Page 14 of Hunted

“He called me names, so I hung up.”

“I’m so sorry about that.” So much for the good day she’d been having. She’d known Mike wouldn’t back down, but the fact that he’d harassed the receptionist pissed her off. And it was embarrassing. She worked here, and she was a professional.

“It’s not your fault, but you need to be careful,” Katy said, concern in her voice. “He was scary sounding.”

“Yeah.” And it wasn’t just the way he sounded or the words he used. Mike wasn’t afraid to get physically violent. “Let me know if he calls again.”

“If I hear that voice, I’m hanging up,” Katy said with more steel in her tone than Leila had ever heard before. “But I’ll tell you about it.”

“Thanks.” Leila put her sandwich down as the receptionist left the breakroom. She’d gotten all caught up in a fantasy world earlier when she’d seen Clint playing with Thomas. That wasn’t her reality. Her reality was an ex who was out to get her and her son. She needed to remember that.

8

“Sorry. Excuse me,” Leila said, sidestepping around Clint in the kitchen.

It had been five days since she and Thomas had moved in with him. They’d fallen into a pattern of sorts. Get up, get ready, get to work, get home, get to bed. Normal as it all sounded, there were new elements to it that were a bit unsettling for a guy who prided himself on keeping things orderly and spic and span.

Where his house had once been neat as a pin, now there were toys and clothes and just generalstuffeverywhere. Part of him cringed at the mess. But another part found it oddly…welcoming.

“No problem,” he said, moving to the side while waiting on his bread to get done toasting. He had a busy day ahead. After the usual drop offs, he had to hustle back to the shop where he was meeting with a sales rep about carrying a different line of weapons. Then, he had a concealed carry class he was teaching in the afternoon. When Leila got off work at four, he’d pick her up again and take her back to Ask Questions Later for anothershooting lesson before picking Thomas up at five. His life was way busier than it had been a week or so ago.

As he watched Leila coax her son to eat orange slices along with his cereal, he couldn’t help smiling. She was getting really good with a weapon. Almost as good as she was at being a mom. From what he remembered of his own parents, his mom had been a lot like Leila—kind, caring, patient, with a backbone of pure steel. He admired so many things about her. And if he lost some sleep fantasizing about what she might taste like, how her skin might feel, the sound of her sighs as he licked and nibble his way down her body, from her neck to her breasts, lower still… Well, that was his problem, not hers.

He didn’t do relationships. He liked his solitary existence, he reminded himself. It kept life simple. No serious connections with others meant no pain when they left his life. Besides, he had no business getting involved with her now when she was vulnerable.

No matter how glorious a night with her sounded.

Though nothing had happened, the tension and connection between them lingered. While cooking dinner and in the evenings, they made small talk to avoid the white elephant of desire shimmering around them. He’d learned more about her childhood, and he’s shared some of his experiences as well—an edited version for the most part.

Mike hadn’t shown his face since vandalizing her car, but that didn’t mean Clint wasn’t ready for him when he did. The guywouldturn up. It was just a matter of time. Because of that, Clint made a regular drive-by of the dental clinic twice a day—without Leila knowing—and also had made sure the garage where her car had been towed for repairs parked the vehicle inside at night,where Mike couldn’t tamper with it again. He didn’t trust that asshole any farther than he could see him and at the moment, that wasn’t far at all.

His toast popped up, and he grabbed the slices. “Want some?”

Leila glanced over at him, cheeks pink and hair still damp on the ends from her shower. The purple of her scrubs brought out the creamy bronze perfection of her skin. “No thanks. I had an energy bar earlier.”

“Yuck.” He scrunched his nose and spread butter and strawberry jam on his whole wheat toast. “Those things taste like sawdust.”

“True.” Leila laughed, the sound brightening his day. “But they’re good for me and fast.” She managed to get the last orange slice into her son’s mouth before he turned away to focus on the toy car in his hand again. “These days, I’m all about fast.”

Clint shook off his unwanted thoughts of pressing her up against the wall and taking her quick and hot, showing her the true meaning of fast. He’d already decided to keep his hands off of her. And when he made a decision, he stuck to it, dammit.

She moved past him again, her sweet cinnamon scent buzzing around him. “Let me just clean this up and finish getting ready, and we can go.”

He nodded, not daring to look up at her for fear she’d seen the naked desire in his eyes.

This thing for her was crazy, reckless, and more intoxicating than the finest whiskey.

If he wasn’t careful, Clint knew he’d have both his heart and his emotions engaged in this situation and that was a sure-fire way straight to a world of hurt and pain.

At dinner that night, Leila found herself relaxing for the first time since her ex had gotten out of prison. Mike hadn’t shown up again since that first horrible encounter in the parking lot, and he hadn’t called the dental clinic again. Her car was due to be out of repairs by the end of the week, so she wouldn’t have to depend on Clint so much. Thomas seemed happy too, laughing at Clint who was talking to him and making funny faces.

Things were…nice. Normal. Better than they’d been in a long time.

If she wasn’t careful, Leila would get too comfortable being here. With Clint.

He glanced up and caught her staring at him dreamily and she looked away fast, concentrating on the plate of baked pasta in front of her. He wasn’t going to let it go though, apparently. He sat back and took a swig from his beer bottle. “What?”

“Nothing,” she said, scrambling for a lie that sounded convincing. She certainly wasn’t going to tell the guy she’d been daydreaming of them together in some way. She checked herself and her imagination, wondering how she’d managed to go there after such a short time. Probably because she’d never had that chance at being part of a happy couple and happy family. And all the books and movies that made the fantasy seem possible only fed her dreams. But she needed to be realistic. Even if something like that was possible, it wasn’t in the cares for her, not now, not in the foreseeable future, and likely never with Clint. Still, her heart squeezed with yearning at the idea. She couldn’t sayany of that to him. So, instead, she narrowed her gaze on him. “Where’d you get the scar?”

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