Page 10 of Once a Killer

Bree let the curtain drop and stepped away from the window. Turned around to return to her bedroom and raised one eyebrow when she spotted the shadowy form leaning against the wall in front of his bedroom.

“Jesus,” she said, slapping her hand instinctively against the pocket holding her gun. Her voice was low, even though she’d been startled. “Spying on me? Not a very hospitable thing to do. And you should have let me know you were there. Safer for both of us.”

“How so?” he asked, his voice throaty with sleep.

“You sneak up on me like that? I’m liable to shoot first and ask questions later.”

He stared at her pajama pants and tee shirt. “You have agunhidden on you?”

She nodded once. “A knife, too. What good is an unarmed bodyguard?”

His gaze swept her from head to toe, and the little shock of awareness was an unwelcome surprise. So was the way her eyes strayed to his body, bare above and below his black boxer briefs.

One side of his mouth curled up, as if he’d noticed her looking. She narrowed her eyes. “You might want to wear more clothes next time you wander around at night.” She jerked her chin toward his abdomen. “Looks like you could use a little gym time. Unless you’re proud of that developing dad bod.”

He frowned as he stared down at his abdomen. “Dad bod?What the hell?”

“Nothing to be ashamed of,” she said breezily. “Youdosit behind a desk all day.”

She stepped around him to return to her room, and he put out a hand to stop her. She froze before he touched her. Backed up a step. “What?”

He nodded toward the window. “You hear something outside? Is that why you went to look?”

She shook her head. “Nope. Couldn’t sleep, so I thought I’d take a look at the scenery at three a.m. See if anything caught my eye. See if anything was off.”

“And was anything off?”

“Not tonight. Doesn’t mean it won’t ever be off. Good to get a base-line picture of what your neighborhood looks like.”

“You wanna stare out the window for a while longer? Be my guest. I’m going back to bed.”

She nodded as he turned around and walked to his bedroom. A floorboard in the dining room squeaked when he stepped on it. Good to know. Another early warning signal if anyone made it past those three locks on the doors.

When she was sure Jameson was back in bed, she returned to her room and burrowed beneath the covers. Her internal alarm would go off at six a.m., so she allowed herself to drift asleep. But not before she’d heard Jameson’s quiet curses from the room opposite hers.

She didn’t want to speculate about those curses. She hadn’t liked facing him wearing only a baggy tee shirt and loose cotton pants, but he’d been wearing nothing but a pair of boxer briefs. She’d been careful to keep her gaze above his shoulders, but in the first few seconds, she’d managed to take in his ripped body and impressive muscles. That tiny glimpse had unsettled her. Made her too aware that she was sharing the house with a man. A man she was protecting.

She had no business noticing his muscled body.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about that lean stretch of muscled maleness.

* * *

At six that morning, Bree pulled on her yoga pants, sports bra and a tee shirt. She carried her yoga mat into the living area, unrolled it on the floor and settled onto the squishy foam. She began her series of yoga poses, flowing smoothly from one pose to the next.

When she finished her yoga, she got her weights and bands, then worked on her arms and legs. A tiny displacement of air, a faint scent that drifted over her, alerted her that Jameson was behind her. Watching. Instead of calling him on it immediately, she did her final series of push-ups and sit-ups. Out of breath, she flopped onto the mat, inhaling deeply.

“It’s a little disturbing that you like to sneak up on me,” she said as she stared at the ceiling. “Should I be worried? Put an alarm on my door?”

She rolled over and sprang to her feet, watching him steadily.

He flushed. “I’m not a creeper.”

“Couldn’t prove it by me,” she shot back. “That’s twice in a few hours you’ve tried to sneak up on me.”

“You knew I was there.” He smiled slyly, like he knew something she didn’t.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t make it okay,” she said.

---