Chapter 28
28
Knight
"So, you and Penny, huh?" Adam shoots me a sideways glance. We’ve finished our ten-mile run and slowed down to a walk to cool down. I didn’t want to leave her this morning. In fact, I confess, after the taste of her in the middle of the night when I woke up and feasted on her—when she opened herself up and allowed me to truly taste her, when her barriers were lowered enough for her to open her thighs and her heart and cry out when she was on the verge of coming without reservation—made me realize how much she held back otherwise.
Sure, I’m a bastard for taking what she gave so freely when she was sleeping and unaware of what I was doing to her. But she enjoyed it. And she curled up like a baby on my chest after that and went right back to sleep. She didn’t move when I slid out from under her and placed her head on the pillow. I made sure to cover her up before leaving. And then, my steps had been slow.
I stopped in the doorway to glance at her over my shoulder. The need to go back to her and hold her in my arms, burying my face in the curve of her neck and my cock in her sure-to-be-wet pussy, is what made me turn around and leave. I cannot get addicted to her. I broke one of my rules by insisting she stay overnight. There's no way I could have let her leave last night. Not after tasting her sweetness, feeling her flesh give under my fingers, seeing the marks I left on the inside of her thighs when I dragged my whiskers across as I ate her out.
She trembled and turned to a mass of yearning need under my ministrations. I felt her climb the slope to that invisible edge of no return and backed off. She whined and protested—in her sleep—and I had to stop myself from chuckling aloud. Which is when I realized, I’d almost laughed again in her presence.
She has that effect on me. My sunshine. My Little Dove who shines light into the murky darkness of my life. And I need to make her mine. A-n-d the fact that I’d allowed myself to think that sent me scrambling into my closet to get changed. And then, I ran out. She’s gotten under my skin, and I hadn’t realized it. Thoughts of her, echoes of her laughter, the image of those bright blue eyes alight with mischief as she sasses me again— All of it slips through my veins like adrenaline in the middle of a gunfire.
"Knight, you hear what I said?"
"Eh?" I turn then, almost stumbling on the path. I manage to right myself then turn to find Adam smirking.
"What?"
"You’ve got it bad, man."
"What are you talking about?" I roll my shoulders and continue walking at a brisk pace.
"Thought we were cooling down?" He snorts.
No chance of that. Not as long as I’m thinking about her.
"Knight, man, it’s okay to admit you like her."
"That is of no consequence."
"Of course, it is." He draws abreast. I ramp up my speed, but he easily keeps pace. This is what happens when you have a friend who not only saved your life on more than one occasion, but also is well-matched in strength, in power, and in the way we react to situations.
We’re so similar, our team had teased us about being two pieces of a whole. We’d scoffed at that. It's true, we have similar values—we’d been drawn to a life of service—but that’s where our similarities end. Where I pursue things with an intensity that's borderline obsessive, Adam is more easygoing. He's able to let go of things and move on, whereas I… I can’t forgive or forget that easily. It's why, though we experienced some rough shit together, Adam has managed to move on and re-integrate back into society much faster than I have. But then, he also agreed to see a shrink from the day he returned—something I've refused to. I'm not ready to open that can of worms… Yet.
"You need to stop punishing yourself for what happened." He grips my shoulder, and if it were anyone else, I’d shake it off. But because it’s Adam, I allow myself to slow down.
"You were not responsible for the deaths of those men."
I scoff. Typical of Adam to put out there what any of my other friends and family have hesitated to tell me in all the time I’ve been back. It’s why I love him and hate him.
"Fuck you, too, asshole."
"And I don’t care if you hate me for saying this, but it’s time you put what happened behind you and start living again."
"Have you put what happened behind you?"
He hesitates, then lowers his gaze.
"That’s what I thought."
"What happened there changed us. We’ll never go back to being the men we were before. The difference is, I’ve chosen not to let those bastards hold me back."
"And I have?"
He squeezes my shoulder. The answer is in his eyes. He releases his hold on me, only to grab the back of my neck. "I love you like a brother, man. It’s why I’m all up in your business, you realize that?"
"What-fucking-ever."
He chuckles. "It’s also why I see your other friends—the ones you’ve been avoiding all this time—jogging in our direction."
I groan. "I need to get out of here."
"Too late for that, man." He lowers his arm and steps back. "I’d wish you good luck, but since you’ve met the right woman, you don’t need it."
I frown. "You douchecanoe, what the fuck you talking about, you—"
He touches the tip of his index finger to his temple, then pivots and runs off.
I draw in a breath, then turn, only to be knocked on the side of my head. "The fuck!" I reel back, more from the surprise than the force of the hit, which was just a tap. I’ve been through worse in training sessions before I left for a mission.
Rick throws up his fists. "Wanna go a round, man? You haven’t eaten my dust in a long time."
Typical Rick, an ex-NHL player who served in the military with me, the man is one-hundred percent pure muscle. He’s also the only other man I know who can hold his own against me in a fight. I crack my neck, then take a step back, but Rick steps forward and into my space so his chest slams into mine. "You’re a fucking arsehole. A selfish, motherfucking, wanker of a douchecanoe who doesn’t care about anything but himself."
Next to him, Cade glowers at me. "You have time to go for a run, but you don’t think of reaching for the phone and calling us?"
"I’ve been busy." I hear the petulance in my voice and wince. Since when do I hide behind excuses? I’ve changed, but surely, not so much that I can’t accept my fault when I’m in the wrong.
"And you're right; I’m a shit human being."
"Not to mention a tosser and a knobhead."
I roll my shoulders. "What’s this, the attack of the barmy army?" I scoff.
"We’re here to make sure you turn up for the get together at Abby’s place," Cade growls.
I roll my shoulders, "The last thing I want is to put on a smile and pretend an enthusiasm I’m not feeling, and—" I snap my lips shut and glower back at Cade. "You know I won’t say no to Abby."
"I’m aware." He smirks.
"Doesn’t mean I’m doing this willingly."
"You can protest all you want, as long as you turn up tomorrow night."
I rub the back of my neck. "Abby could have asked me. I wouldn’t have said no to her."
"The woman is worried about you. She doesn’t like that you’re spending so much time by yourself." Cade frowns.
"I’ve been working. I go into the office. I run. I meet my buddy, Adam—" Both men glare at me, and I realize my mistake. "Not that I don’t want to meet you guys—"
"You
don’t
want to meet us," Rick snaps.
"Neither of you went through what I did. Neither of you will know how it feels to be a captive and live from beating to beating and be so hungry that you have no choice but to eat your own skin."
Both men look stricken. Then, Rick throws up his fist again. I see it coming and block it. "The fuck is wrong with you?" I pant.
"The fuck is wrong with
you
?" he roars.
A couple jogging past us look at us in alarm, then pick up speed. A baby begins to cry, and a mother running with her sports-pram shoots us a nasty look as she continues by. Great, now I’m scaring little children.
"You could have picked up the phone and replied to our phone calls. You could have texted and told us you were okay. Hell, you could have told us your new address. Not even Abby knew where you had moved. We had to use a private detective to track you down, you arsewipe, you—"
A loud barking interrupts him. There’s the sound of what seems to be hooves hitting the ground. Then, I hear panting and look around him to realize it’s not hooves, it’s paws. The paws of a massive Great Dane who’s broken away from the man running in his wake. A man who looks like a very harried, Declan.
"Guys, watch out! Tiny’s on a rampage," he yells.
The dog barks joyfully. Rick turns around, then steps aside in one smooth move, so when the big dog arcs his body and sails past him, he crashes into me.
Penny
"Oh, aren’t you a sweetie pie?" I throw my arms around the Great Dane who pranced into the apartment as soon as the elevator doors slid open. "Where did you come from, hmm?" The dog barks. At more than three feet tall at his shoulders, all he has to do is toss his head and he’s able to lick my face with a tongue as big as a dinner plate. It feels like someone dragged a soaking wet towel across my cheek. I burst out laughing, and the dog wags his tail harder. His entire body shakes with effort, and he pants loudly. I rub his neck. "You hungry, baby?”
I look past him to find a pissed-off Knight standing with his hands on his hips. His hair is standing up like he’s been running his fingers through the strands. He’s wearing a T-shirt that must have been white at some point, but is so threadbare, it molds to his ridiculously sculpted chest, showing off the dents between those delicious abs. He completes the ensemble with jogging shorts—that cling lovingly to his powerful thighs. Patches of sweat dampen his chest, and glisten at his temples. He looks virile and strong and like porn on two legs. Moisture bathes my pussy, the pulse between my legs speeds up. Gah, stop looking at him like you want to climb him. I nod toward the Great Dane. "Doesn’t he belong to Liam and Isla?”
He nods.
“So why is he with you?”
The muscles at his jaw tick. The skin stretches across his cheekbones. He looks like he’s about to snap my head off. Instead, he stalks past me and toward the kitchen, where he grabs a glass from one of the shelves and fills it with water from the tap. Then hesitates. He places his glass on the counter, bends and pulls out a serving bowl. He fills it with water, then walks over to the side of the kitchen and places it on the floor. He straightens and snaps his fingers. The dog woofs, then jumps up, licking my face for good measure, before he gambols off in the direction of the man. He reaches Knight, then parks himself on his haunches with a heavy sigh. He looks up at Knight, who glares back. The two engage in some kind of staring match, then Tiny whines.
"I think he’s waiting for you to tell him it’s okay to drink the water."
Knight hesitates, then stabs his finger at the bowl on the floor. "Drink up, now."
Instantly, Tiny flops down on the floor and begins to lap at the bowl noisily. I walk over to stand next to the dog. “Such a good boy.”
The Great Dane slaps his tail into the ground in response.
“Is he going to stay with you?”
Knight frowns. "It would seem that way."
Tiny finishes drinking water, then places his big head between his front feet and looks up at Knight with big, soulful eyes.
"Aww, he likes you."
"So?" Knight snaps then draws in a breath. "Sorry, I’m not happy about this situation."
"Never would have guessed that," I scoff.
"It’s not your fault. I shouldn’t have taken my frustration out on you."
I blink in surprise.
Who
is
this man, apologizing to me?
He drags his fingers through his hair so more of it stands on end. My fingers tingle. And oh, god, I want to jump on him, wrap my legs around his waist, and reach up and smooth out the errant strands. When he’s considerate—like now-- I want to lick his face and when he’s being obnoxious his appeal only increases. Watching Knight glower at the dog, I truly understand why Hermione was so attracted to Draco. It’s the same reason why I can’t take my gaze off this complex, wounded grumphole. It’s the appeal of an unlikely pairing. It’s the unabashed need to unlock his hidden qualities and help this man redeem himself—with the power of my pussy, of course. I manage not to snicker aloud.
"Liam and Isla decided to move to their island for a few months. Evidently, without my knowledge or participation, my friends decided Tiny should stay with me, for now at least, rather than make the trip with them. Cade and Abby are refurbishing their place. Declan and Solene are going to be shooting a movie in New Zealand for the next eight months. So—" He raises a shoulder.
"So, you’re going to be a dog-parent?"
He points those green, unfeeling eyes at me, and my breath catches.
Damn. Is there ever going to come a time when he looks at me and it doesn’t feel like I’ve been punched in the gut?
Even sweaty and all mussed up from his run—
especially
sweaty and mussed up—he’s beautiful and solid and inflexible. And I want to lick him up like an ice-cream cone.
"You done?"
"Eh?" I blink rapidly. "What are you talking about?"
"You were ogling my body."
"Was not."
He arches an eyebrow, then looks me up and down. "Are you sore?"
I flush. "What’s it to you?"
"Need to know if I need to stretch your hole enough to add four digits this time."
This time, I gape at him. "You do this on purpose, don’t you?"
"Do what?"
"Every time you think you’re coming across as too human, you say or do something to show me you’re a bastard."
"And you’d do well to remember that."
"There's only one problem. I don’t believe you."
He raises a shoulder. "Not my problem."
"If you were as much of an asshole as you’d like me to believe, you would've taken my virginity last night."
"And I didn’t because I don’t want you to catch feelings." He glances away, a bored look on his face.
"But you’re going to make me come."
"Only because it entertains me to see you writhe and moan and whine and beg me to bring you to orgasm."
I know he’s hitting out at me again. I know it’s because he wants so hard to conform to the persona he’s trying to present to the world. I know it’s all a front because he’s not ready to face the emotional and mental injuries he’s carrying around, but it doesn’t stop me from actively hating him right now. "I’d better get ready and head to the office. My boss is an unreasonable man."
I spin around and head toward the elevator doors, when he calls out, "I’ll take you."
"No, thank you. Also, I need to go home and change first."
"No need."
I scowl at him over his shoulder. "I’m not going to the office looking like this." I glance down at the dress I wore last night, then back at him.
"I have a solution for that."