Page 131 of Knot What I Expected

That was surprisingly reasonable. Then he leans down until his mouth is beside my ear.

“But I'm going outside now, Honey Girl, and I'm asking you to come with me.”

A shiver races down my spine.

Asking.

Not ordering.

Not dragging.

Asking.

His breath ghosts over my skin.

“Please.”

Fuck.

That one word destroys every sensible thought in my head.

Havoc straightens. For a second, neither of us moves.

Then he turns and walks away. And for some mad, reckless, absolutely inexplicable reason?

I follow him.

Of course I fucking do.

Because apparently self-preservation is no longer one of my dominant personality traits.

The cold October air hits my overheated skin the second we step outside.

Dick’s sits on the edge of Ember Hollow’s little downtown strip, and Friday-night traffic rolls lazily past while music pulses through the walls behind us. Somewhere farther down the street, people are laughing.

Havoc keeps walking.

I follow him around the side of the building into the gravel lot. His truck is parked beneath one of the lights.

He stops beside it. Turns. And just looks at me.

The parking lot suddenly feels impossibly quiet.

“Havoc?”

His chest rises.

Falls.

Those golden eyes move over me again.

“Call me Rowan.”

“You-you didn’t want me to call you that last time⁠—”

“I know. But I want to hear you say my name, Gabriella.”

Oh. Wow.