Chapter 5: Lennox

Chapter Five

Lennox

E ach click of Shera’s nails on the wooden stairs makes me freeze as I hold my breath.

This isn’t good.

The house is beautiful, and old, with creaky floorboards.

Every step feels like a landmine.

It’s a slow and arduous process, but luckily, the house is laid out in a pretty cut-and-dry manner.

At least to find my way to the first floor.

I finally make it to the landing, but it’s so quiet that I can hear the soft chuffs of someone breathing in the living room to my left.

Shera takes off in that direction, and I frown.

Shit.

She’s going to wake them up.

I use her distraction to make it to the coat hooks by the door. There’s a massive army green jacket with another note taped to it.

Snatching it down as quietly as possible, I tuck my heels under my arm and open it.

Lennox,

Put this on.

There are two pairs of socks in the right pocket.

Put those on too.

If I had any shoes small enough to fit you, I’d have set those out also, but I’m sure you’d hurt yourself trying to walk back in my size seventeen boots.

Don’t let Shera out.

I’m not joking.

She will try to barrel out the door, then make a game of it when you try to catch her to bring her back inside.

You could just wake me up.

I’ll be happy to drive you back to the bed and breakfast.

Yeah, I didn’t think so, but I had to offer.

Take the sidewalk to the street and make a right. Two blocks down, make a left and the bed and breakfast will be directly in front of you.

Be safe.

If, by some miracle, you remember last night, you know where to find me.

Bear

Okay, so that’s a sexy name.

I clutch the note to my chest as flashes of his handsome face appear and disappear the harder I try to focus on them.

Dammit.

I shouldn’t have drunk last night, and not just due to the rolling in my stomach.

My family pack isn’t exactly a picture of happiness, and I always promised myself I wouldn’t drink when I was sad.

Shaking away those thoughts, I carefully place down my heels and the note before grabbing the coat and getting into it.

Taking a seat on the wooden bench under the hooks, I pull on both sets of socks. They’re thick and wool or something scratchy. They won’t do much, but they will help some.

It was very thoughtful of him to leave them at all. His rich lemongrass and cedar scent floods my nose from the jacket as I move. It makes my instincts buzz with interest, and before I can stop myself, I’m sneaking into the living room.

Bear lies on his back without even a blanket to cover him. Likely because I was in his bed and stole his comforter.

He’s got an arm tossed over his head, and his long hair falls over his face. He’s in a pair of dark jeans, but he took off his shirt to sleep. Each of his sides is covered in tattoos that I can’t make out, but they go up his rib cage and connect to others on his pecs.

There’s a smattering of blondish-brown hair on his chest and a very well-defined happy trail that leads down into the top of his jeans.

He’s every bit as big as I remember.

I lick my lips and fight the urge to cuddle between him and the back of the couch. I bet he would be so warm and comfortable to snuggle up to. I’d bury my nose in his chest and soak up as much of his lemongrass and cedar scent as I could.

The hits from his jacket are nice, but scenting him directly from the source feels like it would be life-changing.

I frown, shaking my head.

What the hell am I doing?

He’s so large, his feet hang off the end of the couch. That can’t be comfortable. He had to sleep out here because he wasn’t willing to share a bed with me.

My eyes have a mind of their own as they circle back to his chest. Even asleep, his strength is obvious. Thick lines of well-defined muscle frame his pecs and arms, but he has a soft stomach.

Yeah, I definitely wouldn’t mind snuggling up next to him in a comfortable nest.

But now I can’t stop wondering why he didn’t sleep with me…

Did I embarrass myself?

Or make him uncomfortable?

Did I hit on him?

Oh, God.

I have to go.

My hands dig into the back of the couch as I glance at the front door.

I really hope he knows how much I appreciate him being a good guy. I could have woken up in a much worse situation this morning. I only wish I could remember everything.

Exhaling heavily, I say a silent goodbye.

My head throbs as my nose burns in the cold air, but it does help offset some of my nausea.

I’m going to need three gallons of coffee to make it through this day.

My entire body trembles with shivers I can’t fight. I only have a little farther to go if Bear’s note is accurate, and I’m sure it is.

I keep my eyes on my aching, socked feet as I follow the sidewalk down.

His house really is in the middle of town.

As soon as I hit the first road, I recognize the shops I passed coming in.

My stomach churns, making it hard to focus on anything for too long. Part of it is from drinking too much last night, but the rest I think might be due to embarrassment.

The sound of tennis shoes hitting the concrete catches my attention as it moves closer. Someone must be out for an early morning jog, and they’re heading directly toward me.

I don’t understand people who exercise.

If I’m running, you better join in, because something truly terrifying is on our asses.

The jogger’s sneakers get larger as they approach, but I keep my eyes on the sidewalk just in front of me.

This is the most random walk of shame ever.

I didn’t even get lucky last night.

I’m like ninety-nine percent sure of that.

My life really isn’t in good shape.

I just don’t know how to get it back on track. Losing Thorne and Brooklyn all in one week sent me into a tailspin that I’ve had trouble coming back from.

All I want is to be happy.

To find a decent pack and settle down.

I’m so tired of being rejected.

I want someone to love and protect me, like my sister’s guys look after her.

Being lonely is starting to affect me on a soul-deep level.

“Jesus fucking Christ.” A voice breaks the silence of the morning, and it sounds very similar to Thorne’s.

My socked feet leave the sidewalk as I jolt.

My eyes fly up, but I know it’s not really Thorne. I was thinking about him, so my brain is playing tricks on me.

All the air around me evaporates as my heart stalls. I bring a hand up, rubbing at the painful ache in my chest.

Malik Thorne looks every bit as handsome and put together as he did four months ago. He’s wearing a white long-sleeve T-shirt and black workout pants.

He rocks on his sneakers, studying me carefully in return.

“Lennox, holy fuck. What the hell happened to you?” His T-shirt stretches over his strong chest as it heaves. “Did you fight a homeless guy and steal his coat?”

Sweat rings line his abdomen, and his scent seems to flood my nostrils as he reaches out a hand.

Mine flies up so fast that my heels fly out of my hold as I slap his fingers away.

“Don’t you dare touch me.” My head shakes violently, and it makes my stomach roll. Swallowing back bile is the icing on this terrible morning’s cake, but I refuse to vomit in front of Thorne.

“I’m serious, Lennox,” he says, stepping closer as I back away. “Should I be calling the police right now or going back to my room to grab my gun?”

A shiver runs down my spine as his dark eyes narrow.

Thorne is the kind of hot that can melt my brain matter and better judgment. His brown hair is longer on top, falling over his forehead as he stares down at me with an expectant look on his face.

“Did you escape from a kidnapping? Were you a hostage? What the fuck happened to you?” Thorne’s voice is lined with concern, and it only manages to make me angrier.

“I’m fine,” I hiss, glancing around to locate my shoes. Once I spot them, I bend to pick them up. “You lost the right to ask me anything about myself when you broke my heart.”

I frown, staring at the sidewalk.

Dammit.

He doesn’t deserve to know how much I’ve ached and pined for him.

“Go to hell, Thorne,” I snap, preparing to cross the road to get away from him.

On the plus side, my fury has helped take the edge off my concerns that I might freeze to death.

“Lennox, please,” he begs, following me as I walk. “Let me explain.”

Anger vibrates through my body.

I spin around, barely holding myself back from giving him a solid beating with my heels.

“Brooklyn told me all about how you were undercover. I get it. You used me to get information. Not that I had much.” I laugh derisively. “Once your mission was complete, you sure did drop me like week-old trash.”

“Stop,” he hisses, grabbing my arm as I spin away from him again. “Yes, I was undercover, but in no way did I ever fake my feelings for you. It’s a long story, but I was in deep shit with my superiors. They’d already tried to call me in multiple times, and I was trying to protect you the only way I knew how.”

I let him pull me until his face is only inches from mine.

It’s still a little hard to believe he’s an undercover agent for the DEA. He fit in just fine with the mob family he was infiltrating. The dark tattoos go all the way up both sides of his neck, and he exudes a dangerous energy that’s probably why I was so drawn to him in the first place.

Young and stupid, that’s what I was.

“Okay,” I say, raising my eyebrows. “But if that was an apology, it was a shitty one.”

“I know I hurt you, but I never lied about anything between us. I couldn’t tell you who I was because it would have put both of us in danger.” He sighs. “I came as soon as I could.”

I’m not expecting the cold laugh that spills from my own lips.

“I fell for your crap once. Don’t think I’m going to listen to your lies ever again.” My head shakes as tears sting my eyes, but I take off for the bed-and-breakfast without a backward glance.