Chapter 6

"I didn't know movers were this…efficient." Looking around the den of the new house, not only was the furniture placed but there were little things on the shelves, paintings on the walls and…just things everywhere. She chuckled softly and told me she hired an interior decorator to "breeze through and set the accents up". She's a lot better at multi-tasking than I thought. I wasn't aware that she passed on the information of the stores that we bought the furniture from for the woman to look at before she did her job.

My girl didn't like doing tedious things…like moving and even hated it enough to have it done while she was gone. Apparently to date, there are two Pods filled with her possessions sitting outside of the last house she bought in California. When I asked why she didn't just have one of those moved here instead of buying new stuff, she shrugged her shoulders and said it left here not long ago and probably doesn't want to come back. I guess her furniture holds a grudge too, and she was damn cute when she laid that excuse on me.

"How many houses do you have?" I asked while we checked out the master bedroom.

"Including this one? Three, no, four. Two in Texas, the one in Cali and now this one. I sold one to Jay that day I went to the title company," she rambled while she wandered into the master bathroom. I didn't know if it was stepping over a line, but I asked where she got her money from and without skipping a beat, she said, "I gamble. Cards, football, basketball, soccer. The money I make from the E, 5-O, Haven and the bands is pocket change." No shit? I guess she really doesn't need photography to make a living. She is just full of surprises.

We unpacked some personal things, and I used the time to ask random questions, just wanting to learn as much about her as I could. I asked things like how her relationships stood with Shawn and Steve to which she answered "as long as they never wrestle again, they'll remain strong." I know she knew my cousin. He had mentioned her before, but I was curious (okay, jealous childhood rivalries were screaming for an answer) how she felt about him. She said "disappointed" which confused me until she explained that "he got out, escaped the business intact, made a better life for himself, retook his name and then came back." She didn't like it. It offended her. 'Interesting.'

She showed me the two guest rooms that she was going to gut to convert into an office and a collectibles room. Knowing that she's a bit of a nerd makes her so much sexier. How that is possible, I have no clue but it is.

Checking out the pantry and fridge, we found them stocked to their capacity. She had a nasty argument with Stephen about his announced strap match at Extreme Rules, and he's working the Irish charm to get back in her favor by filling the house with food. I always knew the man was smooth.

It was way past time to kiss her again, and when she walked by me, trailing her hand across my chest, I grabbed her bicep and pulled her back to me. By the time we opened our eyes, I had backed her up against the kitchen table. We were both laboring for breath, and the bedroom was so far away. My eyes darted back to the table before snapping back to hers.

"I think it's high time we started breaking in some rooms and furniture in this place, don't you?"

There wasn't a single spot in the kitchen we didn't christen. Our passion kept us going at it until neither of us could move, but no one would ever hear me complain about it. When I could finally muster up the energy to stand, I held a hand out to help my beauty off the floor. She told me to leave her behind, go and save myself before she giggled like a teen. She couldn't be more adorable if she tried. I was still laughing when I carried her into the master bathroom so that we could clean up for the airing of Smackdown.

We managed to break in the shower too before making our way downstairs to the couch. More furious typing on her keyboard during the show, more laughs while chatting to her fellow QoE (That stands for Queens of Evil. There are three of them and their friends fear them) and more sultry glances aimed in my direction, and I reached that point where I needed her again. I didn't even give her a chance to power down her laptop.

Encasing her ribcage between my hands, I brought her to me until she was facing me, straddling my waist. Taking her mouth in another penetrating kiss, I slid my hands under her ass and took my feet. Her legs automatically wrapped around my waist while I marched us up the stairs.

Walking into our bedroom, I forced myself to part from her lips before I let her slide down my body to stand before me. "Take off your clothes, baby," I whispered in gruff tone. "No," I took her shoulders when she went to move to the bathroom.

My beauty carried a deep-seated vulnerability within her. She wasn't comfortable in the nude and was downright terrified of stripping bare in front of anyone. Every encounter of ours so far, she had either changed in the bathroom first or clothes were hurriedly removed (okay, some were ripped off) while lost in a kiss. This time I wanted her to know it was okay to bare herself to me in every way. No distracting me with kisses or hiding in the dark or spiriting away to the bathroom, not this time.

"Take off your clothes, baby," I said in a soothing tone while cupping her cheek in my palm. "It's okay, I've got you," I reassured her with my heart shining in my eyes. She held my eyes while she lowered her shorts and stepped out of them. I know from our short time together that her hang-up with nudity wasn't from the waist down, considering she would wear just a long tank around the house, but with her top. She had magnificent breasts so that particular fear confused me. I could only hope to get her to tell me, but for now, I watched trembling hands lift her shirt over her head, her hair spilling loose around her shoulders and down her back while she dropped the garment to the floor.

"Come here, beautiful," I stepped forward a foot just as she did, taking her small waist in my hands and lifting her slight weight up until she sat on my shoulders…facing me. Taking another few steps forward to back her into the wall, I let myself feast from her body again.

I was swiftly reaching a point where I was going to have to make a trip home to pick up some clothes or buy more. I had left a few things behind in Barrington and had an urge to hang up a few things in the closet here. Childishly staking a claim to my territory or just wanting some of my things in her space, always around her? I couldn't say but there it was. I had my laundry going downstairs, washing what I had left to prepare for our flight tomorrow while my baby watched movies in the den.

She wandered into the bedroom when I finally gave in to the urge to hang up said items, and I couldn't help feeling like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "Is this okay?" She just smiled and nodded her head before returning to her movies. I was making headway with those doors!

During another break in her movie day, she wandered back into our bedroom, and I could feel the nervous tension rolling off of her in waves. "What is it, baby?" She told me that she had no intention of sleeping with anyone else, that I didn't need to leave things behind to mark my territory or take all those unnecessary trips to Nova Scotia and wear myself out, that she would return to me.

I told her it was a relief to hear that she had no intentions of sleeping with anyone else and neither did I, but she interrupted me by quickly saying that she didn't say that to push me into saying it too (she was so nervous that she took a step back for every one of mine towards her), but it would be nice to know ahead of time if we weren't exclusive, so that she wasn't taken by surprise when she saw it on the net. (Damn Adam and Punk to hell for the insecurities they instilled within her!) She went on to say that she just wanted to let me know all of that because the extra flight to and from Barrington was a lot on top of my already busy schedule.

I quickly closed the distance between us and tipped her chin to force her eyes to mine so that she could see the truth. I wasn't planting flags on my claimed territory. The fact that I was a constant presence at her side meant that I wanted to be there and nowhere else. "And baby, listen to me here, I don't plan on sleeping with anyone else when I have everything I could possibly want right in front of me. Okay?" She nodded her head, seeming to calm a bit. "And thank you for worrying about me but I can rest just fine at the house in Barrington, curled up with you in my arms." I kissed her forehead and pulled her into a hug, feeling the rest of her tension leave her. "You are adorable when you ramble," I couldn't help but laugh a bit before I turned her around, swatted her on the ass and told her to go finish watching her movie.

My laundry done, I headed downstairs and sat beside her on the couch just in time for the end of We Were Soldiers. I told you she was unique, one of a kind. She broke down into tears by the end of the show, and it wasn't the first time I've seen her do it but this time I couldn't resist commenting on it.

I collected more of her liquid sadness on my fingertips, absorbing her into my skin again while I studied her eyes. "You're a lot softer than you allow the others to think you are." She said she had shown it to a few people, and aside from Stephen, Jay, Chris and Jeff, everyone else had used it against her. "They weren't the right men and I'm honored that I get this part of you, that it is just mine. You intimidate a lot of people on the job to this very day but here, in private, I get this and I like it," I wiped her tears from her face and placed a gentle kiss on those lips that I loved.

The next morning we were on a plane to Saint Louis for Extreme Rules. My beauty put a splitter on her MP3, and we both were plugged in, listening to Stevie Ray Vaughn. Jammed up against the armrest that separated our seats, my girl still managed to snuggle into my side while chillin to her jams, and I couldn't stop the grin that everyone could see us. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught SuperCena shooting me a nasty look, so I looked right at him and mouthed Stevie's lyrics "she's my pride and joy, she's my sweet little baby, I'm her little lover boy." I grinned, he scowled and the big Irishman tried to hide his laugh after witnessing the whole exchange.

She told me in the locker room that she was proud of me, to be careful and she'd see me out there. As usual, I looked for her when Colby and I came down the arena stairs and there she was, peeking over the apron. My first championship match since being called up, and I found my eyes wandering to hers more times than I could count.

She was there, working for me even though I never contracted her. It makes a guy feel special when our elite photographer makes a charity case out of you and takes your photos for free. I had connections! That connection was now yelling those threats at my opponents instead of me and was trying to make me break character and laugh. I'm really going to have to put that girl over my knee someday. She stared at me proudly as I hoisted my belt in the air, and nothing could keep my eyes from holding her gaze. However, her eyes kept darting between mine and the belt in my hand, and I had no idea what the accompanying look meant until later in our suite.

"You want me to what?" I'm not a big blusher, but this woman has pulled many hidden things to the surface.

"I want you to wear the belt." She was lying on her stomach with her head propped up in her palms, her legs crossed at the ankle up in the air. "Consider it a loincloth for my barbarian," she smirked with a predatory gleam in her eyes.

I don't often turn over the dominant role to my lovely submissive, but I was willing to let her have her fantasy. Besides, she did call me her barbarian, and once I was dressed to the role, I took on that persona with my animal in charge. I even put her over my knee.

So fast forward another two days, and we're back in Barrington with Colby along this trip due to a nasty break-up with his girl. We had a nice day out on the beach with the cast and crew before weather forced us indoors. I spent a wonderful birthday with my lady doing most of my favorite things, and she had a great present waiting for me at home. I wanted to do something special for my beauty first, and the telling of our story is what I came up with.

I have an uncanny ability to remember exact details of every key moment in my life, and she owns a lot of those keys now. And me, well, I find I have one more door left that I've been quietly knocking on for a while. I'm just waiting for her to open it and let me in.

A/N: As most know, there is a sequel to this story that has been complete for a long time. However, I plan to rework it to remove/add some things before I repost it. Please don't ask when it is coming. It is last in line after my incomplete Ambrose fics, and possibly after the Baron Corbin fic I've been writing for a bit but have yet to post. This fic can very well standalone as it is but I like most of the things I wrote in the sequel so I'll get to it eventually. Peace out, peeps!