Page 14 of Hunted Hearts (Black Heart Security #6)
T heo left Juliette’s bed after she drifted to sleep. He didn’t look back. He didn’t trust himself to.
The image of her as he slipped out was hard enough to walk away from, her dark hair spilling over the white pillowcase, a tantalizing length of bare thigh peeking from the sheet.
This feeling was already dangerous enough, settling somewhere deep in his chest where he didn’t want it to live.
What the hell was he doing? He wasn’t supposed to blur lines like this. She was his ward, for fuck’s sake. His responsibility, not…whatever she was now.
The weight of what they’d just done lingered on his skin, a ghost of warmth and softness that he hadn’t felt…well, ever. And with it came a gnawing confusion in his gut, because this was not who he was.
Who was he supposed to be these days?
In the military, he knew. Every role he was ever given, he executed to the best of his ability, which often resulted in overachieving thanks to the Malone perfectionism. There were rules, schedules, missions.
He’d barely scratched the surface of a new routine here on the ranch. Didn’t have a role here other than to pitch in where he could. Then before he could figure that shit out, he was whisked off on a family trip to Tahoe.
The past few days came with another shift. There were more choices to be made, and to a man who spent his entire adult life living with outside structure, choices felt like chaos.
He stepped inside his room. As kids, he and Colt shared this space until his kid brother decided he preferred to bunk with Oaks. Theo never minded being on his own, but more often than not, he’d wake to find Willow asleep beside him after some nightmare she had.
The ranch had been their family’s summer home. When their father—bastard that he was—died, the first thing they did was sell everything in Texas and move to Wyoming. Here, they had fewer ghosts to haunt them. Here, they started over.
But he didn’t have a damn clue where he stood now. Not with his family, with Juliette…or in this world.
He raked his fingers through his hair and hurriedly dressed in jeans and a casual shirt. After a moment of thought, he unzipped his go-bag and grabbed two condoms. He shoved them deep in his pocket.
Turning to the room again, his gaze landed on his jump rope uncoiled on the floor. The simple equipment helped ease the nightmares he was left with. It helped him forget all the things he could have done better for his SEAL team.
He wound it neatly and placed it on a shelf.
His gaze drifted to the items that sat there since before he joined the Navy—remnants of another life entirely.
A jagged, quartz-flecked rock he’d pocketed during a hike with his brothers as a kid—a reminder of home.
A broken leather horse rein from the day he’d been thrown, pitched forward when the strap gave way.
He’d hit the ground so hard he thought he’d snapped something…
but he jumped up laughing, unscathed. Back then, he’d thought he was invincible.
Now? He wasn’t so sure.
A soft knock pulled him out of his head. He turned to see Willow leaning casually against the doorframe, her hair in a messy ponytail and legs bare beneath shorts that didn’t look like they belonged on a crisp morning in the mountains of Wyoming.
Theo scowled. “You should go put some clothes on.”
She rolled her eyes and spread her hands. “These are a very acceptable length, thank you very much. I didn’t come here for fashion policing. Besides, Colt already gave me the lecture. I don’t need another.”
He exhaled through his nose, turning back to the shelf. “What do you want, Willow?”
“A package just arrived.”
He froze, every muscle locking tight. Slowly, he turned his head. “For who?”
“Juliette.”
The word hadn’t even finished leaving her mouth before he bolted past her, the doorframe rattling as his shoulder skimmed it. Willow’s startled squeak followed him down the hall as he crossed the house in swift strides.
He reached the front door and whipped it open to a blast of cold air. A quick sweep of the area revealed a couple guys from the veteran therapy program walking to the barn, their voices carrying on the wind.
The box sat squarely on the top step of the porch, innocuous and neatly taped, a printed shipping label stuck on top.
Innocuous didn’t mean harmless.
The porch boards behind him creaked, and he knew Willow was standing there.
One of his sisters-in-law appeared in Theo’s peripheral vision.
His pulse spiked. “Everyone stay back!” His voice cut through the morning air, and the few ranch hands approaching the porch instantly backed away.
Willow took a step toward him. “It’s probably nothing—”
“Back,” he barked, leveling her with a look that brooked no argument. “We don’t know what this is.”
His hand went to the knife at his hip as he crouched by the package.
He tilted it gently, checking the weight, the balance, the faintest shift of whatever was inside.
No ticking, no obvious tampering, but his instincts screamed for caution.
He slit the tape with a clean stroke, easing the top open and pulling back the flaps—
Inside lay a set of high-end earbuds, matte black and sleek. At least that was what the box said. But considering that somebody sent Juliette a bouquet with a scorpion, anything could be inside.
He tore into the packaging and pulled out the small black item. Etched in a line along the bottom of the case was a name.
His name. Not Juliette’s.
His jaw tightened.
“Uh…” Juliette’s voice drifted from the porch steps. He turned quickly, his gaze finding her where she stood barefoot in the doorway, her robe loosely belted over a long T-shirt.
He mounted the steps to reach her.
Her hands lifted in a small, placating gesture. “Those are from me. I didn’t think they’d show up so quickly. I only ordered them this morning, but it did say there’s a store not very far away and the order would be filled fast.”
She was rambling, and the urge to kiss her again and make her go quiet…make her moan… was a shooting star across his libido.
“You got me earbuds in a case engraved with my name?”
Behind her, Willow snorted. “‘Did my heart love till now? Forswear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night.’”
Of course his brat of a little sister popped out that quote from Romeo and Juliet, where Romeo was awestruck by Juliet.
Letting out a grumble, he aimed a glare at her that sent her and Aspen scurrying for the house.
Only when the door shut firmly behind them did he drift closer to his ward.
Juliette slashed a flustered hand through her hair. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think it would cause you to worry. I didn’t think it would cause… this .” Pink streaks spread up her throat, crested over her delicate jaw and settled in her cheeks.
Theo closed his eyes briefly, exhaling hard through his nose. If he didn’t get a handle on himself in the next two seconds, he would grab her. And he didn’t trust that Willow wasn’t peeking out the window at them right now.
He opened his eyes and his gaze tracked over Juliette’s beautiful face. It was cold out here, too cold for her to be in her robe. But damn if he wanted to usher her back inside after she just gave him a gift.
“Why earbuds?” His tone was gritty.
Her lips quirked. “For when you jump rope. You…kind of woke me up again this morning with your music.”
He chuckled, low. “Sorry about that. You didn’t need to buy me these”—he opened his palm to reveal the small gift—“but I will definitely use them.”
The wind ruffled her hair, snagging on the scent of her and carrying it straight to him. His head flooded with the essence of her , and he couldn’t stop his feet from moving closer.
She tipped her head back to meet his gaze, her expression a mix of exasperation and amusement. “That’s the second time one of your family members mentioned Romeo and Juliet. ”
“Yeah…sorry. It’s the first of what will undoubtedly be a string of jokes we’ll have to endure.”
“I’m a little surprised a ranch family is so familiar with Shakespeare.” The wind cut across the field, whipping at Juliette’s robe. She hugged herself.
Theo clasped her hand and pulled her across the porch to the front door. A quick look around showed him that his sister was nowhere in sight. But he wasn’t taking any chances that she wouldn’t overhear their conversation.
“Come with me.” He waited only a beat before Juliette nodded.
He led her through the living room to a sunlit space tucked into the corner of the ranch home.
The library was a place all of the Malones had spent a lot of time in as kids.
He had few memories of his mother, but one was sitting on the floor playing with toy army men while his mother folded a basket of clean towels.
He even remembered the record album she’d been playing.
Juliette came to a stop in the middle of the room, looking around. “What a lovely space.”
He gave a cursory nod and gave her a long look. “Next time, maybe mention you’re having something shipped so I don’t tackle the mail carrier and shut down the whole ranch.”
Her lips curved up, and he caught the faintest glint in her eye, the kind that said she might enjoy pushing his buttons just to see him twitch. “Noted.”
He carefully pocketed the earbuds and closed the door so they wouldn’t be interrupted. From what, he had no damn idea. Oh, his body had a few, but he was ignoring that.
Juliette tilted her head, studying him. “You are severe, you know that?”
Without waiting for a reply, she drifted to the wall of books. So many books. Most of them he’d read during rainy summer days when there was nothing better to do.
He watched Juliette taking it all in, skimming the titles and collections, from Shakespeare to dime-store cowboy novels and everything in between.
When she approached the low wooden cabinet that held a turntable and stereo system, she reached out and trailed a finger over a few of the albums in the extensive collection.