Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 147967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 740(@200wpm)___ 592(@250wpm)___ 493(@300wpm)
“We are going to live here,” he told her firmly.
“We?” she whispered. “But I have my house.”
He undid both of their belts and then grasped hold of her chin, turning her face to his. “You’re not moving back into your house. We’ll get the insurance, fix it up, and sell it. This house is temporary while we find a house for us together. But I’m not living apart from you. Understand?”
“Yes.”
“I’m not asking, I’m telling. You’re mine. I’m yours. We live together. End of story.”
“In case you didn’t realize it, I’m not arguing,” she told him.
“Good. Because you wouldn’t win.”
She had to roll her eyes at him.
“And just to make things really clear before we go in there. You are my woman. I rented that place. That means I pay for the rent. I pay for the utilities. I pay for the insurance. I pay for the gas that goes in both of our cars and all of the upkeep of those vehicles. You, as my woman, pay for none of that.”
“But . . . but . . .” she spluttered over her words. “I need to help pay for some of it. Once I get a job, that is.”
“Are you my woman?” he asked.
“Yes, you know I am, but—”
“No buts. That’s what is happening. Once you get a job, you can pay for things you need like clothes.”
She frowned at him. “I’ll pay for food, anything relating to the animals, and the gas and upkeep for my own car.” Lord knew she couldn’t afford any costs relating to his car.
“You can buy extra food when and if it’s needed. But I’ll pay for the main grocery shop.”
“This is . . . relationships don’t work like this.”
“Ours does,” he said simply. “I take care of my woman. And her animals, although we can split the bills for the animals.”
“How magnanimous of you,” she said dryly.
“I could change my mind and pay for everything relating to the animals.”
“No, no, no! No more. It’s just . . . this is very caveman of you.”
“It is, isn’t it?” he mused. “Strange, I never thought I’d be like this in a relationship.”
“What? Bossy and arrogant?”
He just grinned. “Pretty much. I looked at Ink and his friends and thought they were too wrapped up in their women. Too controlling and protective. Now, I understand why.”
“Why?” she asked, feeling breathless at the look of heat in his face.
“Because their women are their worlds. Just like my woman is my world. And I never want to be without her.”
“I never want to be without you either.”
Placing his hand on the back of her neck, he leaned in and kissed her.
God. He was a good kisser. When he drew back, she had to work hard to unscramble her brain. When she did, she caught onto a thought.
“But there’s no point in paying rent when we could live at my place.”
“That place isn’t fit for you or your babies. This place is safer. It’s in a better neighborhood. It has central air and a fully fenced yard.”
“Does the landlord know about my animals?”
“Yep. She’s fine with it. She’s a big animal lover.”
She glanced around. “Wait, you said the chickens were here already?”
“And Marshmallow,” he told her.
“Then let’s go see them!”
The insurance assessor left and Maya turned to Matthieu. “Sounds like that’s going to take a while, but at least they’re going to pay out.”
Matthieu nodded and glanced around her fire-damaged house. “Hopefully it won’t take much to fix it up.”
“What do you think about renting it out? It can be hard to get a rental with pets. I could rent it to people with animals who need a bit of a break. And that would mean some income for me.” And she could use that considering she didn’t have a job. That was something she intended to start tomorrow. A job hunt.
Sucked. But at least she wasn’t in as bad a spot as she’d thought. The house Matthieu had rented was really nice. It was warm and everything worked. Plus, the backyard felt much safer for everyone.
He nodded. “That’s a good idea, Bébé.”
“I won’t have that money coming in for a while, though, so I need to go job hunting tomorrow.”
“There’s no rush.”
Right. Because he intended to pay for everything. She still couldn’t believe that decree. But she’d decided not to argue. She never seemed to win any arguments.
It was rude, really.
“I never get to win any arguments,” she told him.
He smiled at her. “Poor Bébé. Want to win the argument over where to get dinner from on the way home?”
“Is it time for dinner?” She glanced out the window, shocked to see it was growing dark.
Wow. How had it gotten so late? They must have talked to that assessor for a while.
“All right, I want Thai.”
“Nope, we’re having burgers,” he said.