“All right,” she murmured, forcing herself to look up at him again. “There’s a studio apartment with its own bathroom in the attic.” She gestured to the back stairwell, accessible through the kitchen. “My mom used to rent the room out from time to time. You can stay up there.”
He gave her a slight nod. “That will suffice. Thank you.”
She took another step away from him, pulling the edges of her robe a little tighter around her. “And Knox, while you’re here . . . stay away from Riley. He’s a sweet little boy who thinks everyone is a friend. I don’t want you making him promises you have no intention of keeping.”
CHAPTER 10
Knox tightened the final screw on the window in the living room and tested the new lock’s hold. Rock solid, as secure as it could be. Just like the near dozen others he’d installed and the pair of deadbolts now gleaming on the front and back doors of Leni’s old house.
He had spent the better part of the day securing the place. All morning, heavy, low-lying gray clouds had hung in the winter sky, blotting out the worst of the sun’s rays as he worked inside on the locks. The tall pine forest hemming in the old house on all sides provided ample shade for the few minutes in the afternoon when he’d been forced to step out into the daylight to complete his tasks.
As a Gen One, his Breed skin could only endure about ten minutes of ultraviolet exposure before it started to singe and burn away. He would have preferred to work at night, but even the risk of UV burns was preferable to hours of idle time.
And he’d damn well needed to keep himself busy after his conversation with Leni that morning.
Seeing her come downstairs looking bed-rumpled and vulnerable had hit his senses more powerfully than if she had prowled into the kitchen wearing nothing but skimpy lingerie. Not that he wanted to be picturing her like that, either.
His mouth watered at the mere idea. His cock was equally enthusiastic, pushing against the zipper of his jeans. He’d been half-hard most of the day, his body responding every time he glimpsed Leni outside in the yard with her nephew or walking through the house doing her best to pretend she didn’t know, or care, that he was there.
He’d pissed her off when they talked earlier.
Informing her that he intended to temporarily install himself in her home at the same time he was putting in the new locks probably hadn’t been the smoothest method. What did he know about smooth? Born a killer, raised without emotion and brutally disciplined for demonstrating even the slightest humanity, he and his Hunter brothers were about as far away from diplomatic as he could get.
Still, he had expected her to be at least a little grateful for his offer of protection, no matter how inelegantly he’d delivered it. He had expected to see Leni’s relief, if nothing else.
Instead, when he tried to explain how paramount her wellbeing was to the entire Breed race, she’d frowned at him and backed away as though he had insulted her.
Females.
Knox shook his head and blew out a sharp breath. Maybe it was a good thing Leni had purposely avoided him all day. If he was going to stay under the same roof with her for any amount of time, the less they spent at each other’s throats the better.
Which would also mean the less risk he ran of pulling the stubborn beauty into his arms. Or into his bed.
Shit. That was a mistake he would not allow himself to make, no matter how much everything male in him disagreed. He wanted Leni before he spotted her Breedmate mark. If the night had played out even a little differently than it had, he was all but certain they would have ended up naked in each other’s arms.
Until he saw her Breedmate mark.
And thank fuck he had.
There was hardly a better deterrent for him than the sight of that tiny scarlet symbol on her creamy, velvet-soft skin. That teardrop-and-crescent-moon mark meant forever. It meant she deserved a lot more than anything he was capable of giving her, especially when he only planned to stay in town for however long it took him to either neutralize the threat of the Parrishes or convince her to leave. He’d be glad to take whichever came first.
Until then, Lenora Calhoun was strictly off-limits. Keeping his distance from her physically and emotionally would be the only way to keep his sanity and his focus. In his head, he knew that was the best course of action.
Now, he just had to convince his body to get on board with the plan.
Knox cleaned up his work area and tools, then headed through the house for the kitchen to put everything back in the garage where he’d found it. The aroma of warm food and spices and buttery bread wreathed the air as he approached.
Leni had started cooking several hours ago. Now, she and Riley were seated in a formal dining room off the kitchen, eating a roasted chicken dinner and biscuits on crisp white china.
It was a cozy, unrushed meal complete with cloth napkins and serving dishes for each item on the table. An extra plate with a honey-drizzled biscuit on it was situated in front of Riley’s stuffed bear, who sat in the spindle-backed chair next to the boy.
Knox couldn’t help but admire the life Leni was providing her nephew. The impressive dinner she made for him came after a day devoted entirely to Riley’s entertainment, from building a snowman in the front yard, to puzzles and board games over hot chocolate and a round of action figure army combat on the stairs.
Knox thought he might walk by the dining room unacknowledged, but where Leni seemed determined to keep her gaze rooted to her plate, Riley shot a wide grin in his direction.
“Hi, Knox!”
Fuck.So much for his Hunter’s stealth.
