“Money. What’s that? These women are nickel and diming me to death. I give them a ready built house to move into. All they have to do is pick pain..., decorations, and furniture. Is that good enough? Noooo, They have to have a large stone fireplace with a ginormous wood mantle. Plus, they’re talking about adding another room or two.”“Huh, you ain’t seen nothing yet,” Ben said. “Remember that tantrum your mom threw when you told her about Carly?”“Yeah.”“It cost me $8,000 in dinnerware. One year. " she asked and then hesitated as she searched for the right words, " ... erupting too soon with the excitement of this new experience?"It was a statement more than a question. He was relieved that she understood his struggle. He uttered a gasped "yes"; an answer that Richard knew that she had already predicted.She raised up on her toes, leaned into him, her lips brushing his earlobe. He felt the velour halter on the bare skin of his chest. She whispered to him, "I will tell you how to avoid. Climbing all those stairs had been a serious effort and she had worked a sheen of perspiration. She had opened the two first buttons of her white, sleeveless shirt to get some freshness, and her cleavage was clearly visible. Her long, slender legs were mostly naked as she was only wearing blue-jeans shorts and leather-strap sandals."Whom your heart does belong to? It would make no difference, it would be ripped out by the high priest as part of the spring ceremony," he teased, grabbing her. For the first time, she wasn’t concerned to learn he was missing, though. Jack, new Jack, cursed Jack, was as strong as the elders if he let loose, from what Damien told her. He might throw the Masquerade to the wind, but no one was killing that kid without napalm or a nuke.The concern, when it came to Jack, was what would happen if he went rogue and decided to do whatever the fuck he wanted. He’d be another Viktor or Tony, except worse.But, for tonight, she had a different concern.“Noah and.