she deserved explanations and he wanted more than a one-sided relationship. If she didn’t truly know him, and know why he was so fucked up, the chances of him screwing things up were far more than if he just came clean.
NINE
“The water’s cooling, Bree,” Steele pointed out. “Let’s get out of here and go down to the spa. It’s hot, and I want you to see the ocean from that view.”
“You do know this house would be impossible to clean. Even if we did do this, Steele, we couldn’t live here. It’s beautiful but intimidating. I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a mansion.”
“You don’t have to take care of it, baby.” He stood up, pulling her with him. He loved the way the drops of water shimmered on her skin. “We’ll have help come in. Cleaners. We have plenty of social space to have everyone over and when we throw a party, it will be mostly outdoors where we have the fireplace and barbecue. I’m pretty damned good with a barbecue.”
She just shook her head and took the large towel he handed to her, drying off without a hint of being self-conscious. He’d done that—made her comfortable in her own skin when she was with him. They stepped out of the large, room-size bath, and she looked around for her clothes.
“Leave it. You’re not going to need clothes in the spa. There are extra towels in an outside linen closet. We can grab them if we need them and I can turn on the fireplace out there for additional warmth if you just want to sit outside while we talk.”
She glanced around the bedroom and then nodded. “The fireplace.”
He knew she chose that because she thought it was safer. She wasn’t, not from him. Not when his cock was still raging, and she was right there, all soft skin and gorgeous body. He liked breasts, and she had them. He particularly loved the shape of her ass and the way she looked walking away from him. She had curves, more since she’d had the baby. He shut down that thought because he didn’t dare think too much about Zane in the hands of the Swords club, not and keep his sanity. He had to concentrate on winning his lady back and making sure Zane had a home and two parents to come back to.
It was still early afternoon and the sun was shining brightly. The fog had burned off. He knew the wind would come in off the ocean, because it often did, but the chairs in front of the outside fireplace were comfortable and the house curved around on either side, providing a good shelter. The patio was enormous and the area in front of the fireplace was spacious.
He’d thought about barbecues with his brothers and sisters, not parties with other clubs. He didn’t want wild at his house, he was too fucked up for that. Breezy, like him, preferred clean. Neat. She would oversee the house and make certain it was the way he favored because she wanted it the same way.
She started to wrap the towel around her body, but he couldn’t stand not seeing her. It had been too long for him. He took the towel out of her hand and draped it over his arm before holding out his other hand to her. She kept herself shaved, other than a little landing strip, again, his preference. He liked that she still did that, three years later when he hadn’t been around.
The stairs were wide enough to allow them to walk side by side, hand in hand, their bodies close. His thigh brushed hers. Their shoulders. Her breasts jolted with each step she took. He wanted to put his hand on her ass, but knew it was too soon. He wanted to mark her breasts with his mouth, put a claiming bite on her shoulder or neck, but he resisted every urge and just walked with her to the huge glass wall that took up the entire back of the house and slid or folded open depending on the room.
Breezy stood watching him, her eyes wide. “Who knew people had houses like this?”
“The moment I saw it, I knew this was the one. I bought it, furnished it with you in mind and then couldn’t even sleep here.”
“You always had trouble sleeping,” she commented, preceding him onto the patio when he stepped back to let her through.