33. Larkin

I tiptoedinto Knox’s room early in the morning while the light was still pale outside and the house was quiet with sleep and locked the door behind me. His breath was soft and slow, one arm over his head, the other under the covers, rising and falling with his chest.

I set the monitor on the nightstand, so I’d know if the kids woke up. Lifting the covers up, I curled into Knox’s strong chest. His arms tightened around me, and his lips pressed a sleepy kiss to my forehead. I opened my eyes to look at him, the strong planes of his face, the small ridge in the middle of his nose. His long eyelashes forming a fringe along his closed eyes.

“You’re staring,” he mumbled, holding me tighter.

My lips lifted, and I reached up, brushing my hand over a faint scar on his cheek. “I had to come in here and make sure this is real.”

His eyes drifted open, and he took me in, the room soaked in pale, early morning sunlight. “It’s not.”

My eyebrows drew together. “What?”

He gave me a crooked smile. “I’m just kidding.” He kissed me softly. “It’s better than real—pretty sure I’m living a dream.”

To hear someone, Knox, talking about me like that made my heart melt. I kissed him again, just wanting to feel closer to him. His grip on me tightened, and he shifted his hips, his length hard against me. And now that I knew what it felt like to have him inside me, my body instantly reacted, wanting more.

I brought my hand down, sliding it over his hard stomach and then feeling him through his sweatpants.

He moaned quietly. “Don’t tease me, baby.”

“Who said I was teasing?” I replied, slipping my hand under his waistband to feel his bare erection. I ran my thumb over his tip, feeling the bead of moisture forming there.

“Fuck me,” he muttered, leaning closer, nipping the shell of my ear.

I wanted to drive him just as crazy as he made me. “Feel how wet I am for you.”

He reached his hand between my thick thighs, running his fingers along my slit. “Larkin.” He drew one finger inside me, then two.

I clenched against his hand, making him moan. “Who’s the tease now?” I replied.

“I’m ready for you,” he replied.

Feeling bold, feeling like I could make love to him all day and night, I moved under the blankets, shedding my shorts, and straddled him.

“I hope you locked the door,” he said, his heated gaze on me. Usually, I was self-conscious in this position, but Knox left no room for me to doubt how he felt about me. “I did,” I said.

“Now give me that pussy,” he ordered, holding his cock for me. I angled my hips until he was at my entrance, stretching my tender sex like he had the night before. I let out a quiet moan.

“Fuck,” he breathed as I lowered myself all the way down and ground against him. “Take your shirt off. I want to see you.”

He held on to my hips while I lifted my shirt over my head, letting my loose and wild waves fall around my shoulders.

“God, you’re hot,” he said. “I can’t get enough of you.” He gripped my hips in his large hands, guiding me over him, up and down in a steady rhythm that drove me wild. I held on to his strong shoulders, riding him until we were both breathless.

Moving a hand from my hip, he slipped his thumb to my clit, rubbing tantalizing circles to the beat of our bodies meeting until I could hardly hold myself up anymore.

“I’m coming,” I breathed before the first wave could crash over me.

“Come with me,” he said. “Come with me.”

I held his gaze, like I knew he liked, and fell apart with him. I rode every wave until I couldn’t anymore and fell to his chest, skin on skin.

He brushed my hair away from my sweaty face and kissed my forehead. “You did so good, baby.”

My heart swelled at the praise. I loved how he never let me doubt myself. “That was amazing,” I whispered, my hand splayed on his chest.

He smiled against my forehead. “Want to shower with me before the kids wake up?”

“How you could think about moving right now, I have no idea.” I laughed tiredly.

He chuckled with me. “Maybe because I’ve already started my day in the best possible way.”

* * *

Just when Ithought the day couldn’t get better, Ford had breakfast delivered, and it was honestly some of the best food I’d eaten. Then I got to watch two big Madigan men playing with my children, making them laugh and giggle. And there were the secret smiles Knox sent my way that made me feel like the most special person in the world, just to be bathed in his unique brand of sunshine.

After spending the day hanging out on the grounds at Ford’s place, swimming in the pool, and stealing kisses with Knox when I got the chance, we drove back to Cottonwood Falls. Emily chose the music the entire way home, and it felt like one of those days where you were riding on a cloud.

Even though I could have spent the night with Knox all over again, we parted ways in the driveway so I could get the kids ready for bed and he could get ready for work.

Once my kids were in bed, I called my sister. I had so much to tell her.

“It’s five in the morning,” she mumbled as she answered.

“I HAD SEX WITH KNOX!” I cried from the safety of my bedroom with the door firmly shut. It was like being young all over again, telling my big sister I got my first valentine from a boy in my class when Mom was cooking so she couldn’t hear.

“Well, that woke me up.” She let out a scratchy laugh. “Give me a sec.”

I heard a shuffling of bedding on the other end of the line, then a splash of water followed by the sound of a door opening and closing. “Tell me everything.”

I grinned, lying back in bed, and told her all that had happened since we last talked, from the fight with Seth to the game and then the night we shared in the pool. “It’s been like a fairy tale,” I said.

“Oh no, it’s better than a fairy tale,” she replied. “No one has sex in those.”

I laughed.

“But I can’t believe Seth said that shit to you. I mean, I always thought he had some narcissistic tendencies, but it’s like he went off the deep end.”

“I know.” I frowned. “I hope he settles down and comes around.”

“Me too. He would flip if he knew Jackson called Knox “dada.” How did he feel about that, by the way?” she asked. “A lot of guys would run the other direction.”

“He told the kids that he couldn’t replace their dad and that he would be there for them no matter what. And then you know what we did after.”

She giggled happily despite the early hour. “I can’t wait to meet this guy. Please tell me he’ll come to Thanksgiving with you guys. I’ll get him a ticket too.”

“Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing.” My brain was already going wild, fantasizing about a romantic trip to Paris with Knox, drinking wine in the park while the sun set behind the Eiffel Tower as its sparkly lights came on. “But it’s probably a bit too soon to be making those kinds of plans.”

“You dated Seth for two years before you got married and look how that turned out. Time is relative when it comes to love,” she said.

“Paris is wearing off on you,” I observed, wishing for the good old days when I had a phone cord to twirl around my fingers.

“Or maybe it’s this new guy,” she said.

My eyes bugged out. “What?” Taylee didn’t fall for guys. She enjoyed them while it lasted.

“I’m at his place right now. Sitting on the very pretty balcony with a view of the Eiffel Tower.”

“Your life is a fairy tale,” I said. And just before she could protest, I added, “With a whole lotta sex.”

“Amen,” she teased. “Now get some sleep. Sounds like you didn’t get too much last night.”

I laughed and said, “Goodnight. I love you.”

“I love you too.”

* * *

I wokeup in the morning to a text from Knox.

Knox: Good morning, beautiful.

I smiled at the screen, still fully in that hazy glow of new love. And I tried to let myself enjoy it without worrying that the other shoe would drop, that he was like the other men I’d known in my life.

Because deep down, I knew he was different, and I couldn’t let my fear or my history take him away from me, or my children.

Larkin: Good morning, handsome.

I bit my lip, imagining him lying in his bed across the way, thinking of me right when he woke up and sending me a message just to make my day even a little bit better.

Knox: Care for a latte?

This man came straight from my dreams and into real life.

Larkin: Like I care for air.

Knox: You’re funny.

Larkin: One of my finer traits.

Knox: Half an hour work?

Larkin: Perfect. See you soon.

Since the kids were still sleeping, I hurried out of bed, getting myself ready for the day, quickly doing my hair and makeup and then slipping on a clean pair of scrubs. When I checked the time, I still had ten minutes until he was due to be over. A glance in the kids’ room showed them still resting, so I went to the kitchen to prepare their breakfast.

I’d already cracked three eggs when my phone vibrated on the counter, spinning in small circles. I hurried to rinse the eggs off my hands and answered it without checking the caller ID. “Hello?”

“Larkin.” It was Nancy.

I raised my eyebrows as I cracked the eggs. “Hey, everything okay?” I hoped she wasn’t sick. It wouldn’t be good for me to miss another day of work this early in the job.

“Actually.” She let out a sigh. “Honey, I’m sorry, but I can’t watch the kids anymore.”

I nearly dropped the egg. Instead, I set it down and braced myself on the counter. “What?” I’d moved to town specifically so I could have their help. What would I do in a new town with no support for my kids and a measly budget for daycare? “Did you get a job or something?”

“No, but Seth just left my house this morning. He was gutted after your fight, and the things you said to him? They were completely uncalled for. And then for you to go flaunting your new relationship on a jumbotron at a televised game?” Her voice shook. “I love my grandbabies, but you’ve clearly made your bed with Knox Madigan, and now you need to lie in it.”

My jaw dropped. I’d let myself get swept away for a moment at the game, and even in Dallas, the small-town rumors came back to haunt me. But there was more to her statement than just the kiss. “What did Seth tell you I said? Because I can promise you the things he said to me—”

“I don’t want to hear it. Because while you were at the NFL game in Dallas, he was at my house, barely able to get out of bed. Said he came to see his children and you wouldn’t let him. That is unacceptable, Larkin.”

Now I stared at the phone in shock, anger flooding my blood stream until my head felt hot. But the logical part of me fought for attention. I couldn’t give in to my emotions, couldn’t let Seth control my children’s childcare and my success at work. “Nancy, surely we can come to an agreement. The kids love being at your place, and I really need the childcare.”

“You need to apologize to my Seth.” I opened my mouth to argue. But then the other shoe fell. “And you need to break things off with Knox Madigan so you and Seth can have another chance. My grandbabies don’t deserve to grow up in a broken home when their parents could work on it.”

If I was mad before, it had nothing on the anger raging through me now. The hypocrisy of it all made me want to scream—Seth had cheated on me, left our family for another woman, and made no efforts to see the kids until he got jealous of me dating someone new. “Your son cheated on me. Not the other way around.”

“He’s not the one asking me to babysit for free.”

I raised my eyebrows, angry tears already starting to fall. “They’re his kids too, Nancy. You’re going to let your grandchildren, his children, suffer because you don’t like what I’m doing?”

“Tell yourself what you want to make me the bad guy, Larkin. It doesn’t feel right to support the decisions you’re making. My decision is final.”