Page 29 of Seven+Four

“The room is kept between 65 and 79 degrees Fahrenheit with good ventilation. A pet service will clean the room twice a week and rotate toys and hideaways every week to keep the environment stimulating,” he says.

The longer I’m with Uri, the deeper I fall in love with him.But how much more profound can the bitter-sweet fall be? Is there even a bottom? A maximum, an end to this love?

“This is…truly amazing. Thank you.”

Uri gives me a light nod, then bends down to remove the cloth from the cage. Albert E. is crumpled up in the corner, his pink body shaking, little nose sniffing the air.

“Hey, Albert E., Uncle Uri bought you a mansion, and we are so grateful to him, aren’t we?” I glance at Uri’s unimpressed face with a smile before returning my attention to my scared pet. “Want to come out and see? You’re going to love it.” I take the cage from his hands and set it in the center of the room. Then I lift the metal latch and open the small door.

“He’ll come out when he’s ready. He needs time to adjust to the new environment,” I tell Uri.

He leads me out of the room.

“What’s behind that door?” I ask him, pointing at the one on the right. It’s made of thick metal and there’s a panel near it.

“Your lab.”

I blink a couple of times at his words. “My what?”

Uri doesn’t reply as he’s already going through the biometric scan and retinal scanner to get into the room.

“These strict security protocols are in place to keep your research safe, only you and I can enter.”

When he opens the door, the pungent smell of acetone and ether invades my nostrils. This lab is huge. There are three long, slick workbenches where I can perform my experiments and a storage area already half filled with materials. Microscopes, centrifuges, spectrometers, incubators, and more instruments are lying on a polished counter near the left wall.Test tubes and shiny beakers of different sizes are lined up on top of metal trays. There’s even a desk with a brand-new laptop and some empty files ideal for data analysis, report writing, and other administrative tasks. But it’s the glass wall with a view of the forest that makes me realize Uri created my perfect lab. I’d described it to him whenI was still studying in college. I couldn’t have one exactly how I imagined at Bare-Stone Labs, not even at the base since I had to share my space with others—researchers or brothers.

But he remembered. Uri remembered, and made my dream come true—the IR spectrometer and the HPLC machine, the pale pink lab coat with my name on it hanging from the coat hanger, the cute, fuzzy slippers, the white board covering the entirety of one wall ready to be filled with my thoughts, even the mini fridge full of Lemon Squash soda cans.

“I got the safety features to protect you from potential hazards, the fume hoods, the biosafety cabinets, and even an emergency shower behind that door.” He gazes at the one on the right I didn’t even notice. “This remote controls the electrical shades that cover the whole glass wall.” He lifts it up and shows me which button slides them down and up. Then puts the remote down to grab another. “While this one controls the brightness of the lights all over the room.”

I can’t stand it anymore; I hook my hands behind his head and push my face against his soft sweater, giving him a tight hug. His sandalwood scent fills my lungs, and mixed with the sharp smell of the room, it must be what heaven must smell like. His arms wrap around me instantly, and I feel his lips land on the top of my head. It's too good; it starts a tingling sensation in my lower region. I don’t want to embarrass myself so I push against his hard pecs, and he lets me go—after a couple of long seconds.

The whirling emotions inside my chest are choking me. “I can’t believe… Thank you.” I raise my glassy eyes to his, attempting so hard at keeping the overwhelming tears back.

His expression doesn’t show anything, but his thumb moves to my cheek to scoop up a runaway tear. He stares at it for a moment with a deep frown on his face.

“Is there something wrong with the lab? Something you want to change?”

It’s easy to forget at times how difficult it is for Uri to recognize other people’s feelings since he’s so good at pretending.

I shake my head. “It’s perfect.”You are perfect.He really is to me.

Uri brings his thumb to his lips and sucks my tear away from the tip, making my guts twist with desire. How much I want to bite that tip and then be punished for it. Oh, God. How disgusted would Uri be if he could read my thoughts?

He guides me out of the room, and after grabbing my bags from the corridor, we move toward the stairs.

We pass two more doors. “This opens to the back porch where there’s a hot tub, and this is to the indoor pool,” he lets me know. Wow, this house has everything.

The second floor cream walls are covered in large pictures of the lake in different seasons. There’s two bedrooms, and a large, open room with a terrace facing the lake. Uri enters the first room, which has a closet—the biggest one I’ve ever seen.

The Baby Blue Eyes flowers on the door panels capture my gaze, making it watery again. It’s like he renovated this place with me in mind. Does this mean he wants me to live here…permanently? His overprotectiveness knows no bounds—I’m well aware of that. And even though I know this was not done out of love,the idea of living with Uri again fills me with so much joy and longing…and sadness.

“I love it,” I whisper; my words are filled with gratitude and appreciation as I brush my fingers over the delicately painted blue petals. Another tear falls down my cheek, but I wipe it off before Uri can do anything—if he touches me right now, I feel like I’d confess to him all my suppressed emotions.

I clear my voice. “Where’s the bed?” I ask him, gazing at the cute silver settee and the inviting chaise lounge.

“In the bedroom,” Uri states, while leaving the bags on the floor. “This is the walk-in closet; the bed is this way.” He signals me to follow him. Oh, but that means there’s only one bedroom, unless there’s more in another part of the house.

The room next door has one violet-blue wall, a large chest of drawers, a cute love seat, huge French windows opening onto a wide balcony—he knows I don’t like confined spaces after being trapped in that cell all those years—an ensuite bathroom, and a huge king bed. Particles of Uri’s rich smell are floating in the air. I can see a pair of his jeans draped over the back of the love seat and some of his earrings on the nightstand on the left side of the bed.

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