I grinned down at her and went to the control panel, punching in the code for the car park so we could avoid the staff seeing her. The lift started moving and I pulled Lucy into my side, kissing the top of her head and feeling more content than I had in months.
“Where are we going?”
“I’m taking you home.”
“Felix, you’ve got to go back up there. What about the meeting?”
“Baby, if you think I’m going back into a bloody business meeting after that you’ve totally lost it.”
“B–b–but?—”
“I’m taking you home.” We were next to my car now. Lucy looked from it to me in surprise as if she couldn’t quite work out how she got there. Then she shivered again, and I frowned.
“Felix, you can’t?—”
I pulled open the passenger side door and pushed Lucy forward by putting pressure on the small of her back.
“Get in the car. Now.” I used that commanding tone and watched her eyes glaze slightly.
“You’re so bossy,” she muttered as she slid into the car but there was no heat behind it. Lucy liked a little bit of bossy in her life. I smiled as I slammed the door after her.
On the drive back to my house Lucy was quiet. I could feel her tension build even as I took her hand in mine and held it on my lap, driving with one hand to keep it there as if she might slip away from me at any moment.
But after what she’d just revealed to me, after everything, Lucy Mayweather was not slipping away. Not ever again.
Chapter 38
I know it’s a bit much
Lucy
“Wow,” I said as Felix led me into the hall, and I drew to a halt. “This is… this isdifferent.”
“Different good?” Felix asked, turning to me, his hand still holding mine. From the moment I’d seen Felix today he’d been touching me. It was as if he was reassuring himself that I was real and that I was here with him. That, and the way he was looking at me, was at least some reassurance after I told the bastard I loved him. He responded by giving me the most glorious orgasm of my life which was great, don’t get me wrong, but what itwasn’twas him saying he still loves me too. Maybe he didn’t still feel that way anymore? Maybe that’s why he backed off?
I looked up at him and his expectant expression and studied it for a moment. There was a subtle tension around his eyes. My answer to the transformation of his house was important to him. I wasn’t sure why. I mean, the man could decorate however he wanted. Maybe he mixed it up on the reg? But this was quite the change – gone was the grey and white, gone werethe clean lines. Instead, the walls were painted a warm ochre, almost orange colour, there were plants in colourful pots, an old-fashioned hat stand was next to the front door. The sideboard was the same gorgeous, polished oak as the floors.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathed, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. “But I wouldn’t have said it was your taste.”
“Tastes change,” he said dismissively, pulling me on through the hallway.
“Felix,” I said as we came to a stop in the kitchen. I gave my hand a tug and he frowned as I pulled it from his. “Listen, just because I said… I mean, I know I said something in the heat of the moment. I don’t want you to feel that you have to…” I huffed and pulled my hands through my already messy hair. When I spoke again my voice was only just above a whisper. “Look, can we just forget about it?”
“No,” Felix was facing me with his arms crossed over his chest. “No, I don’t think we can.” I felt a spark of panic.
“Listen, it’s okay if you don’t feel that way now.” My voice rose as I tried to convince him. “You just have to forget about it, and we can pretend that I never—” He uncrossed his arms and came for me with a determined expression on his face. Grabbing my hand, he pulled me along back out of the kitchen and into the corridor. When we got to his study, he hesitated with his other hand on the doorknob.
“Okay, I wasn’t going to show you this yet because you might think I’m a little crazy. It’s a bit… full on.”
“Full on? What do you—?” I gasped as he opened the door and pulled me inside. “This… what did you do?”
I blinked at the walls. Felix’s boring panelling had been replaced by floor-to-ceiling shelves. Two entire walls worth, full of books. I dropped Felix’s hand and glided forward to the nearest wall. My hand trailed over the spines of the books. The shelf I was touching was all epic fantasy, including everyTolkien ever written. My eyes scanned along the entire wall – complete with a small sliding ladder for the higher shelves – and fell on the far side of the room.
“Oh, Felix,” I breathed.
All the special edition book covers for my books were framed in between the shelves. But the most spectacular element was the huge map of Minora on the remaining wall, and how it linked to the other two kingdoms in my books. I moved over to it automatically, my eyes sweeping from the rich green of the forests to the bleaker desert landscapes bordered by mountain ranges. It was so detailed. And it filled theentire wall.
Felix’s large, heavy desk had had a makeover and was now positioned so that it had a view of the garden out of the vast picture window, the seat of which was piled with cushions of all colours. A new sofa was opposite the desk – big, squashy and a warm burnt orange colour. I felt my eyes sting.
