by Rhian Cahill
“What?”
“Also, do you think it would be all right if I stayed with you, or should I book a room until I find somewhere else?”
“Find somewhere…” He let her go, but only so he could grab her face in his hands. “What are you talking about?”
“I need somewhere to stay.”
“You’ll stay with me until you go home.”
“Ah, well, about that…” She shrugged. “I discovered something when you left last week. Something I’d never realized—and something that changed everything.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t making sense, and Rush wanted to let her get to whatever it was she was trying to say, he did, he just couldn’t wait another minute to get his mouth on hers. So when she opened her mouth to speak, he took full advantage and kissed her.
Her hands slid up his chest and around his neck, her fingers toying with his hair. He removed his hands from her face and wrapped his arms around her waist, lifting her off her feet. Turning, he planted her ass on the bar and nudged her knees apart to make room for him to move in close.
“Well. I’m not sure what’s worse. Being fondled by a drunken guest in an elevator, or finding my bar manager groping a guest on top of said bar.”
Rush tore his mouth from Reena’s. Breathing hard, he stared into her heavy-lidded eyes and smiled. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.”
He ignored Cam, who’d taken a seat a few stools away. “You’re here early, and you need somewhere to stay. Plus, you aren’t sure you can give me every second of my life because my boss,” he tipped his head in Cam’s direction, “wouldn’t be happy if I brought you to work with me.”
Reena nodded.
“Fuck. What did you do?”
She opened her mouth and he placed a hand over it.
“Wait. Give me a second. Jesus. Shit. Okay. Okay.” He sucked in a breath then took his hand away. “Go.”
“After you’d gone, I discovered that home isn’t a place. Not a house, or a city, or anywhere on earth except here.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “Home is where the heart is—and my heart is with you, Rush Whelan. I love you.”
Dear god. His knees shook and he had to lock them to remain upright. “Sabreena.” He cupped her cheek and she leaned into his touch, turned and kissed his palm. “Baby.”
“So anyway,” she said as she straightened. “I quit my job, packed up my house and put it on the market, and came to where my home is.”
“Fuck.” His knees gave out. “I need to sit.”
Reena laughed when his ass hit the stool hard. “Nice to know I can sweep you off your feet the way you did me.”
He rested his forehead on her thigh. “Cam.”
“Yeah.”
“I need someone to cover the rest of my shift.”
“Done.” His friend got up and walked around the bar. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I’ll be bringing an assistant.” Rush lifted his head and smiled at Reena. “I happen to know she’s great at taking orders and serving drinks, so I’ll be sure to put her to good use.”
“Really? Does she want a job?”
Reena’s lips curled up. “Are you offering?”
“Yes. I’ll have paperwork ready for you when you get here tomorrow.”
Rush stood and lifted Reena off the bar. “You want to work at the lodge?”
She slipped her hand into his and pressed against him. “If it means you get to see me every second of your life, yes.”
“You have to stop agreeing to everything I want.”
“Why? It’s worked out really well for me so far.”
She was right, it had. And if she was going to keep doing it… “I want you to live with me.”
“I don’t think we can live in your room here. It’s too small.”
He shoved his hand in his pocket and pulled out his keys. “How about a house?”
“A house?”
“I bought a house. For us.”
“You bought a house?”
“Yes.”
“Here? Near the lodge?”
“No, it’s in a little town around the lake, straight across the lake from here, actually, but you have to drive around. On a clear day, you can see the lodge from our deck.”
“When did you do this?”
“Today.”
“Rush, it takes weeks to buy a house. I should know. I’ve spent the last week organizing selling mine, and the agent said even if I got an offer straight away, it would be weeks before the new owners took possession.”
“Yeah, well, the place hasn’t been lived in for a while and you’d be amazed at what you can do with a little bit of money. I told you I had some put away.” He inwardly winced at how much he had. He’d have to tell her about that, but not now. Now he wanted to take her to the place where their hearts were going to build a home. “Come on. Let me show you.”
Epilogue
“It’s not that cold. We probably don’t need a fire.” Reena watched the flames dancing in the fireplace.
Rush’s arms tightened around her. “I know. I couldn’t resist.”
She smiled. “I love the house. It’s perfect.”
“It needs some work,” he murmured.
“What it needs is some TLC.” She turned her head to look at him. “I think we have enough love to go around.”
“We’ve got time.” He dropped a kiss on her forehead. “First thing we need to do is get a bed. The floor is killing my ass.”
Reena laughed. There was nothing in the house. Not a stick of furniture. Oh, and the electricity wasn’t on either. They definitely had some work to do. “We could sit on the mattress Cam let you bring over from the lodge.”
“That’s all the way over there and I want to sit by the fire with you.”
“Then why don’t we pull the mattress over here?”
“Don’t want to risk any sparks lighting it up.”
Rush was right. There was no fireguard and while she didn’t think a spark would set the floor on fire, it could definitely scorch it. “We should put the fire out before we go to sleep.”
“Are you tired?”
“No.” She turned in Rush’s arms and crawled onto his lap. “But I want to make love to you, and if this floor is killing your ass, we’re not doing it here.”
Rush stood, taking her with him. “I’ll put it out after we make love. I want to see you in the firelight.”
He walked to the bed and set her on her feet. Piece by piece, they removed each other’s clothes until the only thing covering them was the flickering glow of orange from the flames across the room.
“You know, I think I got it wrong. That heart and home thing.”
“Oh?”
“This house feels like home.”
“No. You were right. It only feels that way because we’re here. Our love makes this place a home.”
~~~
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About the author
Rhian Cahill is the alter ego of a stay-at-home mother of four. With motherly duties rapidly dwindling, Rhian is able to make use of the fertile imagination she used to keep herself sane for all those years of slavery. Spending some years living overseas and visiting tropical climates has helped inspire some steamy stories. Multi-published in erotic romance and contemporary romance, Rhian, with the help of Mr. Muse, spends her days and nights writing.
When Rhian’s not glued to the keyboard, you’ll find her with book in hand, avoiding any and all housework as much as possible. For more on Rhian –
Website – http://www.rhiancahill.com/
Reader group - https://www.facebook.com/groups/211469429208895/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/RhianCahill
FaceBook – https://www.facebook.com/RhianCahillAuthor
Instagram – http://instagram.com/rhiancahill/
Amazon author page – http://tinyurl.com/knf4do7
Goodreads page - https://www.goodreads.com/rhian_cahill
Look for these titles by Rhian Cahill
Now Available:
Doing Logan
Bondi Beach Boys
Sand, Surf And Sunnie
Shut Up And Kiss Me
Christmas Wishes
New Year’s Kisses
Valentine’s Dates
Secret Santa
Secret Confessions: Sydney Housewives – Virginia
Secret Confessions: Backstage – Jet
Passport To Passion Collection
One Night In Bangkok
Singapore Fling
Coyote Hunger Series
Coyote Home – Book 1
Coyote Wild – Book 2
Coyote Whispers – Book 3
Only You Series
All Of You – Book 1
Party Game Series
Truth Or Dare
Spin The Bottle
Pass The Parcel – Novella
Are You Game Series
7 Minutes In Heaven – Book 1
Catch’n’Kiss – Book 2
Red Light, Green Light – Book 3
Frosty’s Snowmen Series
A Touch of Frost
A Kiss From Kringle
A Taste For Kandy
Hearts Are Wild Series
No More Talking (novella)
Dare You To (novella)
Mad Love
Dare To Love Kindle World Novellas
Her Daring Mistake
His Daring Moves
Sapphire Falls Kindle World Novella
Going Down Hard
Hope Falls Kindle World Novella
Love Me Like You Do
For a full list of Rhian’s available books visit her website
http://www.rhiancahill.com/books/
