Headhunter (With Me in Seattle Mafia 2)

She just nods and stares out the window. So, I decide to let her be. A lot has happened. She’s exhausted.

My questions can be answered tomorrow.

* * *

“So, you live way out here in the middle of nowhere,” she says when I turn onto my dirt road.

I let my caretaker know that I was on my way, and the make and model of the car we’re in, so the gate automatically swings open at our arrival.

I imagine Curt is sitting in his little cabin, watching the monitor.

“Yes. I do.”

It’s dark now. I think this has been the longest damn day of my life. We’re quiet, as we were the entire drive, as I navigate the Lexus past the helicopter landing pad, my shooting range, a barn, and an underground bunker—all of which is out of view in the darkness.

I pull up to my house and cut the engine. Several lights are on, also thanks to Curt.

“Is someone else here?” she asks, then turns to me with wide eyes. “Oh my God, do you have a girlfriend?”

“No. No girlfriend.”

“Why are the lights on?”

“I have a friend who lives in a cabin here on the property,” I begin as I open my door, then hurry around to open hers. I take her hand and help her out of the car. “He’s an old Army buddy. He likes to be alone, and he’s damn good at his job. So it works well for both of us. You might meet him.”

She nods and follows me up the stairs to my back door. I set her bags down and open the door, then gesture her inside.

This entrance leads right into my kitchen. “When I built this house, I wanted it to look like an old farmhouse. To blend in and look rustic at the base of the mountain.”

“I love it,” she breathes, looking around with tired, sapphire eyes. “It’s modern and beautiful, but also has that old-fashioned vibe to it.”

“Bingo. Come on, it’s not a huge place. I’ll show you around. This is the living area. TV and all that jazz. There’s a sunroom over there, but I’ve never gotten around to furnishing it.”

I swing into the guest room and set her bags on the floor, switching on the light. “This is your room. Make yourself at home. There’s a bathroom through that door. Walk-in closet here. When the sun’s up, you’ll have a great view of the mountains.”

“Thank you.” She runs her fingertips over the comforter on the queen-sized bed. “Where will you be?”

“Down here,” I reply and take her hand, leading her just down the hall to my bedroom. “This is my room. Nothing too fancy, but it’s home.”

She takes in my king-sized bed and the chair in the corner.

“I have another bathroom through there. If you go up the stairs by the front door, there’s a loft and another guest room. If you’d rather have that one—”

“No, the one you’ve given me is great.” She offers me a forced smile. “It’ll be perfect.”

Seeing her like this, distant and sad, tears at my heart, so I pull her to me and wrap my arms around her. I bury my lips in her hair and kiss her gently.

“Besides the obvious, tell me why you’re miserable.”

“Because you don’t want me here, and I feel like I’m crashing into your life, and—”

“Whoa.” I pull back and stare down at her. “I’m the one who told you that you’d be better off coming here with me.”

“Only because you’re feeling overprotective,” she insists. “I’m just a burden, and I hate that.”

“Let’s get something straight.” I tip up her chin, making her look me in the eyes. “I don’t do much that I don’t want to in this life. If I didn’t want to be with you, I’d have put you in a safe house and staffed it with security. I want you here, Ivie. Hell, we’re friends. We’ve spent time together. And God knows I think you’re the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

She lets out a snort, and I narrow my eyes.

“Is something I said funny?”

“You don’t have to lay it on so thick.”

I don’t reply. I simply step into her and lay my lips on hers. Gently. As far as first kisses go, it’s not the way I’d planned to do it, but it works. She tastes like sin, and the little noise she makes in the back of her throat as she melts against me would make a weaker man lose control.

But I end the kiss and smile down at her.

“Does that feel like you’re a burden?”

She shakes her head.

“You’re here because I care about you, I want you safe, and I’m the only one I trust to do that correctly. I get the bonus of having you with me pretty much nonstop for the foreseeable future.”