Chapter Nine
Greer
We walked hand in hand again until Shrimp began to whine. He wasn’t very tough.
“He’s exhausted. Let’s go back. Oh…”
Tenn looked around as if trying to figure out what had surprised me. “What?”
“My house is right there. I hadn’t realized we walked so long.”
He glanced at his watch and gasped. “It’s after midnight. Time just flies with you around.”
“I’m going to take that as a good thing. Do you want to come over?” I felt like a teenager asking a guy to come make out with me while my parents were gone, but deep down I was hoping for so much more.
“Sure. I’d love to see where you live. Let me pick up this little guy.” Tenn bent down to scoop up Shrimp, and I couldn’t help but turn my head to the side to enjoy the view.
“Behave, Greer. None of that ogling me in public. I’m a gentleman.”
We both chuckled, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and whispered in my ear, making me shudder. “Unless, you don’t want me to be a gentleman. I enjoy that, too, for the record.”
We walked the rest of the way to my house, and I pulled out the key to unlock the large maple door. “I can’t believe you live in this house. I’ve passed it so many times and just parked outside to look at it.”
I turned, shocked to hear him say it and, if I was honest, a little disbelieving. “You can’t be serious.”
Tenn crossed his heart while looking at my house like it was from a fairy tale. “I’m dead serious, Greer. This storybook house is my dream. Please tell me it has a library.”
I felt my cheeks rise in a smile. “Of course it does.”
As I opened the door, my chest tightened while my stomach flipped and I got anxious. Tenn had been to my house, gone as far as to park and stare at it. I wondered how things would be different had I seen him one of those times and just gone outside and talked to him.
“Want a beer?” I asked, walking toward the kitchen, flipping on the lights.
“Yes, please. This place is more gorgeous than I imagined.”
Shrimp whined a little, still in his arms, and he put him down gently after petting his head. Shrimp ran directly to his bed and plopped down, tired as could be.
I handed him a cold local brew and popped off the bottle cap. “You want to see the library?”
“You speak my language. Yes, please.”
I led him down the long hallway, lined with more maple all the way to the ceiling. The fixtures that hung down were the same as when the house was built, way before my parents bought it. “My mom used to say this house belonged in ‘Hansel and Gretel.’”
“She was right,” Tenn whispered behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see him trailing his hand over the polished wood walls. Adorable would describe him in that moment.
“Here we are.” I went in and sat in one of the double club chairs to watch him look around.
“This is—” He didn’t finish his sentence before tipping a book down by the spine and flipping through it. The library had always been a place that seemed lonely to me or a place where I could escape. With Tenn here, it seemed romantic and secluded, but secluded in a good way.
He took a pull of his beer and then looked at more books. “I’m neglecting you.” He looked over at me after a half hour of perusing.
“No you’re not. I’m getting a kick out of watching you,” I said, drinking the last of my brew.
“Really? Ever read Pablo Neruda?”
I shook my head. Sure, I read books from time to time, but I had never heard of him.
“Well, let’s fix that. Someone in your house was a real fan. You’ve got the original Spanish versions of his poetry as well as the English.”
I yawned. “Okay.”
He sighed and put the book back on the shelf, whatever one he had chosen. “You’re tired. I’m sorry. Do I need to go?”
I laughed. “You very much need not to go. This isn’t the way I pictured the night.”
He came to sit next to me and before I could protest, draped my legs over his. I laid my head on his chest and instantly lost steam. Tenn was warm and firm in all the right places. Plus, his scent had intensified in my house for some reason, and it lulled me to lust and sleep at the same time.
“I need coffee,” I said through a yawn.
“No, you need sleep. Where’s your bedroom?”
I shook my head, though my eyes refused to open. “No, I don’t want you to...I can wake up.”
He chuckled, and I felt it through his chest. “Oh, Greer. I’m taking you to bed, and not in the way I wanted to. But we have time for that.”
I felt myself being picked up and with my head still against his chest, I was vaguely aware where he was going. He opened several doors before deciding on a room. At this point, I didn’t care which room he took me to.
My mind drifted from reality into dream, that place we visit before full sleep takes over. Tenn was there, kissing me, ripping my shirt from my chest.
“I hope he stays. I want him to be mine.” Confused, I was sure I’d only thought those words. But as he lowered me to a soft bed and took off my shoes, he whispered in my ear, “Don’t worry. He’s already yours. Sleep, omega. I will see you in the morning.”