Page 57 of Unlawful Seduction

Wanting to learn more about him didn’t make any good sense, yet it was difficult not to be curious. Was he as dangerous as the family tree had indicated?

My eyes drifted to the door covering the bottom of the shelving unit. As had always gotten me into trouble, I couldn’t help butwant to find out what he was holding in there. I carefully placed my wine on the small table behind me and crouched down, half laughing because I’d expected to see a lock on every door.

There wasn’t.

What I found brought a huge smile to my face. Old-fashioned board games. Scrabble. Chess. Battlestations? Toss Across? Oh, my God. A Monopoly game from years and years before. It had to be considered a classic. I chewed on my lip, threw a look over my shoulder, and pulled out the box.

This couldn’t be considered intruding. Could it?

The game was older, maybe from the early seventies. I was shocked at the condition it was in. Someone had taken very good care of it. I opened the lid, peering inside and was tickled to see all the pieces were there, the money and cards in excellent shape. I gingerly placed the box on the floor and pulled out a couple of others.

All were in the exact same condition. Were these some prized possessions Beckett had brought with him through every twist and turn of his life? He obviously had different sides, but that made zero sense. Still, I was excited, as if I’d found a small treasure with his name attached to it. I must have been making gleeful sounds before a sudden dip in the barometric pressure caused me to cringe.

That was followed by a deep sigh, the kind that would set any woman’s blood on fire. I lifted my head, gritting my teeth at the same time. “Oh, hiya. I thought you were embroiled in work.”

He had his arms folded as he stared at me and I finally noticed he’d changed into jeans. I kind of preferred him in sweatpants with no shirt on.

Everything about his appearance indicated how rough and tumble he was, including his long, shaggy hair. For a few seconds, I allowed myself the fantasy of spending time running my fingers through the thick waves. Would he like that? I doubted the man was sensual, but as I’d noticed before, he was full of surprises.

“You just can’t help yourself.” There was no chastising tone in his voice, more like full on amusement.

“You did say I had run of the house.”

“Those weren’t my exact words.”

“Close enough. You have fascinating tastes in music.”

He shrugged as if I was making fun of him.

“I like it. Including the Viking theme.”

He narrowed his eyes. “Viking theme?”

“You know, barbaric. My favorite era.”

There was an instant sparkle in his eyes, which softened his expression. “I’ll keep that in mind, barbarian girl.”

The man could infuriate the hell out of me, but he could also make me laugh. I glanced down at the games, making a sweeping gesture. “You bought all these? They’re incredible. They’re in mint condition. You could bring a pretty penny into the household income if you sold them. But don’t do that. They’re so precious and remind me of a time when things were simpler, more honest somehow. I would never have suspected how much you adore board games. Not in a million years. And the music. This is amazing. Listen to the guitar. I noticed you must play the guitar as well. I would love to hear you some time.I can only imagine the soulful vibe you can create because of just how broody you are.” I sighed and noticed his expression of amusement had kicked up a notch. “I’m babbling on. Aren’t I?”

He crouched down and placed the tips of his open fingers on the floor maybe two inches away from me. Leaning over, he never blinked and I wasn’t entirely certain he was breathing. “You do talk too much, Doc, but for a man who’s had very few conversations over the past couple of years, I like hearing the sound of your voice.”

“Oh. Thank you?” I made it a question and he laughed.

“The music is mine. The guitars are mine. But I can’t take credit for the games. They came with the house along with a few other interesting finds. I shoved them all in there. Board games are best played with more than one person, and I don’t get a lot of company.”

“That’s true. You must get terribly lonely.”

“How can I be lonely with Jax around?” He stood as slowly as he’d bent down before, peering down at me as his chest rose and fell. I didn’t know this man and had begun to accept there were some aspects about his life I honestly shouldn’t learn anything about. But I had to admit playing detective was also fun.

Maybe dangerous since I had no comprehension of his personality, but I had to do something. “Good point. He’s pretty special. What else was left for you?”

He lifted a single eyebrow and nodded toward the same shelf. “Why don’t you find out?”

“Why does that seem like a dare?”

“And what if it is? Are you the kind of woman to ignore a dare?”

He was goading me. “Very funny.” I shoved the games aside and crawled onto my knees, peering inside. There were a couple of books and I wondered why he hadn’t added them to his collection.

---