on the check Noah received from his parents.
He invested the money and hasn’t touched it since.
I’m pretty sure the sum has gone up since then.
After getting our bachelor’s degrees in psychology, we both went on to get our masters.
Mine is in psychology, his in business administration.
He had to take a few extra courses for that, but it was always clear to Noah that he wanted the children’s home to be in our hands, both in terms of its financial management and its educational and therapeutic direction.
Right now, we’re both working full-time and gaining professional experience.
Noah is at a practice specializing in children and adolescents, while I’m at a youth welfare facility—we’ll see how much longer that lasts.
***
“If we knock down those two walls, we’d have a large common room with an open kitchen.” The room is bright and flooded with light, and I can already picture a large dining table with children and teenagers gathered around it.
“Are you planning extensive renovations?” The real estate agent looks at us critically.
“Definitely. As it stands now, the house isn’t usable for our purpose.”
“Are you aware of the financial scope of your current plans?” The man is in his mid-fifties and apparently doesn’t think we’re capable of grasping the scale of this investment.
This is already getting on my nerves, and I’m hardly fighting the urge to say something unprofessionally snarky, but Noah remains completely calm.
“Of course. I’ve already calculated all the expenses in advance and factored in an extra twenty percent as a buffer. We’re well within budget.”
“The financing with the bank…”
Noah cuts him off. “We don’t need financing. Do you want to sell us the house or not?”
“You want to buy it?” Why is he so surprised now? Noah is already tearing down walls in his head, of course he wants the house. I want it too, but this guy is getting on my nerves so badly I don’t dare open my mouth right now. Noah looks at me expectantly, and I just nod. Wow, we’re doing this.
***
Buying a house is easier when you’re married—we figured that out pretty quickly—and yes, a wedding was the plan, but I don’t think either of us expected to be standing in front of a civil registrar six weeks after the viewing, saying “I do.” And because we didn’t want to make a huge deal out of this civil wedding and even our “inner circle” is large at ten people, we only have Jannis and Dayyan as our witnesses.
Everyone else will get their party once the children’s home is finished.
In a completely unspectacular way, we both say, “I do,” kiss, and Noah signs his new name for the first time.
For him, keeping his last name—his parents’ name—was never an option.
For me, on the other hand, it was important to keep my name, the first name that truly had meaning in my life.
Not given to distinguish myself from others, but to show that I belong somewhere.
Now the surname Delfosse has that same meaning for Noah, too.
It’s late when we get home. We went out for a bite to eat with Jannis and Dayyan, and since it was such a nice evening, we stayed for cocktails too. That’s why my car is still in the parking garage, and a taxi driver made sure we got home safely.
Noah sits on the bed, grinning, and looks at his wedding ring. Carbon on the outside, rose gold on the inside. Black and red, just like us. They’re beautiful, so simple, yet so special.
“If someone had told me ten years ago I’d be married today, I would’ve thought they were completely crazy.”
“And to top it off, to such a handsome, charming…”
He interrupts me with a laugh. “…and not at all conceited…”
“Exactly! I’m the whole package!” Noah’s expression changes, his smile softens, his eyes shine. Not a single tear was shed at our wedding, but now he’s getting emotional.
“I know you were joking, Chéri, but to me, you really are.”
I can’t help myself, I have to kiss him, right now. I straddle his lap and cup his face with both hands.
What starts as a tender kiss quickly becomes more. Passionate and demanding. Noah is hard beneath me, and I grind my hips against his length.
I can’t tell yet where this is going, but it won’t be anal sex. I don’t feel sober enough to use an anal douche without hurting Noah, and honestly, I don’t feel like interrupting this any longer than absolutely necessary.
“May I?” I frantically tug at Noah’s T-shirt, and instead of answering, he raises both arms.
Fuck, he’s perfect. With my fingertips, I trace his shoulders, his prominent collarbones, watching his freckles. I love every single one of them, so much.
“Take your clothes off, please. I want to feel you.” He doesn’t have to tell me twice, and as my T-shirt falls, so do his pants and boxers.
Without a word, he slides further onto the bed, never taking his eyes off me for a second, as he grabs his cock, and jerks off in a slow rhythm.
He’s become so confident over the last few years, taking what he wants, and I love it.
I make short work of my pants and underwear, then I lie down on top of Noah, burying his slender body beneath mine and pressing my cock against his.
“Oh, God, yes! Lube!” One quick reach and I find the tube, let a few drops flow into my hand, and wrap it tightly around our cocks.
I gently thrust into my fist. Knowing that “gently” won’t last much longer, I get us wet, and Noah writhes and moans beneath me.
His cheeks flushed and his chest blotchy, he pushes his hips up.
“Almost there, mon Papillon, wait…” Impatiently, he pushes my hand away and pulls me into him.
I moan and press my cock against his. We’re both way too horny to find a rhythm anymore.
Unrestrained, we rub our cocks together.
Noah’s breath catches, his hips twitch faster and faster, then he moans loudly.
“Fuck, yes, mmh.” His cock pulses next to mine and I come with him. With Noah, my husband, who showed me what it means to love and be loved unconditionally.