Hired Hunter (The Rover 2)

No. I drew the line.

I entered the kitchen and grabbed his arm, tugging him back into the living room before not-so-gently pushing him toward the front door. “You can leave, and we can continue this conversation at another time.”

He shook his head as he opened a box of crackers he’d found in one of my cupboards. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to stay here until you have another sending.”

He dug out a few of the no doubt stale saltines and shoved a hand full into his mouth. Like this, he almost looked normal, like any other guy hunting for snacks in someone else’s apartment. It was all too easy to forget about him being fae while he stood in my living area dressed in jeans and a sexy smile.

Way too easy.

I shook myself. “That is a hard pass because I would have to be asleep, and there was no way we were snuggling in my bed.”

My comment earned me a sexy little grin that I ignored before opening the door, shoving him into the hallway, and slamming the door in his face. I spun all the locks and waited a few seconds until his footsteps thudded on the stairs below.

That didn’t go as badly as I’d expected. Now I just needed to figure out where Sol was and where the Black Mage was and how I was going to get both of them.

Easy.

No pressure.

Chapter Three

I woke up the next morning feeling better than I had in the past few days. In fact, I couldn’t remember my dreams, or even if Sol had been in them. I took a long moment and stretched my arms wide, pointed my toes, and let out a long, relieved sigh.

Once I snuggled back under the covers, my first thought was of Fin, until I gave myself a mental scolding because Fin was not mine to think about when I woke up first thing in the morning.

I’d been awake about five minutes, when I noticed the smell in the air. Usually, when my neighbors cooked certain foods, mostly spicy stuff, or curries, I could smell it in the hall and sometimes the scent drifted into my apartment. But this was different. The scent of bacon hung heavy in the air, making my mouth water.

I shoved back the covers, grabbed a knife from my bedside table, and tiptoed to my door. I opened the door and poked out my head. Movement came from the kitchen, a slight rustle and, now that I focused on it, the sizzle of bacon. Someone had broken into my house to cook me breakfast?

I gripped the knife in my hand and tiptoed down the hall past the dining room to peek into the kitchen.

Fin stood in front of my small stove, turning slices of bacon with my rubber tongs. He wore gray sweatpants that hugged him like they had no right to, and a black T-shirt. His hair had been French braided tight against his skull, with the tail of the braid tucked against his neck.

Anger flooded me. I gripped the knife and tossed it before I even thought about it being a good decision. It whizzed past his face to find a home in the cabinet over his shoulder.

He didn’t flinch. He didn’t look up or look at the knife.

He simply said, “Good morning. You missed.”

I focused on keeping my tone even. “I wasn't trying to hit you. I was simply making sure you knew I was awake.”

He turned around, leveled me with a glance, then resumed his work on the bacon.

“How did you get in here?” I asked. “Furthermore, where did the bacon come from? Because I know I didn’t buy any. Third, I didn’t realize you knew how to cook for yourself.”

He maneuvered the bacon in the skillet. “I've been cooking for myself for a long time. It wasn’t until I inherited my family’s estate that I allowed someone else to cook. And that was mostly because I needed to feed the staff and I had never cooked enormous meals before. Holly does a great job of taking care of everyone. I honestly need to give her a raise, and maybe some more kitchen staff. It’s been ages since I cooked bacon. I forgot how long it takes.”

I refrained from telling him how much I missed her and her cooking. All I would end up doing was give him an opening to lure me back to his home.

“Likely she puts hers in the oven since she has to cook her bacon in bulk with the testosterone squad lurking about your castle. And my other questions?”

Like a few pieces of pork could distract me.

“To answer your questions, I got the key to your apartment from your landlord. He is very nice and as far as I can tell, doesn’t have many friends. Humans without friends are by far the easiest to gain things from. All they need is a little attention. As for the bacon, I bought it from the grocery store on the way to your apartment.”

The idea of him at the grocery store was disconcerting enough. But the fact that he might have gone to the dinky-dink corner market I’d been using for ages, ate at something else in me. Damn. Him encroaching on my life wasn’t something I’d prepared for. I hadn’t even considered what my life looked like after the events at the Citadel. Maybe this was his way of apologizing? Or asking for my help without the coercion he employed the last time he got me to work for him?

I shoved through the kitchen, jostling him as I passed, yanked the knife from the cabinet, and resumed my place by the door. “I'm going to throw this again unless you tell me how you got a key to my apartment from my landlord.”