Page 32 of Strictly Forbidden

A moment of sadness tore through Kage. I could see it in his eyes. “He was shot.”

I hadn’t been prepared for that. “I’m so sorry. I hope being around Max doesn’t bring up unpleasant memories.”

He rubbed his forearm across his forehead, gathering sweat. “Not at all. Being around Max has been good for my soul.” As he walked closer, the same heat as I’d experienced the night before rushed through my body, leaving me with tingling sensations.

The man was dangerously attractive and the way he allowed his gaze to fall to my boots took a few seconds of my breath away. “Careful, girl. Those boots aren’t mean for ice.” The moment he took another step forward, he slipped and almost fell.

I grasped his arm, sloshing some hot coffee on my non-gloved hand in trying to keep him from falling. “Shit. Ouch.”

The moment I started to blow on my hand, he carefully pulled me closer and without hesitation, he eased my hand to his lips, first blowing then wrapping his wet lips around the affected area. The move was so unexpected that I was momentarily at a loss for words. Even my other hand holding the mug was shaking. He was so tender, his eyes expressing such concern that I couldn’t think straight.

When he finally released my hand, he gently rubbed the rough pad of his index finger across the area. “It’s not that bad.” When I still had trouble saying anything, he lifted his gaze. “You look surprised.”

“I… am.” The moment was entirely too awkward. “I guess your boots aren’t made for ice either.”

Great. My tongue was also tied. What in the world was wrong with me?

“Apparently not. Is that cup of java for me?”

I glanced down at Max. The pup had his head cocked as he stared at us. At least his tail was whooshing back and forth. “Yes. I didn’t know what you liked so I guessed just cream.”

He took a sip, his eyes almost rolling into the back of his head. “Real cream. It’s fantastic and you were right. I just haven’t had fresh cream in so long I can’t remember when.”

If the guy was rich, why couldn’t he purchase a carton of half and half? He was still very mysterious, but we all had our quirks, dark secrets even. I knew that far too well. “Um, well, good. It’s cold out here. And I’m certain you’re hungry. I can make some breakfast.”

“I’ll bring some wood in and rekindle the fire.”

“That would be nice.”

There was no reason for my words to suddenly be so stilted, but it seemed I was still lost in his suddenly gentle demeanor. He took several additional sips of his coffee before handing me back the mug, nodding before grabbing an armful of wood. He trailed behind me as I headed inside, his behemoth arms easily cradling at least eight huge pieces of wood.

I stood on the other side of the couch with his mug still in my hands, watching him tossing a few pieces onto the red embers before stoking it until flames erupted all over again. In our frenzied time of need, I hadn’t taken enough time to appreciate his ruggedness. Everything about him was large, hard muscles everywhere. Even his hands appeared twice the size of mine.

Finally, I forced myself to look away, chastising my silly behavior all over again. Seconds later, I managed to turn around, returning to the kitchen where I had to fight off hyperventilating. I’d never done anything so impetuous in my life. Even knowing I was now safe from the monster, I couldn’t suddenly act as if there were no dangers out there.

Where there was one nutcase deranged enough to recreate bloody and violent scenes from an author’s work, there would be another. Plus, the case had gotten a lot of press, just like I bet was happening right now. My work had been compared to the murders by more than one idiot reporter who’d ignored my privacy.

As usual, I was overthinking the past, which according to my shrink was the reason I couldn’t sleep at night. Yet with a stranger in the house, I’d fallen into a deep sleep. Maybe I thought Kage could keep me protected from all of the things that went bump in the night.

“You hungry, boy?” I asked absently as I poured some food into Max’s bowl before rinsing out and replacing his water. He appeared starving to death, although I knew that not to be true. He’d eaten like a horse the night before and I’d seen Kage slipping him a couple of bites of steak. I was told I shouldn’t give Max table scraps at all, using treats only as a method of continual training, but how could anyone look into Max’s big brown eyes and not give in?

My wicked mind remained on Kage, luscious thoughts of our round of passion, but it couldn’t happen again. It was obvious to me that neither of us were in the position of wanting anything but a good old-fashioned one-night stand. I was a big girl. I could handle it plus if I knew my agent, she’d already booked me on a tour when the new book came out. I had things to concentrate on.

I flicked on the television to the morning news before I grabbed out eggs and cheese, butter and sausage. And biscuits. You couldn’t have breakfast without biscuits. Maybe he was a bacon man. Heck, I’d make both. And hash browns. I hadn’t fixed myself any hash browns for a long time. Why not a feast?

Hearing that roads were closed and that there were accidents everywhere was surprising. Very little weather bothered anyone living in Colorado. But ice was a great equalizer. Maybe this was a Bloody Mary kind of morning. As the news droned on, I started preparing breakfast, trying my best to keep my mind off the man. It was tough. Connecting with anyone hadn’t been my strong suit anyway and after the… incident, I’d shut down those feeling altogether, wondering if I’d ever be able to enjoy spending time alone with a man.

I guess fate had stepped in to keep me from being one of those cranky old cat ladies. I rolled my eyes as I opened the cabinets, searching for my bottle of vodka. Thank God I’d thought to get Bloody Mary mix.

I busied myself making breakfast, trying to ignore the small details like that his scent lingered on my skin or that my lips were slightly swollen. While it didn’t take that long, when I’d placed everything on the kitchen table, I realized I hadn’t heard a peep out of the man since we’d returned inside.

He wasn’t in the living room and neither was Max, although the fire was roaring, so much so I could feel the warmth from where I was standing. There was no reason for me to be nervous around him. Certainly, if he’d meant me any harm, he would have completed his mission when I was asleep.

The fool that I was.

Yet my stomach remained in knots as soon as I noticed the light was on in my office. I never closed the door. There was no need since I rarely had company other than my two friends. The stomach churning continued as I walked closer, taking my time in doing so.

Kage was inside, somewhere along the way pulling off his coat, something else I hadn’t paid any attention to. I stood in the doorway, initially prepared to accost him for entering my private space but he seemed genuinely interested in the book he was holding in his hands. Meanwhile, my adorable but traitorous dog was curled near the man’s feet.

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