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Chapter
One
Brooklyn
Sweat shimmered along my skin.I stared at the mirror in front of me as my feet pounded against the treadmill.“I See Red”by Everybody Loves an Outlaw blared through the gym speakers. It was just one benefit of dating some of the most wealthy men in the city, a private gym.
The Brooklyn Reeves from a few months before would have chosen an outdoor run any other day. That was before I was hiding from a murderous ex-boyfriend. Memories slipped into my concentration and I shivered, pushing them back into the box so I didn’t trip and fall spectacularly in my boyfriends’basement. It had been two months since Lyle’s bathroom attack. My Knights weren’t keen on me going back to my apartment, so I had been living under their roof ever since.
Aiden, Gideon, Oliver and Jaxon Knight, the Club Kings of the city. A name they earned by owning the most successful nightclubs across the country under their umbrella corporation 4K. I didn’t know that when I initially met two of them at one of their clubs. All I knew was they were the most gorgeous men I’d seen in my life.
The Club Kings had earned their reputation by their hard work and dedication to their businesses. However, I wasn’t the only one that didn’t know much about them before meeting them. They were notoriously private, and their histories were kept out of the public eye. Now that I had gotten to know them, I knew there were skeletons they didn’t want flashing around the city. That privacy only made them more interesting to the public, and they were envied by men and wanted by most of the women that saw them.
When I thought about that first night, it made me smile and almost laugh out loud, recalling how I had run from the club and from them, afraid they would see all the things I was hiding from the world. Now that I looked at myself in the mirror, all of my scars, old and healing, were on display. I wore a sports bra, to support my not too large breasts, and short Lycra running shorts that hugged my upper thighs and ass. I had worked hard to have the figure I did, even with the things I wanted to hide.
The burn scar on my thigh from childhood was always the least of my worries. What happened to me as a child wasn’tmy fault. Therapy made me understand that I was the one that should have been taken care of, not the one caring for my addict mother. That scar reminded me that when it came down to things, I figured out how to feed myself and kept myself alive, even when I was too little to drain hot water in the sink.
Nightmares were attached to the scar that made its way from behind my right ear, down across my collarbone, ending just above my cleavage. Lyle’s first murder attempt. And now I had the scars of his second on my abdomen. Those were still pink and working to heal, a perfect reflection of what was happening on the inside of me as well.
Despite all of what had happened, Lyle getting out of prison, stalking and attacking me, I felt a happiness I wasn’t always sure how to deal with. I had found four men who wanted me, despite all the trouble I had brought to their doorstep. While Lyle was busy stalking me, he was also seeing me with each of them and that made them targets.
I continued running, letting my thoughts roll around each of my guys. Jaxon Knight, my serious man, with his full color tatted sleeve and perfect 5 o’clock shadow. During my recovery, he kept the meds on schedule and made sure they followed each instruction from the doctors. He knew how to bring calm when I was spiraling, and I had appreciated him as I struggled with the after effects of the attack.
Oliver Knight, the one always good for a joke and the perfect afternoon nap cuddle. His feelings were more on the surface than he would like people to believe, but I was understanding him more each day. I had to admit I found him sexiest when he didn’t put in his contacts and wore his glasses. They made him look businesslike until he opened his mouth and then, typically, he had me laughing or moaning.
My big man, Gideon Knight, was all protection and strength. We were still working through his emotions around the attack.He blamed himself for not standing up to me and demanding that I didn’t go to lunch with my assistant that day. A lot of the attack was fuzzy, coming in spurts through nightmares. However, the one thing I held onto was the moment I saw Gideon racing into the room. I had known without doubt he would save me.
The unelected leader of the chosen brothers, Aiden Knight, was the toughest to crack. It was him that brought the guys together as children, creating the family none of them had growing up. We had a brand new thing going on and I thoroughly enjoyed his attention to detail when it came to hot sex. But something tugged at me about the distance he often kept between them. I tried not to put too much thought into it, as what we had was the newest out of the brothers.
Not having to choose between them had been confusing for me in the beginning. And sometimes it felt too complicated. As I had gotten to know each of them and been intimate with them, the idea of having to choose was impossible. My heart was full and each of them had a piece of it. I couldn’t choose one, just as I couldn’t make the choice for part of my heart to stop beating.
I knew I was flying close to the big four letter word, a place I hadn’t been in since Lyle. When I thought of that time now, I knew what I had felt for Lyle wasn’t real love. He didn’t cherish or value me. He didn’t protect me when I needed him. My feelings for Lyle weren’t something I could put a name to, because it was too dark and unworthy.
What I felt for the Knights was something completely foreign to me, which was why I refused to put a name to it yet. The guys didn’t get jealous about each other or act ridiculous in their relationships. That didn’t mean they weren’t real men when it came down to it. And the idea of them running from me if I put my heart on the table, scared me more the anything.
Living with my guys threw my sex drive into a frenzy. I had never particularly enjoyed sex, never really knew what I could be missing. My best friend Ash had tried to explain and make me understand what was out there. My hang ups kept me from any sort of physical relationship until I met the Knights. Now I couldn’t get enough of them. Luckily, none of them complained.
As the music shifted and“Wave”by Meghan Trainor pumped through the speakers, I slowed my pace to a cool down. I picked up the water bottle that was in the holder in front of me, drinking deeply before looking in the mirror again. Movement caught my eye and breath caught in my throat. I felt a flash of panic until my eyes locked onto who had entered the gym.
Oliver leaned against the door frame, naked except for a pair of gray lounge pants. His short, dirty blond curls were mussed on his head and I couldn’t help but remember fisting it as his head was between my thighs the night before. His glasses were pushed up on the bridge of his nose, a sign that he rolled directly out of bed to come and find me.
I stopped the treadmill and bent to pick up a towel. I could see Oliver’s reflection as he tilted his head to stare at my ass. His gaze turned hot and I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. Wiping the sweat from my neck, I spun to look at him.
“Morning,”I said.
“You left me alone in bed,”he growled.
“I did not,”I replied.
“Gideon doesn’t count,”he said, as he began to walk slowly toward me.
I thought about running, making Oliver work for it. However, I was feeling hot, just by the way he was looking at me now. It was the same with all of them. Each of them were chiseled from a mold to look like gods, I knew it had to be sinful. And if it was, I would burn happily in hell after I had my fill of each one of them.
Oliver bent his face toward me and ran his nose along my sweaty neck and nipped at my ear, before pulling back.
“You smell tasty,”he said.
“I smell sweaty,”I argued.
