Chapter Twenty Three
One month later…
Cole was just a couple of miles from the site of the new club when his cell phone rang. He figured it was Luke, trying to determine how much longer it would be before he arrived. The man was impatient like that.
Grabbing his phone from the cup holder, Cole hit the green talk button, answering with a smile.
“I’m driving as fast as I can.”
The deep, sexy laugh that echoed through the truck’s speakers made Cole smile.
“Change of plans,” Luke said in a deep, gruff voice.
“Hell. Do you know how far this place is out of the way? I’m less than five minutes away,” Cole answered, not taking his foot off the gas. He’d have to go just a little farther before he’d be able to turn around.
“You’re still going the right direction,” Luke said, rambling off another address before disconnecting the call.
Pulling off to the side of the road so that he didn’t risk having an accident, Cole entered the new destination into the GPS on his phone and waited until the directions were displayed. He was a little confused, but it wasn’t like he could question Luke. As soon as he recognized which way he needed to go, Cole put the truck in Drive and took off down the two lane highway once more. He watched as the club passed on his right and paid attention to the signs because according to the automated voice, he was going to exit in less than two miles.
Five minutes later, Cole was pulling into a gigantic circle drive in front of a monstrous white stone house. Figuring this must be Xander’s house, Cole parked behind Sierra’s Escalade and Luke’s truck before climbing out.
He was immediately drawn to the house, admiring the wide front steps, the pristine lawn and garden as he made his way up to the front door. Before he had a chance to knock, the oversized solid wood door opened and there in front of him was Luke, cradling Hannah in one arm, his hand placed protectively against the back of her head as she rested her cheek against his shoulder. Cole walked inside, pressing a kiss on Hannah’s head as he passed before taking in the rest of the house.
He waited for Luke to say something, but he was left to follow behind him without a word. When they stepped into the open, airy kitchen, Cole was more than ready to question him as to why they were there.
He noticed Sierra was sitting outside, staring out at the beautiful landscape, the colossal stone swimming pool that matched the house, equipped with a waterfall and slide. Unlike their house, Cole noticed there wasn’t a house anywhere in the near vicinity.
“What’s going on?” he asked Sierra when he joined her. He felt Luke standing behind him, heard him cooing to Hannah as the baby gurgled sweetly.
“What do you think?” Sierra asked, her smile brightening as she stood up to greet him. She walked right up to him, and Cole instinctively pulled her into his arms, letting her wrap her arms around his waist as she pushed up on her toes to kiss him on the mouth.
“About what?”
“The house?”
Cole was confused. He’d never been one to praise someone else’s home openly, but for some reason, he expected that Sierra was looking for something. “It’s nice.”
“Nice? That’s all?”
Cole laughed, looking down at her then behind him at Luke. “What’s going on?”
“This was her idea,” Luke replied, tilting his head toward Sierra as he grinned.
“I want to buy this house,” she told him as she took a step back, holding both of his hands in hers.
Her statement had him pausing, waiting to see what she would say next.
“Come on, let me show you around,” she said, sounding like an excited child who had just been released to run wild on the toy aisle at a department store.
Cole let Sierra lead him through the house, listened while she explained details about each room. He realized the house was even bigger on the inside than he expected. Six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, two living areas, a huge den. The master bedroom was probably three times the size of the one they had now. The list of rooms went on and on, and Sierra never stopped talking until she was showing him the garage, big enough to hold six cars and then some.
“So, what do you think?” she asked when she was finished with her impromptu tour.
“I’m not sure what I’m supposed to say here,” he admitted with a grin.
“It’s for sale.” She laughed, smacking him gently in the middle of the chest. Leaning up on her toes, she pulled his head down gently and whispered in his ear, “I want us to buy this house. Our house. For the four of us.”
“But we have a house,” he told her, watching as Luke came to stand beside them.
“But we don’t have this house,” she said sweetly.
“She’s not going to be satisfied until you say yes,” Luke told him, his own smile mirroring Sierra’s.
“What’s wrong with our house?” Cole asked, trying to pry more information out of Sierra. It was clear she was up to something, and he didn’t want to admit that he liked where this was going. The house was spacious enough to grow with them, much bigger than Luke’s. It offered them the privacy he knew they all wanted, and it was close to the new club that Luke had finally decided to purchase and had closed on just a week before.
Sierra pretended to pout as she grabbed his hand firmly and pulled him back inside. She led him back through the kitchen, through the dining room and into the den. Once they were in front of the couch, she gently pushed him and Cole sank down on soft, buttery leather at her insistence. To his surprise, Sierra straddled his lap, staring right into his eyes as she did.
“I want this to be our house. Look at it, Cole. I mean really look at it. This isn’t your house, it isn’t Luke’s house. It isn’t my house. This is our house. The place where I want us to live, to raise our children, to spend the rest of our lives.”
Cole tried to hide the emotion building in his chest. He knew what she was getting at. Since the day they met, they’d been feeling their way through this relationship. They had moved in with Luke, but the house always felt like it still belonged to him. This wouldn’t belong to any one of them specifically, it would belong to all three of them. Together.
“It’s not like I’m going to tell you no,” he answered her, hoping his voice sounded firmer than it felt.
For the last few weeks, they’d been making adjustments to their schedules, ensuring they had time for one another. Luke had gracefully handed off the nightclub to Kane, asking the man to step up and take over for him, relieving him of his other duties because of the overall changes Luke was making to the structure of Club Destiny. Since Luke owned the building where the nightclub resided, he had come up with a plan, with Cole’s help, to redesign and incorporate the original fetish club square footage, once it moved.
At Luke’s request, Cole had accepted a permanent position within the club. Owner. They renegotiated the contracts when Logan opted to sell his shares of the club, but only to Luke and Cole, which meant they once again held the majority of the shares. Just the way Luke wanted it.
“You might not tell me no, but I want us to do this because it’s what we all want. Can you picture it?”
Sierra’s crystal blue eyes shone brightly with a light that could only come from her excitement. Cole placed his hands on each side of her waist, gripping her firmly. “Baby, I understand what you’re getting at, and I’m fully onboard with the idea. I’d love to buy this house, make it a home for the four of us.”
Luke approached, easing down on the couch beside them with Hannah still looking around intently.
“I’ll be more comfortable having the girls close to the club. I wasn’t keen on the idea of driving as it was,” Luke added.
Cole knew that had been Luke’s biggest hang up about the location of the new club and he’d voiced his concern repeatedly. Cole completely understood, and he liked the idea as well.
Sierra leaned in close, pressing her mouth against Cole’s ear, her warm breath sending chills down his spine. “It gives us more privacy,” she whispered. “I like the idea of being naked under the stars with the two of you right out there in the pool.”
Cole liked the idea of Sierra naked anywhere.
Sliding his hands down to her hips, he pulled her closer, grinding his quickly rising erection against the soft spot between her thighs. “Baby, keep talking like that, and we’re going to christen this place before we ever close on the deal.”
“Are you saying yes?” Sierra asked, pulling back and smiling from ear to ear.
“If it’s what you want,” Cole said, glancing between her and Luke, “I don’t need any more convincing.”
Sierra squealed, but then slammed her mouth against his and Cole’s entire body ignited. He pulled her flush against him, driving his tongue into her mouth, hearing Luke chuckle as he rose to his feet. A moment later, breathless and horny as hell, Cole heard Luke on his cell phone.
“We’re ready to make an offer. Let me know when you want to meet.”
~~*~~
Luke disappeared into the kitchen, listening to the realtor on the other end of the phone as he stared down at his daughter, her eyes bright and a small smile tipping her lips. It seemed as though she knew what had just happened and she was fully in agreement.
“We’re out at the house now. I’m willing to pay the full asking price, no stipulations. Write up the contract and bring it by, but let the sellers know I want this to move quickly.”
Luke was more than ready to move on. When Sierra brought up the idea of buying a house closer to the new club, he couldn’t have been happier. Since he wasn’t interested in turning their entire lives upside down all on his own, he hadn’t mentioned the idea. As soon as she brought it up, he had called a realtor he’d been referred to by Xander, and they got to work. Keeping Cole in the dark wasn’t his original intention, but he had wanted it to be a surprise.
For the last few weeks, things had started to fall into place for all of them. With Cole officially walking away from CISS, he had pushed to get him to join him in the new club venture. Luke still felt that he was too damn old to be starting over, but with Cole by his side, he felt as though they could do anything.
“What do you think, baby girl?” Luke asked Hannah, lifting her so he could see her pretty blue eyes. Another smile curled at the edges of Hannah's little lips, and Luke knew she was onboard with the direction their lives were headed, even if she didn’t realize it yet. “Yeah? That’s what I was thinking too.”
A few minutes later, Sierra and Cole joined them in the kitchen, while Luke waited for the realtor to call him back with a place to meet to sign the papers.
“Come here, angel,” Sierra said to Hannah when she approached, reaching up to take their daughter.
Luke kissed Hannah quickly before handing her over to her mother and turning to Cole. He motioned him out through the back with a nod of his head and the two of them headed outside onto the patio.
“What do you think?” Luke asked when they were alone. He admired the yard, the pool, the adjoining hot tub, and the immaculately kept lawn.
“It’s nice,” Cole stated coolly. “Was it her idea? Or yours?”
“Hers.” Luke hadn’t expected it when Sierra came to him with the idea, but it didn’t take long for him to see where she was coming from. The fact that they all four lived in his house, still furnished with his things, definitely made the space feel less like theirs than it should feel.
“What do you think?” Cole asked.
“I think it’s certainly time. It seems like the right thing to do. We’ll give her carte blanche to design it however she chooses, and we’ll finally have a home that suits our needs.”
Cole nodded, but Luke couldn’t get a read on his thoughts.
“Is there a problem?”
“No.”
“Now why don’t I believe you?” Luke could tell something was on Cole’s mind, but he had no idea what it was.
He stared back at him for a long time, not giving him any space until he spoke up a minute or two later.
“I don’t want the two of you thinking that you have to do this for me. I –”
Luke moved closer, putting his hand on Cole’s arm, feeling the subtle shift as tension coursed just beneath the surface. “You what?”
“I’m not running again. I just don’t want everyone to think they have to walk on eggshells or change everything because of me.”
Luke moved even closer, leaving only a breath of space between them. “We’re not, Cole. We all want to be happy, and this was Sierra’s idea to bring us on an even keel. With a house that belongs to the three of us, we’ve helped to erase some of what’s left of that line that still separates us.”
Cole met his gaze, a spark of heat echoing deep in the midnight blue reflecting back at him. Luke felt an answering heat building deep inside. He knew what Cole was thinking.
There was still another line that they had yet to attempt to erase, but they were getting closer. It was inevitable, and Luke wouldn’t say as much now, but he was more than ready.