Worth It

by Linda Kage

  My father strolled up to him and caught his chin. As he moved Knox’s face up into the light, I saw a couple of scratches on his cheek. Covering my mouth with my hands, I hoped he was okay. If he’d been up in the tree watching us when the limb had fallen, he could’ve been hurt badly.

  “What’re you doing here, boy?”

  Knox jerked his chin from my father’s hand and glared at him with defiance. “I just wanted to see all the girls in their pretty dresses.”

  I blinked at his answer, because it wasn’t something Knox—the Knox I knew—would ever say. I swear, he dumbed himself down just to irritate my father more.

  It worked. Father’s scowl deepened. “What makes you think there would be any girls in dresses here?”

  Knox began to glance my way, and I held my breath, but at the last second, he turned back to my father, a look of confusion crinkling his brow. “Isn’t this where that big, fancy cotillion’s supposed to be tonight?”

  My father huffed, “No, it is not. Why in God’s name did you assume that?”

  “Well...” Knox appeared to be genuinely confused. “This is the nicest house in the entire county. Where else would it be?”

  The compliment threw my father. He sputtered for a minute before booming, “Well, you’re wrong. The cotillion is to take place at the antebellum center in town, I believe.”

  “Oh.” Knox seemed chagrined as he blushed and said, “Sorry.”

  Not sure how to deal with his apology, Father scowled harder. “Well...”

  A police cruiser pulled into the drive and around to the side of the house where we were.

  “I’ll just let the sheriff deal with you,” my father announced.

  The sheriff lectured Knox for a few minutes about trespassing and peeping Tom laws, but since my father had lost his indignant rage, the sheriff was disinclined to arrest Knox for anything, and he let him go with a warning.

  I knew my relief was a little too obvious, but I was also pretty sure no one was paying any attention to me, so I just kept blowing out the breath of pent-up worry I’d been holding inside me.

  When my brothers finally let Knox go, he immediately turned for the forest to leave, but the sheriff shouted at him, telling him not to enter the woods again. He escorted Knox home by making him sit in the back of his police car.

  As I stared at Knox through the back window of the car, a shiver of dread worked through me. A bad feeling struck, like a foreboding premonition. I knew this wasn’t the last time I’d see him this way.

  He must’ve felt the same awful omen, or maybe he just felt me watching him, because he lifted his face and finally looked at me. He looked so sad, I wanted to chase after the retreating police car, crying and screaming over the injustice of it. But I stood rigid, shaking on the inside and wishing I didn’t have to hide how much I loved him.

  I was maudlin for the rest of the night. I woodenly followed orders, walking where I was supposed to walk and standing where I was supposed to stand, but not even my mother’s threats could get me to smile.

  When the long, dreadful night was finally over, I slumped into my room and immediately slipped off the heels, which were killing me. The urge to pick them up and throw them as hard as I could against the wall rose, but I swallowed it down.

  I felt so awful for what had happened to Knox, and even worse that I hadn’t reacted at all when he’d been treated that way. Shame filled me. I should’ve stepped in and defended him, or...something.

  Slumping onto my bed, I stared down at my hands in my lap, wishing I could see him now.

  When a sharp, small object snapped against my window, I yelped and jumped up from the bed, gaping at the glass.

  Another pebble pelted it.

  Catching my breath, I raced forward, knowing it was him. But I couldn’t see him through the dark until I opened the window all the way, stuck my head out, and he waved to me. Elation roared through me, quickly chased by fear.

  “Are you crazy?” I hissed, glancing briefly behind me to make sure my bedroom door was still closed. “What’re you doing here? If anyone saw you—”

  His white teeth gleamed through the dark as he merely grinned at me. “Meet me in the gazebo.”

  “Knox.” I shook my head, still unable to believe he was here. “Don’t be insane. We’ll get caught.”

  “And wear that dress.” Then he was gone, streaking across the yard in the direction of the gazebo.

  I groaned out a breath, knowing it’d be safer for him if I stayed away. But the temptation got to me, and a full five seconds later, I was slapping the window closed and scurrying barefoot from my room. I tiptoed to the stairs and crept down. I could hear voices in the front parlor, so I held my breath as I snuck to the back hall and slipped out the kitchen exit.

  Once I was free in the warm evening air, I exhaled and then grinned.

  Knox was close, and I was going to get to see him.

  The grass was damp against the soles of my feet, and it felt good. I almost laughed aloud, I was so happy. But that would’ve been bad, so I kept quiet until I reached the gazebo steps. Then I yelped out a scream as someone grasped my arms from behind.

  Sure one of my brothers or father had followed me, I tensed, trying to think up a reason I had come out here. Maybe I’d left a hair barrette from earlier when we were taking pictures. Yeah. That sounded good.

  But then the voice of my captor murmured, “Shh. It’s just me,” as he tugged me back against a familiar chest.

  Relieved, I whirled around and hugged him tight. His mouth captured mine with a kiss that stole my breath and reignited the tingling between my legs that I’d felt earlier in the day, except it was sharper and more intense this time around.

  “Why aren’t you at work?” I demanded when we broke apart.

  “We ran out of bags; they let me off early.” He picked me up and carried me up, out of the moonlight and into the shadows of the gazebo. “Crazy girl,” he murmured into my ear before he kissed my pulse directly under it. “You’re not wearing any shoes.”

  “How could I think of shoes,” I answered breathlessly, “when I knew you were so close?”

  He groaned and kissed me again, hard and desperate. “God, I missed you today. It felt all kinds of wrong not being able to look at you when you were right fucking there across this very yard.”

  When his fingers immediately went to the spaghetti straps of my dress, my breathing picked up. I ran my hands through his hair, scraping my nails over his scalp. “I can’t believe you came to watch me get my pictures taken. That was too risky, Knox. You were caught. You almost went to jail.”

  He only grinned. “But I didn’t. And I had to see you in your fancy cotillion outfit.” Then he slowly lowered the front of my dress, baring my breasts to him. “Jesus.” he sucked in a breath. “I knew you weren’t wearing a bra, but this is... You’re lovely. You’re so lovely, City. Fully clothed or with your top down like this, you’re the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. Did any of your idiot family tell you how nice you looked today?”

  I shook my head and whispered, “No.”

  “I didn’t think so. I hated watching the way they treated you”

  “Me?” I sputtered. “What about the way they treated you? I felt so ashamed of myself for not saying anything, not stepping in or telling them to leave you alone.”

  “I’m glad you didn’t. You know I didn’t want you to say or do anything, right?”

  I stared up at him, knowing, but still feeling crappy. As if sensing my continued guilt, he sent me a soft smile and returned his attention to my breasts.

  “Besides, it turned out fine, didn’t it? And we’re here together now.”

  A sudden cool gust blew across us, chilling my exposed breasts. I shivered and felt my nipples pearl into tight buds. Knox sucked in a breath and cupped them in his hands, immediately warming them.

  “I saw you looking at them,” he said. “Earlier, when I was out here waiting for you to come out and get your pict
ure taken, the curtains to your room were open. I could see in as you changed, and you paused to look at them in the mirror.”

  “Oh my God.” I moaned in absolute horror and tried to cover them with my hands, but he caught my wrists. “You saw that?”

  He nodded, and his eyes twinkled in the moonlight. “It was so fucking hot, City. I got so hard so fast I ached. I wished I were there with you, touching you while you looked at yourself.”

  His naughty admission made something deep in my stomach clench. I pressed my legs together and trembled out a long breath. “I was thinking about you kissing them, and I wished you’d do it again.”

  “Fuck...me.” He groaned and dipped his face to take the right breast into his mouth before sucking it in deep.

  Whimpering, I clutched his head and gloried in his fevered assault.

  “I know it’s probably asshole-ish of me to go straight for your boobs,” he admitted when he came up for air, making me frown because I didn’t think he’d gone for them quickly enough, actually. “But just a quick hi, okay? I don’t want them to feel left out. Hello, ladies. Have you missed me? Yes, I missed you too.” He nuzzled his face between them and pressed a quick kiss to the side of each one before taking the left nipple into his mouth and sucking languidly.

  Digging my fingers into his shoulder, I swam in the sensations he drew from me. But something Garrett had said earlier caused a niggle of doubt. “You don’t think they’re too small?”

  Knox pulled away from them to straighten and send me an incredulous gape. “What?”

  I covered myself with my hands. “My breasts. I know they’re not the biggest.”

  “So?” Catching my hands and gently drawing them open, Knox shook his head. “You think size is the most important thing?”

  I flushed and ducked my head self-consciously. “Well, yeah.”

  With a chuckle, he studied my chest. “Not even by a long shot. Or maybe I’m just a nipple man, because I love the way yours respond to me. All I have to do is look at them, and they get hard and tight and pert, like they’re happy to see me. It makes me hard and tight right back, very happy to see them. And size...hell, all I need is a mouthful.”

  He bent his head down and sucked me in, proving it. It was some kind of breaking point for me. “I want you so much,” I sobbed, clutching him.

  “I know,” he muffled around his mouthful. “I want you too.”

  “No.” Grasping his hair, I pulled him off my breast and made him look at me, dead in the eye. “I mean, I really want you. I want to be with you, Knox. Tonight.”

  I stared after City as she finished filling her napkin holder and moved to another table. Feeling as if the wind had been knocked out of me, I wondered why the hell I’d agreed to go anywhere with her, especially Bentley’s grave, where we’d probably bond.

  She needed to stay away from me.

  And I needed to keep her away from me.

  Except, it just wasn’t my damn night. As the club opened, she didn’t avoid me whenever she came up to the bar to fill her orders. Sometimes she took her business to one of the other two bartenders, but if I was right there, she rattled off whatever she needed as if I were any other coworker. But I could see it in her eyes. She was rocking some serious pity.

  What made matters worse was that I knew she wouldn’t push me away if I went to her. If I sought comfort, she’d comfort me.

  Yet, I refused to touch her, even made sure our hands didn’t brush during money exchanges.

  The only distraction that kept me from going insane with how there she was—right fucking in front of me, touching distance away—was the small issue Asher had. About as soon as the doors opened, women began to pour in.

  Even Ten noticed, pausing by me and muttering, “Is it just me, or are there a ton of chicks here tonight? It’s not Thursday.”

  No, it wasn’t Thursday, and yes, there were definitely a ton of women. They gathered around the bar area too, not waiting for a waitress to come to them, but bringing their orders straight to us.

  “And they all seem to be Incubus fans,” I noticed.

  “What?” Ten whipped his head toward the crowd, where about twenty different women were just milling around, sipping from their assorted drinks, and...were they all staring at Asher?

  Ten broke out belly laughing. “Oh, my fucking God. You’ve got to be kidding me. Holy shit, this is too good to be true.”

  “What?” I asked, slightly startled I was even curious enough to care what he was talking about.

  He set a hand on my shoulder and leaned confidentially closer. “Last night, Hart sang some song about this chick he saw singing karaoke a couple months back. Girl had a boyfriend, but she left him with a raging hard-on, and he’s been obsessed with finding her again ever since. Anyway, in the song, he had some lyric about her wearing an Incubus T-shirt and singing—”

  On cue, a new karaoke song began, playing a popular hit. I glanced toward the stage, to find three ladies preparing to sing. And they were all sporting different versions of Incubus on their shirts.

  “Let me guess. It was All About that Bass?”

  Ten groaned. “Aww, hell no. Please don’t tell me all these fucking women are going to sing that one song all fucking night long? Stab me now.”

  I glanced toward Asher, who was frowning in confusion at the stage, just as one tone-deaf woman started to butcher the opening line.

  “No, no, NO!” Ten wailed, covering his ears. “I’m going to slaughter Hart for this.”

  I tipped my head toward Asher. “I don’t think he gets it yet.”

  “Hart!” Ten bellowed, storming Asher’s way. “You son of a bitch. Look what you’ve done.”

  Asher whirled to him, utter confusion on his face. I couldn’t hear the conversation that followed, but it consisted of Ten raging and waving his arms in wild anger, and Asher’s expression of bewilderment morphing into horror.

  He whipped his head toward all the women at the bar, and as if sensing they finally had his attention, they began to wave and call, “Asher! Over here! Look! Are you sure it wasn’t me in this T-shirt?”

  Jerking backward until he bumped into the back counter, he merely gaped at them before he began to shake his head, denying what was going on.

  For the rest of the night, he refused to leave the safety behind the bar. Women were still occasionally able to reach across and grab at him, sometimes even catching bits of his clothes and tugging him closer. But overall, he managed to nervously laugh with them and gently pry their hands away.

  “Better get used to it now, Hart,” Ten advised at one point. “If you’re going to be some big fucking rock star someday, this is going to be the norm for you.”

  I was a little afraid Asher was going to vomit at that point.

  Felicity was able to divert some of the women away from the bar by intercepting them and taking their orders, but a majority slipped past her to pester him. After a while, the three of us came up with a system where Ten and I dealt with customers and Asher stayed toward the back, mixing drinks.

  We were halfway through the shift when another diversion arrived to help me keep some of my attention off Felicity. A tall, bulky guy approached the bar. Ten immediately went to him and talked to him for a while, but he mainly kept his curious gaze on me. Then Ten reached across the counter to slug him companionably on the shoulder before he glanced at me and waved me over.

  I approached warily because I had no idea what this was about. But as soon as I was close enough, the stranger stuck out his hand. “I’m Quinn Hamilton.”

  I blinked, not expecting that, before I slowly shook with him. He nodded humbly, respect glinting in his gaze.

  “I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for Zoey. You saved both her and the baby. And they’re my entire life.” Emotion flooded his features. “I don’t know what I’d do without them.”

  Uncomfortable because he was making me feel a strange kinship with him, I couldn’t look him in the eye as I nodde
d.

  “If you ever need anything,” he went on, “I would be honored to help.”

  I nodded again, but it felt really insignificant, so I added a rusty, “Yeah, okay.” Then something I really did want to know hit me. “How’re they doing?”

  An immediate grin spread across his face. “They’re pulling through, both getting healthier every day. Zoey was released from the hospital the other day, and J.B. still has to stay in a bit longer. But they’re both healing.” He pulled a cell phone from his pocket and scrolled through it before showing me a picture of a red little baby with a wealth of dark hair, strapped to a bunch of tubes and wires.

  I studied the shot a moment before looking up at the father, who had nothing but pride oozing from him. “He has your hair,” I said, remembering Zoey had been a blonde.

  “Yeah, but he has Zoey’s eyes.” He turned the screen back to himself. His expression of absolute awe caught me hard in the chest. Once upon a time I’d dreamed of one day looking down at a baby and seeing both mine and his mother’s features mixed together in one perfect little human we had created.

  Glancing around for Felicity, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I found her right there, approaching Quinn from the back.

  “Hey, daddy,” she said, catching hold of his shoulder. “Are you showing off baby pictures without letting me see any?”

  Quinn readily let her scroll through all he had. Her smile grew as he updated her with both Zoey and the baby’s situations, then he thanked her for stopping by the hospital and giving them gifts. I tried not to stare as they chatted, but it was hard not to ache and wonder about the woman she’d become.

  She seemed so familiar and friendly with everyone who worked here. The girl I’d once known had been more of a loner, feeling awkward around everyone but me. It made me relieved as much as it depressed me. I was grateful she’d found friends and a place to belong, but at the same time, it stung to realize she didn’t need me any longer. She’d bloomed into the perfect woman all on her own.