"This room here is the closest to the front door." It was just a few feet from the top of the stairs.
Merrick glanced at the closed door, then at me. "And your room?"
The corners my lips curved upward. "Is at the other end. Each room has its own bathroom, so you won't have to worry about sharing. I'm going to change. Make yourself at home." I walked right past the door. Let him open it on his own. Curiosity threaded through my veins. I wanted to know what he would do.
So far, Merrick had proven unpredictable and entertaining. Two adjectives I didn't apply to much. Once I was in my own room, I didn't bother with closing the door. It had a little L shaped hall that turned to the main room itself.
Another test for Merrick.
As I went through my ritual of changing, I inspected my clothes for any evidence lingering from the alley.
Blood on the hem. It was almost too dark to notice, but stains were stains.
Pity. I'd liked this dress.
It would go into the furnace with his clothes. Panties and the strapless bra were fine, no evidence to dispose of, so they went into my normal laundry. After grabbing a change of clothes, I slid into my bathroom to strip off the makeup and brush out my hair.
The mask and the styling gel, it was all a part of the role I'd had to play. When I finished, my hair was up in a ponytail, the t-shirt I'd picked was more crop top and left my abdomen on display, along with the hint of a single scar that had long since faded into a white line. I refused to let it keep me from wearing bikinis, but I also didn't advertise it.
The sweatpants were comfy and when I emerged from my room, Merrick stood at the end of the hall near the top of the stairs. He was still wearing the clothes he'd changed into in the alley, though his hair looked slicked back and his face clean.
I deliberately made a noise so he would hear my approach and he turned to give me an even wider smile. "You look great," he murmured, with an almost insulting amount of awe in his voice. Either he caught it or my raised eyebrows warned him of the possible verbal misstep. "Not that you didn't look fabulous before, but this looks just more—you."
Daddy, he followed me home. I may have to keep him.
"Nice save," I told him, then bopped his nose with a single finger before heading down the stairs. "I'll give you a full tour tomorrow. I expect you're tired, but if you write down your sizes, I'll make sure to get you resupplied."
If all he had left was that duffel bag, then he was going to need more.
And I was already planning everything he'd need, right down to the IDs. If he passed every test like he had these few...
Dammit, I was keeping him. Sorry, Daddy.
“Sure, a tour tomorrow is great. And it is getting late. I’d much rather keep you company in the kitchen anyway.” He opened an arm, inviting me to lead the way downstairs.
Such a gentleman, I almost smiled as I passed him.
“So, what do you do for work?” His voice echoed around the narrow staircase, and if I hadn’t been used to tamping down my responses, I might have stiffened. It was definitely a novelty, having someone asking such personal questions in my own space. Enough so that it set every instinct in my body off kilter.
“I do some odd jobs here and there. Enough to get by. I’m going to make some eggs and toast. You sure you don’t want anything?” I entered the kitchen and quietly started pulling the few ingredients from the fridge.
He leaned a hip against the counter, crossing his arms and seemingly content to just watch me beat the eggs.
“That’s great, so you won’t have to leave early in the morning or anything. I can help, you know. I’m a jack of all trades, master of none, kind of guy. No matter what kind of work you have lined up, I can help out.”
I paused my movements. That’s why he asked about my work, not to pry into my business but to make sure I wouldn’t leave him. He did say he formed attachments much too easy. I should really be concerned I wouldn’t be able to get rid of him if I needed to, but there seemed little doubt this man would find himself in trouble without me.
When I glanced up at him, I paused for an entirely different reason. Under the bright lights of the kitchen, with him barely a few feet away, I got a look of just how gorgeous Merrick really was. With sooty lashes framing ice blue eyes, and a few days stubble across his jaw, he was every inch the bad boy.
Which was hilarious, because he had more decency in his thumb than most of the human population...Even if he was a little strange.
Forcing my attention back to my severely whipped eggs, I set them down to put butter in the skillet. The buttery aroma quickly filled the air, while I came up with a response. It was quick, and it wasn’t smoothly evasive.
Note to self, make sure Merrick stays at least five feet away at all times, preferably in the shadows. I had never had an issue reacting to men, and I didn’t want to start now. The solution to that was knowing my boundaries, and Merrick just might be a hard line in the sand.
Damn it.
“Yeah. Okay…” I poured the eggs in the skillet and popped the bread in the toaster. It was slightly unnerving having someone so openly observing me. “I’m sure we can figure something out for you.”
“What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” Another perky question to incite an unhealthy amount of teeth grinding.
What was on the agenda? Now that my target was taken care of, I needed to get started surveilling the next man on the list. Among other things…
“Probably some phone calls and administrative things. We can just take tomorrow easy.” Within minutes, I had the eggs dished up with the toast buttered lightly. I usually ate at the island or in my office, but with Merrick here, it seemed more polite to take him to the dining room.
No, I’d take him to the living room. At least there I could turn on the TV to distract him from the questions I wasn’t ready to answer.
I poured two glasses of water, handing one to him, before grabbing my plate and moving to the living room. His quick footsteps, falling softly to the same beat as mine, made me realize my mistake. I should have given him the tour, that way he wouldn’t feel inclined to follow me everywhere.
Snorting, I dropped into the oversized leather chair and clicked on the lamp. He would have stuck to my side regardless.
“Here, pick something for us to watch,” I said as I tossed him the remote. Daddy had always hated the internet, threatening to get rid of it from time to time, but how else were we supposed to do our work and keep a pulse on the news?
At least a few years ago, I was able to call in a favor with the network to set us up with a VPN, among other things to hide our presence.
“Oh man, this is a lot of pressure. I promise, no porn or true crime. I think we’ve had enough of both for the evening.” There went that damn smile again. At least I couldn’t see the startling hue of his eyes under the dim lamp light.
I was quickly beginning to think I was a sucker for blue eyes.
Merrick surprised me by landing on an improv show on one of the comedy channels. It was oddly entertaining, though some of them were much better than others at thinking on their feet. I found myself laughing along with him, but more, I was torn between watching Merrick watching the show and the show itself.
When he laughed, he laughed with his whole body. The openness and the warmth didn't seem remotely manufactured. I'd spent a lot of time observing people. The way they could smile but it never reached their eyes. Or how they could appear to be listening yet their gaze was a million miles away. Merrick was very much in the present.