“Not without setting a few ground rules first.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Like what?”
“Splitting costs, for a start.”
My phone rang, the sound slightly muffled thanks to the fact it was buried deep in my purse. I leaned over, dug it out, and looked at the screen; the number wasn’t one I knew.
“Ignore it,” Aiden said, interpreting my expression correctly. “It’s probably a telemarketer of some kind.”
“Probably.”
I hit ignore and tossed the phone back onto the sofa. “So, splitting—”
“No,” he cut in. “Absolutely not.”
“Aiden, I won’t live with you if you won’t let me pay my way. It’s not fair and it’s not right—”
I cut off the rest as my phone rang again. A quick look said it was the same number. I hit decline again.
“You moving in will hardly add much to current costs, given the solar power and water tanks.”
“That’s not the point—”
He cut me off with a kiss. A long, slow burn of a kiss.
“As good as your kisses are,” I said when I could, “they won’t change my mind.”
“Maybe I just needed to kiss you.”
“And maybe you just wanted to distract me.”
Amusement danced in his eyes. “That might also be true.”
“Distract me all you want after we’ve laid down the ground rules.”
He sighed. It was a somewhat frustrated sound. “Fine. We’ll split the cooking, the cleaning, and the washing. We’ll even split the driving when practical. But I will not take your money.”
“And I’m not taking your charity.”
“It’s hardly charity.”
“I’m not going to set up any sort of life with you on such an unequal financial footing. I pay my way or I’ll stay where I am.”
He rolled his eyes. “You really are a stubborn wench. Just as well I adore you.”
It might not be an admission of love, but it was as close as I was ever likely to get. I leaned into him and kissed him, long and slow.
“I adore you, too,” I murmured eventually. “But when it comes to stubborn, werewolves hold all the patents.”
He laughed softly and tapped my nose. “Fine. We’ll split all the costs. How about we start shifting your things in today?”
“You’ve a council meeting tonight, and I refuse to spend my first night here mostly alone. That’d hardly be an auspicious start to things.” I scooped up the last bit of the chocolate cake we were sharing. “Why the hurry?”
“Trying to counter against a change of mind.”
I smiled. “I won’t change my mind.”
“What about Belle?”