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His shoulders and arms were almost shockingly huge, tapering to a narrow waist and hips, but even with the baggy, low-slung jeans, his legs didn’t look scrawny either. His face, when she could draw her gaze away from the rest of him, was so strong it was almost ugly. He had a prominent bottom jaw with a slight underbite that made him look mean, although maybe that impression wasn’t from the underbite at all. He was more beast than man. His long dark hair was pulled back in a braid that was coming loose, and his ice blue eyes were narrowed and appraising, with thick black lashes that almost made him look like he was wearing eyeliner. And there were tattoos. So many tattoos. All together, he was very...startling.
“Hello, I’m Minnow,” she said before Church could stop grumbling to respond.
He stopped slightly too close, staring down at her with a rude intensity. Rather than back up to a more comfortable distance, she raised her chin and smiled at him. She didn’t bother to make it a nice smile.
The man snorted and turned to Church. “Sutton inside?”
“I think so. Just got here.”
“Well, you can put that back wherever you found it.” He flicked a finger at her. “I don’t need some little cunt to babysit me.”
“Sutton said to get her, so she’s here.” Church shrugged, as though to say he wasn’t about to challenge the natural order of the household. “If Sutton ain’t happy...”
The man turned his head and spat as though that was his opinion, then strode into the house, ignoring Minnow completely.
She stared after him, stunned.
“You okay?” Church asked, patting her shoulder kindly. “Severin can be a little rough around the edges, but he’s a nice guy if he lets you get to know him.”
“That was Severin?” she stared after him, aghast. “I thought Severin was a little old man.” Although she supposed she hadn’t asked, just assumed. “I don’t usually work with people who are...” She waved a hand in lieu of finishing her statement.
“I know. The other stuff we’ve tried hasn’t worked, though.” He crouched and picked up a stray pinecone, then tossed it into the tree line. “He needs people in his life. When he’s alone too much he gets weird.”
“Weirder than this?”
“You have no idea.” Church sighed. “I love my brother, but I’m married now. I’ve got kids. I can’t stay here with him all the time. At least Sutton lives here, and she cooks and manages things. Rodrigo is around sometimes. He takes care of the finances, and is our best friend, but he doesn’t live here. There’s no one else.”
He led her into the opulent house, their steps echoing in the cavernous back foyer. In the distance she could hear Ms Sutton shouting, and Minnow looked at Church with concern.
“Don’t mind Sutton. Sometimes volume is the only thing that will make Sev hear you.”
Great. Minnow could be stern, but she wasn’t much of a yeller – not to mention the fact that yelling at a man that huge seemed like a bad idea.
“So is he developmentally delayed?”
“No. He’s just a dick.” He walked her through the main floor of the house. The main foyer was elegant, with carvings and white stone and gold detailing. It matched the outside of the house.
“The original owners were in love with Versailles, so the entire place is Rococo.”
“It’s so beautiful. It reminds me of those old movies, like Dangerous Liaisons. Hard to imagine him living here.”
Church nodded. “Hard to imagine anyone living here, really. The first time my mother brought me to the house to introduce me to Sev, I remember asking why a kid would live in a museum. After you’re here for a few weeks, though, you forget to stare at the architecture. Living here is easier if you don’t notice the cherubs staring you down with their beady little eyes.” He poked wiggling fingers out on either side of his head, and grimaced like he was used to entertaining children.
She snorted.
He grinned at her. “I’m serious. Don’t make eye contact with them. They’re creepy.”
They moved on. “Through there is the ballroom.” He indicated a set of double doors. “It doesn’t get used for much. I think all of the furniture is covered at the moment. There’s a piano in there, though, if you play.” He pointed out the library next, then Severin’s study.
Next was the elegant dining room, the breakfast room, the kitchen – which was now empty. The kitchen was the only room with hints of modernity. The rest of the house seemed as if it had been frozen in time.
“Upstairs things are a little more updated.”
They climbed the stairs, and he showed her a screening room, with state-of-the-art equipment, and a long corridor of suites. “There are more rooms that way in the servant’s wing. Sutton’s room is down there, but she wants you in the blue room so you’re closer to Severin in case he needs you.”
She wondered what a man like that would need her for in the middle of the night, but was too chicken to ask.
He stopped and gestured her into a room. “This one is yours.”
