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A shiver ladders up my spine. I part my lips, and his breath brushes my mouth. I flutter my eyelids shut, and again, Tiny woofs, then bumps up against Knight. Knight stumbles, as do I. Tiny barks and tries to rise up on his hind legs. This time, he displaces Knight further. Knight leans his weight forward, and that, in turn, makes me stumble backward. I gasp as we tilt back. At the last moment, Knight manages to grab Tiny’s collar and push him to the side. But the resulting momentum carries us in his direction. Knight goes down. I yelp, and he pulls me securely into his chest, making sure I land on him as he hits the floor. The resulting thud vibrates through me.
I squeeze my eyes shut, draw in a lungful of Knight’s sea-breeze and pepper scent, and every part of me threatens to burst into flames. I cuddle in closer to him, dig my fingers into the front of his shirt and stay still. So does he. Tiny barks and looms over us.
Knight’s hold around me tightens further.Bam-bam-bam, his heart gallops against his ribcage, and I feel each beat as if it were my own. His entire body vibrates. Tension leaps off of him. His chest rises and falls. I glance up to find the tendons of his throat standing out with such rigidity, it’s a wonder they haven’t snapped. His jaw is set, his big body a mass of seething stress. "Knight, are you okay?"
There’s no reply. I try to wriggle free, but his arms are bands of steel. I manage to raise my head, glance down, and flinch. His eyes are hard chunks of blue green, his gaze blind as he stares at something in the distance.Shit, is he recalling something that happened to him during his time in captivity?I cup his cheek. "Knight?"
There’s no answer.
Tiny, too, must realize something is wrong, for he plants his butt down and whines. I need to do something, but what? Without consciously deciding, I raise my hand and bring it down. My palm connects with his cheek. He blinks, then snaps his gaze to mine. He searches my features. "Are you okay?"
I nod. "I think you went into shock."
His features tighten. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can say anything, Tiny lowers his head and licks his face. Knight winces. Tiny licks his face again, and this time, Knight groans. I can’t stop the chuckle that spills from my lips. The tension in the air dissolves. Knight lets out a shuddering breath. His heartbeat slows. Then he pushes up to his feet, taking me with him. He scans my face again. "You’re sure you’re fine?"
I nod.
"Maybe we need to get you checked by a doctor?"
I roll my eyes. "You’re the one who hit the floor with enough force that you were stunned. I fell on you."
"You weigh nothing."
I scoff. "Only you would say that."
He frowns, a look of confusion in his eyes. "What’s that supposed to mean?"
I did not put myself down. I did not.The one thing I’ve promised myself is to never be ashamed of my appearance. To never be defensive that I'm curvy and I like my food. But apparently, when Knight asks me a question, he gets past my defenses and straight to the core of my insecurity. I may have hidden it from myself, but clearly, not from him.
"Look, I’m not the slimmest person in the world, so let’s stop pretending."
Tiny wags his tail and looks from me to Knight. I swear, the mutt is following our conversation.
For his part, Knight releases me and steps back. He drags his heated gaze down my chest—my nipples bead—to my thighs, and I have to resist the urge to squeeze them together. Down to my fuck-me heels, and I press my feet into them to stop myself from shuffling. By the time he raises his gaze to my face again, I’m flushed.
"What?" I bite out.
"You’re fucking gorgeous. And in this dress, I want to squeeze your tits and grab you by your butt and hoist you up against this door, then tear off that dress and hold you up with my cock as I make you come."
"Oh." I swallow.
"But I’m not going to."
"Because of some stupid-ass notion of not taking my virginity."
"Because—" That expressionless mask drops over his face. "Because you deserve to give it to someone who has feelings for you."
31
Knight
"You have feelings for her."
"Eh?" I glance sideways at the stranger who’s walked up to me, then follow his gaze trained on the woman in the blue dress.
We’re at Cade and Abby’s home for her party, and I thought I’d managed to fade into the background, until this stranger singled me out. I ignore him and continue to take in the vision that is Penny, in the dress that I bought her. I also got the red one. She looked incredible in it; except, it had showed off her curves a little too much for my liking. She’d wear that one only for me. This blue one, though, has sleeves that pinch in at her wrists. It falls in an A-line to her knees and covers her to my satisfaction.
She looked at me with curiosity when I added it to the pile, then rolled her eyes when I ordered her to wear it today. She didn’t object though. If she had, I’m not sure what explanation I’d have given, except that I didn’t want others looking at what's mine. I mean, my employee. I’m looking after her wellbeing by buying her clothes. It contributes to the uplift of her mental health which, in turn, boosts productivity.A-n-d what a load of bull. Not even able to come up with a plausible explanation, hmm?
