“Doesn’t look like you partied too much with JJ,” Magnus said to Tesha.
The man had been introduced to Jessica James, the Off the Books Task Force’s hacker extraordinaire, several months ago, even worked with her a few times on how to handle Tesha in regard to training. Being a bit on the protective side where Tesha was concerned, Reese had asked JJ for her opinion of the man. Her honest answer: “He’s got bedroom eyes and really, really nice arms.”
Not exactly the type of feedback he’d been looking for, but that was JJ. Ever helpful if you were looking to date someone, but not necessarily when you wanted to utilize their professional services.
“Probably in bed by ten,” Reese commented. Seemed to be what JJ did these days, ever since she’d broken things off with Baz.
When Tesha stood, Magnus held up one finger. She immediately sat again.
“Good, girl,” he crooned, praising her with a scratch on the head.
“Keepin’ up with the training, I see.”
“It’s our main focus,” he admitted. “Now that we’ve mastered house trainin’, anyway.”
Magnus squatted down to get on Tesha’s level. “Mastered, huh? Very impressive, Tesha.”
It really was. For the first two weeks of her being in the house, Reese had felt as though he spent most of his time at the back door, urging her to go out in order to avoid any accidents. As time went by, she’d started announcing her need to go out until it was second nature. Then, like they’d done in the barn, once the fence had been put up, they’d installed a dog door, giving her free rein.
“And the leash? How’s that goin’?”
“She has no problem with the harness,” he admitted, remembering how Tesha had been terrified when he’d first started training her on a leash. He figured it had to do with the fact she’d been tied up for so long. Magnus had suggested trying the harness rather than the collar and, sure enough, no issues.
“And your bed?” Magnus grinned. “She still fightin’ to sleep there?”
Reese chuckled. “No. Definitely not.”
That had been the main thing Brantley had been focused on, ensuring they didn’t have to share a bed with the dog.
Speaking of Brantley…
Reese glanced up at the house, wondering if Brantley was going to come out or if he would stay inside, hiding from the world. Last he’d seen him, Brantley had headed upstairs to his office, claiming he had things to catch up on. Reese wasn’t buying it, but he knew better than to argue. That would come later, if and when Brantley’s mood didn’t improve.
No sooner had Magnus asked Reese to leash Tesha than his watch buzzed, signaling someone’s arrival. Since he didn’t have his phone with him, he had to wait for their visitor to stroll around. These days he had no idea who might be making an appearance. Could be JJ coming to work for a bit or Baz or even Charlie, for that matter. Those three were known to spend a day off catching up on email or researching a case they were working on.
But the new arrival was none of the above.
Reese watched as Brantley’s older brother ambled over, Trey’s focus on Magnus as he approached. He was wearing sunglasses, which shielded his eyes, but Reese knew Trey was watching Magnus like a hawk. Trey was like Brantley in that way, innately curious and inherently skeptical.
“What brings you by?” Reese asked when Trey came to a stop beside him.
“Thought I’d see how the trip went and tackle a couple of things,” Trey answered, although his attention was still on Magnus.
“Trey,” Magnus greeted with a smirk.
Trey removed his sunglasses, hung them on the neck of his dark blue Henley before tucking his hands in his pockets. The two men stared at one another, their eyes locked as though they were in some sort of battle for who would blink first. Reese watched with interest.
Rather than acknowledge Magnus verbally, something Reese had noticed Trey rarely did, Brantley’s brother turned to him. “Any luck in Mississippi?”
“Nope. We staked it out for two days. Nothin’.”
“But you didn’t expect it, either.”
Reese shook his head. “Couldn’t be that easy.”
“Never is.” Trey gave a curt nod. “I’ll be in the barn if you need me.”
“Brantley’s in the house,” Reese told him. “If, you know, you wanna talk to him.”
Reese was hoping someone would.
Once again Trey’s gaze swung to Magnus as he said, “Yeah, sure. I’ll go in, say hello.”
And then Trey was walking toward the house and Magnus was watching intently.
“You two have a problem?” Reese asked, too curious not to.
“What?” Magnus’s gaze slammed into him. “No.” He shook his head. “No problem here.”
“How’s your … uh … girlfriend?” Reese inquired, referring to the woman who’d been with Magnus the last time they’d gone to Camp K-9. For the record, there had been a different woman there nearly every time Reese had stopped in for a training session.
Magnus frowned, his black eyebrows lowering. “No girlfriend.”
“Oh. You were with… Sorry, her name eludes me.” Only because he’d never gotten her name.
It was obvious Magnus was attempting to think back. It took a second before he smiled and shrugged. “That was … um … Mich—uh, Melanie. Yeah. I’d just met her. We’re not a thing. Just a one-nighter.”
Interesting.
More so when Magnus’s gaze shifted to the house once again, as though he might possibly lure Trey back out that way.
*
Trey Walker stepped into Brantley and Reese’s house, forced himself not to turn around and look at the trainer who for some stupid reason had snagged his attention from the jump. Since the day he’d met Tesha’s trainer, he found himself fantasizing about him for no good reason.
And fine, Trey would admit there was something strangely appealing about Magnus Storme, with his closely cropped brown hair, hazel eyes, square jaw, and a nose that was slightly crooked. The previously broken nose didn’t even detract, only lent a rugged appeal to Magnus’s otherwise good-looking face.
Initially, he’d tried to tell himself it was a good thing that Magnus invaded his thoughts from time to time. That fantasizing about a man he wasn’t intimate with, nor would he ever be, was no big deal. It didn’t matter that the guy plagued his dreams, because Trey had no intention of acting on his attraction. And not only because he knew Magnus was straight.
No, Trey’s biggest reason for not acting on his attraction was the simple fact that he was doomed to fail at his relationships, and after Cyrus had up and left for a job in California, Trey realized it was easier to give up altogether than to hope that one day he would find a man who’d give as good as he got. So, for now, he was abstaining. Indefinitely.
Heading for the stairs, he went up, proud of himself for maintaining his focus and not lingering on Magnus for too long. He even managed to avoid looking out the sliding doors that overlooked the yard to see if the man was in view. Just because the guy was good-looking, or because he could swear there was a mischievous gleam in Magnus’s eyes when he looked at him, did not mean Trey needed to entertain—