Page 48 of Unlawful Seduction

I took a few sips of coffee, edgy enough around her I needed to get the hell away before it was too late. After placing the coffee on the table, I headed to grab some clothes so I could walk the perimeter.

“Thank you for the clothes,” she said softly.

“Sure. Too big, but they’re all I got.” I sensed she’d turned around once again. “I’m headed out to walk the perimeter.”

She narrowed her eyes, moving quickly toward the kitchen window and throwing it open. “It’s snowing. Like crazy snowfall.”

“Yeah, it is.” I wasn’t going to belabor the point that danger kept no seasons. That was the last thing she needed to hear.

“You could get lost.”

Her sentiment and concern kept my body alert. “I think I can handle it.” She refused to look away. My cock was close to being at full attention.

“Mind if I take a shower?”

“Help yourself like I said.”

She nodded and I noticed her jaw was clenched. She had about a million things she wanted to say to me. They’d wait.

For now.

But she was a bit of a feral cat. The claws would eventually come out and I couldn’t wait for that to happen.

CHAPTER 12

Mallory

The house was warm with the fire blazing in one of several fireplaces.

The coffee was delicious.

The bed had been soft and so comfortable I hadn’t wanted to crawl out.

And the pup constantly by my side was exactly what I’d wanted to experience for so long.

With the snow falling, the morning gray yet peaceful, and a house that could only be described as the perfect vacation spot, this moment could be considered something incredible.

If it wasn’t for the fact I’d been assaulted, and saved from potentially being killed only because a man I didn’t know had intervened out of the blue, then this would be considered paradise.

In anyone’s book.

But this was nothing but surreal, a blip in time that was like watching a train wreck about to occur or a glass house ready to fall off a cliff.

Having a cup of coffee with Beckett had been anything but normal, yet I’d enjoyed the few minutes together.

What in God’s name was wrong with me?

I’d remained right where I was in the kitchen, making myself a second cup. Even then, an ugly hangover remained and it certainly wasn’t about indulging in too much alcohol. I rubbed my eyes and returned to the window, noticing he was taking very particular steps in the snow. I also gathered a sense he had a weapon or five underneath his jacket.

When he turned, I caught sight of a crossbow in his hands. A crossbow? He was holding it as if ready to fire at a moment’s notice, constantly turning his head from side to side as he searched for any breach in security.

His actions were methodical, militaristic. I knew the format from jerk number one I’d dated. He’d become so regimented that if a towel had been out of place, or a can wasn’t facing the front of the cabinet, he’d freaked out.

It was too close to a movie I’d seen a long time ago.

Somehow, I had a feeling whatever training Beckett had received had kept him one step ahead of his enemies.

The thought he likely had several of them brought a lump into my throat.

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