Page 118 of This Bitter Sweet Temptation
And not nearly fast enough.
When I look at him again, his eyes are dark-brown amber on fire.
Holy shit,focus.
“Here we are,” he says grimly. “Home sweet home.”
“You live here?” I joke, shaking my head. “You, and not some cute old man who wears cardigans and makes stained glass birds?”
Actually, I can’t see anyone else living in this space but Holden now.
So ridiculous.
He lifts an eyebrow. “Last I checked, I’m the guy who pays all the bills. You girls wait here.”
I nod and turn toward the back seat, grinning as Kit yawns.
“Must feel good to be back home?”
She shrugs. “It’s okay. Your granddad’s house was cooler.” Her expression clouds.
Eh, we’ll see about that. For now, I just hope it was more dangerous than the humble Verity abode.
My eyes track Holden as he unlocks the front door and disappears inside, presumably to do a sweep of the house before inviting us in. I can’t imagine being this paranoid, but under the circumstances, I can’t fault him either.
Kit doesn’t seem to notice there’s much wrong. She waits patiently until big daddy returns, walking so lightly you’d only notice it if you already knew about his knee.
My heart throbs.
I know he hates showing weakness.
If I suggest taking a breather on the whole manic security guard gig for a few days, he’ll get all snarly and tell me he doesn’t have a choice.
His eyes meet mine through the windshield again. Still so fierce. So guarded.
My breath stalls.
I hold it in my lungs as he stops and waves at us to get out.
“Let’s go,” he says, opening Kit’s door first. “I’ve got the bags.”
“I can handle mine. No need to play bellman at your own house,” I say, heading for the trunk.
“Just follow Kit inside. She’ll show you around.” He throws me another scary sexy look.
“Yeah! Come on, the grand tour only takes five minutes.” The little girl smiles brightly, bouncing on her heels.
“Okay, nugget. Let’s go.” I look back at Holden again, the way he hoists the stuffed bags out of the trunk without a care in the world for his injury.
His muscles ripple.
So yeah, maybe it’s a good thing I’m going to miss seeing that after all. I can’t start blushing again right in front of Kit.
She leads me up the inclined paved path to the front door and we go inside.
“This is the hall,” she says so flatly I almost laugh.
Inside, it’s avibe.Dark wood, soft neutral walls, low light, comfortable and well organized.
