Page 16 of Sicilian Savior

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I peeked out my window again, sucking my lip while I watched Knox sawing a piece of wood he’d propped on the tailgate of his truck. His huge biceps and forearms bulged with each movement. My mouth watered, and not from the smell of the lasagna in the oven.

Knox had been here every day this week working on projects outside. Every day he came, I relaxed a little more. The easy way about him lightened my mood, and he’d even managed to make me laugh on more than one occasion. Before Knox walked into my life, I didn’t think I’d ever laugh again.

He worked on and off around my house, then came in every night for wine and Italian food. He never asked me about my past when we sat and talked. Instead, he cracked jokes and kept the conversation light. I was grateful he didn’t push the subject again, and he never once moved toward my hallway after that night. He respected my need to keep my secrets to myself, and it felt good to have some company again. My life had been so lonely this last year. I hadn’t realized how much I’d craved conversation until Knox coaxed it out of me.

I still wasn’t totally comfortable with him by a long shot, but I wasn’t envisioning all the ways he may kill me anymore. If Knox had wanted me dead, he’d had ample opportunity to do it. I still couldn’t figure out why he spent so much of his time helping me out. Other than giving him a meal every evening before he left, I had nothing to offer in return. I knew he enjoyed my cooking, but a few pieces of home-cooked lasagna weren’t anywhere near a fair trade for all the hours of work he was putting in. It seemed, somehow, he really was just that nice of a guy.

The hot sun beat down on him, and beads of sweat gathered on his forehead. Glancing back at my fridge, I decided to bring him out some iced tea. It was the least I could do while he donated so much of his time and talent to my home.

I poured a glass and walked to the front door. When I stepped out onto my porch, I stumbled to a stop, my mouth falling open as I soaked in the sight before me.

Knox pulled up his white t-shirt, and his impossibly toned abs emerged as it disappeared over his head. Next, the huge, defined pecs covered with tattoos arrived, then finally, his gorgeous head reappeared.

It felt like someone shoved a sock in my mouth as I stood on my front step staring at him, blinking hard. For a moment, I thought I’d been transported back through time to the Middle Ages and a real bonafide ax-wielding Viking stood before me. He oozed a primal power that matched his exterior perfectly, and I clutched the glass in my hand so tight it would have shattered if I was stronger.

“Oh, hey.” He smiled, wiping his inked forearm across his head as he moved toward me. The dog tags hanging from his neck glinted in the sunlight. “Sorry for the Chippendale’s show, but it’s hot as Hades out here. My shirt is soaked.” He came up the newly finished steps as I stood immobile. “Is, uh, is that for me?”

“What?” I stuttered out, forcing my wide eyes not to slink south and drink in every incredible inch of him. “Oh. Yeah. Here. It’s iced tea. You look hot.” I slammed my eyes shut and shook my head. “I mean, you look hot like it’s hot out not... well, I mean.”

I trailed off, heat rushing to my cheeks as I opened my eyes again.

Knox grinned back at me, his eyebrows lifting toward his dark hairline. With a chuckle, he reached out for the glass. “Well, thanks, Lucia. I am hot.”

The way he said it could be construed either way, but the flicker in his eyes told me he and I were on the same page. Of course he knew he was hot. If he had a mirror anywhere in his life, he’d have had to be blind not to gaze into it and revel in all his delicious, gorgeous wonder.

He took the glass and lifted it to his lips. I took the moment that he drank, his eyes closed while he did, to glance down and get one more look at his impressive body.

I held my gasp when I saw the scars marking up his masterpiece and wondered how he’d gotten them. Some looked downright painful, and I wondered what had happened to him to cause them. What kind of life had he lived that would leave at least a dozen marks on his torso and chest that looked like any of them could have been fatal?

“Ahh,” he sighed as he finished the glass. “Oh, man. That was good. Thank you.”

I quickly lifted my eyes to his, clearing my throat. “It’s the least I can do. I really can’t thank you enough for all the work you’ve done around here.”

“Anything for authentic Sicilian cooking.” He grinned, handing me back the empty glass.

I knew that was a lie. No one worked this hard for my cooking.

“I’m finishing up the railing now, and by the time that lasagna is done, I should be too. Paired with these new steps, the new railing means no more worrying you’re gonna break your pretty little neck the next time you go out to get the mail.”

“Thank you.” I smiled, the movement getting more natural the longer I spent with him. “It was pretty rickety.”

He blew out a breath. “Pretty rickety? It’d have been more stable if someone had constructed it out of toothpicks.”

I laughed, the sound startling me like it had over the last week. I’d never thought I’d laugh again, my pain too deep to allow any joy to slip back in. But somehow, Knox managed to coax the sounds out of my mouth.

As my laugh petered off, branches in the woods to the side of my house cracked. I jumped and spun toward the sound. Knox moved in front of me, pushing me behind him and pressing a hand to my hip as he shielded me with his body. Instinctually, I pressed myself into his bare, muscular back, the feeling of safety overwhelming me as I used him as a shield.

After a few moments standing behind his rigid frame, he blew out a breath. “It’s just a deer, Lucia,” Knox said, slowly spinning around to face me. “You’re okay.”

I didn’t even pull back when he reached forward and touched my shoulder. I wanted to sink into his embrace and allow myself to feel safe. Protected.

And he did. He made me feel all those things... and so much more.

Instead, I stood staring up at him, his hands gripping my shoulders as he looked at me. A small fawn bounced across my yard followed by a doe, and I broke our eye contact to look at them. I pressed a hand to my chest and sighed.

“Sorry. I got startled.”