by Lara Adrian
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.
The little boy pivoted around in his chair. “When are we gonna ‘stall the deadbowls?”
“Deadbolts,” Leni murmured, then sent a flat look over his blond head. “I think Knox took care of them all while we were having fun today.”
“That’s right.” Knox indicated the collection of tools in his hand. “I just finished up, actually. Everything’s secured now, sealed up tight from top to bottom.”
Leni gave him a begrudging nod. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
Riley grabbed Fred into his lap and motioned to the now vacated chair beside him. “Knox, come sit by me.”
When he glanced at Leni, she shrugged faintly. It was about the closest thing to a truce they’d had all day. Riley patted the empty chair, his bright blue eyes imploring until he got what he wanted.
“Sounded like quite a battle on the stairs a while ago,” Knox said as he put the tools on the floor and sat down. “Who won, the cowboys or the aliens?”
“The cowboys, a’course. Aunt Leni was in charge of the aliens and she always lets me win.”
“Excuse me?” She set down her fork with feigned indignation. “Since when do you think I let you win, little man?”
“Since for always.” Riley shrugged as he shoveled a large mound of mashed potatoes and gravy into his mouth. When Leni reached over and tickled under his arm he burst into a fit of giggles. After he calmed down, he brought his stuffed bear up to his ear, nodding solemnly. “Knox, Fred says you can eat his biscuit if you want. It’s got lots of honey on it.”
“I see that.”
“Do you like honey too?”
Knox chuckled. “Not especially. How about we let Fred keep his dinner?”
Riley’s pale brows knit. “You’re not hungry?”
Knox glanced at Leni and saw she was waiting for his reply. There was no judgment in her steady hazel eyes, only curiosity and patient consideration. Whatever he wanted to tell the boy, she was leaving it up to him.
Knox opted for the truth.
“I don’t eat the same kind of food that you and Fred do.” He placed his arm on the table so Riley could see the glyphs snaking around his forearm and onto the back of his hand. “Do you know what these are?”
“Nuh-uh.”
“They’re called dermaglyphs. Only certain people are born with them, people like me.”
“Cool!” Riley’s eyes widened as he stared at the intricate tangle of markings. “Can I touch ‘em?”
“Sure.”
Tiny fingers traced the sweeps and flourishes before that inquisitive face tilted back up to look at Knox. “What kind of food do you like?”
Ah, Christ. He had to know Riley would come back at him with questions. He’d gotten a sampling of the boy’s keen intellect and fearless curiosity that morning. But how the hell could he explain what he was without frightening or confusing him?
Leni’s gaze seemed to be asking the same thing. She watched in guarded silence, trusting him—or maybe testing him. Either way, leaving him to dangle at the mercy of a six-year-old boy.
Knox cleared his throat. “You know how your buddy Fred over there only likes honey?” Riley nodded. “Well, I’m kind of like that too. Except, instead of drinking honey I drink something else.”
“Milk?”
Knox smirked. “No.”
“Root beer?”
“No. Not that, either.”
“Good, ‘cause soda’s bad for you. Right, Aunt Leni?”
She smiled and gave him a nod, her warm eyes sparkling in the low light of the dining room. For a moment, sitting there with the two of them, Knox felt as though he had stepped into some alternate reality. A pleasant one, where he was a part of this little family and talks around the dinner table felt as natural as breathing.
Where the fuck had that feeling come from? He didn’t want to know. Nor did he give it a chance to linger inside him. He drew his arm away from Riley’s tickling exploration of his glyphs.
“I’m not like you or your
aunt,” he said, his voice gruff. “I don’t eat the kind of food you do. I need to drink blood in order to live.”
“Blood? Yuck.” His petite nose scrunched up. “I wouldn’t like that.”
Knox chuckled. “Probably not. That’s because you’re human. I’m not.”
“Then . . . what are you?”
“I’m Breed. People like me are born with dermaglyphs on our skin, like I showed you. Sometimes, our eyes change colors and our teeth get sharp.”
“Why?”
“It’s just the way we’re born,” Knox said, sensing no fear in the boy, only a quest to understand. “We’re stronger than other people and we live for a really long time. There’s only one thing that’s stronger than people like me. Sunlight.”
There it was. The basics of vampire life laid out in terms he hoped Riley’s six-year-old mind would grasp. He figured it best to leave out the details of how Knox and his kind went about obtaining the blood that sustained them. He was trying to provide a level of understanding, not terrify him that his—or his aunt’s—carotids were at risk.
Thinking about Leni’s throat giving way under his fangs was an image Knox preferred to avoid envisioning too.
Especially in front of the kid. After struggling all day to hold back the part of himself that was pure predator and far too distracted by the beautiful brunette seated across the table from him now, the last thing Knox needed was to give Riley an up-close account of a Breed male gripped by the urge to feed.
To say nothing of the other animal urges Leni provoked in him.
She broke the prolonged silence that began to settle over the room. “It’s okay to be different, right Riley?”
“Sure.” He punctuated his agreement with a vigorous nod, then picked up his bear and began bouncing it in his lap. “Can me and Fred be ‘scused now?”
“Fred and I,” Leni corrected gently. “And yes, you may.”
With the toy in hand, he slid out of his seat and tore upstairs.
“I’ll be up in a few minutes to give you a bath and read you a story before bedtime,” Leni called after him, but he was already long gone. She glanced at Knox and rolled her eyes. “You can see who really runs this house.”
Knox smiled. “You’re good with him.”
“I’m spoiling him.” She shrugged her shoulders and rose to begin collecting the plates. “Honestly, I don’t have any idea what I’m doing. I’m just trying to do my best for him and get by until his real mom comes home.”
Knox kept his opinion of that likelihood to himself as he stood and picked up a couple of the serving bowls. He thought she would refuse his help, but she said nothing as she carried her items into the kitchen. He followed, setting his things down on the counter next to the sink.
It had only been hours ago that they’d stood in this same spot, he dangerously close to acknowledging his attraction for her. At least, to himself. Right before he pissed her off and earned her cold shoulder for the duration of the day.
Her back was still up around him, the energy vibrating off her feeling guarded, even wary.
After they’d cleared the table and she filled the sink with hot, sudsy water, he returned to the dining room, bringing the collection of tools and leftover hardware supplies with him.
“I’ll put that box back in the garage with the rest of these things.”
“Thanks.” She glanced over her shoulder and let go of a small laugh to see him holding up a hammer with a bright pink handle. “Shannon’s favorite color. She was a girly-girl, but she was handy too. She went out and bought all of that stuff after . . .”
“After Travis assaulted her?”
She nodded, then turned back toward the sink to scrape the plates over the disposal and place the dishes into the water.
“Tell me about her, Leni. About the Parrishes.”
Her shoulders lifted. “What’s there to tell? My sister was the prettiest girl in town. Kind to everyone, smart like Riley. She was always so full of life. Travis took all of that away from her. She could’ve had any man she wanted, good men, here in Parrish Falls or anywhere else. She chose him.”
Knox moved in beside Leni, knowing it couldn’t be easy for her to talk about her sister. “I know he brutalized her, but was there more?”
“Yeah, there was.” She scrubbed at one of the plates before letting it sink back into the water. “He got her hooked on drugs when she was a freshman. She kept it hidden from us for about a year. I was only eleven around that time. I didn’t know what was going on. Mom and Gran tried to shield me from Shannon’s problems. Eventually, things got bad enough that there was no hiding it.”
“What happened?”
“She struggled with her classes, then started skipping them altogether. She spent some time in and out of rehab down at the county hospital.”
“And Travis?”
“He’s a Parrish,” she said, swiveling a bleak look at him. “They’re untouchable around here. Enoch Parrish and his sons own the lumber company on the edge of town. It used to be worth a fortune, but it’s gotten hard to make a living in the timber-cutting and log-hauling business. Hard even for them, although you’d never know it. Rumor has it the family’s still worth millions just for the twenty-thousand or so acres of farmable land they still own. And Travis was their golden son, at least until Shannon sent him away to prison.”
Knox inclined his head, hearing the pain in Leni’s voice. “Men don’t just wake up one day and decide to beat a woman so badly she ends up in a hospital. Had he hurt your sister before that final time?”
Of course, he had. Leni’s expression said it all. “She came home with bruises sometimes. And other . . . pains.”
“Why didn’t she press charges before it got worse? I don’t mean that as a judgment, just a question. Had he threatened retaliation if she spoke out against him?”
“I don’t think so. Shannon thought she was in love with him. Travis took full advantage of that fact. Once the trial got under way, his father and brothers spread lies about Shannon. They made sure the whole county believed she was combative and mentally unstable. They made it seem like she deserved what he’d done to her.”
Knox bit off a low curse. As satisfying as it had been to send Dwight Parrish into the river last night, now he wished he’d drawn blood, broken bones. Choked the last breath out of the bastard. Of course, the true target of his lethal inclinations was the Parrish brother who’d be coming home the day after tomorrow.
The assassin in Knox wouldn’t need to hear much more to feel justified in ending the son of a bitch. Or the whole miserable Parrish clan. If he thought Leni’s life in Parrish Falls could continue with impunity afterward, Knox would be more than tempted to finish his business there the minute Travis’s feet touched ground in town.
His first choice, however, the best one, was still to get Leni and her nephew out of the striking zone. He had thoughts on how he might accomplish that. He wasn’t without a few connections, albeit distant ones. There were strings he could pull if he thought Leni might go along willingly.
And if she wouldn’t go willingly?
Knox shook his head, refusing to consider the kinds of methods that would only leave her hating him. He wasn’t ready to venture down those paths just yet, but if he got the slightest whiff of danger in these next couple of days . . . he would find a way to live with Leni’s despisal.
“I can see why you don’t want your sister’s child anywhere near his father and his kin,” he said, attempting to broach the subject from a different tack. “If she were here, I doubt she’d want that, either.”
Leni nodded. “It was one of her biggest fears all through her pregnancy and into the trial. She told me countless times before she went missing to promise her I’d look out for Riley. I’m not going to let her down.”
Leni must have sensed the direction of Knox’s thoughts. Pivoting away from the dishes in the sink, she dried her hands on a towel and faced him square-on.
“Before you tel
l me again that I should run away or try to hide Riley somewhere far from Parrish Falls, it’s not happening. I’m not going to let the Parrishes run me off. You’ve met Riley now. That little boy is innocent and everything that’s good in this world. He has the bravest heart I’ve ever seen, and I’m not going to give him a reason to be afraid, or to think I believe for a minute that his mommy really is never coming home.”
But Leni had her doubts.
She hadn’t let her defenses slip in front of Knox until now.
“I realize you think I’m being stubborn by staying put here. Last night, you said I was being foolish.”
He frowned, unable to deny either of those arguments. “What I’d like is for you to be careful, Leni.”
Yes, because she was a Breedmate. But also because in the short time since he’d met her, he had seen the same things in her that she saw in her little nephew.
Lenora Calhoun was good and kind, even innocently so. She was brave. And he’d be damned if he wanted to stand by and watch while the Parrishes gave her any more reason to be afraid.
“What made you leave Florida, Knox?”
The question hit him blindside, jolting him away from the dangerous path his thoughts had gone. He’d hardly remembered mentioning anything about his life outside the Hunter program, but now their conversation in the truck came back to him. He wanted to forget he’d opened up to her about anything in his past, but she didn’t seem inclined to let it go.
“Why do you want to know?”
“I’m just trying to understand how you can find it so easy to pull up stakes and live on the road for five months at a time.”
“I’ve lived on my own for a lot longer than that over the past eight years.”
“But Florida was the only home you knew after you escaped the lab where you were raised. That’s what you said. So, how is it so easy for you to stay away? Don’t you have any family?”
“Half-brothers,” he said, then ran a hand over his tense jaw. “No one knows how many of us in total survived the program, but four of my brothers and I built a Darkhaven together in the Everglades.”
“Do they have any idea where you are?”
He shook his head.
