She shivered again, but this time, the weather had no bearing on the sensation. As they started a slow walk back to the house, she leaned into him and thought about what had happened between them. The sex had been amazing, but it had been about more than just the sex. It was his companionship. Protection. Patience. Gruffness. Point-blank and dead-end answers. Everything that made Blake who he was became a part of what made last night an amazing whole. Her life had always been sectioned, compartmentalized. Family in a box she rarely opened. Work was the box where she lived. Her personal life? Well, that box was on a shelf and dusty. She knew what was happening with Blake was probably temporary, but for the time it lasted, she would make memories to put into that box. She would stuff it so full that when he inevitably left her, she’d know what it was like to be cared for and have the memories to savor.
“What are you thinking so hard about?” Blake asked as they approached the house.
She turned to him and stopped walking. She didn’t want to have this conversation with Rook in earshot. “That since my mom and dad died, I haven’t felt … like anyone cared. I mean, Étienne was kind, but he had his life, and I had mine. My brotherhas his family. It’s nice to feel a deeper personal connection.” She dropped her head to his chest. “Please, please, please don’t freak out. I’m not saying I’m in love with you or trying to cage you or trap you. I just like the feeling that you care.”
She heard his chest rumble with laughter. “First, you couldn’t cage or trap me. Not possible for anyone to do. Second, if you told me you loved me, I’d question your sanity. I’m not an easy man to like, let alone love. Third, I’m not going to lie, I’m enjoying the connection, too. Not just the sex but being able to sit and talk or just sit and be.”
She popped her head up, causing him to jerk his head away so she wouldn’t whack his chin. She didn’t care; she was ecstatic. “Yes! You get it.”
“I do. Now, let’s get inside. We need to warm up and eat.” He wiggled his eyebrows up and down, leaving no doubt he wasn’t talking about breakfast.
She blinked and then caught the innuendo of his expression. She laughed and shook her head. “You really are incorrigible.”
A sexy as sin smile appeared as he growled, “One hundred and ten percent.”
Elise staredat the dwindling fire. The house was quiet, and Blake had left before dinner. Rook had declined a sandwich she’d made but had eaten a carton of cookies without a problem. His phobia of food was the weirdest one she’d ever heard of. When she got her computer back, she would dig into it. See if it was real or if Rook was just weird. She smiled at the fire. Blake would say the man was definitely weird, but the two of them had a history and a camaraderie that felt genuine.
She heard Rook walk in from outside and take off his jacket, hanging it on a hook by the door. He leaned carefully against the door jamb. “You should go to sleep. He won’t be back until closer to dawn.”
“And you know this how?” She looked up from the fire.
“I know what he’s doing, and I know the work that will go into it. I wouldn’t be back before dawn if I were doing what he’s doing.”
She turned so she was facing the man who was protecting her. He was wearing a handgun on his belt. His eyes were clear, and just like Blake’s, they were everywhere. Checking to ensure everything was as it should be.
She crossed her arms and tilted her head. Maybe she could get answers out of Rook. He seemed like he might have loose lips—well, looser than Blake’s. “And what exactly do you do, Rook? What is it the two of you do for Guardian?”
Rook’s smile was fast and genuine. “We make sure good people aren’t hurt.”
She nodded and smiled. “Well, that’s nice. But what does that entail?”
“Well, for starters …” He rubbed his chin and then tapped it with his index finger. “Not talking to reporters.” That smile of his turned wicked.
She could play this game. Actually, she was pretty damn good at it. “But we’re not on record, so there shouldn’t be a problem talking to me.”
He shook his head and laughed, “Is that an actual thing with reporters? Is anything ever off record?”
She lifted her right hand. “I swear with me, it is.” And she meant it.
Rook carefully crossed his arms over his chest, wincing just the slightest. “Then I’ll tell you the truth. He’s a good guy. One of the best, if not the best. Just like his father was before him, but …it’s nip and tuck now as to who is the best. His old man has been out of the field for some time, so Blake has my vote.”
“Teaching. His dad teaches what he used to do now.” She nodded, encouraging him to add more. Blake had told her that his mom was an emergency room doctor, and his dad taught Guardians.
“That’s right,” Rook said, glancing out the window. She waited, but it didn’t seem like he was going to add any more.
“What does he teach?” she asked as casually as she could.
Rook chuckled. “What we do.”
She groaned internally. The dead-end answers ran strong in whatever career field they were in. Damn it, she wasn’t going to get any answers from him either, was she? “Which is what exactly?” She may have asked a little sharper than she should have.
“Something you’ll have to figure out for yourself, reporter girl. I don’t think you have the clearance, and unless Guardian tells me to tell you, that’s something I won’t divulge, even if you kill me with that razor-sharp look you got going on there.”
“You’re both aggravating, you know that?”
“I do. It’s a personality trait they look for when they fill our positions.” He pointed to the fireplace. “I’ll bank the fire. You really should get some sleep. It didn’t sound like you two got much last night.” Rook’s shit-eating grin pulled a rush of heat to her cheeks.
“And with that, Iwillleave.” She got up, and he moved so she could pass.
