Chapter 12

Twelve

We spent over an hour lookin'at colors and going back and forth until I finally chose one. It had been surprisingly fun, if I was being honest with myself. Then Remi had ordered lunch to be delivered—paying for even more food, despite my protests—and then he'd shown me the roof where he was having a bunch of large greenhouses built to support all the magical plants they needed for spells.

It was amazing, what he was doin' here. I hadn't realized just how… involved it all was until he showed me. I'd thought he just installed little security systems in people's homes and that was it. But the more he talked, the more I could see how much he loved all this stuff.

And not just creating new and different ways to protect people, but the fact that he was helping keep people safe. Helping people feel secure in their own homes—or at work. He truly cared, and growin' up the way I had, I knew how rare it was to find someone like that.

And then, because apparently wolf shifters ate a lot and often, he'd ordered us dinner. So we'd stayed inside that building even longer, exploring the different floors—minus the electronics floor—and eatin' more food in one day than I did in a typical week.

Today had been one of the best days of my entire life.

But now the day was over, and I was being sent back to my reality… the one where I slept on the ground, exposed to all the elements.

He started the car, then sat there for a moment before turnin' to me with a determined look on his face.

"Come stay with me."

I blinked at that. "Um… what?"

He sucked in a deep breath. "Come stay at my apartment with me. I know we just met and went on exactly two dates, but I have two spare rooms at the apartment that have beds in them, so you could stay in one of those if you want. Not that I would argue if you wanted to sleep with me—I mean in my bed with me, not like, sleep with me. Unless you wanted to, but I don't mean I'm trying to make you—oh my Mother of All, please make me stop rambling."

Despite how hard my heart was pounding, I couldn't help but laugh. He was cute when he was flustered.

He chuckled for a moment and rubbed his face before givin' me that determined expression again. "Can we please forget all the embarrassing shit I just said?"

"Ha, no. I'm never forgetting any of that."

He snorted. "Lovely."

"I do what I can." I shrugged carelessly even though my heart was still beating frantically in my chest.

He sent me an amused smile that turned soft after a few seconds. "Please come stay with me. I can't stand the thought of dropping you off to sleep on the streets when I have two perfectly good—and empty—rooms at my place. I don't want to… I just… please. Will you please?"

My heart was poundin' even harder than before, and I honestly couldn't even say what I was feeling in that moment other than overwhelmed. Too many emotions were swirling around, and not all of them were good. But that was mostly because my pride felt bruised because I didn't want to appear weak or needy in front of this man. I didn't want him to think I needed his help. And I certainly didn't want to owe him a damn favor. He seemed nice now, but what if that was only to lure me in so he could hold an obligation over me?

"I don't need your help."

"I know." He said it quickly, and the statement was filled with a truth that made me relax, if only a hair. "I know you're perfectly capable of taking care of yourself. Obviously, you've been doing it for a long time, but I… I have a way to make it a little bit easier for you, you know? And it's getting so damn cold out?—"

"I have the charmed blanket you gave me."

He nodded. "I know, but you could stay in my apartment where you'd be safe, warm, and have access to food and the shower and anything else you want."

"I'm not going to owe you a favor. No way."

His brow furrowed. "I'm offering this free and clear. No favor needed, I promise."

I sucked in a breath. Had he seriously just promised me I didn't need to return the favor?

"You can't do that, wolf boy," I whispered.

"I just did. And I don't regret it."

I sucked in a breath, then blew it out slowly. "Do you know why I'm on the street?"

He snapped his mouth shut and shook his head, lookin' confused at the subject change.

"Because the people who own the apartment complexes won't rent to fae. And without a real address, most places that will even hire fae won't hire me. So I have no way to pay rent anyway."

He nodded and reached over to take both my hands. "I'm so sorry the system is so broken and has let you down. I wish I could fix it for you, but I don't know how. But I… I can fix this. Please stay with me."

"If I stay with you and the owners find out, they'll probably kick you out."

He shrugged. "I wouldn't care if that was the case, but I own the whole building anyway. The top floor was open, and I kept the current tenants, but I bought the place so I could add my own security without issue."

I didn't know what to say to that. I mean, of course he'd bought the whole building. For fuck's sake.

When I didn't respond, he added, "At least come to my home and look at it, then decide."

I blew out a breath, and even though I normally wouldn't do this with a person I hadn't known for very long, part of my heart—and perhaps my magic—was tellin' me I could trust this shifter. That he truly was who he was showing to me. He truly was as kind and sweet and caring as he seemed.

So I blew out a breath and nodded. "I'll come take a look—but that doesn't mean I'm staying."

He let out a whoop that made me laugh. Then he kissed the knuckles of one hand then the other before releasing me and drivin' out of the parking spot.

His apartment was in the nice part of the city, which didn't surprise me at all. Even though it was only a short walk away from where I usually slept, it almost looked like a completely different city.

The buildings were surrounded by iron fences with fancy columns with statues on top. All the shutters matched, the curtains were neat, the noise was somehow more peaceful-sounding instead of the crazy hustle of the city—they used spells to keep the noise down, apparently.

Everything was clean, even the snow, somehow. I squinted at it. No, not somehow. It was magicked clean.

These people who lived over here had so much spare… time, energy, and money that they'd paid someone to clean their fuckin' snow. Because of course they couldn't have gray and slushy snow in front of their homes. Mother forbid.

For fuck's sake.

I really didn't belong here.

I was so damn out of place… like I was the gray, dirty slush in the middle of their perfect fluffy, white snow.

He walked me inside one of the fancy apartment buildings and straight to the elevator, and we went up to the top floor. When the elevator doors opened, he surprised me by hitting the emergency stop button and reaching for my hand.

"What are you doin'?"

"I have to add you to the wards, or you won't be allowed inside."

I blinked. "You're adding me to your wards? Remi, you don't even know me. What if I come back when you're not here and steal all your stuff?"

He lifted a brow. "Are you going to come back and steal my stuff?"

"Of course not! But that's not the point."

He rolled his eyes. "I trust you."

That was like a shot to the heart. He trusted me? Me? A fae?

How was that even possible? We didn't know each other, and I was a fuckin' fae.

"You can't trust me." My voice was low and guarded, and I said it like a warning.

"Why the hell not?"

"For fuck's sake, haven't you been listening to me? I'm fae, Remi. You can't trust the fae."

"One of my best friends is fae, and I have several family members who are too. Plus some cousins and other family from Faela. I'm not afraid of you, Bel. I never have been, and I never will be."

I sucked in a breath. What. The. Fuck. Was. Even. Happening?

"Remi…"

He faced me and cupped my cheek in his large hand, offering me a soft smile. "It's alright, Bel. You're safe, and maybe you don't trust yourself, but that's okay because I trust you enough for both of us." His thumb ran over the skin of my cheek. "Let me add you to the wards."

I nodded, and I couldn't help but ask, "You're not a vampire, right?"

He barked a laugh. "What the hell? No. You know I'm a wolf shifter."

"Oh. I was right about the wolf part, then."

"Then why'd you ask about being a vampire?"

"Because I swear you're compelling me to get me to agree with you."

He laughed loudly. "I'm not. I'm just making sense."

That made me roll my eyes. "Whatever." I held my hand out. "Add me, compeller."

He snorted, dropped his palm from my face, and took my hand in his. Then he held it up to an invisible barrier I'd had no idea was there. It started right where the elevators ended, so no one could even step off the elevator unless they were keyed into the ward. That was clever.

Remi closed his eyes, and I felt his shifter magic awaken and wrap around my hand. I had no idea at all that a shifter could use their magic that way.

"How are you doing that?"

After he finished, he hit the elevator button and pulled me out. It felt like I walked through a wall of jello, and I almost panicked, but I was through the strange sensation before my panic could fully form.

"My dads are magic users. They taught me."

I was so thrown off by the ward that it took me a second to remember what question he was answerin'. "They can do that?"

He smiled at me. "My dads can. They're both really powerful." He shrugged like that bomb wasn't a big deal.

Also, wait. His dads were magic users? But he was a shifter, so…

"You're adopted?" As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I cringed and added, "I'm so sorry. Ignore that. That was rude. I'm just—the ward was a lot, and I?—"

"It's fine, may'ezza. I don't mind telling you at all. Yes, I was adopted when I was a baby. I don't remember ever not being a part of my family. Two of my older sisters are a different story."

He'd mentioned several siblings already—so many I couldn't keep track. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Have you just been… making up siblings or something? I swear you've mentioned at least ten names already today."

He laughed. "I haven't made any of them up."

"Every single one you've mentioned is your actual sibling?"

"Yep." He popped the P.

"How many siblings do you have?"

He grinned. "A lot."

"That wasn't a real answer."

He laughed again and unlocked his door, opened it, and waved me inside. I hesitantly stepped over the threshold and took a breath. I wasn't sure what I'd been expecting, but a typical apartment with plain but soothing decor wasn't it.

Remi came in and locked the door behind himself before walking into the kitchen off to the right. The place was open-planned, so I walked into the living room that was probably as big as Keryth's entire apartment. There were several couches and tables, a large stand with a giant TV, two giant bookcases, and two armchairs in the area.

Once I walked through that space, the kitchen was on the right, and the dining room was on the left. The kitchen had an island dividing it from the dining room, and on the living room side, it had a counter with a sink but only a half-wall so you could easily see into the other room.

It was spacey and nice and definitely posh enough to go with the man I'd gotten to know today.

Remi was quiet while he let me take everything in, but when I met his gaze, he sent me another soft smile and waved to the hall that started where the living room and kitchen met.

"Can I show you the bedrooms?"

I nodded, a little dazed. "Sure."

"Do you want to leave your stuff here? You can set it on the table if you want."

I glanced at his dining room table. It looked nice, expensive, like everything else in this apartment. I glanced at the front door and realized it was locked. So I walked over to the table, set my backpack and guitar on it, and headed back over to Remi.

"The place actually has four bedrooms. I'm using one, and I turned another into an office so I can get things done at home if need be. So that leaves two bedrooms for you to choose from."

I could only nod again.

He took my hand and pulled me through, showin' me each of the rooms—all done in a different color scheme—the hall closet, and the bathroom, plus the ensuite off his bedroom.

We ended in the hall outside his bedroom, and he turned to me, biting his lip. "Soooo… what do you think? Will you stay here?"

I was pretty sure I was in shock.

He stared at me for a few more seconds before tuggin' me out of the bedroom and back into the living room. He sat me on one of the couches and handed me the remote.

"Let's watch a movie, yeah? Let me get us both some water."

I nodded and sat there, unmoving while he grabbed drinks. When he came back, he set the glasses on the coffee table, and after setting the remote aside, he gently took my hands and turned me to face him.

"I came on too strongly. I—I'm sorry. I just feel this… pull to you, and I was afraid that if I dropped you off…" He shook his head. "I keep getting these weird aches in my chest, like I'm sick, but I'm not, and I thought that maybe?—"

"You're getting the aches too?"

He snapped his mouth shut and nodded. "Yeah, every time you walk away from me."

I'd pretended not to notice, but I had. It was happening to me every time I walked away as well. I licked my lips. "Do you think it's from that coin?"

He shook his head. "No. I don't even know where that coin is right now."

"Me either. But what if it left some weird curse on us?"

"That's not it."

"Then what is it?"

He looked like he was about to answer, but his phone rang. He growled. "I'll ignore it."

"It could be important."

"You're important too."

That made my heart pound again.

The phone stopped ringing but immediately started up again, and Remi growled in frustration. Oddly enough, even after hearin' his fierce growls, I wasn't scared of him. Actually, to my embarrassment, I thought his growls were sexy. Never thought I'd be turned on by an angry man before, but here we were.

"You need to get that. They wouldn't call twice in a row like that if it wasn't important."

He let out another sexy grumble, then pulled his phone out of his pocket and growled at the name on the screen. I didn't have the chance to see the name before he answered and held it up to his ear, asking, "What do you want?"

He started arguing in a way that made me think it was one of his siblings on the phone, so I decided to ignore his conversation and think things over. I stood and walked over to one of the bookcases, runnin' my fingers over the books there but not actually paying attention to their titles.

Could I really accept what Remi was offering? Could I move in here? Could I live with Remi?

Oh shit.

Remi wanted me to move in with him.

Live with him.

How? How was that possible?

And moreso, why the hell did he even want me to? Why did he care what happened to me?

Where did this kind and overly generous man come from?

Could I really live here? In this fancy-as-hell place? With a man I'd only known for a week?

I glanced outside at the snow starting to fall and grimaced. Could I really afford not to live here? I hadn't had a long-term roof over my head in years and years. Havin' that security again, havin' that warmth, was something I wasn't sure I could turn down, no matter how crazy this idea was.

Remi wanted me to live with him.

Was he honestly that nuts?

Was this a red flag flying in my face, or was it simply a nice gesture?

"Bel?"

Remi's deep voice made me jump and spin to face him.

He offered an apologetic smile. "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to say that I know it's weird of me to offer this so soon when we've only known each other for a short time. But I thought that maybe I could promise you that I?—"

I moved faster than I thought possible to cover his mouth with my hand. "Don't." My voice came out raw and filled with so much emotion that some of my magic bled through.

His eyes were wide, but he didn't look scared of me.

"Don't make me any promises, Remi. Don't you know better than to promise a fae anything?"

He carefully plucked my hand off his mouth. "May'ezza, I'm not making a promise to the fae. I'm making one to you."

"No." My voice went deep, authoritative.

"But—"

"I said no, Remi. Absolutely not. I will not hold an obligation over you." I moved in close to his face and cupped his cheeks in both my hands. "Please listen to me. I never, ever, ever want to hold an obligation over you. Please. No promises. Ever."

He swallowed thickly, his eyes flickin' back and forth between mine. Finally, he gave me a small nod, and I released him.

"Thank you."

"I didn't mean to upset you."

I rubbed my forehead. "No, it's not you. At all."

He seemed unsure, and I hated that I'd done that to him.

So after taking a breath, I looked up at him and said, "I… I'll move in."

He stared at me for a beat before a smile slowly formed on his face. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yes. As long as you're sure?"

"Oh my Mother, of course I'm sure! I'm so sure. And excited. Holy shit."

Before I could react, I was tugged into another one of his amazing hugs. And I let the embrace happen because he was honestly too hard to resist. And because I really, really loved his hugs.

If I moved in with him, would I get more fantastic Remi hugs? I bet I could get one every day.

And holy shit, I told him I'd move in with him.

I was going to have a roof over my head for as long as Remi wanted me.

I wasn't a fool. I knew this wasn't a forever type of thing. But hopefully, it was a get-through-the-winter type of thing. Not having to sleep outside in the frigid cold would be a small blessing.

Every year, many of the unhoused died from the cold, and every year, I was always afraid I'd be one of those unlucky few. But hopefully, I'd be inside through this season.

And I might even get to use the kitchen.

The excitement that I wouldn't freeze to death and that I could get the chance to cook somethin', made me grin widely.

Remi squeezed me tight. I held onto him for a long time, soaking him up as much as possible.

Maybe if I soaked him up enough while I was staying here, next year, when I was back out on the streets, his remembered presence would be enough to keep me warm.

"Thank you for saying yes," he whispered, then kissed the top of my head. "Feel free to use anything you want. Help yourself to the kitchen, to everything in the bathroom, everything. What's mine is yours."

That felt like a promise, and I tried not to accept it, tried not to let his words become binding. But my own innate magic wouldn't listen to me. The words wrapped themselves around my heart and sank into the organ there in a way I knew meant they would never leave.

I sucked in a breath and leaned back to stare up at Remi. "Remi, I… you just… you just promised me so mu?—"

He cut me off with a kiss that was so tender, I didn't know what to do with myself.

My heart ached, but it felt good.

My soul sang, but it burned.

My body sprang to life on the inside, but I froze.

And then I let him kiss me. I let him pull all these feelings from me. I let him because I wanted him to. I wanted his soul to remember mine the way mine would always remember his. I ached with the need.

My arms wrapped around his neck of their own accord, and I clung to him as I jumped. Remi caught me and groaned, but it sounded like it was in pleasure.

He pushed me up against the wall and devoured my mouth, deepening the kiss and dueling with my tongue and making every nerve ending in my body come alive.

There was no hiding my growing erection against his stomach, and I was relieved when he shifted his hips, and I felt his against my ass. Mm. That was right where I wanted it. Well, I wanted it in my ass.

I rutted against him, and he groaned and ran his hands over my ass, squeezing the cheeks and lettin' out an appreciative moan.

Just when I thought things were going to heat up, Remi slowed the kiss down, turning it tender and making me feel cherished—even if that wasn't what I wanted right now.

He broke the kiss and rested his forehead against mine, his voice coming out soft and raw. "I want you so bad."

"Then have me."

He groaned again. "I can't."

It felt like someone dumped a bucket of ice over my body. "Why not?"

He flinched from the coldness in my voice, and he leaned back to stare at me. After a moment, he said, "Oh, may'ezza." He cupped my cheeks, holding me up with his hips and the wall. "Please stop thinking so little of yourself… and of me. I want you. Badly. But I don't want you to feel like you have to do this with me in order to stay here."

This time it was me who flinched. "You think I'm selling myself to get a place to stay?"

"No."

"Then—"

"Shh." He placed a finger over my mouth, and I almost bit it off. "Please, just listen for a moment." When I gave a nod, he dropped his hand to the side of my neck, rubbing his thumb over my throat. "I'm not accusing you of anything, and I'm not trying to be a jerk, I swear it. I just… I don't want you to feel obligated to share my bed while you stay here. What if you don't want me anymore in a few weeks, and you still feel like you have to? I would…"

He shook his head and cleared his throat before continuing. "I never want to make you uncomfortable. And I would never, ever kick you out of your home, no matter where we stand, alright? I don't care if we're best friends, lovers, or if I do something to piss you off and you're mad at me for months. You will always have a place to stay here."

I shook my head, still reeling at the fact that he'd called this place my home. I'd agreed to move in, but we all knew it was temporary. "I don't have a home."

His eyes looked sad. "You do now, may'ezza." He held my hips and let me move down the wall to put my feet on the floor. "This is your home now, okay?"

"I haven't even been here an hour, and you're?—"

"Doesn't matter. You said yes to moving in, and now you're stuck with the place. Can't you tell that it thinks you're a part of its people? That it has to protect you?"

I blinked at that. "Your… home is… sentient?"

He moved his hand back and forth in a so-so gesture. "Not exactly sentient, but close. It recognizes its people and will protect them from intruders."

I was so blown away by that that I didn't even know what to say to him.

After a few seconds, Remi cupped my cheek again and placed a soft kiss on my forehead. "Let's pick out which room you want to claim as yours." When he turned to walk down the hall, I was surprised to see the huge tent in his pants—and I did mean huge. Seeing that made me feel marginally better. It was evidence that he found me attractive.

I was sure that once the lust settled, I would understand his reasoning for stopping us from going further, but right now, I was a little pissed off about it.

He got me all amped up, and now he's just going to leave me with blue balls? What the hell?

With a sigh, I followed after him, trying to decide if I respected him more for stopping us or if it made me want to punch him.

Maybe it was a little bit of both.