I flushed, but again, there was no heat behind the words. Feeling like a thief, I darted back to the bookshelf and grabbed as many books as I could carry, more or less at random.
“Didn’t realize you were a closet bookworm,” Gage said.
My cheeks heated further. “Libraries are good places to hang out for a few hours. They’re warm in the winter, pretty safe usually, and no one throws you out as long as you’re reading and not making trouble.”
“Huh,” Gage said, considering. “Guess I never thought about it like that.”
Affection buffeted me from two directions through the bond, sending a pleasant shiver down my body.
“All right,” Heath said, wheeling Gage toward the door. “Nest first. We’ll do a proper tour later.”
The mansion was two stories tall, but Heath had mentioneddownstairs, so that made three, total. Compared to the old Victorian pack house with its winding hallways and steep staircases, it felt very open and airy. The central spaces were mostly painted white with the occasional brilliant blue accent, and the main part of the house was dominated by a staircase that reminded me of something you might find in a fancy modern art museum.
Public museums were another good place to spend time when you had nowhere else to go. I’d done extensive research on places like that over the years.
Anyway, the main staircase must have cost a fortune all on its own. It was curved rather than angular—a twisting banister made of intricate wrought iron spiraling gently upward and downward in the open center of the house. A massive skylightpoured warm illumination over the blonde wood of the stair treads.
Heath bypassed the stairs and wheeled Gage into a little nook tucked behind the grandeur, where there was, indeed, an elevator.
“This is mostly for moving furniture and other heavy stuff,” he explained. “But it’ll work for a wheelchair, too—and obviously you can use it anytime you want to, Jez.”
I couldn’t imagine choosing to ride in a little box instead of using that beautiful staircase, but I managed a meek, “Okay,” in response.
We piled in and Heath hit the bottom of the three buttons. The elevator smoothly slipped downward. My stomach barely had time to dip and bounce back up before it dinged and the doors opened.
I caught my breath as I stepped out. The main floor had been all open air and big windows and natural light. I wasn’t immune to its beauty, but my omega instincts made me feel exposed, surrounded by all that space.
The downstairs—it seemed insulting to call it a basement—was completely different. The ceiling was made of arched brick, which seemed sort of weird at first, until I realized that it was made to look like an old subway tunnel or an ancient wine cellar. The lighting was plenty to see by, but there was no glare. It was more reddish orange than yellow, giving the space an intimate feel.
“Down here, the north wing is mostly taken up by the indoor pool, hot tub, gym, and sauna,” Heath said, as though he wasn’t speaking a foreign language.
“By the...what?” I squeaked.
Gage made a derisive noise and rolled his eyes. “I know, right? Rich people are really something else.”
“The central area behind us has the underground garage and HVAC stuff,” Heath went on, as though we hadn’t spoken. “It’s fully soundproofed and has a separate ventilation system, so you won’t have any sounds or smells bothering you. The south wing is partly storage, though as far as I know it’s not being used for anything; just empty. The rest of it is your nest. Tony went a little bit overboard trying to get things ready.”
“Aww,” Gage said. “Holy shit, that’s so sweet.”
“But you can make it up any way you’d like,” Heath finished. “Knox made you an expense account atNestique, so you can buy anything you need online and it will be delivered same-day.”
“But—” I began, overwhelm beginning to overcome me.
Heath let go of the wheelchair and took my shoulders in his hands, waiting until I looked up at him helplessly.
“I know it’s a foreign concept,” he said, “but money is literally no object. Look around you. This is not the second house of a man who has to worry about the cost of nesting materials.”
But I tried to kill him, I wanted to say. We’d already had that conversation, though. I swallowed the words back with difficulty, and nodded instead.
Heath let out a sharp sigh and leaned down, pressing a kiss to my hair. A callused hand circled my forearm and gave a gentle squeeze, redirecting my attention to Gage. He tugged me down and kissed the same place Heath had.
I pressed my lips together tightly and gave another nod, steadying my pile of borrowed books against my chest.
“Let’s go,” Heath said softly. “Don’t want to keep Tony waiting.”
Just like upstairs, the elevator was tucked behind the grand staircase. I could smell the faintest hint of chlorinated water in the air from the pool, but it disappeared as Heath led us toward the south wing. We passed a game room and a comfortable-looking family room before turning the corner to find Tonypacing restlessly in front of a closed door. He turned sharply as we approached.
“Hi!” he said nervously. “You’re... um... you’re here! That’s good.” He ran a hand through his messy dark hair, mussing it further. “So, I tried to get things ready for you, Jez, but I was only going off of internet sites about nesting—so if you hate it, you can totally say so and it won’t hurt my feelings—”
