He grins and takes my hand gently to lead me through the house, dodging the tools and piles of flooring that is still waiting to go down. It’s all in beautiful earthy tones; the colors go with the dusty, remote desert that we’re now living in. Although the house is, at most, a fifth of the size of the Draven mansion, it still feels huge compared to the little temporary house we’re currently holed up in.
It feels like home already.
“I’ve been camping out here. I spoke to North about making this place a priority for us. I was focusing on the housing for the other families because there’s so many that are sharing but… after everything that happened, it’s a security issue to get you into this place. Our other house isn’t as secure and… you’re always going to take priority.”
I open my mouth to answer him, though I’m not really sure what I’d say, when he stops and pushes open one of the doors, tugging me into a huge bedroom and closing the door firmly behind us.
It’s stunning.
The room is huge, bigger even than my room back at North’s mansion, and not only is it completely finished, it’s also furnished. There’s a giant bed, easily the size of two Cal Kings pushed together, with a TV on the wall and a desk in the corner with a laptop sitting on top. There are curtains and plush carpets on the floor and… it’s perfectly finished.
“How did you do this? How did you get it all done… just for me?”
He grins sheepishly. “I told you; I’ve been camping out here. North picked most of the colors and furniture. I’m just the one putting it all together. I wanted to get you out of that house.”
I scoff a little and roll my eyes, self-deprecatingly. “I don't think there’s anything ‘just’ about building a whole freaking house, Gabe. Thank you. I feel guilty as hell about this being a priority when there are people who need it more, especially when you see the damage in the town, but… I’ve been feeling burnt out. I needed this.”
He nods and tugs me into his chest again, kissing the top of my head as though I’m some deeply precious thing to him. I know that, of course, I am precious to him, his Central Bond, but it still feels like an honor.
“I wasn’t going to let you waste away in that house. Plus, some soundproofing will be nice too. If I had to keep hearing you coming, I might’ve gone insane.”
I blush and duck my head, ignoring him when he bursts into laughter at my embarrassment, because I don’t feel all that bad about it either. If I shut my eyes, I can still feel North’s hand closing around my neck and holding me down as his bond fucked me raw. I’ll never be able to feel bad about that.
“Look around, Bond, get yourself comfortable.”
I walk through to the ensuite bathroom to check it out, practically drooling over the huge bathtub and the shower with the built-in bench seat and four massaging shower heads. It’s like the upgraded version of North’s shower back at his mansion, and I’m eager to climb into it.
There’s a door at the other end of the ensuite. When I open it, I not only find my closet, I also find my bags sitting in there with all of my clothes and shoes packed up, everything I’d come here with.
I’m already moved in.
I turn back to Gabe and whisper in disbelief, “We’re staying here tonight? It's done enough for that?”
He grins and nods back. “Your room, your bathroom, and the kitchen are done. My room just needs the lights to be wired. North’s room is waiting on flooring. Gryphon’s is being painted today, and Atlas has been working on his bathroom. Nox’s is done, he likes everything to be simple and plain. But, yeah, we’re here tonight, Bond.”
It’s the most romantic thing any man has ever said to me, I swear to God.
Chapter Nine
Gabe
The joy on my Bond’s face makes the long hours working on this place worth every exhausting and frustrating second.
She heads straight into the bathroom to wash up, and I go down to the kitchen to fix us both some lunch. When North had called to say that Oli and the guys were on their way back, I’d gone down to the dining hall to shop through the kitchen there, grabbing whatever supplies I could get away with, thanks to the chef following me around and grumbling the whole time. Not that he cared about the actual food leaving his kitchen, he’s just pissed that he’s not cooking for the Dravens as much.
The man has a lot of pride tied up in his work for North.
I already know that my Bond is easy to please when it comes to meals though, thank God. A loaded sandwich with all of the trimmings has her beaming at me as I kick her bedroom door shut behind me. She looks fucking adorable sitting in the middle of the giant bed in one of my old football jerseys from high school and an old pair of sweatpants that she’d squirreled away from Gryphon.