“Nix, it is a small Coms room. I have another on the second level. Your kitchen will go there.”
Lainey dragged in a breath, her mind a little boggled that he would just…build her something in his house because she wanted it.
But his tone told her not to argue, though Lainey would bring it up again at a later time. Instead, she simply followed him back to the front of the house and he brought her onto a slightly raised platform near the front door.
Placing his hand on a silver pad on the wall, Lainey cried out in surprise when the square platform began to lift upward quickly and she grabbed onto Kirov’s arm. The platform was large enough where she didn’t think she’d lose her balance and fall off, but it was still a startling and unexpected motion, like a fast elevator just without the walls.
Guess this is the Luxirian version of stairs, she thought, ignoring the amused look Kirov sent her way.
The platform locked into place on the second level and they stepped out. The second floor was constructed in a way where she could still see the ground floor below if she peered over a balcony railing.
On the second level, there were three rooms. The first seemed to be a guest bedroom. The second was Kirov’s other ‘Coms room’ and Lainey could see that it was much, much larger and more elaborate than the first. A metal table lay in the center, with a bunch of different projects Kirov was working on. Lainey was surprised because it looked like a chaotic mess, whereas the rest of the house was immaculate and spotless. But perhaps, Kirov worked best that way when it came to his projects.
The third room, with the best view, was Kirov’s bedroom. Lainey stepped inside, eyeing the huge, raised bed, with cushions and furs piled high onto it. There was a second fire pit off to the side and one of the walls was completely filled with the same glass windows, that showed Troxva in its finest. Lainey couldn’t help but imagine looking at that view, lying in that bed with him. Through the door on the far wall, there was another bathroom, though it was smaller than the one on the ground floor. More intimate.
Lainey touched the furs on the bed and asked, “Where will I be sleeping? In the guest bedroom?”
“Nix, never.” She turned to face him and he purred deep in his chest, approaching her, as he rasped, “You will be in here. With me. Under my furs. Where you belong.”
Lainey’s belly clenched with heat at those words. “Well, alrighty then.”
It was still late morning, far too early to go to bed, but Lainey was eager to test out just how durable those furs were.
“Did you build this house?” she asked him, though she thought she already knew the answer.
“Tev.”
Lainey was learning just how talented he truly was. He amazed her, what he could accomplish.
“It’s beautiful, Kirov,” she said, placing her palm on his chest, feeling his warmth. “It’s quite big for just you though. Don’t you ever get lonely?”
Kirov stilled before gathering her close. Lainey rested her cheek just over his heartbeat, looking out one of the windows. “When I built this dwelling, I had imagined it filled with offspring.”
Lainey’s breath hitched and she pulled back to look at him.
He continued, “When the Jetutians released that virus over Luxiria, I thought that future lost to me.”
But not anymore, she thought.Shecould give him children. If she chose him, if she stayed.
She imagined how lively the house would be with children living in it, how voices and laughter would echo off the walls.
Sudden longing surprised her and she covered that emotion by jokingly saying, “I don’t think that platform lift is very baby proof, Kirov.”
He growled, “Then I will ‘baby proof’ it when the time comes.”
When, notif.
Lainey bit her lip, but didn’t say anything in response. She’d never really given children much thought, especially considering she’d thought it very unlikely that she would ever find someone shewantedto have children with.
But now, Lainey thought about children.
A sudden mechanical chiming sound echoed around the house and Kirov cursed.
“What is that?”
Kirov led her out of the bedroom and down the hall until they reached the platform lift. Kirov activated it and it took them back down to the first level.
“That would be Vaxa’an,” Kirov said. “It seems they have discovered you missing.”
