Honey was one of those smells that I would never forget; it was sort of like maple syrup. It warmed me from the inside out and made my tummy rumble with hunger pains just from the smell. I think that was what woke me, the smell of honey wafting into the bedroom. Several things occurred to me at once, I was hungry for something smothered in honey, I wasn’t in my bedroom, and Kayson wasn’t next to me.

I lay back and stared at the ceiling fan circling, listening to the light swishing sound. What was I doing in his bed? I kept saying I didn’t want a relationship, but last night, he was the first person I thought of, no one else even crossed my mind. I didn’t know if that was because I trusted him more or because I knew he would come and bring the cavalry. Maybe somewhere deep down in my subconscious I knew Kayson Christakos would keep me safe.

I had a sudden urge to see him, wrap my arms around him, and let him hold and assure me that I was safe. By the smell of things, he was in the kitchen. My stomach let out a growl, so I got out of the bed, tossed on the clothes I’d brought to wear today, and headed downstairs.

I rounded the corner to the kitchen, aware of the clink and scrape of someone working, and found Mrs. Christakos cooking.

“Kalimera koritsi” Her voice was extremely cheery.

No clue what she just said, but since it was early, I went with, “Good morning, Mrs. Christakos.”

“Christine, darling. Just call me Christine.”

“Sorry, I’ll try to remember. Is Kayson here?”

“He’s at work. He left you a note,” she said through a smile as she tilted her head toward a piece of paper on the counter.

Picking up the note, I stifled a yawn before asking, “What time did you get here?”

“Seven thirty. From the sound of it”—she pointed at the letter—“you have a good reason to be exhausted.”

So, she was either referring to my sleeping in her son’s bed or the events from the night before. To save myself from embarrassment, I pretended she meant the latter.

Morning Sweet,

I hope you slept in. I added my extra set of house keys and truck keys to your key ring. Alarm code is zero-six-two-six if you have to go somewhere, but please don’t. Carter is helping me bring your motorcycle over later today. Will check that all is secured from last night’s break-in and grab you some more clothes. Before you get any ideas, I liked having you here; it feels right. Think about it.

K

I reread his letter, and if his mother weren’t there, I would pitch a royal hissy fit. Damn it, why did the man have to be so arghhh infuriating? Damn know-it-all, it did feel right. I liked being there, too, I felt safe, which was something I hadn’t felt in over three months.

“You feel it, too,” Christine stated. She didn’t ask.

“Feel what?” That was it, Ariel, play stupid, real smooth.

“You feel what my boy is feeling. Never seen him act like this. Never brought a girl home before. None of my boys have.”

I folded the note and put it in my back pocket and looked to the stove. “What are you making?”

“Galatopita, it’s Kayson’s favorite. It’s a honey custard.”

“It smells fabulous.” I opened cabinets until I found some mugs and stuff for coffee, “Want some coffee?”

“That’d be nice.”

“How do you take it?”

“Cream please.”

I fixed our mugs and sat at the kitchen island before pulling my plate toward me and taking a small bite of the wiggly food.

“Mmmm.” I moaned at the creamy sweet taste.

“Good, isn’t it?”

“Mm-hmm. You’ll have to give me the recipe.”

Before Christine could answer me, though, the telltale noise of a garage door lifting sounded through the house.

Kayson was back.

“What time is it?” I asked.

“Eleven,” Christine answered.

“Kalimera, Mana,” Kayson said as he walked in. He put a grocery bag in the fridge then turned and hugged his mother. “Good morning, sweet,” he said and gave me a light kiss on the lips.

“Kalimera,” Christine replied. “Sit, I made your favorite.”

Finally, I felt as if I could repeat that word and only semi-slaughter it enough that they might understand me. “What does kalimera mean?”

“Kali is good, mera is morning,” Kayson explained.

I took another bite. “This is the best stuff in the world. When I woke up smelling honey, my stomach started growling.” I stopped talking as I watched a silent conversation between mother and son. “What’s up? Did I do something wrong?”

“Of course not.” Christine was quick to assure me.

“You said you woke to the smell? Mana was here when you woke?” He raised one eyebrow at his mother but was trying to hold back a smirk. “She couldn’t have been; she doesn’t have a key. Unless she broke into my house.”

Christine had the whole raising one eyebrow thing that guys did down to a science, and mirrored Kayson’s stare. The two of them went back and forth like a tennis match, no words, just this silent exchange.

“Trelos eisai? I used the key you gave me.”

“Translate,” I whispered to Kayson.

“She asked if I was crazy,” he explained. “I didn’t give you a key. You mean you used the secret emergency spare key?”

“No. I have my own.”

“And how did you get your own?”

Kayson was up to something. I felt like this was how a cat played with a mouse just before it attacked. He was cornering her. Deep down, I rooted for Christine to turn the tables on him just to see him sweat. But I enjoyed this playfulness between the two of them.

“Tristan gave it to me,” Christine said.

“Tristan doesn’t have a key.”

“Would you like some more, Ariel?” Christine asked.

Oh no, you didn’t. No way was I being brought into this. I kept my mouth shut and held back a laugh.

“Mana?” Kayson drawled.

“Fine, I sent him up to Ace hardware with your emergency key,” she said the last word with air quotes, “and told him to have five copies made.”

“That was what I thought.”

“Well, I wouldn’t have to if you’d been considerate enough to do it in the first place.”

Kayson reached over and wrapped his arm around his mother’s shoulders. “But why, when it’s funnier watching you squirm?”

Christine looked up to the heavens, made the sign of the cross, and then smacked her son upside his head. I choked as coffee went down the wrong pipe from laughing.

“I’m gonna go change,” Kayson said since he still wore his uniform.

“You’re already off shift?” I asked.

“I was so tired, I asked if I could take part of a vacation day. I am off ’til Monday.”

“No work Friday, Saturday, or Sunday?” I was doubtful. He seemed to always to get called in.

“It’s my regular off weekend.”

“Let me get out of your hair,” Christine said to Kayson before turning to me and placing a kiss on my head. “Lovely seeing you, koritsi.” Christine’s voice was kind, but it was Kayson’s reaction that puzzled me. He and his mother had another one of those silent conversations with their eyes. This time the look on her face was like she was challenging him.

I’d ask him about what she said later instead I was thinking that tomorrow would be the perfect day for a date.

“I’m gonna go change,” Kayson said as his mother closed the door behind her.

“Okay, let me grab my phone before you close the door. I need to text Stella.”

Kayson hadn’t waited for me to find my phone. He hadn’t even closed the doors. He was standing in his closet pulling his shirt off when I walked in. I hadn’t noticed his bare back last night or the way his olive skin, which looked perpetually sun kissed, enhanced his muscles. He laid his vest on the top shelf and turned toward me when he realized that I was there.

“Come here,” he ordered.

And at that moment, I was telling all the voices in my head that reminded me, men were asses, men couldn't be trusted, and men will leave you once they thought they owned you, to shut the fuck up, and I went to him. As I got closer, I felt him, he reminded me of a stuffed animal that I’d had as a child. Puffy was my security, he comforted me, and made me forget all the bad nightmares, like this shit about me that had gathered in my head over the last thirteen years.

A rush of air escaped my lungs as he pressed me against the wall. “How’d you sleep?” His words sounded like a lullaby . . . soothing . . . I listened to the cadence of his breathing, it was so fucking relaxing. I felt his hand slide up my chest, the ‘L’ of his open left hand resting just above my breastbone, holding me firm.

“Fine.” I curled my fingers around his shoulders, sliding my hands down his biceps, and immersed myself in the heat that radiated from his body.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Sure.” But I wasn’t listening. I was too busy studying the difference in our skin tones. My pale white against his golden warmth.

“I like this,” Kayson whispered.

Okay, maybe I wasn’t as hypnotized as I originally thought because I couldn’t refuse the joke. ”Being in the closet?” I tried not to laugh. “It’s okay to come out. I won’t judge.”

One side of Kayson’s mouth rose in a smirk. “You know what I mean. I like you being here. In my bed. I liked kissing your shoulder as I unwrapped you from my arms and got up for work, listening to the soft sounds you made as you slept while I got dressed. I liked knowing that you were going to be here when I got home from work.”

What was I doing? I wanted this man more than I ever imagined wanting anyone. Kayson could break my heart if I let him. I couldn’t let him erase the years it had taken me to get to this point, this spot of security where I could pretend that I didn’t give a fuck.

“And you’ve shut the door,” Kayson said as he pulled away from me.

“What are you talking about?” I snapped.

“You. You have these walls built up to protect yourself. I’m trying to find the door. I thought after last night that you had opened it, but I saw you. You just slammed it in my face.”

I needed to retreat. “I have no clue what you’re talking about. I need to text Stella, and I still haven’t got to look around your house or be nosy.”

“Thank God you’re cute. Make your call or text or whatever and then snoop all you want.”

Kayson kissed the tip of my nose and turned around, but I heard the distinct sound of his zipper before I left.

“Kayson?” I really wanted to just grab my phone and go, but I had to know something first.

“Yes?”

“What did your mother say?”

“When?”

“Don’t play dumb.”

He let out a long sigh, clearly not wanting to tell me. “She called you koritsi.”

I waited for a second to see if he was going to offer up the translation but he didn’t so I had to ask. “What does that mean?”

“My daughter.”

I turned to face him at those words. “And that upset you?”

“Only because it would have upset you if you had known. You’ve made it clear that you don’t want a relationship. I don’t want to scare you or push you too fast. We have all the time you need.”

I nodded and headed downstairs, and the entire way I was second-guessing my idea for a date. Sure, we’d spent a lot of time together, but we haven’t had a date. Not a real one. Opening my phone, I found Stella’s name and decided to call her instead.

“How’s it hanging?” Her greeting threw me off and I giggled. “Okay, while you remember whatever it was that led you to call me, I will tell you that we have our first girl gang outing.”

No matter how many times we corrected her, Stella was going to call Iron Orchids a gang. I think she just liked the badassness vibe of the word, which was kind of ironic since none of us were badass. Okay, well maybe Piper and Leo were, but Stella and I definitely weren’t.

“We’re going to Bananas on Sunday. A friend of Piper’s is joining us, and she got a reservation. Plus she rides, add her with Vivian, the owner of Sixes, and we are up to six badass motherfuckers.”

“Do I dare ask, what’s Bananas?”

“Never fear, little one, we got you covered. Dress casual, like you are going out for a normal bike ride. Now, why did you call me? Cherries?”

“Shut up, no. Okay, maybe, but not cherry. I mean, I don’t know. I’m so confused. I want him, but I’m scared, and he’s moving so fast that just when I think I can swim he dumps another five gallons of water on my head. And then I have all this shit from the attack. Part of me thinks that I need to get my life in order before I even look at Kayson, then there’s the part of me that says what if he’s gone when I’m finally ready, and then there’s the third that says just have sex and don’t worry about the other shit.”

“Well, you know what I’m going to say?”

“Just have sex?”

“Actually, no, believe it or not I don’t think that there is any possibility of him moving on to someone else if he’s the right person. Soul mates are soul mates for a reason.”

“Soul mates? Wow, Stella that is deep, you should grab a bucket and help Kayson with the water.”

“Ha, ha, Ariel. Seriously, though. Go talk to him. We’ll pick you up on Sunday morning around eight, we’re riding there.”

Disconnecting, I let my shoulders drop. She hadn’t been helpful at all. I tossed my phone onto the counter and turned to see Kayson standing behind me, watching me.

“I picked up some steaks to grill tonight.” Relief rushed through me. If he had heard what I said, he was going to let it drop. I did the same.

“Sounds good. Were you by chance able to grab clothes from my apartment?”

“I did, they’re in the garage. I was going to bring them upstairs. I also grabbed several pairs of boots.”

“Perfect. I should have something to wear. I just need to get my bike before Sunday.”

“It’s already here. Carter and I brought it over this morning.”

I had a hard time comprehending Kayson’s thoughtfulness as I headed to his garage to grab my clothing. He followed. The consideration he offered was foreign and made me a bit uncomfortable. Not because I didn’t like it or appreciate it, but the men in my life always seemed to think about themselves first. My daddy never did anything for Mama or me, and Brandon became kinder only after I stopped seeing him. I told Kayson about my plans with the girls for Sunday, he seemed happy for me, not possessive. The brief time I was with Brandon, he expected me to be at my apartment if he wasn’t with me.

“Didn’t you take your bike to work?”

“Of course I did,” he replied.

“Then why are my clothes in the truck? I just assumed you stuck a few in your saddle bags or in a backpack.”

“I left early and got as much as I could before coming back for my bike.” His words shocked me. He got very little sleep because of me and then got up early for me? I nearly choked as he unlocked his truck, and I saw all the boxes piled in the back. I jumped up in the bed of his truck and opened the first one—it was all the clothes from my dresser. The second and the third were what looked like all the clothes from my closet, and the last three were all shoes and boots.

“You pretty much moved me into your house when this is only temporary,” I said, my voice an octave or two higher than normal. “Kayson, I only needed a few outfits, not my entire wardrobe. This is ridiculous.”

He just shrugged, grabbed a box, and carried it upstairs into his bedroom.

“This is ridiculous. Absurd. Have you lost your ever-loving mind? I’m just gonna have to pack all this back up. I’ll be lucky if I don’t lose something.”

Kayson headed back to his truck and came back with a few more boxes.

“My God, where the hell are we going to put all of this stuff? I’m gonna be living out of boxes. I need my space. I need my apartment.”

It took two more trips for him to unload his truck, and I was the one left out of breath.

“Kayson, have you heard a damn thing I’ve said?”

“You done?” he asked.

“Don’t even,” I started up, but he stopped me.

“No. You told me everything that you needed. Well, actually you screamed it. But I heard you nonetheless. Now, please just listen to me. I want to give you everything that you need. All I ask is for one thing, just one.”

“What’s that?”

“Until we find out who is after you, you let me keep you safe. I need this. I need to know you’re safe. Then I will help you move your clothes wherever you want. Hell, I will move them myself, and you can sit and eat fuckin’ bonbons while I do it or you can shout at me again. Just give me that one thing. Okay?”

Uh, crap. He was just trying to protect me. Of all the things he could ask for, he asked for something for me. Really? Fuck.

“By the way,” he said interrupting my self-degradation. “I didn’t mean to pack everything. I took boxes intending to grab a variety for you. But you don’t have much. Most of the boxes were full of boots.”

I let out a small laugh. I didn’t have a ton of clothes, but I did have at least twenty pairs of cowboy boots. “What if I pile my stuff up in one of the spare rooms?” I hated crowding his bedroom, and he had four spare bedrooms.

Lifting a stack of clothes still on the hangers, he opened the other closet—the hers side—and stepped back so I could peek around him.

“I’m in love,” I told him in a dreamy voice. I hadn’t actually looked in the closet when I got there.

Kayson stopped dead in his tracks and looked at me. I replayed my words. Shit. I had to finish that train of thought, we weren’t at that point, we weren’t in love, this wasn’t love.

“I’m in love with this closet. It’s like Sex in the City. This is a Carrie Bradshaw worthy closet.”

“Don’t care about Carrie. Are you okay with it?” he asked but his voice sounded a little disheartened.

“As if any woman would say no. It’s every woman’s dream closet.”

“I don’t care about every woman, only you.”

After hanging up the first stack of clothes, he moved back to the bed and grabbed more. When we were finished, only one-fourth of the closet was full.

“What about your girly shit?”

“What girly shit?” I asked.

“You know, stuff you put on your face and you use on your hair.” He mimicked the back and forth movement of spraying hair.

“Most of it I packed since I use that girly shit every day.” His easy assurance that I belonged there and his name for my toiletries somehow seemed to relax me, and I forgot that just an hour or so ago I was furious. I didn’t forget about asking him out on a date, though. No, for that I just chickened out.