The Rules of the Red - 2nd Edition |✓|

Chapter Two, Part Two - Welcome To Harbor Village

Breakfast was already on display by the time I entered the main dining room, so I took my usual seat at the head of the cherry dining table crafted to seat twelve. Before me was a large bowl of scrambled eggs, a platter of muffins and biscuits, including a tray leaden with OJ, strips of turkey bacon, and sausage patties. With a smile of satisfaction I poured orange juice into a crystal glass and took an appreciative sip. Mrs. Trentley entered the room as I prepared my plate.

"Naomi, Mr. Knight is in the foyer, currently dripping on the floor..." She paused and winced. "Would now be a good time to show him in?"

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. T."

With another grimace, she retreated from the room to reappear several moments later with a grinning, half-dressed Ethan Knight.

He looked young, but I sensed he was still older than me. He had perfect, bronze skin with dark (and still damp) brown hair that hung past his nose, which he took the time to expertly sweep from hazel eyes. And judging by his arrogant half-smile, I could tell that internally he was already enjoying some small, private victory. After all, he had trespassed on my property, swam in my pool, and was rewarded with breakfast at my table. For Ethan things could not have gone better than if we'd had sex, and he made little effort to hide this.

Silently, he handed back the towel that Mrs. Trentley had given him, responding with a gracious smile when she accepted it with a glare. Then she walked out, leaving us alone in the room. As my gaze drifted innocently across his form, there were several things about Ethan Knight I just couldn't help but notice.

For instance, he was wearing Adidas flip-flops with only a pair of swim trunks to cover him, which left his upper half scrumptiously exposed. And though he was not extremely well-defined or overly-muscular, there was still a hardness to his stomach and the rest of his body that demanded he be touched.

Nevertheless, I cleared my throat and resisted the urge.

"Naomi Elizabeth Noble," said Ethan, in a deep, honeyed tone that I knew kept the girls blushing.

"Hello old man," I remained sitting in my chair. "Sorry, I'm having trouble coming up with a middle name."

"It's Tyler. And I'm only twenty-three, sport." He took the seat opposite me at the table and began portioning eggs and bacon onto a plate.

"So, Ethan Tyler, what you were doing in my pool at eight o'clock in the morning?" I asked pleasantly. "I'll admit - trespassing's a pretty clever way of scoring breakfast with a stranger. Or going to jail."

"What can I say?" he replied, talking through a mouthful of food. "I'm a really friendly neighbor."

But I had the distinct feeling that Ethan was never "friendly" just for the sake of it. Guys like him never were.

"So. Where do you live then, 'neighbor'?"

"On Elridge. You should drop by sometime." As he smirked, I inhaled, smelling the remnants of last's night's rain on his skin. But more importantly, I also smelled the Wolf in him.