Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
Hailey
The following day, Eric took me to look at apartments. Louis came along because he “had a passion for architecture.” Direct quote.
I thought maybe he was just coming along as a chauffeur but didn’t want to offend us, because neither Eric nor I had a car. At least, I didn’t think Eric had a car.
Was it weird to look for a place to live with a man I barely knew? Logically, absolutely, but a really long time ago, someone told me to trust my gut, and it hadn’t led me wrong yet.
We’d visited a dozen houses now, and after being told, in no uncertain terms, that they wouldn’t consider us for rentals by several agents, it was hard to ignore the fact that this city was still incredibly biased.
I was fuming as we pulled up to an empty lot that was currently housing food trucks, and I climbed from Louis’s truck. “We should report them all for discrimination. I’m sure there’s a law that says they can’t turn away tenants for being a creature.”
Eric wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “It wasn’t because I was an orc, Hailey.”
I turned, standing in front of a Brazilian barbeque truck. “Then why did they keep rejecting us?”
“It’s because we’re a mixed species couple. They don’t like seeing pretty human women with this…” He waved a hand in front of himself, and I frowned harder.
“That’s bullshit. I think you’re hot as fuck,” I protested, stepping up to the cashier.
“Agreed,” the guy inside the truck echoed, and I grinned up at him.
“See? I’ll have the feijoada, and they’ll have…” I turned to Eric.
“Prato feito, please.”
“Make that two,” Louis added.
Eric was flushing as he handed the guy a fifty.
“It isn’t my attractiveness that is in question, though I’m eternally grateful you find me pleasing.
It’s that they don’t like us to have long-term, meaningful relationships.
There are plenty of monster fuckers out there, and that’s seen as a little distasteful, but almost understandable.
They don’t like to see us settle down with you, get married, and have a family.
” He cleared his throat. “In general, I mean, not you and me specifically.”
I swallowed my amusement at his awkward comment at the end. “Good enough to fuck, not good enough to marry. That’s bullshit.”
“Amen,” the guy said as he made our plates, not even pretending that he wasn’t eavesdropping.
Louis rested his shoulder against the side of the truck while we waited. “Why don’t you just buy a place? Eric has the money, and then you won’t have to navigate the bureaucrats and bigots.”
A house of my own? Without creepy landlords and drug-addled neighbors? I wouldn’t even know myself. It was a dream that seemed unachievable a week ago. It could be a home, and I didn’t know what home felt like anymore.
“I was trying not to rush Hailey. She deserves to find her feet before we make big decisions like buying a house.”
I had no doubts about Eric, and every time he said something thoughtful like that, I became even more sure. Still, it was fast. I didn’t want Louis to put him on the spot like that.
I reached out and took Eric’s hand. “I don’t want you to feel obligated to do any—”
Eric put a finger to my lips. “Nothing would make me happier than buying you a den, a place you can make your own that is filled with things that bring you joy. Whenever you want that, I will sign on a dotted line with a smile on my face, knowing that I’ve made my mate happy.”
I reached up, put my hands on either side of his face, and pulled him down for a kiss.
I’d fantasized about doing this from the first morning he stood beside me at the bus stop.
It was a little odd at first with the tautness of his bottom lip across his tusks, but the skin was softer and hotter than I thought it would be.
It was only a brief kiss, but it felt so right, like my soul could settle now.
Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up at the guy in the barbeque truck. “That’s like the end of a rom-com. Do you have any cousins?” he asked Eric, who was flushing again.
“Most orcs are toxic. Avoid at all costs.”
The guy sighed. “If only toxic wasn’t my type.” He grinned. “Here’s your lunch. Enjoy.”
Louis stuffed a twenty in the tip tin with a wink, and we walked over to a plastic picnic table.
Louis placed our food in front of us, including the flimsy wooden forks, before sitting down in front of his own plate.
I smiled softly at him. “You sure you aren’t a mother hen shifter?”
He laughed. “One hundred percent virile werewolf. I just like everyone to be fed and happy. Now eat up.”
Louis picked up a beef rib and bit into it before pushing the whole thing into his mouth and swirling it to get the meat off the bone. Should a man eating beef be attractive?
I glanced quickly at Eric, only to find him equally transfixed by the single-minded way Louis was sucking on a rib. Having a bisexual mate was going to be interesting. At least we had something to bond over immediately.
As if he could sense the direction of our thoughts, Louis licked the sauce from his bottom lip, and Eric grunted. “So you’re going to look at buying a house? Because if the answer is yes, I have the perfect place in mind.”
The sexy thoughts that had been running through my head disappeared… or got filtered to the back. See? I could multitask. “Oh?”
“Yeah, out near pack land. It used to belong to an old human couple, but they recently moved to Florida to be somewhere warmer. There are a bunch of corporations sniffing around, but the pack doesn’t like the idea of unknown companies getting hold of something so close to our borders.
We can’t expand our boundary lines, but I think a friendly orc and his beautiful mate moving in would suit everyone just fine. ”
I leaned into Eric’s side. “Have we been played?”
Eric chuckled softly, and his lips brushed my temple. “It was the way he sucked the meat off that bone,” he murmured in my ear, and I laughed. Hell yeah it was. He turned back to Louis. “I guess you better show us.”
* * *
The house looked like something out of a storybook. Honestly, if a brown bear with an apron and spectacles emerged, I wouldn’t be surprised. Actually, were the bears in that story really bear shifters, and was Goldilocks guilty of home invasion?
True crime or fairy tale, you decide.
The house was a tall A-frame cottage, though Louis said it had at least five bedrooms. There was scalloped trim along the roof’s pitch and a large front porch with a swing. It was like my childhood dream came to life.
“We can’t afford this,” I whispered, and Eric squeezed my hand.
“We can.”
An estate agent appeared around the corner of the porch, and even I could tell she was some kind of creature. She smiled widely at Louis, who grinned back. “Allegra, thanks for meeting us on such short notice.”
“I know how Puck feels about this property, so if I can get it into the hands of someone favorable, I’m happy to move fast.”
I leaned closer to Eric. “Puck?”
“The werewolf alpha. Good guy, but scary,” he murmured like he was going to appear from nowhere. “He’s Louis’s alpha.”
I nodded as Allegra waved us forward. “It’s lovely to meet you both. Any friend of Louis’s is a friend of mine,” she purred, and I smiled, but it felt plastic on my face. The look she gave Louis said she’d really like to be way more than friends.
She opened the front door, and any thoughts of jealousy disappeared.
It was perfect.
Allegra showed us around all the rooms, from the homey kitchen to all the bedrooms, and a large sunken living room. The main bedroom on the top floor was huge and had a view that stole my breath.
The backyard just went on and on and on. “Do you like it?” Eric asked as we stood on the back deck thirty minutes later. The sun was lowering in the sky, and it was painting the horizon a soft orange.
“Yes,” I whispered.
That was all the confirmation Eric needed. He looked at Allegra. “We’ll take it.”
“You don’t want to negotiate a price?” she asked lightly.
He shook his head. “No. The sooner we can move in, the better.”
Louis whooped happily, wrapping his arms around both me and Eric. “Welcome to the neighborhood!” He squeezed us tightly. “Don’t worry, you guys can stay with me while you go through escrow.”
Allegra’s lips tightened, but she straightened them back out by the time Louis let go.
He didn’t notice. He didn’t seem to notice her at all, and it was petty that I got a little satisfaction from that.
“Let me make a call to the owners so we can get the paperwork underway.”
She disappeared into the house, and I turned back to Eric. “Is this too fast? Are you sure?”
He gave me a reassuring smile. “You don’t understand because you aren’t a creature, but you are my bonded mate. Your happiness is my happiness. My life is literally tied to yours now.”
I let out a puff of air. That felt like a lot of pressure to put on another person. Louis slapped my back. “Don’t overthink it. Let yourself be happy.”
Taking him at his word, I turned back to the horizon and watched the sun drop low and heavy in the sky. I could go into this with an open mind and an open heart. I could protect myself but also let myself feel.
I rested my head against Eric’s bicep and just let go.