Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“That’s fascinating,” Rory said. “Are there more of you?”
He nodded. “Quite a few more. We get in each other’s business. Kane and Rose have a son now. We all take turns spoiling him. Rose acts tough, but she isn’t. She’s a marshmallow inside and doesn’t mind us giving Sebastian attention. She’s good about sharing him with us.”
“Your voice goes soft when you talk about Sebastian,” Rory said.
Gideon noted that her voice sounded soft. He liked that. Her green eyes certainly looked at him with approval.
“Why security?”
He should have been expecting that question. “We didn’t always feel safe on the streets. It wasn’t safe. We had to learn to protect ourselves and each other. It was a natural progression to protect others.”
Rory glanced toward the rolling waves, and Gideon took the opportunity to tap on his shoulder in code to Brian and Ethan. Where is the man following Rory now?
“That makes sense. Do you like living here?”
“San Francisco? The harbor? Yes. Jaimie found the place first. She was renovating the warehouse, and we all thought it was a great idea. I found a building that had survived the 1906 earthquake and fires but needed so much work it was condemned. It was four stories high, and the rooftop was so unbelievably cool, like a giant eagle’s nest. I had to find a way to save it. The building was an odd shape, built of brick. Everyone wanted to demolish it but me. I had to have it, which I suppose was silly, but I’ve never been sorry.”
He followed her right into the restaurant, Ethan coded.
“I know exactly what building you’re talking about. It’s beautiful now. You saved it from being torn down after all.” There was admiration in Rory’s voice. She reached out and brushed her fingertips over the back of his hand. “Saving that building wasn’t silly at all.”
His entire body reacted to that featherlight touch. He felt it like a hot streak of lightning rushing straight to his groin.
“I didn’t save it. I brought in a couple of experts who knew what they were doing to make sure it could withstand earthquakes and anything else thrown at it. Then Jaimie found a couple of other experts to design the outside to look the way it did back when it was first built, but with up-to-date seismic codes that we know are going to hold up when the earthquakes hit. I need open spaces, so inside, I wanted the spaces to flow into one another. In all honesty, I don’t spend much time on the lower floors. A service comes in to clean them once a week. I live mainly on the top floor and rooftop.”
“I’m not going to lie. I might have to keep seeing you just to see inside that building and go out on the rooftop. I rented a top-floor apartment just to get a rooftop patio,” Rory admitted.
Gideon couldn’t help exchanging a smile with her. “Some people have a problem with heights.”
“I never have. I don’t like to be inside very much,” she said. “When I was a little girl, I was trapped in an attic, and it was very stuffy. There were no windows and there was so much dust. I couldn’t get out.” She hesitated for a moment and then shrugged. “You may as well know now, I have the worst lungs. You know I have asthma, but it’s really bad. I can barely breathe sometimes and need to use a breathing machine to give myself treatments. I thought I was going to die in that attic, and ever since, I can’t stand closed-in places.”
Her green eyes stared right into his, defiantly waiting for him to pass judgment on her. She expected him to think less of her because she wouldn’t be able to keep up with a physically fit man. That much was written all over her face. She hadn’t wanted to use her inhaler in front of him when he’d walked her home from the bar. That hadn’t made sense to him.
“How terrible for a child to be trapped like that, especially one already having breathing problems. I don’t have the excuse of breathing problems, and I have trouble with claustrophobia. I can control it, but it takes an extreme amount of concentration and discipline.”
Her gaze didn’t leave his, not even when the waiter placed their food in front of them. He cursed himself silently for giving too much away. She was waiting for more. If he gave her more, that could lead to even more, and just about everything about his adult life was classified now. He couldn’t share that with her. He wanted her in his life. He wanted to hook her deep, draw her in. Keep her. Again, that red flag went up because the connection between them, the chemistry, was growing stronger and stronger, but he chose to ignore the warning.