Page 12 of Run, Little Rabbit

“Aww, sweetie, is that any way to talk to the woman that keeps you?” And I literally do keep him. He needed a place to stay after doing some shady black hat hacking shit with those secret three-letter organisations, and I offered him this cute little house in exchange for his computer skills. It’s become quite the fruitful partnership.

Sphinx cocks a pale eyebrow. “How long are you going to keep spouting that bullshit?”

I snort. “For as long as you stay here.”

He scowls again because we both know he is comfortable here and probably isn’t going to leave for a long time.

He pushes the door open wider and walks down the hallway. “Let me get some clothes on.”

Veon clicks his tongue behind me but says nothing as he follows me into the house. I can still feel the wet heat of his mouth against my skin, and it’s like an itch. It fuckingburns,and every time I catch him staring at it with fire in his eyes, I want to break him until he surrenders.

I stroll through the house and plonk my ass in a chair at the dining table. Veon is in full-on bodyguard mode, with his head on a swivel and checking every dark corner.

“I don’t think there’s any danger here,” I say, amused at his diligence.

“Can never be too careful,” he replies gruffly.

“Sphinx doesn’t like people, so I doubt he’ll ever have anyone here, and he only tolerates me because I’m useful to him. I’m pretty sure he hates you.”

Veon snorts but doesn’t reply.

“It’s true,” I say with a dramatic sigh. “Sorry, buddy.”

“I’ll live,” he deadpans and throws me a flat look.

Silence descends as we wait for Sphinx. It’s probably a power play. He knows I’m here because I want something, so he’s gonna make me wait for it. He’s an asshole like that, but somehow, I still find the guy oddly endearing. Maybe I’m protective of him. He asked me for help when he was vulnerable, and even if he’s a little shit now, I’ll always remember that somewhere deep inside of him, he does have a soul that I occasionally catch a glimmer of. That makes him worth saving.

That and his wicked computer skills.

“Are you sure you can trust him with this?” Veon grumbles from the corner behind me.

I purse my lips. There’s so much I don’t know about Sphinx. His real name, for one. I don’t know if he has family or siblings; hell, I don’t know if there’s anything that exists beyond the safety of this house, but one thing Idoknow is that he’s fiercely loyal.

“He’s had chances to betray me before, and he never has.”

“This is different,” Veon says. “What if there’s something on this phone about him?”

“I don’t care about that.” And I didn’t. I couldn’t deny I was curious about the man I was all but hiding from the police, but something about him had me trusting him. Maybe that would bite me on the ass one day and I would be cursing his name, but until then, I was going to trust my gut. “Sphinx can keep his secrets.”

“Good,” the man himself grumbles as he walks into the kitchen to make some coffee. He’s wearing a faded band tee and ripped black jeans. His platinum blonde hair hangs in shaggy waves by his ears, and he’s donned some black eyeliner around his icy blue eyes.

The whole downstairs is open plan with a large kitchen, dining area and sitting area. A desk in the corner is covered in computer screens, and it’s basically where Sphinx spends most of his time.

Sphinx drops a cup of coffee in front of me and pulls out the chair next to me, plonking his ass into it with all the grace of a baby giraffe.

Veon scowls at the two cups of coffee, and I chuckle. “Told you he hates you.”

Sphinxsmirks over the rim of his cup as he takes a swig of his own drink, eyeballing my bodyguard and daring him to comment.

They stare at each other, and Veon’s scowl deepens, and oh my god, is that a flush creeping up the side of his neck? Does Veon have the hots for Sphinx?

Sphinx blows Veon a kiss, and my bodyguard snarls at him. Fuckingsnarls. It has the hairs on the back of my neck standing to attention.

“I’m going to check the perimeter,” Veon snaps. He pulls Bennie’s phone out of his pocket and slams it on the table. “Echo, don’t do anything stupid.”

I snort. It’s like the guy doesn’t know me at all.

“Enjoy your walk, sugar,” Sphinx croons as Veon leaves, and I swear the guy’s shoulders tense even more as he leaves the house.

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