Chapter 55: Familiar Rooms 2
- RAYA -
Dex carries all the boxes up to the loft with a permanent smirk on his face, I swear. Meanwhile, I’m feeling guilty about the choice that has forced him to climb those stairs over and over. Not that he isn’t in perfect physical condition. He probably runs stadium bleachers for fun.
"You even brought the plants," I say, resigned to my place on the first floor. I would totally help him, but I’m a little afraid to bump into him or end up cornered in a small space. Who knows what my body will do? I might lose control of it.
"We don’t want to leave any living things behind," he replies, winking at me when he grabs the final stack and making my cheeks flush an intense shade of pink, I’m sure. "And don’t say thank you," he calls down from the loft. "It’s no longer allowed."
"I’m not allowed to say thank you?" I chuckle, crossing my arms and making myself wince when I brush against the bandage on my side.
"That’s right. That’s the one rule of living here." He jogs back down, arriving in front of me. A section of hair has fallen over his eyes, and it’s honestly like gravity itself is a paid actor in every movement that Dex Mobius makes. He is flawless. There is no way the man even has morning breath—I’m certain of it. "Want to go get Moira Rose?"
"Oh," I bite my lip and look back up at the loft, which has no door in which to enclose her so as to keep her from wreaking havoc on the furniture in every room. "In hindsight, the loft may have been a poor choice."
"I guess she’s staying in my room," he shrugs with a crooked smile and walks back to the door. "But you can at least come say hello."
When we walk around the side of the guest house, a pool and gorgeous garden come into view, as does the stunning back of the Mobius house. There’s a little walkway that bypasses the pool altogether and flows through the beautiful plants and flowers and almost makes it seem like a miniature wilderness.
"My mother loved this garden," Dex says at my side.
"It’s beautiful. I was just admiring it."
"The gardener has done well. We never had gardeners before," he says with a small smile. "She took care of it herself."
"What a beautiful reminder of her," I say quietly.
The main house is stunning and spacious inside, and every doorway is arched.
"Both houses remind me of Italy," I tell him as we’re walking through the much larger kitchen and apparently toward his room.
"My mom’s family is Sicilian. Father built it for her, and the guest house was so that relatives would have a place to stay when they visited."
"Wow. That’s lovely."
It’s obvious that Dex and his father loved his mother very much. I imagine it would be difficult for him to be back here, especially now with his father sick. If that is the case, then I’m glad Dex has Moira Rose to keep him company in his room.
We arrive at the bedroom door. When Dex opens it, the interior is very large and spacious just like the rest of the house. Moira immediately meows and trots over to us, and I bend to pick her up, grunting a little in pain when I do it too quickly.
"Are you okay?" Dex asks, his brows pinched once again.
"If I’m not allowed to say thank you, then you’re not allowed to ask if I’m okay." I cradle Moira like a baby and rub her fluffy belly and behind her ears while she purrs in my arms.
"Not saying thank you is a house rule," he chuckles, taking a step closer and rubbing Moira once behind the ears as well. He’s always moving closer, and every time he does, I feel a renewed rush of warmth flood every inch of my body.
"Not asking if I’m okay is a Raya rule," I smirk back in reply.
"A Raya rule?"
"Yep." I let Moira down when she starts to wiggle.
"I see. Are there any other Raya rules I should know about?" He smirks in return.
I bite my lip and avoid his eyes, gaze wandering over his room as I think about the question. "None that I can think of."
My stomach dips when I notice the doorway to his bathroom, and before I know it, I’m walking that way... following my feet once again like I’ve just awoken in a dream and know exactly where I’m going. There’s an open, standing shower with tiled floors and a rainfall shower head over the top.
I stare at it, swallowing roughly. I’ve been here, too. Just last night.
Once again, Dex arrives behind me, staring over my shoulder. How is this happening?
This time, I don’t dwell on it. I’m just going to accept the exceedingly startling fact that dreams and reality have now become impossibly interwoven.
But when I turn to go back into the bedroom, Dex is blocking my way, and he doesn’t move. My head only reaches to his shoulder, so I’m effectively staring at his chest until I look up and see him gazing at me... again with that slight smolder that shoots like lightning straight through my center.
My lungs are trembling when the only thing that I truly need to do in this moment is breathe, but even that is shaky.
Nothing has to be said. Now that our eyes have fallen on the same places and had the same reactions, it’s like I know that he knows—just simply with the silence and the smolder and the air that now feels electrically charged and suddenly very, very hard to breathe.
It was truly him last night in that dream, just as I thought it was. And now he knows that it was truly me.
"You look scared," he breathes, finally taking a step back and wetting his lips.
Dex has the most beautiful lips I have ever seen on a man. The bottom one is full and the top has a curve that I’ve run my tongue over more than once. And now I find myself biting my own bottom lip at the memories and his eyes dropping to watch.
"A lot of scary things have happened," I say vaguely, still having to focus on my jagged breathing. "But you’re not one of them. You have done so much for me, and I barely know you. And I’m not going to say thank you," I add before he can stop me, "but I am going to say... you have a beautiful home. And there are beautiful memories here." I smile softly, my cheeks burning with the intentional double meaning. "And I’m grateful for everything, Dex."
