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“Unspeakable?” I should probably stop repeating his words.
And then his lips are on mine. A hint of cinnamon. A fission of energy spirals wiping all thought. His hand is against my nape, keeping me right where he wants me. His kiss is sensual and I somehow feel it everywhere, a surge of sensations through my extremities and deep in my core.
A thick, wet tongue leaves slober on my cheek.
“Ew.” We both pull back, only to be met with a wave of unappealing dog breath. “Millie.”
Knox chuckles and slaps her haunches. He gets up and offers me a hand. “I’d be upset, but she’s helping me stay in line.”
“You don’t need to?—”
“Yes, I do.” With one firm pull, I’m up, off the ground. “Here. I’ll lead on this first part. It’s steep. And if you slip, I can catch you.” His cocky grin has my insides flipping in all kinds of directions. There’s no wonder they voted him Biggest Heartbreaker his senior year of high school. I still have the yearbook because I kept all of Sam’s yearbooks for him. Or, well, I suppose I did have them. I doubt they survived the fire.
I follow Knox, letting the sight of his muscular shoulders and firm butt lessen the impact of the realization I probably lost some important mementos in that house fire. I’ve tried hard not to dwell too much on the fire. It’ll be there for me to face when I return home and after the team finds Sloane.
We reach the straight down-drop section, the part that I used my hands to climb, and Knox spins, holding his arms out for me. Millie’s already past him, waiting farther down the trail, tail wagging, watching.
“Jump,” Knox says. “I’ll catch you.”
One million fantasies collide. I bend my knees, think better of it, crouch, and put a hand on the ground for stability.
“Jump,” he urges.
In what must look like the weirdest maneuver ever executed, I push off the edge from a near crouching position into his open, waiting arms.
As promised, he catches me. His chest is so hard my breasts ache pressed against his muscular planes. With my arms clutching his shoulders, he lets my body slide down his. It’s a slow, magical, dreamy journey for my toes to meet the ground. And then he kisses me.
It’s like we’re dancing without music. I have an urge to kick my foot up, just like in the old movies. His palms fall to my ass, and—oh, my god, he’s touching my butt!
He cups my butt cheeks, pressing me into him, and his groan rumbles through me. Heat and unruly sensations course in my nether regions. He breaks the kiss, and his thumb caresses my cheek. His chest rises and falls as fast as if he’s been running, and I become aware I’m breathing rapidly, too. He takes my hand and presses his lips to my knuckle, then we head off, side by side. The trail is too narrow for us both, and he leaves the packed dirt and takes the side of the trail. His hiking boots flatten the clumps of grass and kick loose rocks.
A roar of engines splits the silence. It’s not the sound of a car.
“Motorbikes,” Knox says, scanning the trail in the direction of the sound.
Off in the distance, two riders on mud-splattered motorbikes come into view. They’re wearing helmets with face shields. One is dressed in red, the other in black. Red clay dust spins behind them, and the noxious scent of exhaust wafts through the air.
“They look like advanced riders,” Knox observes.
“I didn’t think motor vehicles were allowed this far up the trail.”
“They’re not but…every now and then you see people doing it anyway.”
About a foot past us, a patch of dirt poofs in a mini explosion. Odd.
Millie stops up ahead. Her head tilts and her tail lowers.
Another dusty poof. Just beyond Knox’s shadow.
“Shooter. Get down!”
CHAPTER 15
Knox
It’s the motorbikes. Fuck.
The one wearing red has stopped. His gloved hand holds a revolver. The sun blazes down on his face shield, forming a mirrored surface, and in it I see myself and Sage.
