Finding Faith (Return of the Dragons)

Heart softening at his words, at how well he understood her new quirks already, she squeezed his hand. “I’m okay right now. Just really interested in seeing where you and your people live.”

He chuckled. “Our homes are really no different than anyone else’s.”

Just after he spoke, they drove past the tree line and the homes became visible. Shaking her head, she looked around her in awe. “Not entirely the truth. These homes are beautiful, Cody.”

“Thanks.”

Tearing her eyes away, she quickly glanced over at him. “Oh, your family probably built all these, didn’t they?”

He nodded as he steered them around a curve in the road. “We did. And we do all the maintenance and upgrades on them too.”

“Makes sense,” she replied absently, captivated by the homes they passed.

They came in all different shapes and sizes, but all of them were charming and inviting. But her gaze was glued to one at the end of the road. It was larger, and built in a log cabin style, but on a grand scale.

Surrounded as it was by the trees, with the mountains in the distance, it was perfect. The people who lived there were incredibly lucky to have a home like that.

Peering around, she wondered which one was Cody’s. Would it be large or small, be brick or wood? She couldn’t find out.

And then he pulled into the driveway of the log cabin home she’d been admiring, and her mouth popped open. He lived here?

“This is your house?” she asked, turning to look at him as he put his truck in park.

He nodded. “It is. Well, mine and my sister’s. Lindsey lives here, too.”

“Holy cow,” she breathed.

Mouth curling on one side, he looked over at her, searching her eyes. “You like it?”

“Are you kidding? Yes!”

Laughing, he opened his door. “Well, let’s get you inside so you can see it all.”

Without waiting for him to open her door, she hopped out and took his hand without reservation, heat curling inside her as he twined their fingers together again. They climbed the porch steps, and she waited impatiently as he opened the door.

And once they were inside, she had to fight to keep her mouth from hanging open. He led her through the house, and room after room, her awe grew. It was all soaring ceilings, large windows with beautiful views, and stunning stone and woodwork, with a fireplace in nearly every room.

The whole home was gorgeous, but the kitchen was truly a masterpiece. Her fingers were itching to cook in there.

“You’ve been awfully quiet,” Cody said, breaking the silence they’d been in as they walked through his home. “Was bringing you here too much?”

Tearing her eyes away from the view from the large windows in the living room, she shook her head as she glanced at him. “Not at all. I’ve just been admiring your home. It’s absolutely gorgeous, Cody.”

Relief and satisfaction mixed together in his dark brown eyes. “I’m glad you like it. I want you to be comfortable here, Liv.”

“I already feel that way,” she replied, thinking about what he’d said about her own house earlier.

That he wanted it to be safe for her sister and her friends. He hadn’t included Olivia in that, and she didn’t think it was because he’d worded things wrong, as he’d said. She thought that maybe, he had his eyes on a future with her.

One that he saw them living in this very home.

Stepping closer to her, he brushed her hair back from her face, his knuckles trailing softly down her cheek. “I’m glad you feel that way.” He studied her eyes for a long moment. “Why did you wear glasses when we met? Don’t get me wrong, they were sexy as hell, but I know shifters don’t need them.”

“You thought they were sexy?”

“On you? Absolutely.”

She smiled as her cheeks flushed, but a moment later, it faded away. “After Fernandez and his men were killed, we were free to move on. That meant leaving the protection of the Blood and Bone Enforcers. And even though the man who imprisoned us was dead, leaving the safety we’d found there scared us. So, we all had some sort of disguise. Mine was the glasses, and I’d dyed my hair brown.