I'd have to arrange to catalog the other family rooms one by one. Moving on, I started on the main level of the house. Here, most of the art was concentrated in the library, Griffen's office, and the family gathering room. I'll admit, I got a little distracted in the library. There was so much there: the books themselves, the pieces I'd spotted on my first tour, and everything I discovered once I wasn't distracted by Tenn.
I didn't see Tenn for the rest of the day. He must have been shut up somewhere with his laptop, working remotely on Inn business. I didn't miss him. Really. I wanted to be left alone to work. It was more efficient. And the faster I could work, the more likely I'd find the bust of Vitellius.
Bryce didn't confront me again, not directly, but he was around. By the end of the day, I felt like every time I looked up he was lurking outside the doorway or waiting in the hall to watch me as I walked by.
He made my skin crawl. It wasn't just him calling me a tasty little snack or the predatory way he'd approached me, a combination of intimidation and intent that left no doubt what he would do if he thought he could get away with it. That was bad enough. But there was something else in his eyes when he watched me. A calculation that wasn't sexual. I didn't want his hands on me, not in a million years, but somehow, him watching me like I was a puzzle to be solved was more unnerving than the thought that he might corner me while I was alone.
Thanks to Tenn and Hawk I had that panic button always in my pocket, just a touch away. That would have to be enough.
We ate in Tenn's suite again, joined by Nicky and August, who watched cartoons while eating at the coffee table as they had a few days before. Tenn and I shared another intimate meal at the small table he'd rolled in, almost able to pretend the boys weren't there.
Pushing away my reservations and worries, I let myself relax and enjoy being with Tenn like he was just a guy and we were on a date. Like we were learning each other, enjoying each other, with nothing more to worry about than whether he'd kiss me at the end.
He did kiss me, but that was it, and Tenn didn't seem to mind. He was lying in bed after I got August tucked in, the sheets pulled to his waist, his gorgeous chest on display and the remote in his hand. "Movie?"
"Sure." I got ready for bed and slid in beside him, loving the easy way I curled into him, my head on his chest, his arm around me, his fingertips curving around to graze my breast. A flash of heat went through me. Reluctantly, I glanced through the open door to the couch. "We can't. Not with August—"
Tenn's hand stilled and a soft kiss pressed to the top of my head. "I know. I have plans to find you in a dark corner tomorrow, lock the door, and have my way with you."
I giggled. Actually giggled. "Oh, you do, do you?"
I fell asleep right there, happier than I had any right to be, pretending the man in my arms was mine and all was right with my world.
I couldn't have been more wrong. My peace would only last as long as the night, shattering after the sunrise with a chime from my phone.
Chapter Twenty-Six
SCARLETT
August crawled into bed with us again, the shaking of the mattress waking me gradually. A finger poked me in the shoulder. "Mom. Cartoons?"
I blinked awake to August's familiar eyes, focused on his goal. Cartoons. Never mind that his mother was snuggled up to our host in his bed. August didn't seem to register that there was anything odd about that. I wasn't sure if that said something about his resiliency or his love of cartoons. Maybe both.
While I was still trying to figure that out, squinting against the morning sun, Tenn passed the remote to August, who had no trouble navigating to his preferred channel and, with a contented sigh, leaned into me and lost himself in the dramas of his favorite Australian dog.
I stayed where I was, my head on Tenn's shoulder, his arm around me.
"You sleep well?" he asked in a low tone August missed.
"Mmm-hmm. You?" I traced circles on his chest with my fingertip.
"Mmm-hmm."
That was all we said. It worked for me. I didn't want to talk, I wanted to stay exactly where I was. I didn't want to get up. I didn't want to go anywhere. I wanted to pretend that this was my life now, and I'd always feel as good as I did right there, cuddled up to Tenn, lazing in bed.