Giorgio (Vigilance 1)

“I want to go back to my apartment.”

“No.”

“What are we supposed to eat?”

“There are bags of groceries on the counter from the delivery I arranged.”

“The person who brought the groceries didn’t think to question that this was where we were staying?”

“The person delivering the groceries has probably slept in a tent in the desert, expecting to fall under fire at any time. I doubt he saw a damn thing wrong with this cabin.”

“The roof looks like it’s about to fall in. That’s dangerous even if you’re into… camping.”

He literally shuddered, but he wasn’t wrong. “We’ll be fine.”

He wrinkled his nose as he looked at the door. “Do you think there are bugs in there?”

“I think the chance of that is pretty high. Also mice.”

“Nope. I can’t. I’ll sleep in the car.” He turned around, but I grabbed his arm.

“You can, and you will. But first you’re going to wait here while I check the interior.”

When I pulled out a gun, his eyes went wide.

“This is just a precaution. Remember I’m here to keep you safe. I glanced around, hating that I couldn’t see far into the woods that surrounded the cabin.

“I don’t want to stay out here by myself. There could be bears or like those lion things or something.”

I stared at him. “We don’t have lions in Massachusetts.”

“Mountain lions or whatever.”

He was so fucking adorable. I wanted to drag him inside and distract him from his fear by shoving my cock into his overactive mouth.

“Stay right here. Call me if you see something that bothers you.”

“All right, but hurry.”

I didn’t bother to explain that this wasn’t a job where you could hurry. Hurrying or being careless could get you killed.

I was hoping the cabin wouldn’t seem as bad once I got inside, but it was worse. At least there was no sign anyone had been there for a while. I studied the woods as I walked back to the SUV, but I didn’t see anything suspicious.

“Come on, princess. Let’s get the bags.”

He frowned. “How the hell am I supposed to set up my art in there. It’s barely big enough for the two of us to move around.”

“I think you’ll manage.”

“We can’t stay here.”

“My boss is going to see if he can find us somewhere else, but for now, this is what we’ve got.”

We emptied the car, and Lane walked around the cabin, muttering various critiques while I looked through the groceries. I was starving, and he was only going to piss me off more easily if I didn’t get something to eat.

“I’m making spaghetti with meat sauce,” I announced.

“Oh. That sounds great.”

“At least there’s something that pleases you.”

“Two things. There’s only one bed. You noticed that, right? You’re going to have to sleep with me after all.”

“Hell no. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

His nose wrinkled up. “Have you seen the couch?”

I had. It looked ancient, and the fabric was some sort of scratchy tweed. “Trust me. I’ve slept in worse places.”

“Why do that when there’s a bed? Not that it looks incredibly comfortable, but it seems to be the newest thing in the place.”

The single bedroom wasn’t that bad considering the state of the rest of the cabin. “I think we both know sharing the bed is a bad idea.”

“You think it’s a bad idea.”

“I’m not sleeping with a client.”

“What the hell else are we going to do out here?”

“I thought you had work to do.”

Lane sighed as he sank into a kitchen chair. “I do, but how am I supposed to get inspired in this place? Can’t we do something about the security of my building?”

“Even if we could, it’s better for you to be out of the city.”

“Why? Can’t you protect me there?”

“My boss needs time to continue the investigation. If we stay in the city and Hendon comes for you, we’ll have to involve the police. If he’s taken in, he’ll just be turned loose and be free again to bother you. If we can figure out more about him without attracting his attention to the fact that we’re involved, there’s a much better chance of getting him put away for an extended time.”

He blew out a long breath. “I guess that makes sense.”

“You know it does. You just don’t want to admit it.”

“I’m starving.” Clearly he wasn’t going to admit to anything.

“Lucky for you I’ve been cooking instead of complaining, so you’ll have something to eat soon.”

He was pleasantly quiet as we ate. Apparently he really had been hungry. He ended up eating more than I did. It must take a lot of energy to fuel his constant talking and fluttering.

When he’d finished his second plate of pasta, he stood. “I’m going to see if I can find some sheets for the bed.”

“All right.” I considered offering to help, but even standing by the bed with him seemed dangerous. As he walked away, I couldn’t stop watching him. He carried himself gracefully— back straight, shoulders level, a sway to his gorgeous ass. How could anybody look away from that?