Chapter 5

It was late before I got home. Feeling tired from a long day, it had occurred to me not for the first time to slam my fist into the thumbprint scanner that Jake put on the stupid gate. I muttered about him being paranoid, cursed the exhibitors at the security conference who had sold him on so many security measures for our home.

Granted, nobody had robbed us or vandalized anything, and no one had broken into the house thanks to his cameras and locks and security fob and thumbprint scanner and code entry pad. I asked him once if those who failed to put in the right code on the keypad went through a trapdoor never to return. He had just looked at me like I was nuts, which wasn't exactly a no.

When I'd made my way through the layers of security to get in the house, I took off my shoes at the door and went in. I found Jasmine curled up in my recliner holding a cup of hot tea and watching some kind of baking show.

"Who's been sitting in my chair?" I teased.

"Just me. I'm not blonde enough to be Goldilocks but I'm crashing here for a few days. Do you want me to move?" she offered.

"No way. You're good. Anything I can do to help?"

"Actually, there's no question who is in your chair since Jake makes us all undergo a retinal scan to get in the building," Eli piped up.

"There is no retinal scan," Jake said.

"Yet," I quipped.

"I was pretty impressed by the whole setup. Especially the vestibule where packages can be delivered and the door locks behind them but the delivery person can't access the house. That was pretty cool. Porch pirates are out of luck here."

"Porch pirates probably get zapped with an electric shock if they even think about it," I said.

"I have never put in traps intended to cause bodily harm. I'm not sure you know me at all if you think I'm propagating torture. It's about keeping the structure secure and the people I care about safe."

"Yeah, whoever isn't in the immediate family better say their prayers. Because I'm pretty sure you have ways of deterring the uninvited."

"I don't have a fleet of robotic hounds of the Baskervilles to deploy when someone shows up selling Girl Scout cookies," Jake protested.

"Really? Seems oddly specific to deny having robo-hounds," Jasmine quipped and drank her tea. "Robo-cats maybe? Some other bionic guard animal…"

"You sure you want to stay here?" I teased her.

Jasmine shifted uncomfortably in the recliner and looked down.

"I wish I didn't need to. You guys are so generous to invite me to stay while Chris is out there making trouble, but I know I'm in the way. You have your lives and your routines, and I don't want to intrude on that or make you think you have to entertain me."

"You're a hell of a lot better looking than the other residents," Eli teased.

"Not to mention that you're too valuable to us. We wouldn't risk your safety for any reason, much less for whatever inconvenience you think you're causing. Which you're not," Drew insisted.

Jasmine blushed, her pale cheeks going a fiery red. Standing closest to where she sat, I noticed her flush and wondered if she was embarrassed by the compliment or if it was something else. Experimentally, I reached out and brushed her cheek with my hand. "I'm glad you're here," I said truthfully.

She leaned into my touch, practically nuzzled against my hand.

Ever since we met Jasmine, she's been the cool girl, the one I compared every woman to when I went out. Everyone else seemed less clever, not as quick to snap back and roast me or lacked the warmth behind the smart mouth.

"You must be tired after today. Let me show you your room, teach you how to get through the laser beam motion sensors and avoid the poison darts in case you need to get up and pee in the night," I joked.

Jasmine shifted in her seat and unfolded her long legs. She put her tea down and took my offered hand. It felt way too good to have her take my hand in front of everyone.