the open, airy concept that let in a lot of sunlight, I found that I didn’t care for the hard lines and sterile feeling. But it wasn’t my home and so I made polite noises of interest when Hadrian explained how the home had been built into the mountain.
He led me up a staircase to the second floor. We went down a long hall and on the landing were three doors.
“Home gym,” he stated as he opened the first door. There were a bunch of machines that I wasn’t sure of their purpose, but I recognized the exercise bike and treadmill. “You’re welcome to use anything in here.”
He closed the door and we moved to the next room that was a home theater. An L-shaped leather sectional faced a blank wall that had been painted for a projector.
“Oh, wow,” I murmured.
He closed the door and then brought me to the last room. It was three times the size of the others, with a masculine, heavy wooden bed on a platform. The bedroom had a gas fireplace, with a leather loveseat in front of it and a coffee table. I placed my hand onto the rich, supple leather.
“Sometimes I sit and read or work at the table,” he explained.
There was a liquor cart with a few crystal decanters.
“Scotch?” I asked.
“And brandy.”
I nodded. “So, I noticed…well, you don’t have any guest rooms.”
“No. I didn’t build the house with any intention of ever having people stay here. Besides, I have guest cottages on the other islands.”
“Where am I going to sleep?” I asked with a raised brow.
“In my bed.”
I swallowed. “And clothes? My clothes I mean?”
Without a word, he strode to a door and opened it to reveal a walk-in closet. He gestured to the racks of women’s clothes, along with dressers pushed up against the side walls. He opened a drawer and showed me a plethora of lace undergarments.
“Anything you need is here. If you want something, just say the word.”
There were more clothes than I could ever wear in six months together. I blinked. “How did you make this happen so fast?”
“The Rex sized you during your dress fitting, and I had them send everything over after the night we spent together at The Mansion. My staff took care of the rest.”
“That was presumptuous.”
“I always get what I want, Eden.” He frowned. “You look upset.”
“Not upset. Surprised—and a little taken aback. It’s very generous, Hadrian. But I—we—we’re sharing space.”
“Aye.”
“Like we’re living together.”
“We are living together.” He arched a brow. “I’m not following your line of thought.”
“You don’t want your own space?” I asked. “I mean, you seem like the kind of man who wants—”
“This isn’t about me and space. This is about you and space. You want space? Great. You have an entire island to wander to get space, but you sleep in my bed next to me and you don’t worry about it.”
My mouth dropped open in surprise. “I just would’ve thought that as an eccentric, mysterious multi-millionaire, you’d want more privacy.”
“Billionaire.”
“Excuse me?”
“You said eccentric, mysterious multi-millionaire. I’m actually a billionaire.”
“Of course you are. I don’t know what I was thinking,” I muttered. “A mere millionaire wouldn’t have his own chain of islands, would he?”
“Definitely not,” he agreed with a roguish grin and then he let out a laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“You. You’re funny.”
Hysteria was bubbling up inside of me, and I was afraid I was about to do something stupid. It was as if Hadrian knew, because he directed my thoughts away from the current matter by saying, “Let me show you the best part of the room.”
He went to the dark, heavy curtains along the far wall and drew them back to reveal a set of French doors. He pulled them open and I was immediately hit with the sounds and smells of the ocean and a view as far as the eye could see of glistening water.
“No way,” I whispered, rushing toward him. I stepped out onto the balcony and breathed it all in. A moment later, I felt Hadrian at my back.
We stood in silence while I marveled at the crashing waves hitting the craggy boulders along the shore below us. Ominous storm clouds that had doused us when we’d been driving had abated now and lingered off the coast. The wind had blown them out to sea.
“What do you think?” Hadrian asked, his mouth close to my ear.
His warm breath, his husky voice caused a shiver to run down my spine.
“I think I understand why you