He gestured out the open windows of the suite and toward the stage. The house lights had just gone dark and a feeling of anticipation raced through the massive stadium. Over twenty thousand people held their breath as Sloane’s music started playing low, then slowly increased in volume. There were a lot of special effects with lights and a huge screen showing a video of white lines zooming around Dallas’s famous landmarks before they converged on this very stadium, and then on the dramatic sight of Sloane suddenly appearing above the stage with every light focused on him.
“Sloane Kent!” Ema leaned forward, almost toppling out of their lofty perch. “I love him!”
Knox felt jealousy rip through his gut and chastised himself for it. Even if Ema truly meant she loved Sloane Kent, like, loved him, what bearing did that have on Knox? Yet he had to resist explaining to her that Sloane was happily married and Hope would not like someone as gorgeous as Ema loving her man. Knox rolled his eyes. Ema was probably simply saying she loved Sloane’s music and persona, and here he was, overreacting. He never overreacted, unless he was protecting his daughter. What was this woman doing to him?
Sloane thanked them all for coming and rambled on for a little bit, then started into his first song. Ema danced along with the song and Knox couldn’t rip his eyes away from her. The way she moved was beautiful, and that she was having so much fun dancing along to the beat was cute. Knox rubbed his hand over his short beard. Cute? He only thought of Shelby as cute. Ema was an entire different meaning of the word cute than Shelby. Brave, sexy, beautiful, funny—she was the total package. He jammed a hand through his hair. He needed to stop listing her desirable characteristics.
A new song started, and Ema continued to dance until she noticed him staring. “What?”
Knox looked guiltily out at the stage.
Ema moved in closer and wrapped her small hand around his. The move shocked him into facing her again. “Why are you staring at me like I’m deranged?” she demanded.
“I didn’t. You’re not deranged, you’re beaut—” Knox forced himself to stop. “It’s fun to see you enjoying yourself.”
She arched her eyebrows like she didn’t believe him and she knew exactly what he’d almost said. A woman like her would be no stranger to flattery, and he’d already told her when he met her in the hotel lobby that she was beautiful. He needed to curb the impulse to repeat it over and over again.
“Do you ever enjoy yourself, Knox?” she asked.
His pulse ratcheted up. Enjoy himself? Being around his daughter made him happy and playing football was fulfilling and for the most part enjoyable. Did all of that count? When he looked into her dark brown eyes, though, he knew she was talking about something else completely. Fun. Like he used to have with his friends, his family, and Army brothers before his mom and sister were killed, the horrors of military life became part of him, and the loss of Tyler and his other brothers sucked all vestiges of “fun” from his soul.
He gulped and muttered, “No, not really.”
“Come on, then.” She released his hand and started dancing right in his space, bee-bopping around him, lifting her hands, giving him a challenging look filled with mischief. “Dance with me, Knox.”
Knox’s eyes widened and he took a step back. “I don’t know how to dance.”
Ema was having none of it. “Ah, come on. It’s not rocket science.” She grabbed both of his hands and pulled them onto her waist, swaying her hips to the beat. “Just follow my lead. Move your feet, Hulk.”
Knox smiled at the Hulk reference; he felt hulking and awkward around her, especially as her trim hips moved underneath his hands and heat crept up his neck. This was humiliating and much too intriguing at the same time. He’d never danced. Not even in high school, when his mom had forced him to go to all the dances. Many a girl had been ticked at him for that, but none of them had dared push him like this. He supposed even before the military he’d been a little intimidating.
Ema kept dancing with his hands planted on her hips. He should’ve removed them, but touching her was too exhilarating. She lifted her hands up in the air and grinned broadly, like she knew exactly how she was affecting him. Her body was one with the rhythm and Knox wanted to be one with her.
No! Oh, man, he should back away. Instead, Knox just stood there with his hands on her waist, enjoying the way she moved under his palms, while the rest of him was mortified at the thought of dancing and shocked by his other errant thoughts that he couldn’t seem to rein in.
“You got this.” Ema grinned wider. Her smile was fabulous. He’d never watched her reality show, but he wanted to go home and binge-watch it, just to focus on her smile and her lovely face. He had the real deal in front of him and he wasn’t going to let go anytime soon.
She wrapped her hands around his as they hung awkwardly against her hips, and she pulled their now-clasped fingers up between them, pushing gently into his chest with each beat of the movement. Knox couldn’t help but sway a little bit to the beat. “That’s right,” she said. “Now get those hips and feet moving.”
Knox actually tried. He moved his hips back and forth and shuffled his feet and felt more awkward than he had in junior high, when some girl had marched up and planted a kiss on him in front of the entire school during lunch. A sheen of sweat broke out on his brow and he hoped Ema wouldn’t notice.
“There you go.” Ema’s voice was soothing, appealing. She kept bee-bopping to the beat. “Relax. This is supposed to be fun.”
Knox couldn’t do this. No matter how much he wanted to keep her close, he couldn’t have fun. “Sorry.” He pulled his hands free and stepped back. “I …” He ducked his head and muttered, “Can’t dance.”
“You were doing it,” Ema protested. “Come on, it’s fun.” She danced a circle around him as he stood still as a tree trunk. Moving her body in a far-too-alluring way, she slowly trailed one hand along his back, then down his arm.
Pleasure receptors shot through his body at her simple touch, and Knox wanted to melt into the floor. What was she doing to him?
She bumped her hip into his and giggled. “Have some fun, big guy. Nobody’s here but you and I.”
That was the wrong thing to say. They were alone and he needed to get in control of himself. Right now. Military control.
Tomorrow, the cameras would be rolling when they were together, and if he looked at her like a lovesick puppy, it would be humiliating. The day after that, she’d be gone and he’d never see her again. He couldn’t let himself get all interested in her just to be deserted. This is why he didn’t date. It wasn’t just him that would get invested; it was Shelby, and he could never allow his daughter’s heart to be broken. He dreaded the day he’d have to tell her about her real father giving his life for their country, and about her real mother deserting her at birth and only trying to see her daughter when she wanted to flirt with Knox or get media exposure. Shelby had enough heartache in her future without him bringing someone beautiful and fun like Ema around, then having them both get ditched.
She came around in front of him again and flashed her teasing smile. It ticked him off. Knox wrapped his arms around her back and pulled her flush to his body, determined to stop her from dancing, teasing him about not dancing, and trying to get him to have fun. He shuddered.
He was much stronger than her, but she kept moving her lithe body close to his and grinning at him. “Ah, I gotcha. That’s the way you like to dance.”
Knox loved feeling her move in his arms. She smelled like a tropical island and happiness. He couldn’t help it; the frustration, fear, and need to protect himself all drained away, and he started laughing. “You don’t know how to give up, do you?”
“No, sir. We’re at Sloane Kent! You have to have a great time here.”
He smiled, and as she continued swaying to the music, he found himself matching her movements, sort of. He was still awkward and wishing he knew how to move better and feeling traces of guilt for having fun, but she was impossible
to resist. His mom had pounded the story of Delilah and Samson into his head as a youth, telling him over and over again how he had to protect himself from wily females who would try to take his strength and his faith if he gave in to unrighteous desires. He wouldn’t say Ema created unrighteous desires, but she definitely created desire. Was she here to test his strength, or was she an angel sent by Tyler to help him learn something? Tyler had been the fun one, the one who savored life. Why had Knox been the one who survived? Sometimes he imagined how happy Shelby would be with her real father, and it cut him up inside.
The guilty feelings hung heavy around him and he almost let Ema go. A slow song came through the open suite window, and Ema gently placed her hands on his chest. She stared up at him and whispered, “I love this song.”
Knox pushed thoughts of guilt and Tyler far away and listened to the lyrics for a second. It was Sloane’s number one hit, “It’s More Than the Rest.” Unable to resist this beautiful woman or the alluring sound of the music, he pulled her in even closer, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid her head in the crook of his neck. Knox’s throat went dry and his heart pounded quicker and quicker. This beautiful woman had been assaulted by a scumbag earlier tonight, yet now she seemed so confident and unaffected by the attack. The only indication it bugged her was her inability to eat. Ema was amazing and beautiful and his body naturally curved into hers as they swayed together and listened to the chorus:
Love and sunshine go hand in hand, both from God. All the simple things come to us free, and we discard them so easily, our world, our bodies, our families and love. The beauty, the pain, the fun, the gain. The loss, the test, it’s more than the rest. It’s more than the rest.
Knox was swept away by the words and the feel of this well-built beauty in his embrace. As they moved together, the world disappeared. Desire, protection, and contentment rushed through him. Having an angelic beauty in his arms had never felt so right.
The chorus started again and he focused on the words. The loss, the test? He’d lost so much and it felt like his entire life was one test after another. His mom would’ve told him to have faith, but he’d lost her and his sister also, a drunk driver swerving into their lane while he was deployed. He never got to say goodbye. The words and this tender moment with Ema reached deep and touched his heart. Knox swallowed hard but couldn’t clear his throat.
Ema glanced up at him with a sweet smile on her face. “You okay?”
He shook his head and stepped away, pulling his arms clear. Ema’s arms dropped to her sides and she looked stunned, like she’d just been thrown from the darkness into a brightly lit room and didn’t quite know how to react.
“You hungry?” he said gruffly, gesturing toward the buffet spread along the back wall.
She looked him over for a few excruciating seconds, then nodded and walked past him. They both loaded up their plates with potato salad, ribs, chicken, coleslaw, beans, and corn bread. It was good old Texas food. They sat and Knox ate rapidly, barely tasting the food and focusing on Sloane and his band members kicking up a storm down on the stage. He felt Ema’s gaze on him several times, but he ignored it.
When his plate was empty, he glanced at hers and noticed she’d barely made a dent. “You’re not hungry?” he asked, feeling guilty that he’d devoured his food and would’ve gone back for seconds if his mom’s voice wasn’t in his head telling him to mind his manners.
“It tastes great. Thank you, Knox.” She didn’t seem nearly as happy or at ease as she’d been earlier. He’d offended her by ending their dance so abruptly, but self-preservation had demanded quick action. “Why don’t you get some more?” she encouraged.
“You don’t mind?”
“Not at all. Maybe slow down and enjoy the next plate.” She gave him a saucy wink.
Knox couldn’t help but laugh. Aunt Genny and Nellie were always encouraging him to stop inhaling his food, but growing up, he’d matured so quickly he’d always felt hungry, and then being in the military had taught him to eat when he could and eat fast. He took his plate back and refilled it, adding a slice of peach pie on a smaller plate. Sitting next to Ema, eating the food a little more slowly, and listening to the music was … pleasant might be the right word if he wasn’t so cued into her and attracted to everything about her, everything but her career. He could see himself liking this girl, if she wasn’t a reporter of sorts intent on exposing his personal life.
As if she’d guessed his thoughts, she set her plate aside, took a sip of her lemonade, and said, “Tell me more about yourself, Knox.”
His brow furrowed. He hated talking about himself. “Why?” he asked shortly, shoving a large bite of barbecue chicken in his mouth. Some of the sauce dribbled down his chin and he reached for a napkin but came up short. Had he even grabbed a napkin? His mom would be so disappointed.
Ema pressed her lips together like she was hiding a smile. She lifted her napkin up and gently wiped away the sauce. Knox’s face heated up as embarrassment flooded through him, along with a stupid desire to grab her hand and tug her close again.
“Thanks,” he muttered.
“Sure thing, big guy.” She tilted her head to the side. “I can’t decide if you’re more the Hulk or the Beast.”
Knox took a bite of corn bread, shrugging his shoulders. “Most people call me the Beast. Go with that one.” He loved thinking of himself as a beast out on the football field, but he didn’t particularly enjoy this intriguing woman thinking of him as the Hulk or the Beast. Neither were too flattering if you wanted someone to like you. Knox shook his head. He didn’t want her to like him. He’d been stupid enough to invite her on this date, and he’d get through tomorrow at the ranch and then he could forget her. Maybe.
He took a large bite of potato salad. It was almost as good as his mama’s had been.
“You want people to think of you as a beast?” she asked.
“Don’t really care what people think of me.”
“Truly?” She angled her body toward his, forgetting about Sloane Kent, who she’d claimed to love. What did that really mean?
Knox shook his head; he wasn’t going to worry if she liked him more than Sloane Kent. “Truly. What does it matter to me what anyone thinks of me?” He played football and he took care of his little girl. What else in life mattered? He might not be in good standing with the Lord because he refused to enter His house, but he prayed a lot and loved Jesus. The rest of the world could hang for all he cared.
She pursed her lips. “Most people care.”
He shrugged and drank down some lemonade. It was on the sweet side. He took another swallow.
“Why did you agree to go out with me, twice, and let me come film your life if you don’t care what people think?”
He wasn’t going to tell her that she was a huge part of the reason. She was more intriguing and beautiful than any woman he’d ever met, and though he knew it couldn’t continue, he was decidedly weak at saying no to her. “Claire,” he managed to admit.
“Your agent?”
“Yeah. She wants me to do your show, and she’s been good to me. I don’t like telling her no.”
She nodded and folded her arms across her chest. She probably thought he had a relationship with Claire. That was fine. Let her think it. Maybe it would keep her from trying to dance with him again. His stomach smoldered with heat. That slow dance had been perfect. It couldn’t happen again.
“So,” she said, “you going to tell me more about yourself, or do you want me to wait in suspense until tomorrow?”
Knox had a forkful of coleslaw on his way to his mouth, but he froze. There was something in her voice as she asked that question. She didn’t think of him as a date. He was just another celebrity she could exploit on her way to stardom. She wasn’t any different from Paris.
His blood ran cold. He was such a fool. Ema claimed she hadn’t tipped the media off to when they would be exiting her hotel, but he had no proof of that. Why wouldn’t she pull
a move like that? She was only here to exploit him and his life. Could it be possible that she also hired that guy to fake attack her? He thought back on how wimpy the dude was and the lame resistance he gave Knox. Maybe she had. He eyed her in a whole new light. Maybe she was a Delilah. Why, oh why hadn’t he remembered his mom’s advice earlier? You’d think he’d learned from having to deal with Paris. He’d planned this date wanting to impress Ema, and she was probably laughing at him, and for all he knew had a hidden camera recording every stupid thing he said or did.
He carefully set his plate aside and leveled her with a look. “I’m sure you’ll get plenty to film tomorrow. We don’t need to get personal tonight.”
“Don’t need to get personal?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “That dance wasn’t ‘personal’ to you?”
Knox studied her as she glared at him. Definitely a Delilah. She’d tried to put him under her spell with her beauty, her tropical smell, and that alluring dance. Now she wanted to get the gritty details of his life. She’d pulled him in for a few minutes, but he wasn’t dumb and he was through with personal. Ema could come to his ranch tomorrow and get all the pictures she wanted of his home and property, but she wouldn’t get anything “personal” from him.
His hand darted out and he patted down her chest quickly.
The Beastly Groom Page 6
