Sin & Spirit (Demigod of San Francisco #4)(84)

“It was disturbing, at best,” Bria said. “It was the first thing Kieran tore down.”

I exited the limo with numb feet. A flash made me flinch, a paparazzo standing next to a car across the way. I tried to play it cool as I walked around the car with my kids. We stopped on the walkway as the front door swung open.

Kieran stepped out, his tailored suit perfectly showing off his broad shoulders and powerful body. Nervousness fluttered through the soul link as he walked toward me, his eyes soft and deep.

“Hi, beautiful,” he said, sliding a hand around my waist. He pulled me closer. Everyone around us might not have been there for all he seemed to notice. He kissed me gently. “I was wondering…” He paused for a second, and I held my breath. Was he going to pop the question? Was this it? Was this forever? “Will you move in with me?”

He turned a little and looked back at the house. I slowly released a breath, and he looked back at me, eyes glimmering, as if he realized what I’d thought he would ask.

“You know that it was my dad’s, so it’s absolutely fine if you say no,” he went on, dropping his hand so he could clasp mine. “But I’ve changed it a lot. Had it completely redone.”

“Do we still get our own rooms?” Daisy asked, tilting her head back to look up at the third story.

Kieran smiled. He glanced at Daisy, but his focus came right back to me, his eyes intense and hopeful. “Of course. It now has seven bedrooms. There’s plenty of room for us and a few leftover rooms if someone wants to stay over.”

“Or is forced to stay,” Red murmured, watching the paparazzo snapping pictures across the street. “Hey, kid, why don’t you go sneak up behind that guy and break his camera?” She looked at Daisy. “Think you can do that with your broken arm?”

Daisy’s smug grin was short-lived. She looked at a straight-faced Mordecai. “I notice you didn’t pipe up to help.”

“She asked you, not me,” Mordecai said.

“She calls you kid, too. You just wanted me to run off so you could get the first pick of the rooms.”

“Yeah.” Mordecai crossed his arms across his chest. “So?”

Daisy took off running, but not toward the paparazzo.

Kieran’s smile spread. “So I guess that’s a yes.”

I laughed and let him lead me into the house. The interior was painted a modern gray and all the floors had been changed out to hardwood. No more white carpet. My smile stretched as I took in the beautiful chandeliers that fit the rooms just right, and the shabby chic furniture that apparently matched my whole look. It was perfect. It was all perfect.

“Did you take out the hidden passageways?” I asked, leaning against him.

“Of course not. Zorn is wondering how long it will take Daisy to find them, map them all out, and get grounded for whatever she gets up to in them.” He pulled me toward the wall at the corner of the sitting room, where I’d seen the ghost of the old butler on my last visit to this house. Kieran knelt beside the fireplace, stuck his finger in a groove, and popped open a little hatch to the side. The entryway was small, but even Kieran could get in if he stooped.

Light from the now-open doorway illuminated a slowly moving, furry white creature. On top of a furry black creature.

“Oh my God, what the hell? Harding, are you in there?” I gasped.

The cat kept at it. “Yup.”

“That’s… Dude, that’s not right.”

“It’s not me trying to procreate with this other cat. I’m just along for the ride. I think he’s a virgin, though, because he doesn’t seem to be figuring this out. Hole confusion, maybe.”

My mouth dropped open. “Why are you in there? Why is it in there?”

“Apparently this other cat is in heat, and someone must’ve missed it slipping in here when they were working on these tunnels. Your Demigod thinks of everything, Lexi, except chummy cats sneaking into his home. So my stallion of a cat meets this cat, and ba-da-bing. Here we are.”

I averted my eyes. “But why didn’t you leave the cat body? There’s no repellent up yet. You don’t need it.”

“I’m not gonna lie: I wanted to see how all this played out. When in Rome…”

“You’re not in Rome. You’re in a cat!”

“Right, well…when in cat.”

“Ugh!” Valens’s old butler stopped amid strolling through, peering into the passageway with disgust. “What is…” He gave Kieran a condescending look. “I wondered how you would change things, but allowing this?” His nose curled. “Times have certainly changed. It’s true what they say—youth ruins everything. What are you doing to my house?” He shook his head and resumed his slow walk out of the room.

I slammed the door shut and stared at a blank-faced Kieran. There were no words.

We moved away as a howl from the hidden passages made me grimace. “That is so gross,” I said, shivering.

“It’s nature.”

“Not when a human spirit is in on it. That guy is absolutely cracked!”

He led me to the back living room, and we came to a stop in front of the view that had stolen my breath the first time I’d seen it. Blue ocean, graced by fingers of light. The orange of the Golden Gate contrasted the surrounding gold and green hillsides.