He framed her face with his hands. “You never have to wake up alone again, Soleil. This is your home. You can do any damn thing you want with it.”
“I may never leave it.” She tried a watery smile.
“That’s fine by me. Stay in the bedroom naked. I’d go about my business all day knowing what is waiting for me at home. I’d be perfectly happy with that.”
She caught her lower lip between her teeth, anxiety gripping her. “I’ve never cooked for anyone. I want to learn. I actually took lessons, but I’ve never had the chance to practice.”
“You don’t have to cook, princess. You aren’t here to be my servant. I wouldn’t mind you being my sex slave, just so you know that option of never leaving the house and never wearing clothes is always open,” he teased.
Her heart actually fluttered. She couldn’t help but laugh. She tried not to look at him with her heart in her eyes, but she was beginning to think she was feeling more for him than the intense physical attraction she’d admitted to herself they had between them. She couldn’t fall for him. Not with her heart and soul.
She’d already tried giving her heart completely after Aunt Deborah died and she’d gone to her other aunt—the one who despised her. Soleil had tried desperately to get her to love her. She wasn’t the lovable type. Even Kevin, although she loved him because he was the only father figure she could remember, hadn’t come out from behind his phone, not even on holidays when she’d begged him.
“Soleil.”
Ice’s voice brought her out of her memories, although the sadness lingered. Her gaze jumped to his. Those eyes of his saw too much, and she tried to look away.
He kissed her. Long. Hot. Driving sanity away. Driving sorrow away. He left behind feeling. Her body sang, her heart leapt, her sex clenched, and blood immediately heated, rushing through veins to settle between her legs.
She kissed him back. Giving herself to him. Giving him everything she was. Fire burst through her, as hot as the flames leaping in the fireplace. She couldn’t hold back when he kissed her like that. She’d had a crap childhood, but she had the feeling his was far worse. She had tried to develop a guarded interior, but evidently, when it came to Ice, the walls tumbled down fast.
It was Ice who slowly, and very reluctantly, lifted his head. “I want you to look around, Soleil. Anything you don’t like, we’ll change.”
“I can’t imagine not liking something in this house.” The idea of exploring was exciting. She was going to continue the fairy tale they’d started and tell herself the house really was hers and she’d never have to leave. She was there, for whatever reasons, and she was going to take advantage of it. This was her dream, and strangely, the house came close to being her fantasy home.
She moved away from him, toward the other end of the room. The great room was just that—great. It was large with high ceilings and an immense stone fireplace. The room opened into a hallway that seemed massive. Four people could easily walk shoulder to shoulder in that space. She could see why Ice wanted the house if he felt confined indoors. There was no way to get claustrophobia when everything about the design of the house felt spacious.
The kitchen was extremely large. It included a breakfast nook, which, in her opinion, was no nook but almost a separate room. The nook was situated in a rounded glass turret. The view was of a green forest of tall redwood trees. She could look out and see wildlife, trees and shrubbery as she ate any meal.
The setup for cooking was fantastic. She might not be a chef or know much about the inner workings of their space, but she could see how easily one could get from the refrigerator to the oven in a few short steps. Counter space was abundant, as was work space. She really was eager to try her hand at cooking.
The formal dining room had one of Lissa’s chandeliers hanging over the table. This chandelier dripped drops of ocean spray captured in crystal. There was color to it, a blaze of light blue. Ice blue. Glacier blue. All of that was captured in crystalline drops.
She swung around to grip Ice’s arm tightly. “She’s a genius, this Lissa. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful.”
“It is nice, isn’t it?” Ice admitted, cocking his head to one side to study the light fixture.
“It’s brilliant,” Soleil corrected. “Beyond brilliant. She drew inspiration from your eyes. Can you see what she did?”
He shrugged. He was watching her closely, his gaze on her face, a faint smile on his, as if her reactions made him happy. She liked that. She wanted him to feel the happiness he gave to her. She wasn’t used to it and she didn’t trust that she’d have it long, but she loved being present in the here and now because she was experiencing something perfect and she wanted to capture the memory forever.