Page 3 of Fractured Constellations
“Sir, where shall we put Miss Luna?” Jerry asks, and Richard glances over, a scowl marring his handsome face.
“Oh, I forgot you were coming today.” His face clears, like he just remembered he shouldn’t be frowning at his new stepdaughter. “Your room isn’t quite ready, so just take one of the boys’ for now. They won’t be back for a week or two.” With that, he dismisses me, taking Mom’s hand and leading her down the huge hallway. She glances back once, fucking once, and gives me a big smile like my new stepdad didn’t forget about my existence.
“Come on, Miss Luna, I’ll show you the way,” Jerry encourages, gently tugging my arm towards the massive staircase.
It’s a lot to take in, all the artwork and fancy wallpaper. It’s not exactly dark, though it doesn’t feel welcoming either. More of a museum, a place to showcase wealth, and my stomach churns as I’m led down another wide hallway.
“The boys are in the east wing, which is where I think your room will be too. The master is in the west wing, so plenty of space between you all,” Jerry tells me cheerily, and I take in the fact this house has wings. Fucking wings like the Beast’s castle.At least I don’t seem to be banned from any of it, and maybe there’s a library, though I doubt it’s got the kind of books I like to read, aka smut. “There’s also a den of sorts down here, where the boys like to unwind, and once you’re settled, I’d be happy to give you a tour.”
“Thanks, Jerry, maybe later?” I reply, tiredness sweeping over me. It’s been a busy day, plus the not-so-warm welcome and the fact that things feel very unsettled still, have left me feeling dead on my feet. Especially as I don’t have my own space, even though this mansion clearly has plenty to spare.
“Absolutely. Well, here we are, option number one,” Jerry says, opening the door to the first room.
My eyes bug out of my head. Not only is it massive, but it’s ultra neat, like military neat. There is not a single messy thing, no knick-knacks on the surfaces. It’s not lacking in personality per se, but the fact that it’s so tidy screams of someone who is anal as fuck.
It’s also painted dark gray, with dark wood furniture and black accents, and although I prefer a bit more color in my life, I don’t hate it. There is an elegant masculinity about the space.
The bed is huge, made up in all black sheets with not a decorative pillow in sight, and although my nose wrinkles, I go over to do the flop test just to make sure. Also, I can’t help messing up the space just a little.
Turning with my back to the bed, I allow myself to fall and bounce almost right back up.
“Ow!” I yelp, the mattress clearly high-quality memory foam but firm as fuck. A delicious, smokey vanilla wafts up around me, and I take a deep inhale of the scent, my mouth watering as I imagine marshmallows roasted over a fire. “Absolutely not this one. It’s too hard.”
That’s what she said…
I snigger at my own joke, then freeze as Jerry looks at me with a quizzical look. Shit. Didn’t last ten minutes before fucking up.
“Next option?” I suggest, trying to cover my awkwardness.
“Of course, Miss. If you’ll follow me?” Jerry says, and I glance at the once pristine bed, smirking down at it now that it’s all wrinkled up.
I follow him to the next room, and he opens the door, the riot of color hitting me right in the face.
“Wow,” I whisper, looking around with wonder at how many colors there are. It’s clean and tidy, yet has the feel of a chaotic personality with the number of posters taped to the walls, and the odds and sods lying around the room.
The bed is an explosion of colorful, patterned blankets and pillows, and looks perfect to snuggle in. It’s made, but has that lived-in vibe that the rest of the room also has, immediately putting me at ease.
Walking over to the bed, I repeat what I did in the last room, sinking into the soft, cloud-like mattress, the bed practically swallowing me fucking whole. I’m engulfed in amber and dark rum, making me think of days spent on a tropical island, hiding from the world, or what I imagine a tropical island would smell like anyway.
“Help!” I yelp, my hands flailing as I do a perfect impression of a bug on its back.
A hand grasps mine and yanks, helping me out of the cloud that’s pretending to be a bed, and I huff a laugh.
“Too soft, though would be perfect for reading, so I’ll keep that in mind,” I tell Jerry, and he nods seriously, even though his brown eyes twinkle and his lips twitch like he’s holding in a smile.
“On to the final option then,” he states, leading the way out of the room and back into the hallway.
This room is next to the colorful one, all of them on one side, and when he opens the door, a calmness washes over me. The walls are navy, and the room has charcoal and burgundy accents, lending the feel of what I imagine a high-end hotel room might look like, but there’s more of a lived in feel, like this is a place to let go and relax.
The bed is large like the others, with a few pillows and a couple of fluffy blankets that I immediately want to snuggle into.
“This is the one, Jerry. I can feel it,” I tell him as I step towards the bed, earning a chuckle from the older man. Turning just like I did with the last two, I catch his eyes. “Wish me luck.”
Then I fall backwards before he can respond, and the bed cuddles me like a hug from someone who never wants to let you go. Spicy cinnamon surrounds me, reminding me of my favorite cookies, and it takes everything not to groan aloud.
“Any good?” Jerry asks, and I blink my eyes open, not realizing I’d closed them, to find him standing over me, the skin around his eyes crinkled as if he’s holding in a laugh.
“This is just right! It’s perfect,” I gush, doing a little happy dance in the bed, because when you find a good bed, you damn well show it appreciation.
