Page 8 of Hunter's Trial

Horus smiles. “Well, if you insist, then I suppose that I must.”

He steps in closer to me, invading my personal space in a very welcome way. If only the babysitter weren’t waiting for money, then perhaps the next few minutes would end very differently than they are right now. I unlock the door and head inside. The young girl that comes and stays with Elizabeth after school everyday has been a blessing, even if she’s expensive. A touch neurotic, but that’s actually worked to my benefit so far. I pay her. She gives both Horus and me a lingering, pointed look before she heads down the front door. She only lives a few houses down. Another added benefit.

Horus takes a moment to acquaint himself with the layout of my living room. He checks the curtains and the locks. He then ensures that the front and back doors are properly locked before heading to the small circular table that I have in my kitchen’s breakfast nook. I finish boiling the water and set my meager tea set on the table for him. I set out two mismatched mugs. Surely somebody like him is more accustomed to fine loose-leaf brews in fancy porcelain sets.

“I know it’s not much, but…” I trail off as I place a tea bag into his mug and pass it to him.

“It’s lovely, thank you.”

He’s far too kind.

“Maybe it will help you through the long night hours. You need something to keep you warm at least.”

Horus’ fingers brush against mine as he takes the mug from me, and his touch lingers. It’s only then that I seem to realize the innuendo of what I said. I don’t want to be the one to look away first. Would it be such a bad thing to mix business with pleasure for once?

Fate answers that question for me.

One moment, there’s tension growing between the pair of us and then the next moment Liz is standing in the archway leading to the hallway with sleepy eyes.

“Momma?” She asks, rubbing at her eye blearily. “When did you get home? You missed dinner…”

Normally, that’s something that we do together.

“Let me get her back to bed, one moment.” I smile bashfully at Horus, who dips his head respectfully, and then I head over to Liz. “I’m here now.”

I scoop her up into my arms and head back into her bedroom. Something that’s getting harder with every passing day. She’s so big now that I’m not going to be able to lift her much longer. It only takes a moment to get her back down and into bed. I’ve always been fortunate that she’s such a heavy sleeper. Easy to put to sleep and then tends to stay asleep.

When I come back out, Horus has one foot out of the door. “Thank you for your hospitality, but I’m certain that you have a nightly routine to get to.”

I head closer, I don’t really want him to go. I lift a hand to stop him, hesitating for a moment because while I’m normally a woman in charge, it’s a different vibe here today.

“I’ll be just outside, if you need anything.”

I could kiss him. I know that I could. I could let my body do the talking for me. He could protect me just as well from my bedroom… but something stops me.

With great effort, I take a step back and let him head back to his car.

Perhaps I stopped because I can’t seem to get Nikolai’s face out of my damned head. That man’s already more trouble than he’s worth.

CHAPTER FIVE

KATE

Two days later

Is it wrong to say that I’m a little excited for this? I know that I shouldn’t be. Nothing good can come from becoming more familiar with a man like Nikolai. He certainly is not the sort of man that I’ve been lying awake at night dreaming of.

Just last night I told myself that what I needed was to have a nice and indulgent fantasy about Horus coming into my room late at night. Things had been going fairly well until at the very last minute, Horus had turned into Nikolai. I couldn’t even seem to stop myself at the sight of his massive frame over me, his hands on my thighs holding me open for him with that same hungry and possessive look on his face.

Now I need to get it together. I have no more time for such things. I’m here to do a job. The distraction is lovely, but it’s not enough to keep me distracted from the drama that my ex-husband keeps sending to my phone.

Today the prison guards take me to the same private meeting room as the last time.

Only this time, Nikolai isn’t chained to the table. It doesn’t look like a man in his condition would be able to put up much of a fight. I stifle a gasp of surprise as I move into the room and take my seat. He looks far worse than he did before. He has a full-blown black eye instead of the purple bags from the lack of sleep that had been there before. He’s got bruises underneath the thin white tank top that he’s wearing today. The rest of his prison uniform is bunched around his waist as he leans back in the metal chair. His breathing is labored and I can better appreciate the sheer mass of tattoos that he’s got on his skin now that I can see more of it.

He doesn’t stand to address me. He doesn’t even so much as look up from his hands while he’s waiting for me to speak. The swagger that seemed to be overabundant in his every move two days ago is gone. They must have done a hell of a number on him. But the last thing that I’m going to do is pity him. A tough man like him would only find something like that insulting. So, I do the only logical thing that I can do. I sit down across from him like nothing is wrong with him at all.

Slowly, his head lifts and he cracks his neck from one side to the other and it’s like his persona snaps into place with the movements.

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