Her Silver Fox Mountain Men (Lucky Lady Reverse Harems)

Chapter 2

2

Elise

“ W akey, wakey, eggs and bakey!”

This is such a weird dream. Little girls giggling and calling out to me. I’m back in Chicago looking at Igor, shuddering because I know I’m leaving him tonight.

Leaving before he can kill me.

We’re at my birthday party, and I’m wondering if it’s the last one I’m ever going to have. Everyone’s there, gathered under the giant crystal chandelier, champagne glasses clinking as they toast me.

I see Lev. The years have not been kind to him, but he appears softer, more human. Kara and Andrei are there, too, smiling, wishing me the best. Kara attempts to take me aside so we can talk but Igor gets between us. He squeezes my arm a little too tightly. “She’s busy,” he tells his younger sister.

“Screw you, Igor. You get her twenty-four-seven,” Kara replies.

“Wakey, wakey!” It’s the little girls again.

I look around. I hear laughing. Someone pinches my cheek. I glance up at Igor. He’s too busy arguing with Kara. Andrei is coming over. He hates it when his siblings go at it, especially in public.

“Daddy’s making eggs!”

“What?” I hear myself ask.

Everything warps into pitch blackness before my eyes pop wide open.

I gasp. For a moment, I forget where I am.

Then it comes back to me, albeit in bits and pieces for me to quickly put together. I’m in a guest room upstairs in my neighbor, James McTierney’s house. He saved me from the mountain lions last night. Oliver and Roman, his best friends, live here with him.

“Ugh,” I groan as I stretch my arms out.

“Wake up, silly!” the little girl’s voice comes through clearly now. She’s sitting on top of me. Oh, crap. I’m naked underneath this heavy blanket. I look down and hold my breath at the sight of not one, but two sweet young ladies. “Hi!” one of them says.

“Hi,” I manage, briefly glancing down to make sure I’m still covered. Thank the stars, I am. I sneak my arms back under the blanket, my cheeks burning red as I try to make heads or tails of this unexpected situation. These are James’s daughters. “Hi, there,” I say it again. “I’m Elise.”

“I’m Ainsley,” she replies, then points to her twin sister. “This is Tricia.”

“Hi, Ainsley, hi Tricia, it’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

Gosh, they’re so cute and bubbly. Xerox copies of each other, with curly red hair, a smattering of freckles underneath familiar green eyes, and round, sweet cheeks. Their hairstyles are the only way to tell them apart. Ainsley wears a ponytail while Tricia sports loose pigtails. They’re wearing matching lime-green cotton jammies.

“What are you doing here?” Tricia asks me.

“I’m a guest of your dad’s.”

“The mountain lions,” Ainsley tells her sister. “Remember? Daddy told us.”

“Did you see them?” Tricia shifts her focus back to me. “The mountain lions. At your house. We see them out there all the time but Daddy’s always with us or Janice.”

“Janice?” I ask.

“Our babysitter,” Ainsley replies. “Okay, so get up. It’s breakfast time!”

“Thank you for letting me know,” I chuckle softly.

Footsteps echo beyond my door.

“Tricia? Ainsley?” James calls out.

He comes into the room and only then do I notice the door has been open the whole time. I shrink underneath the blanket as I lock eyes with James. He looks so handsome in jeans and a dark green plaid shirt, Timberland boots thudding across the hardwood floor.

“Sorry about that,” he chuckles as his daughters jump off the bed and rush over, locking their arms around each of his legs.

“Mornin’, Daddy!” Ainsley says.

“We woke her up,” Tricia proudly announces.

“I see that,” he replies, then glances back at me. “Good morning, Elise.”

“Good morning.”

“Sorry; they’re early birds. But also curious and rude,” he gently chides the girls. “What did I tell you about knocking?”

Ainsley shrugs. “We knocked. Elise didn’t answer.”

“Probably because she was sleeping,” their father says.

I can already tell they’re his whole world. He melts before them. Warmth shines from his eyes, his smile beaming across the whole room. They adore him, too, and trust him completely. I know a thing or two about a child’s love for their parents, and the twins worship James. It’s clear as day, and it further proves that I’m in good hands for the time being.

“It’s okay,” I reply with a shy smile, still very much hidden underneath my blanket. “I forgot to set my alarm anyway.”

“We wanted her to come down for breakfast,” Tricia says.

“Well then, why don’t you two go downstairs into the breakfast nook and set a plate for Elise at the table? The bread’s almost done baking.”

“Yes, Daddy!” the girls reply in unison then bolt out of the room.

James and I laugh, giving the whole moment some room to breathe and fizzle away. He looks back at me, running a hand through his messy brown hair. “They get so excited around new people,” he says.

“It really is okay; don’t worry about it. They’re so sweet.”

“That they are. But be careful, they’re emotional crooks, those two. They’ll have you dancing circles around them before you know it.”

“I don’t think I’d mind.” I smile.

“We’ll wait for you downstairs,” James replies, jerking a thumb over his shoulder. “I need to make sure the bread doesn’t burn. It’s an old-fashioned oven.”

“I’ll just jump in the shower for a minute, then join you all for breakfast. Thank you, James.”

“My pleasure,” he says, pausing for a second longer than expected before he turns around to leave. As soon as he’s out the door, I slide out of bed, thanking the stars that this room has an en suite bathroom.

“Oh, one more thing—”

He comes back and I freeze on the spot, buck naked and flustered.

He, too, stills.

His gaze drops. The green in his eyes darkens into something smoldering and deliciously dangerous. I hold my breath, unsure of what to do next.

“I’m so sorry,” I mumble. “I thought you were—”

“My fault,” James replies and swiftly turns around. He lingers in the doorway for a hot second, his back turned to me. “I was just going to say that if you need more towels, there’s a cabinet right here in the hallway that’s fully stocked with everything for the bathroom.”

“Oh, okay. Thanks.”

“After breakfast, you and I can go over to your place so you can pack a bag,” he adds, his voice lower. “You should give old man Ronald a call as well.”

“Will do.”

“Janice, the babysitter, usually leaves some extra clothes here just in case. I’ll see if I can find something that might fit and leave it on the bed for you.”

“You’re too kind.”

He walks out, but this time he shuts the door behind him.

There’s a tightness in my core that his gaze provoked. I saw the way he looked at me; he was drinking me in, and, for the first time ever, I felt desired. I felt precious and wanted. Maybe I imagined the whole thing, it only lasted for a few seconds. But what if this is something different, something special that was meant to happen, something I have secretly prayed for but have a bit of trouble recognizing?

There’s a change coming, I can feel it.