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“And if it doesn’t?”
“I’ll hound you until you agree.”
Harper snorted. She didn’t doubt that he would. “Where do you want to go?”
“You choose.”
Harper leaned back a little to study him, narrowing her eyes. “You, a total control freak, want me to choose? I think the last time you did that was when I was pregnant. You’d messed up then too. Knox, I told you, you don’t need to do nice things for me—your apology has been accepted.”
“And I told you that I want to do things for you, so suck it up.” Before she could chew a chunk out of his ass for that remark, he kissed her. Took her mouth, pouring that consuming and overpowering emotion he felt for her right down her throat. Moaning, she melted against him, and something in him settled. Just as he pulled back, Larkin’s mind touched his.
Knox, we need to talk, the harpy told him. I’m in the living room when you’re ready.
We’ll be right down. Cupping Harper’s hips, Knox said, “Larkin’s here. She no doubt wants to check on you. I assured her that you were fine earlier this morning by telepathy, but she’ll naturally want to see that for herself.”
Knox hadn’t been surprised when Tanner and Levi turned up a few hours ago, wanting to check on Harper first thing. Keenan had actually stayed the night, worried for her. Knox was quite sure his little sphinx would be surprised by just how protective his sentinels were of her. It wasn’t about her being their Prime; it wasn’t about duty. They cared for and respected her. She had a way of winning people’s loyalty without even trying.
“I’m ready,” said Harper, straightening her sweater. “We can—” Hearing her cell chime, she walked out of the closet and over to the nightstand, where she grabbed the phone. The name flashing on the screen made her blink in surprise and caused her stomach to knot.
“Who is it?” asked Knox, who’d followed her into the bedroom. “Clarke?” He’d kill the fucker if it was.
“Not the one you’re thinking of. It’s Devon.” The other girls had called last night to check on Harper after Jolene—who’d lost her everloving mind when she heard about the café incident—passed on the news of what happened. It had hurt Harper that Devon hadn’t bothered to even send her a text. Noticing that Knox was lingering, arms folded, Harper said, “Can I have a little privacy while I take the call?”
“I’m staying until I’m sure she’s not calling to give you grief.” He held her gaze with his own, telling her without words that he wouldn’t budge.
Sighing, Harper swiped her thumb across the screen. “Hello?”
“Hey,” Devon greeted shyly. “I meant to call you last night but … well, I wasn’t sure if you’d want to hear from me, considering I’ve been such a bitch lately. Now I’ve decided I don’t care if you don’t want to talk to me, I need to know you’re okay. Khloë promised you were fine, but … ”
Shoulders losing their stiffness, Harper said, “I’m okay. And I’m glad you called.” She gave Knox an “it’s fine” look, but he still didn’t move. She rolled her eyes.
“Khloë said that you would have died if Knox hadn’t been there at the café.” Devon’s voice shook a little. “He’s handy to have around.”
Harper gave a soft snort of amusement. “Very true.”
“It wasn’t fair of me to be mad at him. Drew was warned, and he ignored every one of those warnings. I just felt torn. And guilty, because I was pissed at him even while he was so hurt. He’s my brother. I felt like I should have sided with him, but I couldn’t. It ate me up.”
“I get it. I’m not upset.”
“Not sure if Jolene’s already told you, but Drew left for Cuba. We escorted him to the airport and watched the plane take off. He’s gone so … Look, I know Knox probably won’t care, but tell him I’m sorry for not being fair to him. I’m guessing he’s right there, since there’s no way he wouldn’t monitor a call you received from someone he suspected might upset you.”
Harper met his eyes. “He’s here.”
“And that’s why I like that you have him. I wan
t someone who’ll always look out for you, even if that means my brother suffered his wrath.” There was a short pause. “So, are we okay? You and me, I mean?”
“Of course we’re okay. We’ll always be ‘okay’, Devon.”
There was a distinct sigh of relief. “Maybe we could have dinner later or something. I’ve missed you.”
Harper bit her lower lip. “I have plans for tonight. I can’t do lunch either—me, Knox, and Asher are going out for the day.”
“That’s no problem—a family day out is much more important. We can get together another time.”
Harper smiled. “We’ll definitely meet up soon.”
“I’ll hold you to that. Have a great time. And give Asher a kiss for me.”
