Sins, Lies & Spies (Black Brothers #2)(34)
I reached for my cup of coffee and swirled the dark brown liquid. “Jesus, Knox. What did you do?” I said through a reluctant laugh.
He brushed his hand across the top of my head. “We disagreed on a few matters, and I tried to persuade him to change his mind.”
I ripped the icepack from his hand. His knuckles were puffy and red. “By hitting him?”
He lifted one shoulder and dropped it like he didn’t have a care in the world. “He pissed me off, so I did what I had to do.”
“And what did that get you?”
He chuckled. “Nothing, but I won’t lie, I enjoyed it. A lot.” He rested his uninjured hand on top of mine, his eyes distant. “I didn’t like the way he was talking about you, and I don’t trust him. I never have.”
I shifted to the edge of the barstool until my face was level with his. I lowered my voice. “Did he admit he had something to do with last night?”
“No.” He shook his head. “But I didn’t expect him to admit to anything. I wanted to evaluate his reaction both to seeing you with me last night and when I told him what happened to your cat.”
I tried to ease my hand out from underneath his, but he tightened his hold. “I don’t remember asking you to confront him. In fact, I don’t remember asking for your assistance. You helped me with—” I cleared my throat, battling the tears building behind my eyes. “Max. You let me stay here last night, and for both of those things, I thank you, but I don’t expect anything else.”
“Did you already change your mind? Because I’m pretty sure you wanted something more from me last night.” He released his hand from mine and dropped it into his lap. “Or are you telling me I misinterpreted your words?”
“Answer something for me,” I said, tugging on the bottom of the shirt I borrowed from Knox. Unless I wanted to put on my cocktail dress, I didn’t have any other options when I woke up this morning. “What did that woman want last night?”
He sucked his lower lip into his mouth. “She wanted more than I was willing to give her.”
I adjusted the rubber band in my hair, and it snapped. My hair spilled down my back. “What wouldn’t you give her?”
He leaned forward, sweeping one arm along the counter and the other along the back of my barstool. “A relationship. I thought it was pretty obvious.”
I wrinkled my nose. I didn’t need to hear the details to know Knox was probably worse than Miles in the commitment department. I should stop this conversation in its tracks, but part of me needed to hear the words so I didn’t keep secretly longing for something between us. “Are you adverse to a relationship with her…or with anyone?”
He tapped his fingers on the table. “For the most part, I avoid anything serious.” He glanced to the side. “Relationships aren’t easy in our line of work. Too many secrets. Too many late nights. Too many unexplainable exits and absences.”
“Was she upset?”
He shrugged. “She wanted me to reconsider, but I told her another woman snared my attention, and I wanted to pursue her.”
My heart clenched. “Where’s this woman?”
“I guess it’s my lucky day because she’s conveniently located right in front of me,” he teased, his lips quirking into a crooked grin that lit up his entire face.
Flames shot up my cheeks. “So that’s the whole story? There’s no ex-wife hovering in the wings?” I tapped my chin with two fingers. “Or a wounded little boy who needs his ego stroked by a variety of women to make himself feel better?”
He slid me off the barstool, positioning me between his legs, and I smelled soap, outdoors, and man. “Definitely no ex-wife or ex-girlfriend.”
I grinned, angling my head to the side. “So you’re the wounded boy? How sad,” I mocked.
His hands closed around my waist, pulling me flush against the hard planes of his chest. The feel of his thumbs as they drew circles on my belly went to my head like a shot of tequila.
“I wouldn’t call myself wounded, but I wouldn’t object to being nursed a little,” he murmured, his voice deep, the corner of his eyes crinkling playfully. His calloused thumb scraped across my lips. I felt that touch all the way down to my toes.
My heart jumped inside of my chest, and my lashes fluttered. “By me or by anyone?” I replied, my voice low and breathy.
His hands twisted in the fabric of my shirt and from the cocky smile on his face, he knew how much he affected me. “Just you, Jones.”
I breathed a sigh of relief and surrender. There were over a dozen good reasons, all of them ready to roll off the tip of my tongue, why I shouldn’t get involved with Knox Black. But just like every other time he touched me, I couldn’t bring myself to care about any of them. His undeniable strength and vitality seduced me like a siren’s song.
His attention dipped to my mouth, and his fingers curled around the back of my head, tangling in my hair. Our eyes locked and he didn’t make a move for a fraction of a second. Our lips hovered inches apart. My exhalations became his inhalations. My desire fed his desire.
I skimmed the palm of my hand up his chest, inviting him to continue. He didn’t have any trouble interpreting my message. His lips grazed the corner of my mouth, then moved to the sensitive skin beneath my ear. Goose bumps kissed my arms.