Lustful Hearts
Chapter 97: Nо Plасе Lіkе Home- P2

My eyes widened and I bit my lip, thinking back to all those times when I was filled with rejection. All those pieces were beginning to take shape, and now I looked like a complete fool for ever thinking them. "You've barely spent any time with me, I thought I was a burden that you'd grown tired of, that you no longer. . ." I couldn't say the rest, the words were too hard to think, never mind say.

"Hey," he soothed, drawing me in close so I was enveloped in his arms.

"That's never going to happen. I don't function without you, you're the reason I breathe, the reason my heart takes each and every beat. I love you with every fibre of my body, you're my whole world, and I don' want to exist in one where I can't be with you."

"Wow," I whispered.

He truly does love me.

"So you finally get it?"

"Well you can be pretty persuasive, your sweet words almost had me swooning."

"It's a good job that I'm here to catch you." He winked, and I giggled as he manoeuvred me so I was pressed tight against him. "You, me, forever, remember?"

I sighed against his lips. "Yes, forever sounds good to me."

"So let me show you around our new home."

I squealed with excitement. Could this really be happening?

He leaned in opening the fancy, rich, black iron gate with all its curves and flicks, it reminded me of something more Victorian.

It was mightily impressive and a massive improvement on the half-battered gate, that had been barely dropping to pieces. "After you, madam.”

I grinned when he bowed down in a gentlemanly manner. He really was too cute. He closely followed me behind, pulling me into him. I gazed on in amazement at the beauty of the garden. There were fresh pots of flowers in all the colours I could ever imagine dotted along the path. The lawn that was almost jungle like was trimmed short in various lengths to give it a striped finish. "What are you thinking?" he asked, leaning around to kiss my cheek.

"It's beautiful," I whispered. It truly was.

"We've had a new door fitted and windows."

My eyes snapped up to see a shiny, new black front door. It was Victorian in style, very in-keeping with the gate. The brass door handle and knocker only complimented the rich, stark colour. The windows were sparkling new in comparison to the ones I had been faced with only months earlier. The whole house had been given a whole new facelift.

But how?

How could he affords this?

I spun around in confusion, Joel's eyes stared deep into mine. Watching as my brain continued to process it all. He smiled like he could almost see the cogs turning inside my head, trying to work it all out. "It was your dad who paid for all this," he simply said, while I still continued to do my best goldfish act.

"My dad?" I asked confused.

"He wanted to make up for all that lost time. I told him the house was mine, that it was in need of serious repair and that I just wanted to give you the home you deserved."

"But you know I'd live in a cardboard box if it meant being with you, I don't need all the add-ons."

"I know and I love you more for that, but I wanted to give you a home that you could be proud of. Your dad stepped up and I told him no, that I wanted to be the one to provide for you. But the look he gave me, knew in my heart it was the right thing to do, that it was like a healing process for him to make up for all those lost years. He's still heartbroken, but doing this for you has helped to mend those pieces, he only wants your happiness."

"I'm speechless." I truly was for the first time ever.

Joel nuzzled into my neck, lightly biting my skin causing me to shiver. "Do you want to see inside?"

"Of course." I grinned. He slung his arm over me, guiding me up the path as excitement bubbled through every pore.

Was this really happening?

"Close your eyes, Iz." He laughed when I rolled my own. "Just do it, baby, for me." He pouted slightly and a wave of heat ran through me, god, those lips would be my total undoing.

I took a deep breath and became surrounded by darkness. Joel brushed up against me, and I heard the turn of the lock.

He motioned me forward through the door. Once inside my head was filled with a beautiful vanilla scent. I smiled at the fact he always remembered the little things I loved.

His lips brushed up against my hair and his arms encircled me, drawing me back into him. "Open," he whispered.

My eyes fluttered open faced with a room decorated exactly to my taste. Everything down to the finest detail was perfect. "But how?" I asked perplexed by the fact someone had managed to achieve something so accurate without my knowledge.

"Elijah." Joel chuckled.

Who else?

"Do you remember the day he came and pestered you about colour schemes and furniture layouts? Well, he was pretending it was for his flat so he could secretly get you to unknowingly reveal everything without giving the game away."

Wow. "That boy is good." Too good, but I loved him even more for his brilliant sneaky act.

"Oh yeah, we definitely want to keep him on side, he'd make a great spy."

"So what do you think?" There was hesitation in his voice, but he didn't need to worry, I was pretty much overwhelmed by it all.

My eyes scanned the room taking it all in, from the red painted walls that were the ideal shade, to the rich, black leather sofa's that looked perfect for hours of snuggling. The highly polished dark wooden floors were a dramatic improvement from the ingrained carpet that had been there before.

The walls that had always stood bare were now filled with black and white prints of our time together. Joel's trophies were now proudly out on display, and there stood in the corner was a large, dark wooden bookcase, which now housed all my favourite books.

I spun around grabbing Joel's face and kissed every inch before my mouth found his. He soon kissed me back with so much emotion before finally breaking free. "How did you replace time to do this without me knowing?"

He smiled and a flash of guilt crossed his face. "I kind of lied when I said I was doing extra shifts, in fact I took a week off so we could really get stuck in. Elijah, Sam, Mike and your dad mainly helped, but I did rally some of the guys from football to come and paint.

Your dad has been brilliant. I said I wanted to pay for some things but he told me no, he said the greatest way he could ever repay him would be to take care of his beautiful daughter." Tears filled my eyes, I couldn't believe the love that filled the room. It was everything I ever hoped for to have Joel and my dad in my life.

"Hey, I hope those are happy tears?" His face scrunched with concern, but I didn't provide him with an answer, instantly crashing my lips against his, telling him over and over how much I loved him between kisses.

Joel guided me through the rest of the house to reveal each room had the ideal colour scheme and furnishings. I couldn't have planned it better if I'd done it myself.

When we got to the last room in the house Joel smiled. "Are you ready to see our room?"

I nodded staying silent, slightly hesitant in case Elijah had gone wild, after all his sex talk I hoped he'd kept it reasonably to my taste.

Joel pushed open the door, and my breath hitched as I took in the beautiful surroundings. The walls were painted in a rich, deep purple, adorned with black and white pictures of Joel and I in various poses. They were shots that had been taken over the last summer and magnified so they only revealed certain angles of the photograph. They were very art-like, and I knew Elijah was behind it all, he was just unbelievable.

Then my eyes focused on the bed with a silver headboard, entwined around the metal were flowers and butterflies, almost identical to the frame that resided by my bed.

It was perfect, and my eyes filled with tears at the thought of how much effort Elijah had put in to make this my dream home.☐☐☐