Chapter 131
{Lisa’s POV}
I stood in the wide hallway, chewing the inside of my cheek, pretending to debate whether I should head down to the kitchen or not.
The truth was, I had already figured out that none of us needed food right now. Damon had eaten before the drive. Ronan had poured himself that brandy earlier. I had picked at enough during the day. And the estate cooks were probably halfway through preparing a full spread for us already. To tell them to stop would be rude. To eat when we weren’t hungry would be wasteful. So I lingered, stuck in my own head.
‘Tsttt. What do you think lil guy… or gal?’ I thought, staring down at and rubbing my tummy. I could swear over the months my belly had actually begun to protrude a bit more each day.
I nodded like my baby could communicate with me telepathically. ‘Mhmmm.’
Hopefully he, or she, wouldn't be as indecisive as I am. Sigh.
The corridor seemed to stretch on forever. Rooms doubling like a scene from some horror flick. My eyes drifted further down until I spotted the door I had only glanced at before. Ronan’s room. Or rather, our room now. A flush ran up my neck at the thought.
I had never seen it. Not once, despite everything. We had been married for weeks officially, and months contract wise. We'd shared a hundred dangers, fought side by side, laughed and argued, but somehow I had never stepped into his room. And with the way our schedules ran, I doubted I would get another quiet chance like this anytime soon.
So I made a decision. I took a step toward the study, thinking I’d tell him I wanted to see it. To see our room together, finally.
Except I didn’t get that far. I barely rounded the corner before I collided with something solid. Correction, someone solid. Ronan of course.
“Oh my.” I cursed as I craned my head up to stare at him as he caught me. Before I could stumble, his arm looped around my waist with instinctive speed. His eyes dropped to find mine, and suddenly the hallway wasn't so infinite anymore. His touch burned even through the fabric of my dress.
“Careful,” he said softly, though there was the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.
I swallowed. “Y–You came out too fast.”
He arched his brow as if to say. “You came running too fast.”
We stayed like that longer than we should have, both stubborn enough not to look away. If it wasn't for his training, my breath and heartbeat would have faltered in that moment, with his hand still firm at my waist.
Then, at the same time, we both blurted out.
“So, want to check out my room for the first time?” he asked.
“So, want to check out your room for the first time?” I said.
There was a heartbeat of silence before laughter broke out of us, echoing down the hall. We both grinned like fools, then corrected ourselves in unison. “Our room.”
He finally released me, only to gesture toward the door. “Shall we?”
I tilted my head, pretending to consider. “Lead the way, Mr. Stormrider.”
“Mrs. Stormrider,” he returned smoothly, and we walked side by side until he opened the door for me.
I stepped inside, bracing myself, but still nothing prepared me for what I saw.
The room was enormous, easily twice the size of any bedroom I had stayed in before, or seen for that matter. High ceilings, tall windows draped with heavy curtains, a bed so large I swore an entire family could fit across it comfortably.
The sheets looked impossibly soft, the frame carved with intricate patterns of wolves and vines. A fireplace sat at the far end, flames crackling gently as though it had been waiting for me to notice it.
“Everything in here is…” I turned in a slow circle. “…king size.”
He leaned against the doorframe, smug. “What can I say? I live up to the title.”
I shot him a look over my shoulder. “Please. You’d brag about a chair if you thought it made you look important.”
“Correction. I’d brag about my impeccable taste in design,” he replied smoothly, stepping further in. “Which, clearly, you’re admiring right now. And to be fair, it's a testament to your own taste. Goldstar for you missy.”
I tried not to smile, failed, and shook my head. “It is well designed. I’ll give you that. But how are you good at everything? Fighting, leading, cooking, interior decorating… What’s next, secret opera singer?”
He smirked, closing the distance between us with deliberate steps. “That’s a tale for another day. But the good news for you is that you’re here to stay. You’ve got plenty of time to find out.”
I raised a brow. “You make it sound like a threat.”
“Promise,” he said simply.
I let the moment stretch, soaking in the sound of his voice, warmth of his touch, the comfort of being here after everything. Then another thought struck me, one that had nagged since our honeymoon.
“You know,” I said, narrowing my eyes, “why were you hugging me so much when we got to New Haven?”
His lips quirked, and for a moment, I thought he might tease me with some half-answer. But instead, his tone softened, steady and a bit serious. “To mask you.”
“Mask me?”
“With my scent. So they wouldn’t catch on to the fact you’re human. It’s a form of protection, if you will. That was all a part of the whole ‘training’ I put you through.” He explained.
“If anyone close enough tried to scent you, they’d only smell me and think I was close, or just mistake you for an Alpha altogether.” He completed.
I blinked. “You never told me that.”
“I didn’t want you worrying about it too much,” he said with a shrug, though his eyes never left mine. “But it worked. No?”
The silence that followed wasn’t negative. It was full. Full of everything he hadn’t said, and everything I understood anyway.
I stepped closer, until I had to tilt my head back to meet his gaze… which was all the time.
He lowered his, closing the gap as his hand found the back of my neck with a gentleness that contrasted sharply with the power I knew was coiled in him.
When his lips touched mine, it wasn’t hurried or desperate. It was steady, claiming, filled with a promise I hadn’t known I needed until that moment.
I leaned into him, letting the warmth of our bodies and the feel of his embrace wash everything else away.
‘Not a bad room tour.’ I mused internally.
Not bad at all.