the protection the woman, whatever she was, could provide Grey and the girls, not to mention she could bring in Tala and Marrok and their newly combined clan.
Her little family needed protection now.
After that, before the wolf shifters could pounce, Rowan would disappear.
Chapter Nineteen
At a tentative knock, Grey glanced up from his email to find Rowan standing in the doorway.
“I wanted to let you know I was home.”
He leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to absorb how nice the word “home” sounded on her lips, taking in her appearance. She’d already kicked off her shoes. The woman seemed to have something against them. Her adorable toes scrunched into the thin carpet covering the hardwood of his office, like they protested his glance.
He lifted his gaze, trying not to also stare at that stubborn chin, or freckles, or lips that he wanted pressed against his. “Did you enjoy your day?”
“Yes.” Her expression gave away little, but the slight tightening to her lips told him she’d rather not talk about it.
Curious, he let it go, nonetheless. “Good. Have you had dinner?”
Only a slight hesitation. “No.”
“I make a mean spaghetti. Would you like to join me?”
A longer hesitation this time. What was with her all of a sudden? Had dealing with Castor, and the physical toll that took, scared her, made her rethink working for him? His job did have the potential to bring danger, but he’d warded the house against outside threats. The thought of her leaving was as sharply unpleasant as a punch in the nose, making it hard to see straight through the sting.
The same sting her fear of him in the woods had brought. Only that had been worse. The fear in her eyes, the certainty that he’d cause her any harm. But how could he harm someone who’d become as important to him as she had? The girls trusted her, had come to rely on her. So had he. He couldn’t do this without her. What’s more, he didn’t want to. When had that happened?
“That would be nice. Thank you.”
Still recovering from his over-the-top reaction, Greyson glanced at his watch, more as a stalling tactic to gather his wits. He knew the time, as the day had moved in frustrating slowness. This had nothing to do with the witch before him, of course, just irritation with the lack of movement on his case and the strange quiet of an empty house. “Give me about an hour?”
“Do you need any help?”
He shook his head. “It’s your day off.”
A genuine smile lit her eyes. “So it is. I’ll see you in an hour, then.”
A few hours later, Grey poured the last of the wine into both their glasses and led Rowan to the couch in the family room. She walked through the corner of the room beside the fireplace and shivered.
“Cold?” he asked.
She smiled and lowered herself to the couch. “Something about that spot. It’s always freezing.”
“I know. It’s been that way since…”
Why’d he pause? “Since?”
His lips tipped in a self-deprecating smile. “You’ll think it’s silly, but that spot showed up when my grandmother, Essie, died. I sometimes feel it around the cat, too.”
“You’re not the only one,” Rowan murmured, glancing around surreptitiously. If Grandma Essie was a spirit, what did she think about all this?
And why didn’t I see her that night I was in the spirit realm?
With a whispered spell from Grey, the fireplace blazed to life, casting a cheerful light over the night-darkened room.
All through dinner, Rowan had seemed hesitant with him—quieter than she normally tended to be, not looking him in the eye, a fact that bothered him more than he should let it. He’d spent most of dinner trying to convince himself that his feelings weren’t as deep as they seemed and keeping the conversation impersonal and light, putting her at ease until she relaxed, but her tension had spilled over to him. He kept rolling his shoulders like that would help. It didn’t.
Now, seated with one foot tucked up beneath her, she cast him a sideways glance, catching him watching the play of the firelight over her hair. He had to admit to a certain fascination at the way the dancing light burnished the tresses in alternating patterns of gold, dark red, and black.
He’d been doing that a lot lately. Watching her. He wanted to do even more. Only he was trapped between that need and who she was to his family. But he couldn’t look away now. Idly he wondered if