He was different from anyone she’d ever known—and certainly unlike any man she’d dated. Those guys were always the casual types. They didn’t take themselves seriously. She’d had a lot of fun with them, and that’s all she’d been looking for.
Kenton was a different kind of man altogether. And there was something appealing about him that she hadn’t expected. It wasn’t only his killer looks and what she suspected was an amazing body under his clothes. It was something else, a desire to make things perfect when nothing ever could be, that she found endearing.
8
“Down, Eliot!” Kenton commanded when Mia came through the door after work and the overexcited dog launched himself at her. Kenton was used to others, even dogs, obeying when he gave an order, but Eliot had his paws on Mia’s shoulders and was trying to lick her face.
“I’m happy to see you, too,” Mia said to the dog, taking his front paws from her blouse and returning them to the floor. She dropped to one knee next to Eliot and stroked his ears until the dog rolled onto his back with a sigh.
“He needs some actual training,” Kenton said. “He can’t be jumping like that.”
“No harm done, and he doesn’t jump on the girls. He’s very protective of them, as a matter of fact.”
“I guess that explains his reaction to the delivery guy today. The girls were playing on the front porch, and I thought Eliot was sleeping. He wasn’t. Poor guy got one foot on the step, and Eliot hit him square in the chest. I didn’t think that dog could move that fast.”
“Was he knocked down?” Mia’s face was full of concern.
“Flat on his back. I helped him up, and he seemed fine. He did say that he was marking the house as having a dangerous dog in the company’s system so other drivers wouldn’t get flattened.” Kenton felt a little bad about that.
“You’ll get a reputation,” Mia said to Eliot. “I suppose some basic training might be a good thing. Maybe obedience school isn’t such a bad idea.”
Kenton considered offering to train the animal. He’d worked with canine units in the military and had an affinity for the job. He even thought that, when he retired from the SEALs, dog training for the police or military might be his next career. Eliot could be a good test subject. Kenton figured if he got the recalcitrant animal under control, he could train any dog. But he was hesitant to link Mia’s life to his any more than it already was. They were together out of necessity, not choice—and he didn’t know about her, but he had other plans for himself.
Mia rose, cocking her head to one side. “Where are the girls?”
“Asleep in their cribs.” He was proud about that one. The twins didn’t fight sleeping in their beds at night, but daytime was a different thing. He’d put them down still awake, and after ten minutes of chattering with each other, they’d gone to sleep.
“At naptime?” she said, delight in her eyes.
Before he could respond, she wrapped her arms around his neck and snugged her body against his in a hug, bouncing up and down in excitement. He put his hands on her waist to steady her, but the friction created between them had his mind going places it shouldn’t. He’d tried not to notice the fullness of her breasts, making a conscious effort to keep his eyes on her face when they spoke. But when she was up against him, he couldn’t miss the lushness of her curves. What would it be like…
He eased her back reluctantly. “Glad you’re happy about it.”
“I am. How was the rest of the day?” She wasn’t hugging him anymore, but she was close enough that he could see the dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. And her scent was intoxicating. He’d noticed that she wore a floral perfume, but after a day at the bakery, she smelled of sugar and spice.
“Not bad,” he said. Things had gone fairly smoothly. The girls played according to the schedule, including working on their numbers and colors as he’d wanted them to. He’d had to cut the outside play short after Eliot’s episode with the delivery driver, but he had to admit to being pleased that Mia seemed interested in his successes. She hadn’t agreed with him about scheduling the day, but she was willing to let him try. “The morning snack was an issue. Can you leave me a list of what each of them likes?”
Mia smiled at him. This close was like a jolt to the heart. “I can, but it changes without warning. I find that offering them three choices works. They can each pick one snack.”
“Okay, that makes sense,” he said, tucking that information away. “How was your day?”
“Busy, but good. I saw your mom.” Mia removed her shoulder bag and hung it on a peg near the front door. “She took some cookies home for your father.”
“He’ll like that.” Kenton laughed. “He has a sweet tooth.” His dad was tall and lean, but he loved candy, cookies, and sweets of all varieties. Kenton did, too, but he rarely indulged.
“I should get a shower while they’re still sleeping,” Mia said. “It’s a rare treat.”
He wanted to object to her showering, since he hated the thought of the spicy scent disappearing from her skin, but she had flour on her shirt and probably was happy to have a few minutes to herself.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “I should check in with my CO and team while I have the chance.”
Her face turned serious and her shoulders stiffened, and he regretted reminding her of the danger they were in. She shouldn’t have to deal with any of this. It was just bad luck on her part that she was in his home and linked to him. It seemed that she’d had a run of bad luck.
“Any developments?” she asked.
“Not that I know of,” he said, “but maybe they’ll have news for us.” He reached for her, touching her arm but resisting the temptation to pull her into another hug. “I’m doing everything I can to keep you and the girls safe. I hope you believe that.”
“I do.” Her smile was tentative now. “And I appreciate that. Glad to have one of the good guys on my side.” She went past him and up the stairs, leaving him wishing he could have done something to reassure her. If he knew where the threat originated, he could respond more effectively.
It was the not knowing that got to him. Maybe today, he thought as he headed for his office, he’d get some answers. He checked his email and saw an invitation from his CO to a secure video call in ten minutes. He went ahead and connected to it and found Anderson and Patrick already in the meeting.
“Hey, man, good to see you,” Anderson said. “Did you get the childproofing done?”
“Yeah, it didn’t take long.” He’d had the job completed within an hour. The girls were guests in his home, but they deserved to be safe. And, he reasoned, he would have kids of his own in the house someday. It would be one thing that wouldn’t have to be done at that time.
“You had to childproof your perfect house?” Patrick said with a smile.
“Do all kids try to stick their fingers in outlets?” Kenton avoided answering the question by posing one of his own.
“I think it’s universal,” Anderson said. “That’s why they make the covers.”