Page 20 of A Hunter Found
Setting her burden down by the edge in easy reach, Morgan joined Sophia in the hot tub with a grin. “So, you and Kane, huh?”
Sophia felt her cheeks heat but she didn’t bother to deny it. “He’s nice. I like him.”
Plucking one of the longnecks free of its ice bed, Morgan offered it to her before grabbing one for herself. “Kane is very nice. Nice to look at, fun to hang around with, and you certainly can keep up with him when it comes to food.” The last was said with a merry chuckle as Morgan clinked her beer against Sophia’s.
Sophia waited for the other woman to issue a warning, or tell her about Kane’s womanizing ways, or offer some tragic backstory that made him an unacceptable choice. When she didn’t, Sophia was momentarily stunned. Shaking it off, she asked, “You’re okay with it?”
The other woman shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re both adults.” Wiggling her fingers in the air, she added, “Fly free.”
Sophia shook her head with a grimace. “I doubt my brother will be as understanding.”
Morgan’s face went serious. “Your brother just wants you to be happy.”
Any further commentary on that particular subject was cut off as Travis and Kane emerged from the house to join them. Her brother practically tore off his jeans and T-shirt, leaving him in the board shorts he’d worn underneath, and quickly climbed into the hot tub to take a seat on Sophia’s other side rather than sitting next to his mate. Sophia nearly rolled her eyes at her brother’s transparent attempt to keep Kane away from her.
Yup. The cat was definitely out of the bag. Travis had seen her interest and was not taking it well. She was also, most likely, in for a stern talking-to later as well as a recitation of all the reasons she shouldn’t want Kane that Morgan had refused to list. Goody.
Unlike them, Kane was making no move to strip off his typical wardrobe of black leather jacket, T-shirt, and jeans, was merely sitting on the paving stones beside the tub, skimming the water with his fingertips as he shared some news with Morgan about a meeting, though his eyes, Sophia was gratified to see, kept returning to her.
“Aren’t you coming in?” she blurted, cutting off whatever response Morgan had been about to make.
The smile he shot her, had Sophia’s toes curling against the bottom of the tub. The man had nice teeth. Honestly, he had nice everything. Some good genes there, that was for sure. The thought had her frowning. There had to be something wrong with him. No one was perfect. Perhaps he was a lousy lover or had a tiny pecker.
Shaking off the sudden need to check his package which was currently out of sight thanks to his leather jacket and a raised knee, she realized she’d missed whatever it was he’d said. Loathed to seem like an idiot, she pasted a smile on her face and nodded, hoping that was the correct response. Since no one was looking at her like she was crazy, she could only assume it was.
“No rest for the wicked,” Kane said with a grin, flicking water off his fingertips before levering himself up. With a heated look aimed at Sophia that he didn’t bother to hide and which had her greedy little lady bits pulsing with approval, he said, “If you’re still here when I finish up I’ll give you another tour of the place now that it’s furnished.”
The words may have sounded like an invitation to all of them, but Sophia, and most likely Travis and Morgan, knew better.
The sliding doors had barely closed behind Kane when her brother’s head whipped in her direction. “What are you thinking? He’s one of the Born. Our natural enemies.”
Morgan cleared her throat loudly at the same time Sophia let out a scoffing snort and gave her brother a pointed look. “Like you’re one to talk.”
A clicking growl rumbled from his throat. “We’re not discussing my choices we’re discussing yours.”
“So, you’re going with the ‘Do as I say not as I do’ argument. Lovely,” Sophia uttered dryly.
Travis’s jaw clenched hard enough that Sophia would have feared he was going to crack some molars if she wasn’t so annoyed with him at the moment.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt – again,” was bit out between those clenched teeth.
Sighing, Sophia grabbed up her brother’s fisted hand and squeezed it between her own. “I don’t want to get hurt. Trust me. But I like him, Travis. I like him a lot. And I have no idea what’s going to happen, maybe just sex –”
“Ugh, no,” Travis said with a look of horror, yanking his hand back to cover his ears. “I donotwant to hear about my baby sister having sex. No, nope, la, la, la, la,” shaking his head rapidly back and forth, he finished with, “My ears will start bleeding.”
Both Sophia and Morgan laughed at that, and Sophia grabbed up her brother’s hand once more. “He makes me happy, Travis.”
And with that, her brother hung his head for a moment before he nodded, accepting defeat.
∞∞∞
Kane was on the phone with one of his seconds, a vampire formerly under Rodolfo’s rule who headed up one of the few legitimate businesses of the deceased Born’s empire, a hotelier with a head for business – one of the main reason’s Kane had picked him. Unlike his predecessor, Kane didn’t feel the need to choose brainless brawn to stand behind him, but would rather promote men and women with intelligence and drive that would lead to a prosperous future for all of them.
“I need you to start keeping an eye out for potential recruitment opportunity. Almost sixty percent of the Turned under Rodolfo’s control were killed when Jourdain attacked. The Court of Elders will be looking to me to make up those numb–”
Kane cut off abruptly, a choked noise leaving his throat as he glanced out the window and spotted Sophia climbing out of the hot tub, water sluicing off her lithe form. Her only covering was what appeared to be little more than pale green triangles of fabric and a bit of string leaving Kane practically panting.
“Sir? Is everything all right?”
