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“All right. I’ll go pack a bag.”
Travis said, “Hank is already doing that for you, Nika. All you have to do is grab your notes and anything you need for tonight’s writing. The rest Duke will bring to the house in the morning.”
“But Travis—”
Travis was resolute as he said, “You’re coming home with us, Nika. No more arguing.” His eyes were warm but his words left no room for debate and his bossiness irritated her a little.
Grandma Kate grinned and leaned forward to whisper, “My girl, I’d listen to him. I hear that in order to be prepared for every inevitability, game wardens carry all manner of leashes and collars and other restraining paraphernalia with them. You push him too much and he might show you what I mean.”
Veronica paused for just a beat, her writer’s mind and kinky imagination roaring to the forefront, wondering exactly what kind of gear Travis carried in his truck. She glanced at Grace whose eyes twinkled as she clapped a hand over her mouth and giggled.
“Why, Fort Knox wouldn’t be as secure as you’d be,” Grandma Kate continued. “I couldn’t imagine a safer place than between a sexy sheriff and a fed, sweet girl.” Her smile had a naughty tilt to one side and her eyes gleamed devilishly.
“Food for thought, Grandma Kate. Thanks,” Veronica whispered, thinking it was time to give in. She’d clearly lost the argument.
But going home with Hank and Travis had risks of its own. “What about if people wonder about a woman staying with the two of you. That sounds risky to me.”
Hank returned from her bedroom carrying all of her luggage to the door and then located the leather messenger bag she used for her laptop and all her files and notes and handed it to her with a nod of his head, expecting her to comply. “You don’t need to worry about that, Nika. I live on sixty secluded acres. No one can see my house from the road. They won’t know you’re there unless we share that information.”
Grace lifted a finger and said, “Maizy thought the same thing, guys, when she was staying with the bears, but that creeper still managed to take those photos of her with the bears in compromising moments.”
“Those were all outdoor photos by their pool, or so I’m told. Nika will be careful, won’t you?”
Hank glowered at Grace like she wasn’t helping and Veronica had to giggle before she said, “More than likely, I’d be inside writing…although a nighttime swim with all the lights off sounds really, really nice.”
Hank and Travis both swung their gazes to her, lust warming their eyes before Hank said, “You could use my hot tub, if you’d like. I don’t have a pool.” His eyes clearly said, “At least not yet.”
Taking a deep breath, she reminded herself again that this was a temporary situation. She could easily grow used to being with people who thought this way, who were protective. But eventually, she was returning to Montana.
Thinking of her empty apartment back home chilled her.
* * * *
Travis looked up as Veronica appeared at the end of the hallway, looking thoroughly worn out and heart-achingly beautiful. Her naked loveliness and fragility called the primitive, protective part of his soul to the forefront as she hesitated at the end of the dim corridor.
While she’d taken a shower in the master bathroom, he and Hank had busied themselves rearranging Hank’s dining room, which got little use, and setting up the loaner laptop Duke had given them earlier. He’d be checking all of her electronic devices for spyware and whatever else the troll could have used to track her whereabouts before bringing them, and all of her other paperwork, references, and notes, to her the following day. It wasn’t ideal, but she’d be able to access all of her online files from the laptop Duke had provided and she wouldn’t be impeded from getting her work done.
First though, she needed to relax a little. She’d earned it, and he felt an overwhelming need to somehow redeem the night after her long day. For that reason, he waited, sitting in the big recliner with a bag of toys waiting for her on the floor within easy reach.
Hank sat close by, looking relaxed in the other recliner. Only because Travis knew him so well did he recognize the tension in the lines of Hank’s jaw and the set of his shoulders, giving away his anticipation of the evening’s pleasures.
