L-

I stalked past the few people in the kitchen and headed for the front door. I needed to go outside and calm down. Fresh air with no one around to see me lose my shit. Telling Jennie no had just about killed me. Turning down those sweet, willing lips . . . Holy hell, no one should be put through this torture.

"Want to talk about it?" V asked, as the door behind me closed.

"I need to be alone," I told him. I gripped the porch railing and kept my eyes focused on the driveway full of cars.

"You aren't gonna be able to keep this up. She's under your skin now," V said, coming to stand beside me. I should have known he'd ignore my request for him to leave me to my thoughts.

"I won't hurt her," I told him.

V sighed and turned to lean against the railing and face me while crossing his hands over his chest. "As sweet as Jennie is, I'm not worried about her. I'm more worried about you," he said.

"I got this."

"No. You don't. You're keeping your hands off her when it's obvious to anyone who sees her look at you that she would let you touch her any way you wanted to. But you're not touching her. I've never—and I mean fucking never—seen you turn that down from someone who looks like Jennie. Which means . . . you've got feelings for her. That's why I'm worried about you. She's gonna find out about her dad and about Rosé, and when she does, she'll run like hell. She'll hate all of you. I don't want to see you hurt."

"I know," I said. I fucking knew that. It was why I wasn't hauling her up to my room and locking her there with me. I couldn't go there with her.

"She's outside in the back with Mino," V said.

Standing up straight, I let go of the railing and looked back at the door. "How do you know?"

"Saw her walk out there before I came after you," he replied.

I wasn't letting Mino near her, either. He would hurt her. He'd use her, and no one was going to use Jennie. No one. Ever. I would fucking make sure of it. "I gotta go get her. I upset her," I said, heading for the door.

"He knows she's innocent. Mino isn't an asshole. He's a good guy. Stop acting like he's a fucking horndog."

I tightened my grip on the door handle and took a deep breath. "Don't tell me what to do, Taehyung."

He let out a short laugh. "Never, sis. Never."

I jerked the door open and stepped back inside, intent on finding Jennie and sending Mino home.

"Heeey Lisaaaa!" a female slurred excitedly and she latched on to my arm. I glanced down to see one of Rosé's friends whose name I couldn't remember holding on to me.

"No," I replied, and I kept walking. She didn't let go. Instead, she kept giggling and talking about her wet panties. This shit used to turn me on, but the smell of Jennie and the thought of her eyes as she crawled closer to me so she could study my tongue made everything else seem cheap.

"I'm Babs. Remember? I used to stay the night with your sister in high school," she said, pressing against me.

"Not interested," I told her, trying to jerk free when we stepped into the kitchen and my eyes locked on Jennie. She was alone. No Mino. And she was watching me. With . . . Babs, or whoever this was on my arm. Shit.

"But you said," Babs started to argue. I had no idea what she thought I said. Then she kissed my arm. Fuck. "I'll take off my panties down here if you will," the girl continued, not taking no for an answer. She was wobbling on her heels and clinging to me even more now.

"Babs, I've already told you no. I'm not interested," I repeated loudly, keeping my eyes locked on Jennie's. I wanted her to hear me. I knew this wasn't what I wanted. Who I wanted.

"It'll be naughty," she promised me, then started laughing. Nothing about her was appealing.

"No, it will be annoying. You're drunk, and your cackling is giving me a headache," I said, still looking at Jennie. She had to believe me.

Jennie dropped her eyes from mine and turned to go to the pantry. Good. She was safe in there, and she needed sleep.

"Hey, that girl is going to steal your food," Babs whispered loudly.

Jennie's face turned bright red, and I threw Babs off my arm, letting her stumble to catch herself. "She lives here; she can have whatever she wants," I informed anyone else who might say something to embarrass her.

Jennie's eyes swung back to meet mine again.

"She lives here?" Babs asked.

The hurt in Jennie's eyes burned a hole in my chest. I couldn't take it.

"Don't let her lie to you," Jennie said. "I'm the unwelcome guest living under her stairs. I've wanted a few things, and she keeps telling me no."

Fuck.

She slammed the door behind her. I wanted to go after her, but I knew if I went in there, I wasn't coming out. I wouldn't be able to keep my hands and mouth off her.

Mino walked into the kitchen and swung his gaze to me. "You don't deserve her," he said coldly.

"Neither do you," I replied, then turned and headed for the stairs. I had to get away from these people.

V met me in the hallway.

"Make sure Mino leaves. If Jennie comes out of her room, come get me," I said, without stopping to look at him. Then I headed for my room. So I could remind myself, yet again, why I couldn't touch Jennie.


Could you not be good for just one kiss? Please ?

Those words had kept me up all damn night. How the hell I'd walked out of that little room I had no idea. I had to stop this. I couldn't let her in anymore. She didn't know the truth. I had to protect her. My feelings for her were already too dangerous.

As much as I wanted to tell her about Rosé, I couldn't. She'd hate me, and I was too far gone now. I couldn't live with Jennie hating me. At least not this soon. I wasn't ready for her to leave me. I glanced back over my shoulder at the closed pantry door. Last night, Jennie's parting comments about her being the unwelcome guest had pissed me off. I was changing that. Maybe I wasn't ready to move her upstairs yet, but I would feed her. I wasn't sure what she was eating in the mornings, but since she was sleeping in late today, I had time to make her breakfast.

The pantry door opened behind me, and I glanced back again to see Jennie staring at me with a surprised look on her face. We hadn't ended things well last night. This morning, I was going to change that.

"Good morning. Must be your day off."


J-

I finished the last of my peanut butter sandwich and dusted off the crumbs in my lap then stood up. I was going to need to go to the grocery store and buy new food soon. Peanut butter sandwiches were getting old.

I was off work today and I wasn't sure what I was going to do. I'd lain in bed thinking about Lisa and how stupid I was most of the night. What did the girl have to do to convince me she just wanted to be friends? She'd stated this more than once. I needed to stop trying to get her to see me as something more. I'd made that jab at her last night. I shouldn't have done that. She didn't want to kiss me. I couldn't believe I'd begged her to.

I opened the pantry door and stepped into the kitchen. The smell of bacon met my nose and if Lisa hadn't been standing at the stove with nothing but a pair of pajama pants on and sports bra then I'd have been completely wrapped up in the delicious smell. The view of Lisa's back took away from the bacon.

She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. "Good morning. Must be your day off."

I nodded and stood there wondering what a friend would say. I didn't want to break the rules anymore with her. I was going to play by her rules. I'd be moving out soon enough anyway.

"Smells good," I replied

"Get out two plates. I make some killer bacon."

I wished I hadn't eaten the peanut butter sandwich now. "I've already eaten, but thank you."

Lisa put her fork down and turned to face me. "How have you already eaten? You just woke up."

"I keep peanut butter and bread in my room. I had some before I came out."

Lisa's forehead wrinkled as she studied me. "Why do you keep peanut butter and bread in your room?"

Because I don't want her endless stream of friends to eat my food. I couldn't exactly say that though. "This isn't my kitchen. I keep all my things in my room."

Lisa tensed and I wondered what I'd said to make her mad. "Are you telling me that you only eat peanut butter and bread when you're here? That's it? You buy it and keep it in your room and that is all you eat?"

I nodded, unsure why this was a big deal.

Lisa slammed her hand down on the counter top and turned back around to face her bacon while muttering a curse.

"Go get your stuff and move up stairs. Take any room on the left side of the hall you want. Throw that damn peanut butter away and eat whatever the hell you want in this kitchen."

I didn't move. I wasn't sure where this reaction had come from.

"If you want to stay here, Jennie then move your ass upstairs now. Then come down here and eat something out of my motherfucking fridge while I watch."

She was angry. At me?

"Why do you want me to move upstairs?" I asked cautiously.

Lisa dropped the last piece of bacon onto a paper towel and turned off the gas stove top before looking back at me.

"Because I want you to. I hate going to bed at night and thinking about you asleep under my stairs. Now I have the image of you eating those damn peanut butter sandwiches all alone in there and it's a little more than I can deal with."

Okay. So, she does care about me in some capacity.

I didn't argue. I went back into my room under the stairs and pulled my suitcase out from under the bed. My peanut butter was inside. I unzipped it and pulled out the almost empty jar and the bag with four slices of bread left. I'd leave this in the kitchen and then go find a room. My heart was pounding in my chest. This had become my safe place. Being upstairs took away my seclusion. I wasn't alone up there.

Stepping back out of the pantry I walked over and put the peanut butter and bread down on the counter. I headed for the hallway without making eye contact with Lisa. She was standing at the bar gripping the edges tightly as if she was trying to keep from hitting something. Was she considering throwing me back into the pantry? I didn't mind staying in there.

"I don't have to move upstairs. I like that room," I explained and watched her grip only tighten more.

"You belong in one of the rooms upstairs. You don't belong under the stairs. You never did."

She wanted me upstairs. I just didn't understand her sudden change of heart.

"Would you at least tell me which room to take? I don't feel right picking one out. This isn't my house."

Lisa finally let go of the death grip she had on the counter and turned her eyes to meet mine. "The rooms on the left are all guest rooms. There are three of them. I think you'll enjoy the view from the last one. It looks out over the ocean. The middle room is all white with pale pink accents. It reminds me of you. So, you go choose. Whichever one you want. Take it then come down here and eat."

She was back to wanting me to eat again.

"But I'm not hungry. I just ate—"

"If you tell me you ate that damn peanut butter again I am going to throw it through a wall." She paused and took a deep breath. "Please, Jennie. Come eat something for me."

Like any woman on the planet would be able to turn that down. I nodded and headed for the stairs. I had a room to pick out.


L-

I should have taken her suitcase for her, but I knew she didn't want me near her right now. She needed to do this alone. I'd just acted like a crazy woman. I washed out the skillet that I'd cooked the bacon in. Once it was put away and Jennie still hadn't come back downstairs from choosing her room, I took a large plate out of the cabinet and filled it with eggs and bacon before sitting down at the table. She could eat off my plate.

Jennie stepped into the kitchen, and I looked up to see her staring at me. "Did you choose a room?" I asked.

She nodded and walked over to stand on the other side of the table. "Yes. I believe so. The one you said had a great view, is it . . . green and blue?"

"Yes, it is." I couldn't keep from smiling. I liked that she'd chosen the one I thought she would. Even if it was the room closest to me.

"And you're OK with me staying in that room? It is really nice. I'd want that room if this were my house." She was still making sure that I wouldn't change my mind and toss her back under the stairs.

I smiled at her reassuringly "You haven't seen my room yet." I had said yet. I was going to cave in. I didn't take girls to my room. It was mine. But I wanted to see her there. With my things.

"Is your room on the same floor?" she asked.

"No, mine takes up the entire top floor," I explained.

"You mean all those windows? That's all one big room?" The awe in her voice was hard to miss. I would be taking her up there to see it before it was all over.

"Yep." I ate a piece of bacon while trying to correct my wayward thoughts of Jennie in my room. That would never be a good idea. "Did you already put your things away?" I asked, trying to think about something else. Anything else.

"No, I wanted to check with you before I unpacked. I should probably just keep everything in the suitcase. By the end of next week, I'll be ready to move out. My tips at the club are good, and I've saved almost all of it."

No. She couldn't live alone. That wasn't safe. She thought she had to move because of me. Her sorry-ass father hadn't even called to check on her. She had no one, and she was so damn vulnerable. Someone needed to protect her. She wasn't moving out of this house. I couldn't stand to think of someone hurting her. I kept my focus on the beach outside, hoping it would calm me, but the panic setting in at the thought of her living alone was taking over. "You can stay as long as you want to, Jennie," I assured her. I needed her here.

She didn't respond. I pulled out the chair beside me.

"Sit next to me and eat some of this bacon." She sat down slowly, and I pushed my plate over to her. "Eat," I told her.

She picked up a piece of bacon and took a bite. Her eyes did a fluttery thing that made her lashes fan across her cheekbone. Fuck me, that was sexy as hell.

I nudged the plate toward her again. "Eat another." She was grinning at me like she found this funny, and the ache inside me eased. I could keep her here. I would make it so that she never wanted to leave. "What are your plans for today?" I asked her.

"I don't know yet. I thought I'd look for an apartment, maybe."

There went my ease. Fuck no, she was not looking for an apartment. "Stop talking about moving out, OK? I don't want you moving until our parents get home. You need to talk to your dad before you run off and start living alone. It isn't exactly safe. You're too young."

She laughed. That soft, musical sound that I heard so infrequently. "I am not too young. What is it with you and my age? I am nineteen. I'm a big girl. I can live on my own safely. Besides, I can hit a moving target better than most police officers. My skills with a gun are pretty impressive. Stop with the unsafe-and-too-young thing."

The idea of Jennie and a gun excited and terrified me all at once. As sexy as that sounded, I was also worried about her hurting herself. "So you really do have a gun?"

She grinned and nodded.

"I thought V was just being funny. His sense of humor sucks sometimes."

"Nope. I pulled it on him when he surprised me my first night here."

Now, that made me laugh. "I'd love to have seen that."

She just smiled and kept her head down. She wasn't looking at me, and I knew that her first night here wasn't a pleasant memory.

"I don't want you to stay here just because you're young. I get that you can take care of yourself, or you at least think you can. I want you here because . . . I like having you here. Don't leave. Wait until your dad gets back. It sounds like you two are way overdue for a visit. Then you can decide what you want to do. For now, how about you go upstairs and unpack? Think of all the money you can save living here. When you do move out, then you'll have a nice padded bank account." I had just said way more than I wanted to. But I needed to get her to stay.

"OK. If you really mean that, then thank you."

Thoughts of her in my bed naked started taunting me. I couldn't let it turn into that. I had to remember Rosé. And what that all meant to Jennie. She'd hate me in the end.

"I mean it. But that also means that the friends thing with us needs to remain in full effect," I told her.

"Agreed," she replied. I hadn't wanted her to agree. I'd wanted her to beg me like she had last night. Because at this moment, I was weak, and I'd give in. I forced all sexual thoughts of Jennie out of my mind. I couldn't think like this, or I would go mad.

"Also, you are going to start eating the food in this house when you're here."

She shook her head at me.

"Jennie, this isn't up for argument. I mean it. Eat my damn food."

She stood up and leveled me with a determined glare. "No. I will buy food and eat it. I am not . . . I'm not like my father."

Fuck. Again, this was all my damn fault. I stood up to look her directly in the eyes. "You think I don't know that by now? You've been sleeping in a damn broom closet without complaint. You clean up after me. You don't eat properly. I am aware that you're nothing like your dad. But you are a guest in my home, and I want you eating in my kitchen and treating it like it's yours."

Jennie's stiff shoulders eased a little. "I'll put my food in your kitchen and eat it in here. Will that be better?"

No. That wasn't better. I wanted her eating my food! "If all you intend to buy is peanut butter and bread, then no. I want you eating properly."

She started to shake her head, and I reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Jennie, it will make me happy to know you're eating. Henrietta buys the groceries once a week and stocks this place, expecting me to have a lot of company. There is more than enough. Please. Eat. My Food."

She bit her bottom lip but not before a giggle escaped. Damn, that was cute.

"Are you laughing at me?" I asked, feeling the need to grin myself.

"Yeah. A little," she replied.

"Does this mean you're gonna eat my food?"

She let out a heavy sigh, but she was still smiling. "Only if you let me pay you weekly."

I shook my head no, and she jerked her hand free and started to walk away. Damn stubborn woman! "Where are you going?" I asked her.

"I'm done arguing with you. I will eat your food if I pay for my part. That's the only deal I will agree to. So take it or leave it."

I growled, but I was going to have to give in. "OK, fine. Pay me."

She glanced back at me. "I'm going to go unpack. Then take a bath in that big ol' tub, and then I don't know. I don't have plans until tonight."

Tonight? "With who?" I asked, not sure I liked the sound of that.

"Jisoo."

"Jisoo? The cart girl Bobby messes around with?" I really didn't like the sound of that. Jisoo was nothing but trouble. She'd get drunk and forget all about Jennie. I thought about the men who could hurt her. No, she wasn't going without me. Someone needed to protect her sexy ass.

"Correction. The cart girl Bobby used to mess around with. She wised up and is moving on. Tonight we're going honky-tonking to pick us up some hardworking blue-collar men." She turned and hurried up the steps.

This conversation wasn't over.