Page 141 of Chasing Lyric
Because you’remine.
Chapter Twenty-Six
CHASE
One Week Later
Hauling the last box from the moving van, I realize the weight of it is nothing compared to the satisfaction settling in my chest. Petey barrels toward me, his paws scrambling on the tile as he nearly takes me out at the knees. I grunt, shifting my weight just in time, then glance down with a smirk. Little man thinks he’s part of the muscle now.
Behind me, Lyric steps through the front door, Polly perched on her shoulder, wings tucked and head bobbing as he surveys the new space. She’s glowing and sweaty from the move, her hair a little messy, but she’s got that look in her eyes. The one that says we’re building something real here.
I set the box down on the kitchen counter, the thud echoing through the space that already feels more like home, now that she’s in it. She crosses the room, Polly chirping cussing nonsense in her ear, and heads straight for the setup we built together last week. Bigger, flashier, and sturdy as hell, it’s positioned in the corner by the window where Polly can run his mouth at the world all day long.
I watch them for a beat, soaking it in, the way she moves through my house, confident, unafraid, like she’s always belonged here.
Because she has.
She just didn’t know it until now.
“Rawrr…feed me, feed me.”
Lyric groans. “Geez, we’re here all of thirty seconds, and he’s made himself at home.”
She hands him a slice of apple, and he promptly spits it out to the floor, where Petey quickly takes advantage of the free food. She glances at me, so I walk over to them and hand Polly a slice of apple. He takes it and begins to munch away.
“Good boy,” I run my finger along his feathers.
Lyric throws her hands in the air. “You’re an asshole, Chase.” Her tone doesn’t match the happy expression on her face.
I reach out, grabbing her around her waist, and pull her to me. “Yeah, but this asshole belongs entirely to you.”
Her hands slide up my sides and straight into my hair as she sways us from side to side. “Hmm… so does this mean I can do with you whatever I please then… oh, asshole of mine?”
“Anything you like, Starlight.”
“Good, then I need you to unpack my steamer ’cause I have a hankering for cauliflower rice tonight.” She pulls apart from me, slaps my ass, then walks over to the piles of boxes on the counter and starts rifling through them.
I groan, my hard cock going to waste. “You’re in full house-set-up mode, aren’t you?”
She grabs a vase and looks around, as if trying to figure out where to place it. “Yes. You asked me to move in. So, now, I’m here to take over. You asked for it, Chase. I hope you’re prepared for this.”
My chest warms as she walks down the steps into the living room and places the vase on the counter. She swivels it into position, then walks back over to grab some more of her stuff.
I don’t care what she does.
It was just a place where I lived.
It never felt like home to me anyway.
Now it’sours.
She continues to move about, putting her bits and pieces everywhere, daring me with her eyes to make a fuss about whatshe’s doing. The thing is, it’s only making me love her more. The thought of Lyric being here makes my heart so full.
Over the next couple of hours, we unpack and set everything up. Petey’s good to go with his beds, bowls, toys around the house, and a kennel in the backyard. Polly’s cage is crazy big, and he’s settled for the night after swearing up a storm every time we walked past him. I’m going to love having him here.
And now we’re about to rest on the sofa in the sunken living room and continue to binge-watch our favorite show. We both fall to the sofa, completely spent after a day of moving.
Lyric feels too close to her home, and she doesn’t want to sell it. So, we are keeping it and renting it out for now. In the meantime, Lyric is going to get the garden over here in better shape. It’s fine the way it is, but it could do with some color, and Lyric’s just the woman to make that happen. I’ve given her free rein. She can do anything she wants—inside and out.
