Page 10 of Lion's Crossing

Chapter Eleven

Knox

I knew celebrities lived in nice places, but I hadn’t expected Linc’s place to be so open and immaculate. Since he had left for a few months to care for his father, he’d probably had someone clean his house on a regular basis while he was away. Or maybe he lived with someone else. He said the guest room was empty, so maybe he had a partner that the media didn’t know about. That would work out for the better and shove all my unrequited feelings for him back in their place. Being in his car with him had overwhelmed me with his scent. I was delirious with a new and unfamiliar yearning. When we’d met one of the other members of FNL in the hallway, I’d wanted Linc to tell him that we were going to sleep together.

But Linc had made it clear I was nothing more than someone he knew from the town he grew up in, and that he was only helping me out. Nothing more. He drew that line right away.

I sighed, glancing around. I had to remind myself that I was in Saramto on vacation, not to find a mate, or to even sleep with an alpha. My vacation was about me doing things that I loved on my own.

“Here, I’ll show you to the guest room.”

After snapping back into the present, I pushed my glasses back up on my nose then followed Linc through his living room to a white door set into the blueish-gray wall. There was a door on each side of the main space with wide white trim surrounding each, and I assumed they led to the bedrooms. When I glanced inside, I gasped in shock at the size of the supposed guest room.

“I hope this is okay. I know it’s not the same as a hotel room, but I wanted to make sure you didn’t experience any more problems during the first day of your vacation.”

I nodded, taking in every inch. It was nicer than the hotel room I would have stayed in by far. The room had a queen bed with an antique headboard and matching dresser and nightstand. Much more classically decorated than the modern kitchen and living room. There was a table and chair in the corner that could be used as a desk, a big-cushioned chair near the window, and even one of those computerized workout bikes. Yet the room didn’t feel crowded at all.

I chewed on my bottom lip, wishing the room was the place I’d booked. Maybe I should have found a way to get him to ask me to stay for the whole week. I turned to Linc. “Thank you. I really appreciate this. I know you didn’t have to, and I’ll stay out of the way of you and your partner while I’m here.” I couldn’t help myself. I had to know, didn’t want to be surprised when someone came out of the other bedroom or into the apartment before I left in the morning.

He furrowed his brows. “Partner? Where did you hear that I had a partner?”

My heart pounded in my chest. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. “Um, I just assumed with a place this big that you lived with someone else. And since the guest room is empty…” I shrugged, not knowing how else to explain my previous words.

He gave me a big, toothy smile before he shook his head. “I don’t have a partner or a roommate. I live here by myself, and while it’s lonely sometimes, I’m glad to be back in my own space. I’m sure you understand that since you don’t live with your parents, either.”

I nodded. “Sorry about the assumption.” Though part of me rejoiced to learn he didn’t have a partner or a mate. But it didn’t matter since I was only there for one night.

“The bathroom is here.” He opened a door at the far end of the room that was bigger than my own bathroom and kitchen combined. I didn’t know people lived with this much room.

“Thanks again.” The condo only made me realize how different Linc and I were. He was only being nice by offering me a place to stay. I had no chance with him. None at all.

“Well, I’ll give you some time to get settled.” He walked to the doorway. “In a bit, we can decide where to order dinner from. Maybe even watch a movie.”

Dinner and a movie?That sounded too much like a date and sent my deer into a frenzy. Refusing to meet his gaze, I simply nodded and focused on my suitcase. “Thank you.”

Once he left, shutting the door behind him, I collapsed onto the bed. It was soft and hard at the same time, and I didn’t know how that was possible. The bed I had in my apartment was secondhand from an elderly neighbor who had passed. Very basic, though I’d been told by his family that they’d bought the bed for him only a couple years earlier. And he hadn’t died there but in a respite home in Merryville. Regardless, I felt like I floated on a fluffy cloud on Linc’s guest bed. The linens smelled like a crisp, spring day. Though I wondered what Linc’s bed smelled like, if it contained his maple and brown sugar scent. Because I wanted to roll in that and have it around me, have his odor all over me and filling my senses.

I pushed off the bed. I was going too far with my daydreaming about Linc. It would only lead to a huge ache when I left in the morning, never to see him again. Hoping for something that would never come to fruition was dangerous and would only make seeing his family back in Shifter Crossing that much harder when I returned.

Opening my suitcase, I grabbed my pajamas out of it and headed for the shower. I needed to get under the cold spray and put my deer back in his place.

Chapter Twelve

Linc

It had taken forever to convince Knox to come out of my guest room and another eternity to get him to stay out to eat and watch a movie with me.

“I’m not hungry,” he’d told me through the door even though I heard his stomach growl. “It’s okay. You don’t need to worry about me.”

I’d ignored his resistance, though I didn’t want to break his trust by opening the door and dragging him out. “Fine. I’m ordering us both Thai food. I hope you like it.”

There’d been a slight moan through the door, but it remained closed.

When the food arrived, I went down to the lobby to retrieve it, saying hello to the door attendant. “Hey, Bert. It’s good to see you! How’s your family been?”

“Oh, you know.” He handed me the take-out bag. “Same old teenage drama. I can’t wait until they grow out of theeverything is an emergencystage. I mean, I don’t remember high school being that sensational when I was their age.”

I chuckled, not at all envious. TK—a pop star at Adan Records, and a mentor to me and the rest of the FNL members—often said the same thing about his kids. Though he had Kish to help him through it all, unlike Bert, whose mate had passed away five years ago.

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