Raiden (The Kent Brothers #2) - A.M. Hargrove Page 0,38
my own room. I know we’ve spent intimate moments together, but …”
“It’s fine, Scottie. Drex and Gemini will be staying with me as well. Acer and Isla are in the process of moving to Cruze’s so they’ll be there with my parents, along with Isla’s mother. That opens up my place. With everything that’s going on, Drex and Gemini thought it would be best for us all to be in two places. I understand how you’d like your space and you can have that.”
“No arguments?”
“My wish would be for you to be with me, but you’re right. We haven’t known each other very long and the last thing I want is to push you away. If you want your own room, there are plenty in the house. You can choose which one you want. They each have their own bathrooms, so it’s only a matter of which room you like best.”
How could a man like this exist? “Thank you for being so kind and understanding.”
“Scottie, I didn’t say I wouldn’t try to take advantage of the situation. I only said you could have your own room.”
The corners of my mouth curled up. Figured he’d have an ulterior motive. “You’ll have to persuade me first.”
“I can be very persuasive when I choose to be.” His brows waggled. He was right. That man could be anything he wanted. And sexy topped the list.
Chapter Nineteen
Raiden
They released Scottie from the hospital the following afternoon. I’d gathered her things from the apartment at WI and brought them to my house. Then I took her some clothes to wear home. When we arrived, I allowed her to choose her room. She took the one farthest from mine.
With a grin, I asked, “Are you purposely trying to get far away from me?”
An innocent look came over her. “Whatever do you mean?”
“You know very well what I mean. But I’ll spell it out for you. This is at the opposite end of the house from my bedroom.”
“True, but it’s not like it’s a mile away or anything. I love the colors in here. This pale blue is quite soothing and I need all the soothing I can get.”
“If it’s soothing you want, I know how to do that. I can soothe till the cows come home.”
“Why, Raiden Kent, you never told me you had cows.”
“If it’s cows you want, I’ll get them. Just name the breed and they’re yours.”
“I’m sort of fond of those black and white kind.” She did her best to suppress her laugh, but it broke through after that comment.
“Black and white ones, huh?” An idea formed, and I knew exactly what I’d do. “I think you’re referring to Holsteins.”
She snapped her fingers. “Yes! Those are the ones.”
I set her bags down. “I’ll give you privacy so you can get some rest. Scottie, please make yourself at home. If you need anything, just hunt around. I stocked the bathroom with everything you might need and if you find something’s missing, let me know. There’s also food in the refrigerator and pantry. The bodyguards are here to help too.”
The soft kiss she placed on my lips was unexpected but pleasing. I didn’t push for more, but held her close afterward. “You can’t understand how thankful I am you’re okay. As we drove to the hospital that night, I wasn’t sure. You were out of it and I kept patting your cheek, hoping you’d awaken, but you never did. Damn sure I lost a decade off of my life that night.”
The creases in her brow had me massaging them away. “Why didn’t you tell me that?”
I shrugged. “It wasn’t important. When I found out you’d be fine, I forgot about it. My next concern was you would insist on living alone, or something similar. With nowhere else to go, that would’ve escalated my anxiety to indescribable levels.”
“Raiden, I may be strong-willed, but I’m not stupid. It’s too dangerous to be alone. I recognize that much. And thank you again for everything.”
A whisper of a kiss dusted my cheek before she stepped away.
“If you need anything, just call.” I had to return to the office. To-do items I’d ignored piled high on my desk.
Phone calls and meetings packed the day. Cruze landed a new contract but traveling concerned us. We flew the owners of the company to our headquarters for the meeting.
We set it for tomorrow, which meant we had our work cut out for us today. I was working on the key slides of the presentation when