“Well, you’ll be glad to know I’m on the pill, but no, I haven’t been busy in the sack either. Before you, the thought was just gross.”
Her broken past and how it had molded her never failed to hurt his heart, especially when she was so cavalier about it. Hunter cupped her face and teased her cheeks with his thumbs. “Then why—”
“I don’t like taking chances. I can protect myself. I trust my own ability.” Her shoulder lifted. “But things sometimes happen that we can’t control, and I figured if anyone ever got the best of me, I’d be covered against pregnancy.”
He closed his eyes against that awful idea. She’d tried to protect herself in every way she could. But what good would the pill be if someone held her prisoner again...? No.
In a voice rough with emotion, he said, “Let’s both ensure that never happens.”
“Sounds good to me.” She smiled up at him. “So, how about you get my laptop and cord and stuff together while I take a quick shower here, then I’ll change into clean clothes and grab a few things for tomorrow morning. When I’m done, we can head to your house and I’ll get hold of Madison while you clean up.”
“I’d rather be with you when you call them.”
“Okay,” she said, not the least bothered by his request. “Still... I need that shower, so give me ten, okay?” Putting another firm kiss to his mouth, she pivoted away and went silently into her bedroom, emerging moments later with a change of clothes. She went into the bathroom and closed the door, and a few seconds later, he heard water running.
Rather than stand there visualizing her, Hunter got busy gathering up her laptop. Ignoring that locked closet as much as he could, he found a satchel she used for a purse and put it all on the small coffee table in her living room. Going from room to room, he checked that the doors and windows were locked. He ended up back in her bedroom, where the framed photo of her with the McKenzies sat on a nightstand.
Holding it, Hunter remembered how this room had looked when she’d first moved in. Stark, barely functional, definitely not comfortable. In such a short time, she’d settled here and, thanks to her family, everything was now nice and cozy.
Much like Jodi herself. Yes, she was definitely cozier now—but that intractable edge remained. Jodi could be softened, but she would never be the average person, shielded by ignorance of just how ugly life could get.
Slowly, he sat on the end of the bed, studying her image more closely. She looked so young, though she’d probably been in her early twenties. Her eyes, which were so beautiful to him, showed guarded uneasiness—as if she’d forced herself to go along with the picture but was far from being at ease with it. Thin to the point of looking sickly, except that even then, in the stillness of a photo, she possessed a sort of contained energy.
One false move, and Jodi would have detonated.
“Hey.” She stepped into the bedroom while combing her hair, but stalled when she saw what he held.
Hunter started to apologize, then changed his mind. Reaching out a hand to her, he asked, “Will you give me names so I can identify everyone?”
After only a second’s hesitation, she placed the comb on the dresser and allowed him to tug her down next to him on the mattress. Leaning into his side, she pointed to a tall, slender woman with long dark hair. “That’s Madison, the tech genius. She’s a beauty, right?”
“Yes.” Madison looked like she could model, annihilate or host a fun party.
“Next to her is Cade, the oldest brother, and his wife, Sterling.”
Sterling, he noted, was just as tall, equally beautiful, but with a sturdier build than Madison.
“That’s Reyes.” Briefly, she smiled. “He likes to give me a hard time, but then, he does that to everyone. He’s the joker of the family, and a royal pain in the butt—but I like him a lot.”
Hunter heard the affection in her tone. He looked at Reyes, and yeah, he wore an expression of merciless teasing, whereas his brother, Cade, looked like the definition of rigorous discipline.
Touching the photo, Jodi traced a line around the small woman with honey-blond hair. “This is Kennedy.”
When she said nothing more, Hunter bent to see Jodi’s face. “You okay?”
“Yeah, of course.” Her hand dropped away. “Kennedy’s the closest thing I have to a best friend, a sister, a... I don’t know. Everything.” She heaved a sigh. “She’s really sweet, and one of the most caring people you’d ever meet.”
Sensing all the emotion she tried to cover, Hunter gave her a one-armed hug. “I guess the older guy is Parrish?” Handsome and with a tall, athletic build, Parrish looked as if he could give orders to the pope, the king and the president, all three, and they’d obey.
She grinned. “Yeah, that’s him—the big fraud. He always looks like that, but he’s really nice—when he wants to be. And now that he’s married again, he smiles more.” When she stood, she noticed that they’d awakened Turbo. She stepped around the side of the bed to give the dog a pat. “Sorry, my man, but you needed to wake up anyway.” Going back to the dresser, she opened drawers and pulled out a shirt and jeans, panties, bra and socks. At the unlocked closet, she found a big tote bag and packed her belongings.
Hunter was still boggled by the tiny beige underwear and bra he’d seen. Damn. Who knew she’d wear something so...sexy? Or maybe it wasn’t sexy, it was just that he knew the little bits of nothing would go on Jodi, and that made them extremely hot.
Not noticing his preoccupation, she said, “Parrish had wanted Bernard to be in the photo, and he was going to take it. Bernard is this really cool guy who loves animals and cooking, and pretty much keeps them all in line. Parrish isn’t used to anyone not obeying when he gives orders, but Bernard is different. He only obeys when he feels like it. It’s extra funny because he likes to pretend to be a butler or something—you know, all stuffy and formal with his nose in the air. Then he just does as he pleases, and says whatever he wants to everyone. I like Bernard a lot. He keeps them all humble.” She smiled at the photo a few seconds more. “This was taken before Madison and Crosby got married, or he’d be in the photo, too.” Giving a wary look, she added, “Crosby used to be a cop.”
He could imagine how that unsettled a bunch of vigilantes—Jodi included. “Doesn’t bother me.”
“Good. The family is a weird mix of people. They take some getting used to.”
Weird, Hunter allowed, but he was certain they were also wonderful. After all, they cared about Jodi, and that told him everything he needed to know. “Will I ever meet them?”
“Eh, depends on how we go, I guess. If we’re together very long, yeah, you can count on it because they’ll insist. Otherwise, probably not.”