Instead, I spend the night alternating between security checks and berating myself for the momentary lapse in control that led me to kiss her. Ten years in the CIA, two more in private security, and I've never crossed that line with a client. Never even been tempted.
Until Nova.
By dawn, I'm no closer to making sense of what happened or what to do about it. So I do what I always do when my mind is too full. I work my body until thoughts become secondary to the physical demands of exertion.
I'm splitting wood when the sun breaks over the eastern ridge, each strike of the ax a form of meditation. A rhythm that clears my mind and settles my nerves in a way nothing else can.
Lift. Swing. Split.
Lift. Swing. Split.
I'm on my thirty-seventh log when my security tablet vibrates with an alert. Someone’s approaching the main gate. I set down the ax and check the feed, tension coiling through my body until I recognize the vehicle.
Cade. My brother.The one person besides me who knows the security codes to the property.
Shit.
I grab my shirt from the fence post and head toward the cabin, intent on intercepting Nova before she encounters my brother. But I'm too late. By the time I reach the main room, I can hear Cade's distinctive knock on the front door, and Nova is already padding down the stairs in sleep shorts and a tank top, her hair tousled from sleep.
She stops when she sees me, a small smile playing at her lips that does dangerous things to my self-control.
"Morning," she says, her voice still husky with sleep. "Someone's at the door."
I nod. "My brother." I run a hand through my hair, trying to formulate a plan on the fly. "I didn't know he was coming."
"Should I hide?" There's amusement in her tone, as if she finds my discomfort entertaining.
"No. It’s too late for that." I move toward the door, then pause, turning back to her. "About last night."
"Not now," she says, cutting me off with a small shake of her head. "We'll talk later."
The second knock is more insistent, followed by Cade's voice. "I know you're in there, Finn. Open the damn door before I override the locks."
I sigh and move to the door, unlocking it to reveal my brother standing on the porch with a grocery bag in one hand and a weapon visible at his hip. Cade looks like me, but harder, his face more weathered, his eyes carrying the shadows of things seen and done during his Delta Force years.
"About time," he says, stepping past me into the cabin. Then he stops, eyes narrowing as he spots Nova standing at the bottom of the stairs. "You have company."
"Cade," I say, closing the door and engaging the locks, "this is Nova. Nova, my brother Cade."
Nova steps forward, offering her hand with the easy confidence of someone accustomed to meeting strangers. "Nice to meet you."
Cade shakes her hand, his expression unreadable to anyone who doesn't know him as well as I do. But I can see the questions forming, the assessments being made, the protective instincts kicking in.
"Likewise." He glances at me, one eyebrow raised in silent interrogation. "Didn't realize my brother had a guest."
"It's a recent development," Nova says smoothly. "And a private one."
I'm impressed by her quick thinking, implying a relationship rather than revealing the real reason she's here. Limiting knowledge of her presence is still our best security protocol.
"I see." Cade's eyes flick between us, missing nothing. "Well, Harper sent food. She worries you'll waste away up here on your mountain."
He sets the grocery bag on the counter, then turns to me with the expression that means we need to talk. Privately.
"Nova," I say, "why don't you grab a shower while I catch up with my brother?"
She nods, understanding the unspoken request. "Of course. Nice meeting you, Cade."
We both watch as she climbs the stairs and disappears into the guest room. The moment we hear the shower running, Cade turns to me, his expression deadly serious.
