Page 45 of The Twelve Knots of Christmas
“Of course.” Balthazar took her bag in and rushed off to the linen closet.
Lucian came down from upstairs. Artemis looked up at him and her tail started wagging, but his gaze was focused on Mariska. “Hi. How are you doing? I’m so sorry to hear about Eloise.”
“Thanks.” Mariska flashed him a shy smile and crouched down to take off her boots. Seeing her in that little Mrs. Claus dress earlier made me horny as fuck, but with her legs bare, I was about ready to bend her over right there in the mudroom and have my way with her.
Balthazar returned with a towel and rubbed down Artemis. She ate up his attention and then wandered into the house to explore.
“I’ll put out some food and water for Artemis.” Lucian offered, and when Mariska started to protest, he shook his head. “It’s okay. I borrowed some dog food and bowls from Liz. Her dogs eat a ton every week, so she always has a lot.”
“Thank you, again. Thank you all for letting me stay tonight.” This soft and demure side of Mariska evokedsomething new in me. When she was fiery, I pushed, rising to the challenge. Now I wanted to gather her up in my arms and never let her go, see to her every need, and make her happy on every level.
“You’re welcome.” Balthazar’s chest was puffing out. It was obvious the same thing I was feeling was feeding his Alpha nature. “And it doesn’t have to be for one night. You can stay as long as you want. Stay for—”
“Time for a tour.” I cut in before he said something that would have Mariska running for the hills. I shot him a brief stern look. She wasn’t ready yet. We’d anticipated a couple more dates before bringing her to the house, but this was something we had to do. I would have ended up sleeping on Primrose House’s damn porch if she hadn’t agreed to come with us.
“Right!” Balthazar had completely ignored the look I’d given him. “This is the mudroom. We added this on about ten years ago. Big space for the whole pack. And plenty of smaller cubbies for children.”
Mariska’s eyes widened, and she wrapped her arms around herself.
Fucking guy with babies on the brain all the time.
I clenched my jaw and reined in the urge to punch Balthazar. Lucian, thankfully, was more on top of it than I was. “Bal, come with me and let’s make an evening snack. We don’t want to crowd Mariska as she gets settled in.”
Balthazar folded his arms, determined not to budge, until Mariska piped up. “I am a little hungry.”
“We’ve got you covered, babe.” Balthazar headed out of the mudroom and paused, “What are you feeling like? Sweet, savory, something fruity?”
“I think I had enough sugar today.” She smiled and fiddled with the fur cuffs of her dress. “And then the burgers… So something light and good for me would be nice.”
“Done.” Balthazar and Lucian disappeared into the house. Artemis trotted by us and followed them toward the kitchen.
“Just you and I now.” I winked at Mariska and led her out of the mudroom into the foyer. Closing the door behind us, the warmth from the fire in the living room rolled in to warm us. “To the left is the living room. We spend lots of time there. It’s open to the dining room which leads to the kitchen.”
A big comfy gray sectional couch was framed by a pair of recliners. We could sit on the couch to face the river rock fireplace or the gigantic TV. Photos of us and our families and friends covered the walls in frames of different sizes and styles. Overlapping rugs covered the hardwood floors and natural wood beams ran width-wise along the ceiling.
Of course it was decorated for the holidays. Stockings hung from the mantle, and garlands looped around the entire area. An eight foot tree stood near the wall between the living room area and the dining room. It was decorated with a silver and blue theme this year, and a pile of presents already sat under it.
“It’s really cozy looking.” But Mariska didn’t step into the room. I tried to read her expression, but I couldn’t quite get what was going through her head.
I walked to the right side of the foyer. “The first door is my office.” Opening it, I flicked on the overhead light. Compared to the rest of the house, this room was minimalistic and modern. My large executive desk was the main feature. Sleek and black with my leather high back chair behind it. A pair of black shelves sat on either side of the picture window spartanly decorated with some books, a couple of fake plants, and nearly a dozen awards and honors the farm had received over the years.
“It’s gorgeous,” Mariska said in a quiet voice, but she didn’t step inside.
Switching off the light, I breathed her in. Her perfume filled me, no less potent than it had been in the truck. It told me nothing of her mood or why she had seemed to withdraw into herself.
I took her to the next room. A lamp on the bedside table already lit it with a warm yellow light. “This is the spare bedroom. It has a full bathroom.” It was the one room none of us had done much with since we moved into the house. It was like a picture from an old farmhouse with its wire framed queen bed, patchwork quilt, and ruffled bedskirt. A big dresser sat under the window with its blue curtains drawn and paintings of farm animals decorated the walls. A ceramic Christmas tree sat in the center of the dresser and reindeer figurines danced around it. “If you want to stay in here, the bedding is fresh, but we have other rooms upstairs.”
“Let’s look upstairs.” Again, barely a comment from her. Had Balthazar scared her with his kid talk or was she more worn out from the day’s events than she let on?
“Down the hall is the laundry room and storage which connects to the hearth room on the far side of the kitchen. We’ll show you that later.” I took her hand, and she offered no resistance. No smile either. I laced my fingers with hers, my heart beating a little harder as my concern grew.
We went upstairs and stopped at the top. It placed us in the middle of the hall. “That side,” I motioned to the right. “Has Bal’s and Lucian’s rooms, along with two smaller rooms. One has a bunk bed we use for our nephews when they stay over.” She glanced at me and I grinned. “My brother Hudson is married to Justine, Bal’s sister, and they have two boys, Scott and Oliver. Absolute terrors.”
Her mouth twitched. Almost a smile. I pointed to the left. “My room is that way next to a small exercise room, and across from me is the pack room.”
Mariska pursed her lips as she looked one way and then the other. She tugged at the collar of her dress, and I repressed a smirk at the peek of her cleavage. This girl had no fucking idea what she did to me.
“So, is it the bunk bed room for you? You’re the right height to be cozy in a kid’s bed.”
