Page 10 of Danger and Dominance
“Luggage delivery,” he said with a grin, coming to a halt on the landing.“Which room did you want to take?”
Cassidy immediately pointed to the one closest to him.Both rooms were nice, but she wanted the one closer to the staircase.Just in case there was an emergency at night; that way, she’d be right next to the stairs.Also, there was a window that was right over the porch roof, so that if danger came up the stairs, she could go out that window and not have to drop down as far.If she could hang from the windowsill, she’d only fall about a floor before hitting the porch roof, which was gently sloped, so she could roll over to the edge of it and then drop down onto the flowerbeds below.
The other bedroom looked out over the side and the back, and she didn’t want to have to jump out a third-story window straight to the ground if she had another option.
“Perfect,” Jensen said cheerfully, heading into her chosen room.She was starting to think he was never anythingbutcheerful, which was nice since they were going to be living together.Don had rarely been cheerful, even in the beginning of their relationship.She’d taken his seriousness to mean that he was a serious guy and that he would be serious about her.Now, cheerful sounded good.
Which made it hard to explain why she was so drawn to David.
Maybe her internal ‘picker’ was broken.
Or maybe she just felt safe with him, even if he was serious and broody.
“I’ve got to get back to the office,” David said, glancing at his watch before looking up at her and Kincaid.“If you think you’d be up for it, I could gather everyone together to come over here for dinner.Let you get to know the team a little better right off the bat and give Kincaid a chance to hang out with us a little more before he goes back to D.C.”
“Sure, Ginger,” Jensen called from the bedroom, a series of thuds emitting at the same time as he put down her bags.“Just give them a tour of my house and then invite everyone over to dinner.”
“Well, we could do it at someone else’s, but I thought Cassidy might be tired of traveling for today,” David retorted.
Jensen appeared in the doorway, grinning widely.
“I’m just joshing ya,” he said.“Dinner here sounds great.You’re buying.Kincaid can take the other guest bedroom if he wants.”
“Noted,” David said dryly, raising his eyebrow in question at her and Kincaid.
Kincaid looked at her.
“I love the idea, but don’t feel like you have to stay if you don’t want to…” Her voice trailed off because part of her was sad to see him go.In some ways, he was her last tie to Stronghold and D.C.Once he left, it was just her in this new place, with new people and a whole new life.
As usual, Kincaid seemed to read her thoughts rather than listening to what she was saying.He was unnervingly good at that.
“I’ll stay.”He smiled reassuringly at her before turning to David.Something altered in his expression, making it seem like the two men were facing off.Measuring each other up.“It’ll be good to hang out with the team a bit.Plus, not having to drive three hours home on the same day sounds nice.”
“What about Zach?”she asked.Zach was his boyfriend, a really super sweet guy who also happened to be a sadist.She didn’t want to put them out if Zach was expecting Kincaid to come home, and she had the sneaking suspicion that Kincaid was only staying because he thought she’d be more comfortable if he did.
“I’ll give him a call.I have an overnight bag in the car with me.Zach knew I might not feel like driving home tonight.And this is better than grabbing a hotel room.”Kincaid flashed a grin at her.“As David said, I could use some time hanging out with the team, too.”
It made her feel a little better that he wasn’t putting himself out just for her.
David
The dinner idea had been an impromptu one, but it was one of his better ones.No emotional or physical entanglements with the client, but also, this wasn’t their usual kind of case, and he wanted Cassidy to know and trust the rest of the team.Since she didn’t have a single bodyguard assigned to her or even a pair, they needed her to respond quickly to all of them.
Mrs.Tulieman also ended up being invited by Jensen when she brought her pie over, which she was very pleased about and which meant she would be even more invested in keeping an eye on Cassidy.The friendly older lady was sharp as a whistle and kept up with all the neighborhood gossip.If someone came around looking for Cassidy, she would be one of the first to know, and now she knew to tell Jensen, his brother Mick, or one of the other team members immediately.
“You should come to game night,” Claudia was telling Cassidy.Dinner was long since over, and the groups had spread out a bit around the first floor.Mason and Mick were in the kitchen cleaning up while Jensen and Kincaid kept them company, chatting.Kincaid had finally relaxed enough to take his eyes off Cassidy, which was a good sign.
Claudia, Naomi, and Cassidy had taken over one of the couches in the living room, their backs to the dining room where David was standing next to the table, sipping the beer he’d been nursing all evening.Lincoln and his wife Ashley had come for dinner but left as soon as it was over.She’d just recently gotten over the flu and still tired easily, which made Lincoln hover.Mrs.Tulieman left at the same time, giving Cassidy a hug and welcoming her to the neighborhood.
David could have gone to join the other guys in the kitchen, but he found himself reluctant to do so.He was also smart enough not to infringe on lady time.So, he just stayed put and listened.There was no harm in learning more about their new client.It would help him make sure that they protected her better.
As team leader, with everything else that was going on, making sure she didn’t fall through any cracks was important.Plus, he needed to get a gauge of her personality, make sure she wasn’t the type to try to dodge her protection and put more work on him and his team.If she was, they’d still protect her, but it would mean taking different measures.
Yup.That was why he was standing here listening to Cassidy’s conversation rather than in the kitchen having his own.No other reason.
“Game night?”Cassidy asked hesitantly.
“Yeah, it’s ladies only, Thursday nights at my house,” Claudia said, glancing over her shoulder at David.He wasn’t surprised she’d realized he was there.“You don’t have to come every week.Whoever can come is welcome.There’s usually a bit of a rotation.There are a couple other subs from the club who come.Ashley comes sometimes, and we have a good time.”
