He put his hands in his pockets and strutted past me.“Lucian.”
“What?”I hurried after him when he walked briskly down my bedroom hall.
“Mr.Cross is what they call my oldest brother.I go by Lucian.”
“Old habits are hard to break.”My jaw slackened when he barged right into my messy bedroom.“Wait!You can’t go in there.”
My blankets were disheveled, drawers open, and jewelry scattered about.
I snatched my satin bonnet off the chair and hid it behind my back.
He stood before the high window and examined the frame.“How many bedrooms do you have?”
“Three.”My eyes widened in horror at the vibrator on my bedside table to the right.While he had his back turned, I shoved my sex toy under my pillow along with my bonnet.
Lucian turned on his heel and was out of the room lickety-split.The next thing I knew, he was in my bathroom, which thankfully was kept clean for unexpected guests.After inspecting the secondary rooms, he returned to the kitchen and entered the garage.
My face flushed as we stood in the stagnant air.
Lucian leaned against my car and put his hands in his pockets again.“How secure are we talking?Can’t break through windows or can’t break through walls?”
I glanced up at a crack in the ceiling.“Well, I’m not rebuilding my house.Let’s focus on windows and doors.”
“Doable.”
“I was thinking of replacing the windows with shatterproof glass.”
“Shatterproof is a myth when it comes to Vampires.Polycarbonate is better, but you’ll want steel shutters.Does the basement have a door, hatch, or windows?Anything leading to the outside?”
“No.”
“What’s the attic situation?”
“I’ve never crawled up there.”
He scratched his head.“If you have money to spend, you can build an underground escape route connected to your garage.The floor will lower your car into an underground chamber where you can drive out of here through a tunnel.As long as the exit is somewhere on your property line, you won’t have to worry about special permission from the Council, but I guess you already know that.Securing windows will only keep them at bay for so long.”
“That’s reassuring.Let’s go back inside before we melt.”
Once inside the cool house, I poured two glasses of sweet tea with a slice of lemon.While I gulped down the refreshing beverage, which instantly cooled me off, Lucian kept staring at my legs.Each time our eyes met, he averted his gaze.
It’s my outfit.This isn’t the professional leader he’s used to seeing out in public.Well, he’s already seen me looking like a ragamuffin.There’s no point in changing my clothes now.
“What’s all this security for?”He set down his glass.
“My roommate wants to stay upstairs while I’m at work, and I don’t feel safe leaving them alone during the day.”
“Why not?”
I held the icy glass against my neck, rivulets of condensation rolling down my chest and into my tank top.“A little over a year ago, I arrested a Shifter on abuse charges.He was a rogue, so the only person who could bail him out was his brother, who didn’t have the money.His brother paid me a visit one afternoon at my home.He thought I was in here and wanted to force his way in to teach me a lesson.”
Lucian growled deep in his chest.
“I wasn’t here, but my roommate was.Since then, he’s been sleeping in the basement.”
He stood there for a beat, eyes locked on mine.“Your roommate is a male?”
“I’ll introduce you.”After setting down my glass, I cut through the living room and opened the back door.“Dad, I want you to meet someone.This is Lucian Cross.He belongs to the Arrowhead pack—the one whose baby shower I attended.”
