Free Stormfront (Undertow Book 2) by K.R. Conway

Christian didn’t really bother me, but I didn’t know him very well either. I also didn’t know how to treat him – as a friend? A stuffy business man? A watchful grandfather? A sex symbol?
    Okay – that last one was a definite no .
    In the end, we were probably both trying to navigate how our relationship would work.
    I got to the front hallway, Raef following me closely, and opened the door. There, standing on the porch with a bottle of Cristal champagne worth more than my Jeep, was Christian. A flawlessly cut suit framed his perfectly sculpted body and stunning face. No wonder Elizabeth fell for him and Newport named him Most Eligible Bachelor.
    He gave us a brilliant smile. “Eila. Raef. Happy Thanksgiving. May I come in?” He always asked, even though I had granted him permission nearly a month ago.
    As a Mortis, he could only enter a house if the owner granted him passage. I would never forget the day I invited Kian and Raef inside my home, though they had been inside 408 many times when they were human. Raef had helped build my home, including some of the furniture, including my four-poster bed. He had been a friend to Elizabeth, who had hired him as a young, gifted carpenter. The fact that he failed to protect her that night in the harbor haunted him, but he had been turned into a Mortis back then and didn’t recognize her as a friend.
    “Please come in. Mae will be pleased to see you,” I said, stepping aside so he could enter. Raef, still unsure of Christian, moved slowly out of the way. The two soul thieves sized each other up, but then Christian held out his hand to shake Raef’s.
    My guard didn’t move.
    “Raef - I am forever grateful for all that you do for Eila, and understand your reluctance with me. I’d want you to be wary of anyone that comes close to her. But I want nothing but the best for her, and that includes the men she loves. You should remember that when your mind wanders to certain things not related to her safety.”
    Did he just slam Raef? Bastard – I think he did!
    “Excuse me? You have no say in who I do or do not love. You need to rethink what you have just said,” I whispered, angry. I was seriously pissed.
    Raef, unmoving and unflinching, wore a mask of stone. I couldn’t read him, but felt the tenseness of his body next to me. When he finally spoke, his voice was low and crisp, “You have been invited by Mae and she expects you, therefore I can’t toss you out into the snow. But you hold no rights to Eila’s life, nor can you dictate her free will. My goal is to keep her safe, so that she may lead the life she chooses, with whoever she deems worthy.”
    My throat tightened at his simple, yet elegant, pledge to me.
    Christian, never loosing his cool, simply tipped his head graciously. “I think I will seek out the hostess. Please excuse me.”
    He left us, standing together in the hallway, as he walked toward the parlor and the kitchen beyond. I heard Mae greet him with an enthusiastic hello, followed by a more subdued pair of greetings from Kian and Ana.
    Raef looked down at me, a devilish gleam to his eyes, “Sure I can’t just kill him?”
    “I’ll think about it,” I replied, with a wink.
    An hour later, between bites of turkey and potatoes, I learned that Mae had accepted a job working for Christian as an antique real estate scout for North Star Historic Estates. She would get to travel all over the country and though she had some concerns about leaving me now and again, I could tell she was entirely thrilled.
    I swallowed back my unease over Mae being so close to Christian and prayed it would all work out. Having Mae work for a Mortis would either keep her safe . . . or put her directly in the crosshairs of my messed up family tree.

 
 
10 Eila
     
    During my recovery from m y stellar performance in the Breakers, my physician had recommended a physical therapy that could help strengthen my core muscles.
    Most of her suggestions sounded downright annoying