by Harms, C. A.
“Who said tonight was a date?”
“It was most definitely a date,” he counters back with a cocky grin, “and a perfect one at that.”
He opens his door and waits, leaving me wondering what he is waiting for.
“You heard what I told your sweet neighbor.” He motioned with his hand. “Now get inside and on up to your apartment. I can’t leave until you are safely tucked inside.”
I turn around, open the front door, and step inside, looking back over my shoulder at him. He remains in the same place, watching me until I could no longer see him standing there.
Just as I reach my apartment door and place my key into the lock, my phone vibrates and chimes in my purse. Reaching inside I pull it out and smile immediately when I read the incoming message.
Knox: Good night beautiful, dream of me.
And I knew I would.
Chapter Sixteen
Knoxville
“Good morning,” Nevaeh, my secretary, says as I walk past her desk with a smile. I offer a nod, a wink and enter my office feeling good about where things are going with Tinley. Over the last week I have talked to her daily and shared our second and third date. I’m not sure showing up on her doorstep this morning with a latte, muffin, and a kiss would be classified as our fourth, but we would clear that up tonight.
To say she was surprised to see me when she opened her door is an understatement. She immediately began to flatten her unruly hair and said she was a mess. I disagreed and when she tried to toss in some of her sass, I kissed her stupid and walked away, whistling like I’d won the fucking lottery. In a way I had.
“You have three messages.” Nevaeh enters behind me and I ignore the low-cut blouse she wears. I’m a guy, so I’ll admit I’d noticed she is an attractive woman, one who offered a flirtatious laugh or a sultry look on occasion. But she didn’t interest me, not before I’d gotten Tinley to cave and not now. “A Mr. Norton has called three times and shown up once. He is very insistent on talking with you.”
The name is very familiar, though I can’t place how.
“Mr. Norton is the husband of Bianca Norton.”
I pause, remembering the situation and wishing I’d declined that case when it was first brought to me. It was a classic man cheats on wife, wife drags the man through the mud. Or so it seemed, until I uncovered that not only had the woman framed the husband and in the end got more than half of his worth, but she’d been screwing not only the pool boy, but the gardener and his business partner for years behind his back. It would seem they were all in on it, including the woman they’d paid off to seduce him.
“Do you know what he wants?”
“Probably to tell you once again how you managed to ruin his life.” Nevaeh rolls her eyes as she spins on her heels and walks out of my office. The fact is he screwed another woman while married to his wife. That is the job I was paid to prove. The details of his wife’s discretions were not part of that investigation, though as a result of that lesson learned I handle things a little differently. Let’s just say I no longer fully trust any of my clients, because they all want something and in the end I believe they will do just about anything to get it. Even if that means lie, cheat, and even steal.
“There is a Tinley Richardson on line one.” Nevaeh’s voice came through the intercom on my desk. “Should I take a message?” Even through the irritation of the Norton’s fiasco, just the mention of Tinley’s name makes me smile.
“No.” I sit up quickly and place my elbows on my desk in anticipation. “Send her through, please.” I am almost giddy as I wait for the call to be announced. The moment it rings, I try not to grab it immediately.
“Knox.” I say with what I hope is a casual tone and want to laugh when she starts in as though she had been rehearsing words in her mind, just waiting for the opportunity to let them out.
“What were the rules?”
“Rules?” I repeat, and allow a pause to settle between us before continuing. “I’m sorry, I don’t remember any rules.”
“Showing up without warning was on the ‘do not dare’ list.”
“Hm.” I lean back in my chair and ignore the loud huff she releases in annoyance. “I guess I missed that one.”
“It was the only rule.” True, but I don’t do rules. When would she figure that out?
“I am surprised you didn’t back away in horror and run.”
“Yeah, your apartment is pretty frightening.” Small and unsafe is more like it. I have already contacted the building manager about setting up some kind of security. When he tried to refuse due to a lack of funds, I insisted it was more for my peace of mind than anything else. After explaining to him about a girl in the building who I’d do anything to keep safe, he allowed me to donate the system. He thought it was last year’s model, one that was a tax write-off for me, but he didn’t need to know it is a top-of-the-line system that had just been released, complete with key codes, cameras, and alarms.
“Not what I mean and you know it.”
“I do have just one question for you, though.” I know I am playing with fire, but I’ve found that I love to fire her up. “Do you fight crime in your sleep?”
She says nothing, but I know she is still there. I can hear her breathing through the receiver.
“I don’t think I have ever seen hair that big before.”
“Remember the date we have tonight?” I feel my humor dissipate. “I think I may need to cancel. I suddenly have a huge headache.” She hangs up before I have a chance to respond.
It looks as though I’ll be making another surprise trip across the city.
* * *
“Where did she live before she moved here for college?”
My mother shifts around the kitchen, continuously tossing questions over her shoulder. Beckett had made sure to fill her in on the new woman in my life, and of course that is like feeding a great white shark a bucket of bloody fish. Our mother loves to be up front and center when it comes to her boys. We are all momma’s boys in our own little way, but there are some things a man just doesn’t want to share with his prying mother.
“I’m pretty sure it was North Carolina.”
“Pretty sure.” She wrinkles her forehead in confusion as she looks between Beckett, who is fucking loving this, then back to me. “How can you not know such details about the woman you are sleeping with?”
And here we go.
“From what I’ve picked up on, Ma, they aren’t sleeping together.” Beckett takes a big bite of the cookie my mother had just placed on his plate and drops crumbs all over the counter. Times like this I wonder how in the hell Shanelle tolerates his ass on a daily basis. Not only does she have a baby on the way, but she is engaged to a fucking toddler.
“Oh my, well, whatever it is you kids call it these days when you’re getting all tangled up in the sheets.” I hang my head and close my eyes tightly when she continues and I hear Beck chuckling at my side. “You should know more about the woman you’re intimate with other than the internal warmth of her body.”
I instantly regret stopping by my parents’ after a long day at the office. I actually thought it was a good idea to come here before surprising Tinley by showing up at her place.
“See Ma, that’s just it,” in rings the brother I want to drown, “he doesn’t know her ‘temp.’” I look up just in time to see him air quote “temp” with a huge smile on his face. He proceeds to wink at me and I grip the edge of the counter to keep from knocking him off his fucking stool. “It’s like high school all over again, or maybe junior high, because in high school I was most definitely checking the temp of every—”
“We do not need a recap of all the girls you tricked into the back seat of your car, Beckett.”
“Some of them were in the front seat, too,” he says low enough that only I can hear.
“There is nothing wrong with waiting to take that step with a woman. Jumping into bed within the first hours that you meet someone doesn’t make for la
sting relationships.” Drying her hands, my mother places the towel on the counter before turning around to walk toward us. Standing on the opposite side of the island, she smiles back at me as if me being the only Montgomery boy not getting laid was a choice I made all by myself. True, it isn’t about that with Tinley, she isn’t a conquest, but I will admit it is killing me to refrain from doing all the things I envision doing to her. Let’s just say some of those visions are nasty and downright sinful.
“We’re getting to know one another.” I know the moment I say it, I am only giving Beckett more fuel, only it is too late to retract.
“More like she’s getting to know you, while dangling a snippet of information here and there so that it pacifies you. You barely know shit about her, other than how firm her ass is.”
“Beckett.” My mother scolds him and it’s my turn to laugh. “If you weren’t three times my size I would wash your mouth out with soap.”
After a few passing seconds my mother turns her attention back to me. “Do you know about her family? About what kind of people they are? How about if she is an only child, or does she have siblings?”
“I know that she’s someone I enjoy spending time with. She makes me laugh and frustrates me at the same time. She tries to act all tough and unbendable, but then we go out and she gets relaxed, showing me that there is so much more to her than what she lets others see.” I no longer care what Beckett has to say; he can take this shit and create a fucking log of harassment to use on me later. “We’ve talked about her life, but it’s usually the now. What she’s studying in school, or how she loves to lounge in her pajamas with a glass of wine while reading a book. Whenever something about family comes up, she gives me the quickest response with little detail. I feel like maybe she’s not had the best life prior to New York and that maybe she wants to leave it all behind. I’m afraid that—” I pause, knowing I don’t need to finish the sentence.
“She’ll pull away and then you’ll lose the chance at the happiness you feel now.” My mother completes it for me, and all I can offer her is a nod.
The conversation quickly shifts to Beckett and his upcoming wedding. Things are now in overdrive because Shanelle refuses to waddle down the aisle eight months pregnant. The original date they’d set for their nuptials is no longer going to work. From what I’ve picked up on, our sweet, kind nurse has grown horns and at times you’d swear her eyes are glowing red. Pregnancy hormones are not my brother’s friend. I fucking love knowing he is unsettled and walking on eggshells around his bride-to-be.
Chapter Seventeen
Tinley
I should have expected it, though it still surprises me when there is a knock on my door a little past seven. I cursed the landlord for not putting one of those peepholes in my door so I could verify what my heart is already telling me.
Knoxville Montgomery is here; I can feel it.
Ignoring him is not an option because that man is beyond pushy and extremely persistent. I act annoyed by it all, yet part of me secretly loves the idea that he can’t let our date night pass.
“I brought dinner,” he taunts me through the thick wooden door that separates us, “and wine.”
I quickly glance down at myself, taking in my baggy pajama pants that are held up only by the drawstring cinched tight at my waist. They are my lounge pants and entirely too big, but beyond comfortable.
“Your favorite wine, in that red bottle from the store on Third.” I smile to myself as I imagine the big oaf standing in the hallway, his arms full of all the things he knows I love, With a hopeful look on his face as he focuses on the door that stands between us. “I won’t even ask for a glass if you let me in and we can forget that I broke the rules.”
“There is one major thing wrong with that plan.”
“What?” He sounds defeated, which shouldn’t satisfy me, but it does.
“You’re breaking that same rule again.” I cover my mouth when I hear him groan followed by a thud. My guess is the cause of that sound is his head thumping against the door.
“You are so difficult,” Knoxville says in a low tone, but I hear it clearly. “I know, I know, you warned me and I still decided to pursue the Ice Queen. Truth is, I think you do it all just to torture me because you love making people suffer.”
I love knowing he’s there, that he is always there. One call and he’ll be exactly where I need him, but I’ll never admit to him that I enjoy having him around. I should be terrified that I have found comfort with Knoxville, a safe place where my past no longer frightens me. Instead I find that I long for his safety, crave the banter we share, and each time he leaves, I crave the next time I can feel his security.
“Will you take pity on me and open the damn door already?” Laughter escapes me as I again try to hide it by pressing my palm firmly to my lips. “Go ahead and laugh it up, but do it when you are face to face with me, you coward.” I know he is smiling in return, it is obvious by his playful tone.
Ignoring the fact I look like a homeless person, I reach out and flip the lock. Opening the door slowly, I peek through the crack and my knees weaken almost instantly. Knox is confident in a suit, empowering in his business casual, but give him a pair of jeans and a fitted Henley and the man is fucking lethal. When he looks at me, his head hung low, tilted slightly with a smirk on his face, I swear I forget how to breath.
“It was the word ‘coward’ that got ya, huh?”
“That,” I step aside and allow him to enter, “and the promise of wine that I don’t have to share.”
“I lied.” He shrugs as he moves past me toward the small kitchenette.
“Men always do,” I mumble, forgetting how our close proximity would do nothing to filter my words, and Knoxville looks over his shoulder at me with a scowl on his face.
I watch him place the items on the counter before turning around and walking the few steps it takes to reach me. He doesn’t reach out to touch me, but I swear I feel his closeness from the tips of my toes to the top of my head. Those deep, alluring eyes boring into me leave the hairs on the back of my neck standing tall. I’m not used to feeling so unsettled, though I’m not sure that unsettled is the right word. I think it’s more like feeling like the floor dropped out from beneath me and the wind knocked out of my lungs.
“I don’t know what kind of men you’ve been spending time with in your past, but let me just assure you of one thing.” All snarky comments left my brain; I swear there was absolutely nothing there but overwhelming thoughts of throwing myself at this gorgeous man. “I can promise you,” he lifts his hand and gently runs his finger along the line of my jaw, “I don’t lie and I don’t cheat. I’m just a man who has a difficult time staying away from someone I really want.”
“And that someone is me?” My voice is breathy and nothing more than a whisper.
“That someone is you, beautiful.” Knoxville grins. “That someone is most definitely you.” He cups my jaw, and I lean into his touch. “Can you just stop fighting me on this and let me woo you?”
“Woo me?” I couldn’t have stopped the laughter bubbling in my chest, even if I tried. “What are you, a teenage boy?”
The humor is hard to hold onto with him leaning into me closer and closer. He’s so close at that point I can feel his stubble brushing over my cheek bone. “I’m nowhere close to being a boy,” and for emphasis he pushes his hips forward.
“No,” I respond with a breathy whisper, “definitely not a boy.”
“Come on, let’s eat.” Knoxville kisses my temple before stepping back and dropping his hand. I watch in a bit of awe as he turns around and walks the short distance to my countertop. The view is amazing. Okay, more than amazing.
* * *
Wine has always relaxed me; it’s one of the reasons I love it so much. It doesn’t matter what kind stress I feel, from a day of schoolwork or even bad dreams that haunt me. Wine always helps me escape.
Knoxville holds true to his word and refrains from stealing even one gl
ass. I think about indulging in the entire bottle to drown out the jitters, but that plan fails miserably when he gave me that alluring yet pouty look of his. Together we polish off the bottle, and the last thing I remember is leaning against my headboard, attempting to focus on the movie.
My eyes feel heavy as I fight to open them. I shift my body and find something is blocking my movements. A large, unmovable object. A warm, heavy and delicious smelling weight.
“Lay still.” His deep groggy voice fills the room and I allow Knoxville to pull my body closer to his. “I’m snuggling and you’re interrupting me.”
Always the wise-ass, it seems.
“Admit it.”
I can’t see his face clearly in the dark room, but I don’t have to. I can see his arrogant but extremely attractive smile in my mind. That smile is one I will never forget; it makes my heart race.
“This bed is entirely too small for the both of us.”
“Because you’re an ogre…” Before I can even finish the sentence, Knox has me flipped on my back with his body hovering over mine. His face is now so close to mine that I can see him clearly as the television flashes highlight the room.
“Always such a sassy ass.” I nod in agreement, staring up at him.
My body is humming. I swear it feels like I am trembling beneath him.
“It should frighten me, should make me question my sanity, but the only thing it manages to do is make me want you more.” I arch my brow in question and he chuckles. I notice instantly the way his gaze shifts toward my mouth. In that very second I feel like I can’t stop myself from licking my lips in anticipation.
Do I want him to kiss me?
Once we cross that line it will change everything. Emotionally, though, I feel this is why we’ve been having this lustful dance, hours of flirtation followed by countless innuendos.
