Did he think there was a calendar hanging on the wall somewhere?
Had he hung up a calendar somewhere?
“We left the house yesterday.” That was a good idea, though. “But thank you for making sure we’d left the house recently.”
He could go into caveman mode and not leave for days if I let him, and I was fairly certain it would be weeks before he realized he had a problem.
“That was obviously not enough if we’ve ended up in this situation.” His ridiculous response was delivered so dryly I wanted to laugh.
“We have to get your mail. We have to make sure your house is in one piece. We need to make sure nothing else weird has turned up. I need to do another search of the house and I’d rather not do that in the dark.” So we couldn’t dawdle too long because I was serious about that.
Whatever the fuck was going on in his house needed to be investigated in the daytime.
“Oh.” Knox stopped in his tracks and went so still I poked his arm to make sure he’d respond. “Stop that. I’m not a gargoyle.”
Why was that the first thing that came to his mind?
“What have you been working on this morning?” When my question made him look guilty, I knew I was on the right track. “You don’t have any work-in-progress books about gargoyles.”
“It’s not my fault.” Knox shrugged and seemed to believe that nonsense. “I saw a meme.”
Good grief.
“Once Lori realizes you’re living here, I’m going to tattle on you.” And someone still had to tell her about the Christmas book.
“That’s mean.” Looking adorably offended, Knox tried to frown at me. “Masters who threaten sweet subs with terrible things don’t deserve blow jobs.”
“Subs who avoid their own houses because of gremlins don’t deserve spankings or orgasms.” I could fight fire with fire if it came down to it.
He sucked in a breath like the wonderful drama queen he was. “I don’t even know what to say to that.”
I did.
“Phone? Notebook? Little pencil? Keys?” As he started his normal pat-down routine, I had to fight back a laugh.
“Damn it.” Releasing my hand, he hurried back into the house and left me waiting by the front door. “I’ll be right back.”
He’d better or he’d regret it.
Knox must’ve realized that, though, because he was back in less than a minute with a phone in his hand and a handful of keys in the other.
He actually had a key to my house?
He did.
Holding out his keys, he frowned. “I can’t get it on the ring and that’s why I keep forgetting it.”
The only thing I could do was take the keys from him. “That’s no problem. I didn’t realize that was the issue.”
I also hadn’t realized he had a real key and not an imaginary one, but I wasn’t sure the right way to ask how he’d gotten it. Because it wasn’t a key I’d ever purchased. The flowered monstrosity looked like he should be taking it to a tea party, not letting himself into my house.
When had keys started coming in such horrendous patterns?
“There you go.” He was right. The ring had been too tight. “Let’s go.”
Or I’d ask him where the fuck it’d come from.
Knox sighed but didn’t drag his feet any longer. I couldn’t decide what had made him change his mind, but I wasn’t having to pull him like a screaming toddler any longer. “I’m not going in the house until you walk through and make sure it’s safe.”
