Chapter Seven

Evelyn

If someone had told me a month ago I'd be in the arms of Danny's long-dead brother, I'd have laughed until I peed myself. The idea was absurd on multiple levels. Before.

Before I found out I'd been the other woman for our entire thirteen years together. Before Danny left not only me but our children without a backward glance. Before he turned up at the house his father told him he'd sold, the house where our children and I now lived with his father, and threatened to take the children who'd become my whole life.

Before… I realized how much he didn't love me.

Before I realized how much I didn't love him.

Now I stood here, in the arms of a man I'd first thought looked exactly like Danny, only older. Harder. Battle-hardened. The thing was, over the last two and a half weeks, I'd learned the difference between Danny and Knox. Knox had no reason to care for me, to care for my children. He simply did what had to be done. He made sure we had everything we needed, including his time.

Knox had been with us every day when I got the kids off to school. He'd been here every evening when they got home. I'd seen him during the day close to the house. Sometimes he worked in the yard. Sometimes, he repaired something on the house outside. When his dad was here, he'd work on things inside. He was always kind and respectful. In fact, this was the first time he'd indicated in any way that he wanted anything from me. Oh, we'd spoken. Talked over breakfast or coffee during a break -- I worked from home, and he often took his breaks with me. Even made sure I stopped for ten or fifteen minutes when I'd been at it too long. Knox was fast becoming my rock. And I'd be lying to myself if I said that didn't scare me.

"I never cared for Danny. Not really. I mean, he's the father of my children, and I love them more than life itself, but he's never been around. Not like I needed him to be." Did I imagine Knox stiffened? No. With his body so close to mine, I could feel something was wrong. "Did I say something wrong?"

"What?" He looked confused before his eyes widened. "NO! You said nothing wrong, honey. Nothing at all." He sighed, shaking his head slightly. "I was just thinking about something I told my father when he told me about your relationship with my brother and how Danny was never around."

"He wasn't. Not much. I'm beginning to question whether he ever had a job at all. Lord knows I never saw money from it. He didn't help with anything."

"This may be the one thing that changes your mind to give me a chance."

"I don't understand."

"Did Lemon tell you anything about what we do in Grim Road?"

"A little. She said sometimes the members have to go on missions away from here. Like a paramilitary group."

"Yeah. It's a little more complicated than that, but at one point in time all of us have been in the military. Now that Lemon set her foot down, Rocket and Bear go through each mission sent to Crush. He and his brother, Byte, are our intel officers. They make sure that any mission we take is not only worthy of us risking our lives, but achievable with a reasonable amount of risk."

"So they've made it as safe as they can."

That surprised me. That Evelyn would see it that way. "Yes. But there are times when I'll have to be away. I told my father I was afraid you'd be trading one absent man for another."

"How did he respond?"

I snorted a laugh. "He told me to quit. That a man takes care of his family. As much as I'd love to do just that, I'm part of Grim Road. If they need me, I have to answer the call." I tightened my arms around her. "But what I can do is make sure there is always someone protecting you and the kids. If you choose to live here, I'll make sure there is someone from my club here with you at all times. If you'd rather come to our compound to live with me, I'll take all of you -- Dad included -- away from here. At the compound, you'd have the whole club to protect you."

"This isn't something I can give you an answer about now, Knox. For one thing, I haven't talked to Luke and Aneshya about it. Obviously, Luke wants us together, if what he said earlier was any indication, but there's a lot to consider."

"You should consider everything. I'd never push you into something like this without letting you think it through."

I took a deep breath. The wild, musky scent of him mingled with leather and gasoline like an unorthodox aphrodisiac. "I don't know what the future holds or what I should do to take care of my children, but I want this moment with you, Knox. If it's all I ever get, I want to experience it all. Just once."

"Oh, you'll get it more than once, honey." He smirked as he lifted me into his arms and carried me down the hall to my bedroom. "Ain't just talkin' ‘bout today either. I will do whatever it takes to convince you to give me a shot." He entered my room and kicked the door shut. "Whatever I have to do to earn that chance, I'll do. No matter what." Then he scowled. "Especially if it has something to do with kicking my brother's ass."

That got a surprised giggle out of me. Knox stopped and gave me a stern look. "You think I'm playing, but I'm fuckin' serious. I intend to make my brother pay for what happened here today, to say nothing of everything else. Threatening to take your kids is a step too far. Especially when he's the one in the wrong."

"I don't want to think about him right now, Knox. I want you to kiss me again. This time, I don't want you to stop until we're both so exhausted we can't do it anymore."

"Who am I to argue with that?"

He laid me down on the bed, covering me with his large frame as he found my lips with his again. I reveled at being pinned beneath him, loving his weight pressing me into the mattress. Every movement of his body against mine seemed to be designed to drive me insane. It felt like every nerve ending I had was on fire, but in the most delicious way.

Knox trailed his kisses down my neck, flicking his tongue against the sensitive spot where my collarbone met my shoulder. I moaned into his mouth.

"God, Knox. I never expected this. I never expected anything to feel this good." My words were a mere whisper, but he grunted, understanding me. Probably in more ways than I was prepared for. I hadn't known Knox long, but his father had fed me a steady stream of accolades and stories. Looking back, perhaps he'd been trying to get me to be more comfortable around Knox. So I'd let Knox have a chance with me? That seemed a little far-fetched, but I had to wonder. Especially with Knox saying his father had pushed him into getting to know me.

"Can't say I expected it either, honey." He kissed me again before trailing his lips down my jaw line to my neck. I arched my back as he reached the top of my shirt with his lips. His hands slipped under my shirt, rubbing my skin from the waist of my pants up the sides of my chest.

He pushed my shirt over my breasts and tugged it off, leaving me there in my bra. Knox kissed the swell of one breast while unfastening the bra clasp with his other hand.

His lips were devilishly soft, sending tingles down my spine. I couldn't stop the moan that escaped my lips as he suckled the peak of one breast, then the other. The sensation was almost too much to bear. My hands wound their way into his hair, holding him to me. I wished I'd worn something sexier, but this was so far from the way I thought this day would go it wasn't even funny.

"You're so beautiful, Evie. Every inch of you."

He reached back between his shoulder blades and pulled his shirt over his head. The magnificence of tattooed skin and hard muscle he revealed was like something out of my most fevered fantasies. I ran my hands across his chest, the slight dusting of hair abrading my palms.

"You're beautiful too." I don't know why I said that. A man like Knox probably wouldn't appreciate it, but he was. He was cut like a Greek statue. A god with the power to consume a mortal woman like me. Still, I craved more of his touch.

The corners of his lips lifted, and he shook his head. "Guys ain't beautiful."

"You are." I let my hands feather over his broad shoulders and muscled triceps. "Never seen a man so perfectly made." My voice was a husky whisper. I sounded as in awe of him as I felt.

Knox slid his hand to my waistband, sliding my pants and panties over my hips and down my legs before tossing them onto the floor. I trembled as he lay back on top of me.

"This goes as far as you want it, honey. If you want me to make you come over and over until you pass out, I'll do that. But I don't have to fuck you. Not if you don't want me to."

"Don't even think about backing out now," I snapped. "You started it, you have to finish."

That got a bark of laughter from Knox. "God, this is going to be one hell of an adventure." He kissed me again before sliding down my body, kissing his way to the top of my mound.

My body arched as his mouth teased my pussy just above my clit, and I moaned in pleasure. Our connection had grown rapidly despite having only known each other for a short time. Which should have scared me. After all, I'd just ended a thirteen-year relationship with this man's brother.

"Can't say I expected this. But I'll be Goddamned if I'm giving you up just because I wasn't prepared for you."

His words inflamed me further, and I canted my hips up to meet his mouth. "Knox," I cried out his name as he slid two long fingers inside of me, curling them just right, and I nearly went off the edge.

"That's it, baby. So fuckin' wet."

He licked me from top to bottom, his tongue swirling around my clit before he sucked it gently into his mouth. My back bowed off the bed, my hands fisting in the sheets with a strangled cry. He was right, I thought as wave after wave of pleasure crashed over me in a wild crescendo. I knew I was wet, could feel moisture on my inner thighs. Hell, I could feel the gush of moisture as that orgasm exploded within me.

"So fuckin' beautiful." Knox's words were said almost reverently. When I looked down at him between my thighs, his gaze was focused squarely on mine.

Very slowly, he moved to his knees, retaining a hold on my thighs and draping them over his as he settled closer to my apex.

"This first time might go quicker than I'd like, but unless you stop me, I'm getting ready to fuck you good, Evelyn." He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and opened it. I stiffened, thinking he was going to insult me in the worst possible way. If he threw down some bills, making this a transaction… Yeah. Not only would I shatter, but I'd probably kill him. Then my kids would be left with Danny as a father. The thought was sickening.

"Don't look at me like that," Knox snapped. "I'm not above paying a woman for sex but not you. Never you." He plucked two condoms from his wallet and tossed them on the bed beside me.

"I'm sorry." My arms went reflexively over my breasts to cover myself. "Sorry."

Immediately, his expression softened. "My brother really did a number on your self-esteem, didn't he?"

Had he? I hadn't really thought about it until this moment. "I'm so sorry, Knox. I didn't mean --"

"Shh… It's all right. You didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't have snapped at you, and I should have explained."

"It's a fucking condom, Knox." I sniffled. "Where else are you gonna keep it? Pretty sure most men carry one in their wallet."

Instead of blowing me off or laughing at me, Knox stretched back down on top of me. "Given that you've spent more than a decade with a man who disrespected you in every way he could, that he fathered two children with you but was never committed to the relationship, you have every right to question my sincerity, Evelyn."

"You're not your brother."

"No. I'm not. I think you know that, too." He shifted so he could rest his hand on my chest. "But your heart needs protecting. It's not going to accept anyone so quickly, no matter what your mind tells it."

"I'm not sure you're right about that. It was more my pride. Because the second I saw Danny in this house, and the second I saw you come in after him, I knew I'd never felt anything for Danny. Even the affection I'd had for him when we first got together faded a long time ago. He was a shadow in our lives. A ghost. Nothing more."

He tilted his head at me, his brows narrowing together. "You didn't love him." It wasn't a question.

"No. And I know that for certain because I was never drawn to him the way I'm drawn to you."

That must have been the exact right thing to say because Knox gave me the sexiest grin I'd ever seen on a man. "Oh, baby. You made a mistake there."

I blinked, confused. "Huh?"

"You admitted how much you want me. I think you meant you want me more than just in your bed, too. I think you want me in your life."

I shook my head, then stopped, really thinking about that. "You're already in my life. Have been, since the fire. It's been you and your father. True, we've not interacted that much, but did we really need to? My kids love you. All I hear is ‘Uncle Knox.'"

His grin widened. "Good." Then his expression grew serious. "I never even tried to stay away from you, Evelyn. I didn't want to get involved, but the second I saw you in that burning building, making sure your children got to safety even as you were trying to look for that fucking prick Danny, I knew I couldn't." He kissed me again, tenderly, taking his time before he continued to speak. "So, I'm gonna stay right here. Ain't goin' nowhere. And I ain't never, ever, going to disrespect you the way Danny did."

I knew I probably looked like a deer in the headlights. The man was intense and possessive, and I was loving every fucking second of it. "OK." It was all I could manage. If I tried to talk through my feelings right now, I'd cry. If I cried, he'd likely stop. There was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity to be with this man. "I'll take this one day at a time, Knox. Just promise me you'll give everything to me straight. I can handle honest rejection." I sighed. "All right, it would still hurt something fierce. But I can take it better than you just up and disappearing, or me seeing you with your pregnant wife after worrying myself to death you were still in a burning building looking for me and the kids."

"That, baby, is something you'll never have to worry about. I don't cheat. Ever. That came from my dad. He always told us growing up that a real man protects his family. No matter the cost. That's what I intend to do."

Before I could say anything else, Knox kissed me again, taking his time and making me relax back into the moment. "So delicious," he murmured. "Like a drug I'm rapidly becoming addicted to."

He pushed himself back up to sit between my legs, then unfastened his jeans and slid them down his thighs. His cock bobbed proudly, the head glistening with a drop of precum.

"Oh…" I reached out automatically, wanting to touch him. Then I froze. I'd only had sex with one man in my life. Danny had been my first and only lover. Were men OK with a woman touching without permission?

"Touch it, baby." His whisper was the devil in my ear. So fucking wicked and naughty. I was helpless not to reach out again to run my hand up and down his thick, hard dick. He groaned, his head falling back. "That's it. God, that feels good!"

His words gave me confidence I hadn't realized I needed. Had I ever been able to satisfy Danny in bed? Lord knew he'd never made me feel even a quarter of what Knox already had. For the first time since the very first time, sex was an adventure. And I knew it had everything to do with the man himself and not simply a new lover.

Knox reached over to snag one of the condoms he'd tossed to the side of the bed. Tearing open the package, he gave me a wicked smile before rolling it over his cock.

"Now," he said, slowly lowering himself to cover me again. "I'm gonna fuck you. Gonna make you sweat. Scream my name. When this is finally over, you're gonna know you belong to me. And I belong to you."

With a slowness I realized I didn't want, Knox entered me in a smooth, wet glide. I gasped, arching up to meet his thrust.

"Mmm… Someone likes that."

"Yes. More." My breathy sigh was embarrassing. I wasn't a virgin. Not in any sense of the word. But I'd never felt anything to compare to this. My body was on fire! Every single nerve ending I had was a mass of sensation. When he moved inside me, it put the perfect amount of friction on my clit as well as hit that spot inside me that drove me crazy.

Knox grunted and kissed me again, continuing to move. He wrapped his strong arms around me, settling me right where he wanted before speeding up his movements slightly. It was a perfect blend of restraint and eagerness. He shuddered above me, and his body broke out into a sweat. Same as mine. Wicked flicks of his tongue against mine made the whole thing that much more intense. The man knew how to pleasure a woman, that was for sure. And I didn't care about how many other lovers he'd had. He was with me now. Maybe for a short time. Maybe longer. But in this moment, right now, he was mine.

When my whimpers and moans increased in volume and frequency, Knox moved faster. I slid my hands down his back to grip his ass, trying to urge him to move faster. The big oaf simply chuckled and kept the same slow, steady pace.

"Don't be impatient. We've got alllll day." He sounded lazy and contented as he trailed kisses to my neck before latching on, sucking on the tender skin.

I screamed as the extra stimulation was exactly what I needed to push me over the edge. His name on my lips was like a prayer. A strangled plea for deliverance. My pussy contracted, and I could feel his cock swell inside me.

"Oh, God! Knox!"

"That's it, baby." His breathing was ragged, and he sped up slightly only to shudder and slow back to his original pace. "Can feel you squeezin' my cock. Tryin' to take my cum."

"Yes! Oh, please! Please!"

"You want my cum? Want it deep inside you, baby girl?"

"YES!" That last scream was the evidence of my undoing. Another, stronger, orgasm tore through me with a violent intensity I'd never experienced. I screamed and screamed.

And screamed.

Knox either took that as a sign to give me what I asked for or he'd reached the end of his endurance. Either way, he pounded into me, giving me a tooth-clattering ride. Then, with his own hoarse shout, he buried himself as deep inside me as he could. His cock pulsed with every spurt of cum filling the condom.

For long moments, we both lay there, just trying to breathe. For some reason, I started to giggle. Then Knox chuckled. Then we both laughed, clinging to each other where we lay with Knox still buried inside me.

"Sweet, God," he breathed, stroking a damp lock of hair off my forehead. "You're so fuckin' beautiful."

"That was amazing."

"It was. And if you give me a bit to recover, we'll do it again." He grinned at me and leaned in to kiss me once more. "We've got all fuckin' day."

I sighed, stretching and rubbing against Knox like a contented kitten. Hell, I felt like a contented kitten. "That sounds like the best idea ever."