Emerald: Rare Gems Series - Billionaire Wolf Shapeshifter Romance by Kathi S. Barton

drove through them, she looked at him but said nothing. He’d reminded her again that she had to listen to him first before getting upset. The moment the house came into view, however, he knew that not only did she love it, but he felt as if he were home.
    “The owners have gone out for the evening,” Mrs. Donald told him in way of greeting. “They have said if you have any questions, we can call them, but they wanted you to see it as if it were yours. The staff, if you would like, have said that they would stay on if you want them to.”
    “Staff?” He winked at Em when she sounded panicky. “I know that I’m not supposed to say anything, but this house is monstrous. You can see that, right?”
    “Yes.” He kissed her mouth. “Keep an open mind and we’ll look the house over. Then at the end you can tell me what you don’t like about it.”
    She looked like she might hit him, but she turned and walked up the steps. Jul stood watching her until the realtor cleared her throat. Then Jul moved up the stairs as well and entered what he knew was going to be his first home.
    The house was perfect. The furniture matched each room as if it had been designed with the room in mind, which Jul thought it had. The kitchen was as he had imagined it being, large and open, white tile, with every kind of equipment needed to serve a houseful. He did have a thought about the vampires living there, but was told without asking that they entertained a great deal. The cook in the kitchen told him that she’d be available to stay if he should want her to.
    The dining room was massive but could be made into something for a smaller group with the closing of a few doors, the butler told him. There was china in all the wall units that looked like it was seasonal, and Jul watched as Em walked around to each of them with her hands behind her back. Jul thought about having his mom and Em’s family over at Christmas time and smiled.
    As they were led up to the third and fourth floors, he watched Em as she touched things here and there, straightened a pillow that had looked good to him, and smiled a great deal. They were in the master bedroom, a place he could have put his entire winery in, when he finally asked her what she thought.
    “You know what I think. I love this place.” She turned from looking out over the pool at him. “Why are we looking at this? You’re not thinking of buying it, are you?”
    “I am going to buy it.” She turned and looked out the window. “I won’t if you don’t want me to. But I can tell that you love this place. So do I. And I can see us having our families here for holidays, the pool in the back filled with everyone while we have a big dinner out of doors. And there is enough land for you to run on as well. Lots of it.”
    “I’m not used to the kind of wealth you have.” He understood that. Jul had grown up with lots of money and the things it brought to his life. But he could also see what a person on the outside might think of his kind of rich. “You are very rich, aren’t you?”
    “Very.” He didn’t know what to say to her when she was quiet like this. “Em, I’m not sure if you believe me right now, but I want to share this with you. I would love to live here with you, and have babies, our babies, grow up here. I know you like this place. I can see it in your face, but if it’s too much, we can look more.”
    “I love this place, like you said, but….” She turned again, this time wrapping her arms around his neck. “This is so fast. How long have we known each other? A week? Ten days? Don’t you think this is sort of scary fast?”
    He loved her. Just in that moment, Jul knew that he was in love with her, and the amount of time they’d known each other mattered little. Christ, he was in love with Emerald Erickson. Going down on one knee, he held her hand. When she struggled just a little, he kissed the back of her wrist and looked up at her.
    “I have no ring to give you. But