Talon

"No, silly. It's a sound thing Mikah put on my phone as a joke. I'll change it."

"Thank you. I'd rather wake up to something a little less dramatic."

He sits up and stretches, giving me a perfect view of his wide, sculpted back, which is covered in even more tattoos.

"We should start to get ready so we're not late." He peers down at me. "And did I just catch you lusting over my back?"

"No…" I say, looking away.

"Yes, I did."

"I was looking at your tattoos. I didn't realize they were everywhere."

"Not quite everywhere, yet. But I have a lot more I want to get."

"Why? You're pretty much covered already."

He shrugs and puts his e-cig in his mouth. "I like them. And I like getting them—it's kinda therapeutic."

"You could get acupuncture if you like the feeling of pointy things in you. It has lots of health benefits."

Princess Pixie rises from her place at the end of the bed and slowly walks up Talon's leg, stopping to stare up at the puff of vapor he just blew toward the ceiling.

He rubs her tiny head. "You're lucky you're cute, Thing. Or you'd be outside right now."

"She's irresistibly cute," I add.

"Like her owner?"

"Am I?" I ask, wondering if that's good or bad.

He picks up the cat and gently places her on top of me before he climbs out of the bed. "You're both definitely growing on me." I try not to gawk at him as he stands next to the bed with nothing on but a pair of black boxers. Holy moly, does he have a nice body. I wish I could sneak a picture and show Kat. Or maybe not. I kind of don't want to share his hotness.

"Come on, jelly bean. We gotta go find our dream home."

* * *

On our way to meet the Realtor, we stop at Talon's condo so we can switch from his truck to his BMW. I wait in the car while he runs inside to grab a few things, and I feel like I'm sitting in the cockpit of a spaceship. I have never seen so many buttons or a tiny screen in a car before. I'm wondering what exactly the screen is for when he gets back in the car. He proceeds to type the address onto that little screen and a map pops up.

"That's so cool," I say.

"What? The GPS?" he asks, backing out of his driveway. The car then tells him which way to go, and I try to hide my surprise. I seriously need to get out more.

"Yeah."

"So…you don't have a car?" he asks casually.

"No. I haven't had one in about two years."

"What?" he exclaims, swerving the car erratically as he turns to face me. "Two years? That's almost as bad as not having sex for three years. Why don't you have a car?"

"The one I had kinda died, and I couldn't afford to get it fixed or to get another one."

"So how do you get anywhere?"

"I walk or take the bus, or Kat drives me sometimes if she can."

He takes a long, glowing drag on his e-cig, then turns the volume down a little on the radio and GPS voice. "Asia, there is no way I'm letting that go on. Tomorrow, we're getting you a car. A new one."

I immediately start to protest. "Tal—"

"No," he says loudly. "No debating on this. I'm not letting my wife hoof around. Fuck that."

"I can't afford a new car."

"Didn't we go over this? I'm getting you a car. You want this one? You can have it, and I'll buy a new one."

"I don't want this thing. It's like a UFO in here."

Shaking his head, he pulls onto the highway. "How the hell does someone not have a car? I can't even wrap my head around it."

"Because you've never been poor," I mutter.

"No, I haven't. Tomorrow, we'll get you a new SUV. Something with four-wheel drive. And something low so you can get your midget ass into it."

I stare out the window, torn by my feelings. Part of me is excited about getting a car and part of me is mad at him for flinging his money around at me like it's nothing. I don't want to be bought.

"I don't even go anywhere," I tell him, still looking out the window.

"I don't care. You're an adult; you should have a car. It's not safe not to have the means to get around."

"Fine. But if we split up, I'm not keeping it."

His hands white-knuckle the steering wheel. "I swear to fuck, if you say that again, I'm spanking you."

We don't talk for the rest of the drive, and I have to bite my tongue practically in half when we pull into the driveway of a huge, two-story brick house. Sandra, the Realtor, is already there and comes out to meet us as we approach the front door. I don't say much because I am simply in awe as she hands us each a laminated piece of paper detailing the house and then gives us a tour. Five bathrooms, six bedrooms, and a huge in-ground pool are some of the highlights that jump out at me. I don't even know how to swim.

"Six bedrooms?" I ask. "Are we going to hire people to come live with us?"

Talon and Sandra both laugh. "Oh, Talon, she's adorable!" Sandra says, as if I'm a child. "Honey, you can never have enough bedrooms!"

"Um, yeah, you can. There's only two of us. And a tiny cat."

Talon puts his arm around me. "Think ahead, babe. Kids, guest rooms for family. I have a big family."

"Kids?" I repeat. How many kids is he thinking I'm having?

"Yeah. I was thinking two. So they each get their own room, plus our room, that's three bedrooms right there."

"And then three more extras?"

"Excuse us for a second," he says to Sandra and gently pulls me to the side. "Baby, it's okay if you don't like it," he whispers, turning me to face him, his hands on my shoulders.

"This place is like a hotel. It's too big."

"Then you don't like it?"

I shake my head. "No. It doesn't feel homey or cozy at all. It’s so big and…dismal."

He looks around at all the tile floors and stark-white walls. "It is kinda cold and too contemporary, huh?"

"Yes. It feels like a hospital or an office building to me."

"You're right. Even your cool decorating skills aren't gonna make this place feel like home."

He guides me back over to Sandra. "We don't like it," he says. "It has no character. We want something cozier. And more in the woods."

"I like trees," I add, happy that Talon is on board with where I want to live. If I have to live in a place like this, I'll never feel like I belong here.

"Oh, and we need a porch with a swing," he advises. "Or a porch big enough for a swing." He grabs my hand as Sandra shuffles through her folder of papers.

"Well, all right then. But this house is in a wonderful location. I really thought it would be perfect for you."

"It's just not us," he says. "Let's move on to the next one."

Us. What is us?

The next house is almost as bad, and I'm starting to feel like this entire day is going to be spent viewing mansion after cold mansion, until we follow Sandra up a long, uphill driveway surrounded by trees. We can't even see the house from the street, but when we finally pull in front of it, my heart leaps.

"Oh, wow! Look at this!" I exclaim.

I can't get out of the car fast enough to see the house up close. It's simply magical, with a big oak and white banister porch off the front of the house, surrounded by lots of flowers all in hues of pink and purple, a rock garden with a tiny bridge, and stone birdbath that I'm sure Pixie would love to watch. The house itself is sage green with all-white trim, and the view from the porch is amazing. The house is so far up on the hill that we can see the tops of the trees below us and the mountains not too far off. It's breathtaking.

I grab Talon's hand excitedly. "Look at this view! It's gorgeous!"

"I love how quiet it is too. No traffic and no crazy neighbors to bother us."

"This house is the smallest on our list," Sandra says, unlocking the front door. "It only has four bedrooms, but there is a finished basement with a small suite that would be great for a guest or just extra living space."

As soon as we walk inside, I fall even further in love with its light, earth-tone painted walls, vaulted ceilings, lots of windows for Pixie, another porch on the back of the house, and a small balcony off the master bedroom. It's gorgeous but comfy and doesn't scream, "Hey, I'm rich and obnoxious," like the other houses we looked at did.

"I love it!" I whisper excitedly to Talon as we browse the rooms.

"I do too. No swing…but we can get one."

"The view makes up for the lack of swing."

"Can you give us a second alone?" Talon asks Sandra.

"Of course! I'll wait downstairs. Take your time."

As soon as she's out of earshot, he pulls me into his arms. "I'm guessing you can decorate this place really cool, huh?" he teases.

"I could. I love the colors, and I really love the openness of it."

"And that den downstairs would be a great room for you to work in and have all your craft stuff."

"Really? My own room?" That room is almost bigger than my entire apartment, and it has built-in shelves and drawers. It's perfect.

"To work in. Not to sleep in. Doctor's orders, remember?"

"Of course," I laugh, tightening my grasp on his arms. "I really do love it. Do you?"

"Yeah. It's perfect. Not too far from my family either. Asher's house is only about twenty minutes away, and Lukas is about fifteen minutes away. Everyone else, less than forty minutes."

"Even better." I have no idea how far away it is from my apartment, and I don't even care. This is the kind of home I've always fantasized about living in.