Magical Midlife Love (Leveling Up 4)

“Wow, Austin, this place is gorgeous. I love the stone around the base. That’s a nice touch.”

He exited his side and came around, opening my door and helping me out. “Thank you. I had it custom built.”

“I thought you didn’t dip into your inheritance until you became alpha?”

He didn’t release my hand as we walked toward the welcoming porch, a rocking chair to either side.

“I didn’t. The bar doesn’t look like much, but it has always been busy.”

Impressed, I waited until he opened the door. He stepped back, motioning for me to enter before him.

The inside was even nicer than the outside, and I stopped and gaped at the stairwell on the left, which gracefully curved to the right and then kind of swooped over the hall beyond the entranceway, giving an open, cavernous feeling to the foyer and providing space for a gorgeous iron and crystal chandelier. A sliding glass door at the far side of the space shined light onto a deck.

“You designed this?” I asked in awe.

He threaded his fingers through mine, close enough for his warmth to soak into me. “Yes. Would you like a tour?”

“I’ll probably want to switch houses. Do you have a doll room?”

“Sadly, no.”

“Huh. Strike against you.”

He chuckled and led me straight back, past the archway into a large living room, showing me the spacious laundry room, the guest bath with rough gray stone underfoot and muted earthy accents. The wooden furniture, mostly rich mahogany and hazelnut, worked seamlessly with the glossy wooden floors, and modern accents gave the place a rustic chic vibe.

Kingsley sat on the leather sofa in the large living room, great windows overlooking the valley below, spiked with treetops. Stone framed the fireplace and crawled up to the ceiling, and I smiled at a family picture of Kingsley and his wife and kids, framed on one side, and one of an older woman I figured was their mom next to it. Candleholders held unused cream and burgundy candles.

“Did an interior decorator come through?” I asked.

“No. Why, does it need help?”

I laughed and released his hand, nudging his big arm out of the way and leaning into him. He draped an arm around me.

“No. It’s…” I shook my head, looking at Kingsley, his legs crossed at the ankles on the ottoman, a black remote gripped in one hand and his other arm thrown over the leather back. He looked how I felt, and I blurted out without thinking, “I feel like I’ve come home.”

No one had been moving, but even so, the room stilled. For an incredible beat, my only awareness was of the man pressed against my side, his arm draped around my back, his spicy and clean cotton scent comforting me as his heart beat alongside mine. I found myself leaning into him and clutching the side of his shirt, like I might get ripped away if I didn’t hold on tightly enough.

“I want to show you something, and then how about some appetizers?” Austin’s voice rumbled in his chest.

“I don’t…”

I didn’t want to move. For reasons I didn’t understand, I was afraid to shatter this moment. Afraid to physically let go of him.

“Good.” Kingsley clicked off the stupidly big TV across the room before tossing the remote onto the couch beside him. “I’m starving.”

He stood and passed by, nodding hello to me, and then did a double take. A wrinkle formed between his eyebrows.

“Hi,” he said.

“Hey,” I replied, still frozen, feeling a little foolish now, wanting to release the death grip I had on Austin’s shirt and step away like a normal person. “You good?” I asked, trying to cover the moment, wondering why Austin hadn’t asked me what was wrong.

“Yep. You?”

“Hard to tell just now.”

His gaze flicked to Austin and then away. “Like a snowball rolling downhill,” he murmured.

I wasn’t sure what he meant by that.

“You need any help with prep, Austin?” Kingsley called back from the archway separating the kitchen from the living room.

“No. It’s all done.” He turned to me, taking a step closer, and I relished the proximity.

“I am having a very strange reaction just now,” I whispered, his heart still beating with mine. His scent washed over me in heady waves, making me dizzy.

“Oh yeah?” He trailed his fingertips along my jaw. I loved when he did that, and the way he looked at me when he then dragged them down my neck. “What’s it like?”

I stared into his eyes, lost. Confused. I should be terrified. My body was practically frozen, unable to move. His touch thrummed through me, seeping down deep, but the craving to have his body wrapped around mine didn’t just stem from lust, or even love. I was in the grips of some sort of primal need I didn’t understand.

Mine.

I shook my head and pushed away. The world tilted for a moment. The instinct to lurch forward and grab on to him again nearly overtook me.