by Kells, India
What sound would she make then? The image clear in his mind he saw the full glory of her naked body displayed in front of him as he fucked her hard. Josie would cup her breasts as she looked up at him, her eyes hooded with desire and impatience.
As soon as Knox envisioned her licking her crimson lips, his body came apart in the present. There was no time to cover himself or react, only to feel as he abandoned himself in pleasure. His body shook, blinded by light for an incredible instant, one that passed way too soon.
Breathing hard, his ears still ringing as his body trembled with the remnants of his explosion, he didn’t want to move or return to reality. Regretfully, it wasn’t an option. Letting go of his cock, he looked around at the mess he’d made and sighed. It wasn’t something he wanted Georgia to discover when she walked into his office the next morning, but he stayed on his chair for a moment longer in the cool air of the shop. It was one thing to fantasize about that woman, but another to have his mind filled with her. No way he would ever indulge with Josie. She was way too young for him, and he wasn’t a damn white knight. Not for anything long-term anyway. He was an old dog with no intention of learning new tricks.
Knox cleaned himself up and made sure there wasn’t anything on his desk or floor when he finally switched off the lights behind him. Bundled up, he opened the back door to be welcomed by a gust of wind and a flurry of snowflakes.
Cursing, he started to clear his truck, hoping the roads were still good up to his cabin. It wasn’t far, but it could be a difficult drive in these conditions.
As he made his way out of town, there were still a few vehicles out and about and the snow wasn’t too thick on the ground yet. It was the visibility that was the trickiest. Driving slowly, he was glad he could still see the pavement in some places and his headlights still pierced the white curtain enough to discern the side of the road.
He rolled his shoulders, his body still experiencing pleasant aftershocks but wanting more. His hands tightened on the steering wheel, not happy with the realization. Josie was turning into an obsession. Nothing good would come of it apart from blue balls, a sore arm, and shit loads of frustration.
Knox thought his heart would leap out of his chest as he swerved to avoid what looked like a deer on the side of the road. Distractions could lead to disaster around here and he’d been distracted with thoughts of Josie. Then he blinked and realized it wasn’t a deer. Pulling to a stop at the curb, he looked back and saw a figure walking down the road.
“Fucking shit!” Putting the hazard lights on, he jumped out of the truck and headed toward the figure, his temper flaring. “Do you have a death wish? Are you fucking mad? Walking alone on the side of the road in the dark, in the middle of a snowstorm no less, is suicide.”
The woman pushed back the hood of her brown coat and Knox felt like he’d been given an uppercut to the chin. Josie. His body reacted instantly and he should have known not to get close to her—not when he was still experiencing that pleasurable haze from his release.
Her black hair escaped her hood, and her cheeks and the tip of her nose were red as an apple from the cold wind. Her red lips made him think of Snow White. Georgia’s words rushed in as he remembered she was a victim of abuse, and he regretted coming on so strong with her. He might very well have scared the poor woman. Not giving her a chance to respond, his next words were more order than request. “Get in my truck and I’ll give you a lift.”
Something flashed over her face, but it was gone too quick for him to interpret. Instead, she lifted her head and shook it with a smile and continued to walk past him. “No, thank you, Mr. Knox.”
She knew his name? Then he remembered it was a small community so of course she would. So many thoughts scrambled in his head at the same time, Knox wasn’t certain which one to grasp. It was the wind that made him shake his head and realize he was standing almost in the middle of the deserted road in a snowstorm.
When he turned, she was still there, fighting against the elements to get home.
His first instinct was to grab her and throw her in his warm truck before driving to her place, but he suspected she wouldn’t take that well.
Getting back in the cab, he put the truck into drive and quickly closed the distance between them. He kept the hazards on and slowed his speed until he was keeping pace with her. His headlights shone through the falling snow, and he saw her turn her head and frown before looking ahead once more. It was a couple more miles until they reached her place and with a full gas tank and a stubbornness that could match any, he continued to keep pace with her. It wasn’t the ideal situation, but at least she would be visible and shielded by his vehicle.
It took longer than he expected for her to reach out. And if she’d been annoyed before, the lady was mad now. Josie knocked on the passenger window and he slowly lowered it. “What are you doing?”
“Driving home.”
The way she blinked, as if trying to comprehend his words was cute as hell. “Then go on.”
“That’s what I’m doing.” And still he continued at a snail’s pace beside her and left his window open.
He heard her grumble something but the wind made it impossible to understand. “If you have something to say, say it louder.”
“I think you’re a damn fool and you have a death wish.”
If she only knew. “I’m not the one that could easily be mistaken for a deer on the side of the road, that’s walking in the dark in the middle of a storm. The road is treacherous around here, with lots of bends. If you don’t get hit by a car, you could fall into that ditch and die from hypothermia.”
She stopped once more and looked at him as if he’d completely lost his mind. “Are you for real? You’re the one making it dangerous. I’m perfectly fine.”
She must have hit a patch of ice just then because she yelped and vanished in an instant.
Knox put the truck in park and leaped out, running around to her. She was on her back, her legs partly under the truck, and scrambling to get her footing. Knox offered his hand, but as he’d expected, she didn’t acknowledge his offer of help.
Ignoring her flailing arms, he grabbed her under the arms and put her up in front of the truck where the road was clear.
She dusted off the snow before turning to him. “What part of I don’t need your help do you not understand?”
He wanted to pull his hair at her stubbornness. “If you’d got in the car from the beginning, you’d already be home by now and off the damn road.”
Her mouth opened to answer, and he knew it was going to be a fiery reply when a car came around the curve. Unable to control the momentum of the car due to the snow, it was obvious the driver had lost control and was heading their way.
It was an instinctive reaction that caused him to grab Josie and jump into the ditch.
He had the good sense to roll in midair so he’d bear the brunt of their weight and the thick snow cushioned their fall. At the angle he was he couldn’t see much and wasn’t surprised hear the car driving away. Pushing himself up, he saw his truck was still in the same spot, and from the tire tracks, the car had barely avoided the truck before continuing down the road.
Only then did he turn to Josie, who looked like a snowman covered in a thick layer of snow, and a smile twitched his lips. “Are you okay?”
Her breathing was labored, but she nodded. “Thank you.”
Being so close, with his truck’s headlights reflecting on the snow, he saw her hazel eyes locked on his face.
There wasn’t much more to say. It had been a while since he’d felt an adrenaline rush like this, and it was difficult to let her go. When he did, he immediately felt the loss.
Wading through the snow, he finally reached the road and turned to help Josie out. This time, she didn’t refuse his hand.
“I’m not the kind of man to beg, but I really want to go home, and I won’t be able to rest if I know you’re still out here. Please, let me drive you home?”
She was clear
ly debating his offer, and Knox forced himself to stay silent, hoping that she wouldn’t decline him.
“OK.”
That single word helped loosen his jaw. He wanted to open the passenger door and play the gallant card, but his patience was wearing thin and he didn’t want her to misinterpret his actions and change her mind.
He removed as much snow as possible from his clothes before getting in the driver’s side, and Josie did the same. Once inside the cab, he closed the passenger window, blasted the heater, and put the truck into drive.
Josie stayed silent for the entire five-minute drive and Knox didn’t try to make conversation either. When he passed his driveway, he was glad to see it had been cleared although he suspected that during the course of the night enough snow would fall and it would need to be done once more. He slowed to check for the turn to Josie’s place when she told him he was there.
He looked around and didn’t see the opening for her driveway, so he stopped the truck. “Where do I turn?”
“You don’t. I’ll walk from here. Thanks for the ride, Mr. Knox. Goodnight.”
And before he could move, she was out the truck. As she rounded the front, she gave him a small wave and turned to wade through the snowbank. Only then did he realize her driveway probably hadn’t been cleared all winter, and despite the snow and wind, he could see the trail she’d made as she made her way to her home and back. On foot.
Only when she disappeared through the trees was he able to force himself to turn and head home, but he now had a new set of unanswered questions on top of those he’d already had. How could this woman go on like that? Working relentlessly, no car, no money, and a cabin lost in the woods? Even if he didn’t like the fact he was curious and was resisting the compulsion to find out more, he knew the fight might prove to be useless.
Chapter 3
He hated mornings. He hated mornings after a snowstorm and he was pissed at his dark-haired neighbor. Knox should have known something was up when Josie hadn’t appeared by the lake that morning. At first, he’d thought it was because of the snow and she’d decided not to take her morning walk, but he should have known better. When he went to get her in his truck, he’d cursed when he saw a fresh set of tracks in the snow leading to the road. Snow White had fled before he could make a princely move, as if she knew he’d planned to do just that.
Knox almost expected to see her walking to town, but she was nowhere to be seen. That didn’t help his temper. It had been late when he’d driven her home—she couldn’t have gotten much sleep. When he arrived at the shop, he took the time to take a couple of deep breaths so he wouldn’t bite Georgia’s head off for no reason. After all, she was the bearer of his morning coffee.
Mostly steady, and deciding to forget about Josie he headed to the front desk. Georgia took him by surprise and jumped into his arms as he reached it. He only had time to brace himself and prevent them both from falling backward before she gave him a loud kiss on the mouth. Stunned, he held the plump woman and searched his mind how to react. Happily, she had the answer.
“I’m so happy! It’s the best day of my life!”
Knox exhaled in relief. The woman was happy, not horny. Making sure she was steady on her feet, he lowered her to the ground. “Okay. You must have some great news for me to get a kiss like that.”
And as if to make a point, she grabbed his whiskered cheeks once more and gave him another one. “I just learned that my Judy gave birth last night! To a little girl! Isn’t it wonderful?”
Backtracking in his mind, he fumbled to remember what she’d told him months before about her family. It was vague, but he seemed to recall her daughter had been pregnant when her husband died, one of the reasons she’d kept going, she said. “Congratulations, Georgia. That’s very good news.” As long he didn’t have to visit or hold an infant, he could be happy for her.
Clapping her hands, she seemed to dance in front of him. “Yes, yes. A new baby, and it makes me a grandmother.” Her stunned looked turned watery. “If only her father was here to see this.”
Knox was helpless in front of a crying female, so he tried to defuse the situation as quickly as he could. “Think about your little granddaughter instead. You’ll be the best grandma ever. I’m sure you’ll spoil her rotten.”
Relief flooded him when she smiled again and nodded. “You’re right! Oh! I’ll need to take a few weeks off as soon as they leave the hospital. That will give me just enough time to plan everything and find a replacement.”
Knox rubbed his face. “We’ll survive without a replacement for now, Georgia. I’m sure I can manage.”
He could see the older woman wasn’t listening as she frowned up at him. “I can bet my last dollar you’ve never done accounting in your life, let alone done a payroll. Am I right?”
“It can’t be that difficult…”
“I’m sure you have the brains to do it, Spencer, but you have a fully booked schedule for the next few weeks, and you need someone to manage the phones, make bookings, deal with vendors, and do the orders.”
“I’ll do most of it in the evenings and I’ll carry the phone with me.”
The way she put her fists on her ample hips showed how little she believed him. “Don’t be dumb, Spencer. There aren’t enough hours in the day for you to do everything. What do you think I do around here all day? Twiddle my thumbs waiting for you to give me something to do? Why do you think everything runs so smoothly around here?”
And he’d been trapped. “Okay, find somebody for the time you’ll be away. Train him or her before you go. I’ll pay them the same rate as I give you. Happy?”
Georgia patted his arm. “I knew you would see sense. I want you to succeed here in Landston. You bought a good business from me and I want to keep it that way. I’ll take care of everything. All you’ll have to do is sign the checks. In other news, someone applied for the body shop and paint position. He should be here any minute for his interview.”
“Wait, wait! Where’s his resume? Is he even qualified? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Do you see a line of people at the door? And when I received it yesterday, I said yes. You need help and Landston is a small town. Also, he said you knew him.”
Knox didn’t like losing his footing and Georgia was pushing him right down the hill. He was about to ask for an explanation when the bell over the door sounded. When Knox turned, he couldn’t help but smile. “Well, well, well, look who it is. What are you doing here, Gage?”
Jonathan Gage wasn’t a man he’d ever thought he would see again. He was from his other life and one of the few who walked a straighter line than he had in the underworld. He was also a formidable cage fighter, and several gangs would have loved to have him on their side for illegal fights. Gage was his own master though, and while it6 had brought him glory, it also brought a lot of pain too. He was also younger and broader than he was.
Knox gave him a quick hug before clapping his shoulder. “What brings you to the backcountry? Bored of life in the city? Or are you here to ski?”
The man rolled his eyes. “Yeah, as if. Everything is fine in the city, but I wanted out for a while.”
Knox looked at him and wasn’t fooled. Gage had been very close to his friend Thomas Locke, had almost been his shadow. He knew the men shared more than just friendship too. The three of them had banded together to bring down a very dangerous man several months ago. While Locke was busy bringing down the entire network in partnership with the authorities, he knew a certain doctor by the name of Tessa had stolen Locke’s heart. Something had happened between the two friends then. It might have been related to the woman, but Knox had never asked. And he wouldn’t ask now either.
“So what are you doing here in the middle of nowhere? Are you about to start training like in Rocky three?
“I’m here for the job. You need someone who can do bodywork, so here I am.”
Knox looked at Georgia who seemed to be playing with papers at the front desk but hadn�
��t missed a single word, so he pulled Gage into his office before closing the door. “Stealing cars doesn’t qualify you to work on one.”
Gage tested a chair before sitting on it as Knox sat behind his desk. “I may have started with the stealing, but I quickly graduated to the chop shop. I worked on dismantling and repainting more cars than anyone else I know.”
“Quantity over quality?”
“Hell, no! Those cars were for upscale clients. They would never have paid if I’d messed up. And I’m not even talking about the shop boss.”
Gage had a point, but that didn’t make the situation less complicated. Sitting back in his chair, Knox rubbed the back of his neck. “You better not be fleeing from some shitty situation. I didn’t get out of the city for someone to bring their problems to my door.”
His friend lifted his hands to him. “I swear, man. Nothing weird. I needed out for personal reasons. New faces, new scenery. Didn’t know where to go until I remembered you’d decided to become a mountaineer.”
Knox had needed out in so many ways. “Please tell me you didn’t go public with where you were going?”
“Come on! I know you needed to get out and keep a low profile. I’m not going to compromise that. Not after what you did to help bring those bastards down.”
“I was one of those bastards once, Gage.”
The cage fighter shrugged. “So was I. And when the game changed into something that was unacceptable, you got out. People think that because we worked with bad guys, we have no morals or honor. It can be slippery for us, but there are lines we would never cross.”
On that, Gage was right. It had been a fun ride, but the world had changed. Or maybe he had gotten too old. “So if I hire you, you won’t bail on me and leave me hanging one fine morning because you can’t stand the snow or the solitude anymore?”
