Chapter 5

We were four houses into our search for a new home, but Ellery was still hesitant about giving me her honest opinion. At first, she didn’t say anything, then just she told me what she thought I wanted to hear.

Despite being luxuriously decorated and furnished, this place was all wrong for us, so I decided to push her buttons until she finally shared what she really thought.

“So this room here would be a man cave.” I pointed at the small living room just to the right of the front door. “And that will be Corinne’s bedroom,” I continued, gesturing to the even smaller dining room across the entry. “We’ll take down the wall between the kitchen and this room so I can walk straight to her crib with her bottle.”

“But…um…”

I raised an eyebrow, pressing my lips into a firm line so I wouldn”t laugh. “Yes?”

She sighed. “Nothing.”

Okay…take it up a notch, Whiskey.

We walked up the stairs, and I wiggled my hand through the opening between two spindles on the wooden railing. “That’s not safe. Maybe I’ll put up chain-link mesh to close the gaps.” I stopped halfway up and swept my hand out over the oddly shaped great room below us. “Perfect for a setup like we have at the clubhouse. A bar, some couches. A couple of pool tables. Maybe some glass coffee tables to class up the place? Gonna put shutters on those little windows to block out the light. And a basket of toys in the corner for the kids.”

Ellery looked absolutely appalled, but I didn’t wait to see if she’d break. Instead, I bounded the rest of the way up the stairs. The landing at the top had five doors, four were bedrooms and the fifth was a bathroom.

I walked through the nearest door, and my eyes swept over all the cream and dark wood. The fur rugs were a bit much…but then I looked a little closer at the furniture and couldn’t contain my giant grin.

The extra-large bed had a canopy top attached to four wooden posts at the head and the foot of the bed. At the top, vertical steel bars filled the gaps between them, and there were restraints hanging on either side. At the foot of the bed, the space between the two middle posts was wider…because there was a pillory in the center. On the wall on either side of the bed were a series of hooks that held all kinds of interesting items. Some I could guess their purpose. Others, I didn’t want to know.

Glancing back at Ellery, I had to hide my smile when I saw her bright red cheeks. Damn, she was cute.

We walked in a little farther and realized there was a nook around the wall. Inside was a large wooden structure with several different types of chains and pulleys, along with a brown leather swing.

I’d never been into kink, but I couldn’t honestly say that the thought of tying Ellery up or fucking her in that swing didn’t make me at least a little hard.

Trying to get away from my thoughts, I stalked across the room to a closed door and opened it. The second I saw inside, laughter burst from my chest. This place was unreal.

It was done in all black…sparkling black. From the floors and walls, to the sink, toilet, and the elevated soaker tub.

But it was the five statues of men surrounding the tub that had amused me. There were two on each side and one at the end. Their hands were up in the air and touching, creating an erotic arch. The four on the sides were made of some kind of dark stone, except for the very long, thick dicks, which were hanging over the tub. Those were painted gold, along with the entirety of the last man. I was considerably oversized in that department, but these cocks were ridiculous.

It looked like there were holes at the end of each shaft, and I couldn’t resist seeing if my theory was correct, so I meandered over to the tub and turned the handle on the edge under the gold man. Just as I turned it on, I heard Ellery gasp as a rush of water poured from all five phallic faucets.

I twisted around and cocked my head to the side as I studied her flushed skin, wide eyes, and open mouth. She looked so young and innocent. I’d suspected she was a virgin, but now I was convinced of it. And there was that Neanderthal again, rearing his head at the possibility of being the only man to ever touch her.

Being the only man who would ever know her taste, her sounds of pleasure, how she looked when she came, what she felt like wrapped around his cock—it made me desperate to fuck her. To claim her. But from her reaction to the statues, I had a feeling I would need to take it slow.

I shut the water off, then prowled toward her with a wicked grin. “You okay, baby?”

Ellery double-blinked, then shut her mouth. “Totally,” she squeaked before turning around and hotfooting it out of the bathroom. I couldn’t help chuckling as I ambled out behind her.

“Well? What do you think?”

Ellery glanced around and pinched her lips together, then marched away from me. I followed her into the hall and watched her poke her head into each room before she faced me with her arms crossed under her tits, momentarily distracting me.

“It’s not too bad,” I said casually.

Ellery swallowed hard, then tossed her hands in the air and shouted, “Are you out of your mind?”

I grinned as she ranted about all the ways that this place was completely wrong until she clocked my expression.

Then she seemed to run out of steam and shook her head with a self-deprecating smile. “You were messing with me,” she concluded.

Winking, I nodded my head. “I want your honest opinion, baby.”

“I didn’t feel like it was my place to sway you one way or the other.”

Her tone was hesitant, and I nearly rolled my eyes and told her that whichever place I bought would be her home too. But I held my tongue on that and closed the distance between us. “This is all new to me, remember? Need your help finding the right place.”

After that, she started being very upfront with her thoughts on each place, and I had a feeling that she would have a lot to say about the one we were currently viewing.

I frowned as I scanned the backyard. Although using that term was a bit of a stretch since it was basically a small patch of grass beside a large slab of concrete.

There was nowhere for our children to play. I’d been very specific with the real estate agent when I told him it needed lots of outdoor space for the kids to have a playset, trampoline, and maybe even a pool.

My gaze strayed to Ellery, and I almost laughed at how she looked around with her cute little nose scrunched up in distaste. “This is just dumb. It can’t even be called a sorry excuse for a backyard.”

I chuckled, loving her candid response.

“Didn’t Zane tell you that we want a big backyard?” she huffed at the real estate agent.

Damn, she was adorable.

“Yes, but this place has almost everything else you requested,” he responded indignantly.

Ellery’s eyes narrowed, and I grinned as I stood back and watched her spit fire at the asshole.

“Almost isn’t everything, Mr. Chapman. Corinne deserves the perfect home.”

Chapman raised his chin in the air and looked down his nose at her. “You are not the buyer,” he sneered before swinging his gaze to me.

His eyes widened, and all the blood drained from his face when he realized I was glaring at him. Ellery and Corinne brought out a lighter side of me, but normally, I was a grumpy son of a bitch with a dangerous air that intimidated people. “Do not disrespect my woman again,” I told him in a steely tone. “If she says jump, you ask how fucking high, and if you can’t go that high, I’ll throw your sorry ass up.”

“Y-yes, um, yes sir,” he stammered.

“We’re done for today,” I growled. Taking Ellery’s hand, I led her back through the house and out to my bike.

Ellery looked a little dumbfounded as I lifted her onto the seat and secured my helmet on her head. “We’ll find the right place eventually,” I said, hoping I wasn’t lying. Because so far, the choices had been shit.

She blinked, then nodded but didn’t speak. I wanted to ask what was on her mind, but I figured it could wait until we were at the clubhouse. Since we were looking at houses fairly close to the compound, it didn’t take long to get back.

When we walked inside, a few of my brothers were sitting at the bar talking quietly. One of our enforcers, Ice—a road name he’d earned from his days as a professional hockey player—glanced in our direction.

“Any luck?”

I shook my head, then looked down at Ellery when she tugged on my arm. “I’m going to go find Corinne.”

“Sure, baby,” I murmured, then kissed the top of her head before watching her spectacular ass as she walked away.

“I might have a solution for you,” Ice said thoughtfully. He used the tip of his beer bottle to point at the stool next to him. I strolled over, and Phoenix, who stood behind the bar, handed me a beer. Lifting my chin in thanks, I took a seat and raised my brow at Ice as I took a swig from the bottle.

“Started building a house a few months ago. Decided it was time to have my own space, and it was a good investment.” He shrugged and took a drink. “Finished it up last week, but I’m in no rush to move. Staying here a little longer is no big deal. You should look at the house, and if it’s what you’re looking for, you can buy it from me.”

“You serious?” I asked, setting my drink on the bar.

He shrugged again. “It’s not like I have a family.” He reached into one of the inner pockets of his cut and pulled out a set of keys. “I’ll text you the address and the code for the security system.”

“Shit,” I breathed as I took the keys. “I don’t know what to say.”

Ice frowned. “Just go. If you say something stupid or mushy, I’ll have to break your jaw.”

I held out my hand, and we shook, then I nodded and stood, off to find my woman and daughter.