Page 19 of Karrington

Her chin lowered slightly as she blushed. “That sounds nice.”

“Good. Make yourself comfortable. I know you’ll probably be bored, so you can have anyone over here that you felt comfortable having at your parents’ home. Caesar is having all of your things delivered this afternoon, but if you need anything before I get back, just let me know.”

Her head tilted and mouth opened partially. “You’re coming back tonight?”

“Yeah. I always sleep at home.”

“Oh.” Her smile widened. “Okay. So you’ll be sleeping in the same bed as me?”

“If you’re okay with that.”

She twiddled her thumbs. “I’d like that.”

“Good.”

We stared at each other for a few seconds before I pushed myself off the stove. If I didn’t leave soon, I wouldn’t want to. Being around Eyela relaxed me. “Oh yeah. The garage is full. I know you don’t drive, so you have a chauffeur. His name is Frasier and he’s on call twenty four seven. He’s trained and licensed to carry, so he will be your full time guard too. Steel is your part time driver and guard for weekends. The Bentley and Maserati are yours.”

Her eyes blinked rapidly before she walked over to me and hugged me. She was significantly shorter than me, so I felt the urge to pick her up and wrap her legs around me. Eyela cupped my cheeks and kissed my nose then my lips. I wasn’t expecting her to be so comfortable so soon physically, but I took it as a testament to our connection. It was genuine even if it wasn’t deep yet.

“Thank you for taking care of me.”

“You’re welcome.” I buried my nose in her hair. She wore it down today, and I was able to run my fingers through it. It was all real. I had to stop myself from hitting it from the back so I could pull every strand. “You always smell so good.” Today, she smelled like oranges and vanilla. “I need to know what perfumes you wear so I can make sure you never run out.”

She giggled and ran her hand down the back of my neck. “I’ll be sure to text you the list.” Eyela paused before she said, “You don’t talk a lot. When you do, your voice… your words feel like a reward.”

It didn’t surprise me that she’d picked up on that. Whether she would believe it or not, I was talking to her more than I talked to anyone. I’d always been the loner of the crew who spent more time observing than anything else. With the changes happening in my life, I had even more on my mind. Losing Pops and taking over made me want to withdraw, regardless of how much I knew that was impossible.

“Yeah,” I started, setting her on the counter. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

Eyela nodded and ran her hands down my chest. “I’m sorry about your father. I know they prepare us for their deaths, but nothing really prepares you for death, especially when it happens like that.”

It took me a second to respond because that was exactly how I’d been feeling. “Exactly. One minute I’m okay and telling myself he lived well and was prepared to go… the other… I feel like I’m about to completely split in half. I know I’m prepared for this, but I also feel lost because he’s not here to guide me.”

“He might not be here physically but he’s here,” she pointed to my heart, “and here,” then my mind.

When her hand slid back down to my heart, I held it there. I didn’t think any woman besides Luna Ray would ever have access to it, but I was starting to think Eyela would. And whatmade that even better was the fact that she knew who I was, what I was about, and all about the lifestyle. I’d never have to worry about her judging me or leaving me because of it. That was probably the only good thing about arranged marriages, but it wasn’t a good enough thing for me to change my mind about dismantling them.

“If you say stuff like that, you’re going to make me fall in love with you, little one.”

A slow smile spread and lifted those chubby cheeks. “I’d be okay with that.”

“Can I ki—”

“Yes,” she answered quickly. “You don’t have to ask anymore.”

Tilting her head, I kissed her deeply. Kissing had always been intimate to me—sharing the same breathing space as someone else. With Eyela, it was even more intimate. She kissed tenderly, passionately… even when it was just a peck. The only thing that made me pull away was my phone vibrating in my pocket. It had to be Loki. He was supposed to meet me here for a meeting.

“I gotta go,” I broke away to tell her, “but I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll be sleep by the time I get back home.”

“Okay. Be safe.”

“Always.”

After planting a kiss to her temple, I walked away.

I gave the guards upfront a head nod. I’d already made it clear to them that their lives depended on the safety of my wife. If anything happened to her while in their care, I would kill everyone they loved so they could feel the same pain. Grieve the same grief. Needless to say, the threat, the promise, had them all three times as alert as they used to be.

As I hopped into Loki’s Silverado, he chuckled.

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