32. Selene
32
SELENE
A quick sigh leaves my lips as I slide another book onto the shelf. Normally I don’t mind my job but tonight has been boring. It’s been so bad that I’ve spent part of the night picking at my split ends. It’s then that I realize I need to get a haircut. Maybe I can convince Isla to come with and we can make it a little self-care day.
With a yawn, I pull my phone from my pocket, half-expecting a text from Knox. There is none, but I do have a notification: Knox Sanchez posted a photo.
My stomach gives an involuntary flip as I swipe open the app.
The photo is from last night’s game—a shot of Knox skating down the ice with his eyes locked in on the puck.
Damn, he looks good.
I tap the heart without thinking, then scroll through the comments. I find praise from fans, Wilder hyping him up, and a few thirst comments that make me roll my eyes. But then I see this one:
TessaM9352: Good seeing you after the game. Still thinking about it.
What the hell?
My pulse spikes as I reread the words, hoping I somehow misunderstood. But there they are, staring up at me from the screen.
Good seeing you after the game.
My thumb hovers over the comment as if I can erase it from his page and from my mind with sheer willpower. The emoji she used feels like a slap in the face.
Is she implying that?—?
No. No way. Knox wouldn’t?—
Would he?
I let out a shaky breath as I scroll quickly to see if Knox replied, but there’s nothing. No acknowledgment. No like. Maybe he didn’t see it. Maybe he ignored it.
But it doesn’t stop the knot from forming in my stomach. I lock my phone and place it on the ground near me. I keep telling myself it’s nothing and she’s just trying to get his attention.
Except it doesn’t feel like nothing.
I'm so lost in thought that I almost don't hear the footsteps approaching. While the carpet does muffle the sound, I can still hear the person growing closer. At first, I assume it's just a student who wandered in to grab a book before the library closes in less than thirty minutes. But when I turn around, Knox is standing there, hands in his pockets, staring me down.
My mouth drops open in shock. “Knox? What are you doing here?”
“Thought you might need some company,” he says, his voice low and smooth.
“What—why?”
He shrugs casually, but his eyes are fixed intently on mine. “You mentioned you were working late tonight so I thought I would stop by.”
Why am I questioning my boyfriend’s motives?
I shake my head, trying to recover from my shock. “Well, this is...unexpected.” A small smile tugs at my lips as I step closer to him. “I swear you’ve been in here more recently than you’ve ever been in here the entirety of your Crestwood career.”
That makes him laugh. “And you would be correct. Maybe I'm expanding my horizons. Or maybe I just wanted to see you.” He reaches out, his fingers grazing my hip and pulling me gently toward him.
Being in his arms again makes me feel warm and cherished. However, I still feel uneasy as because there is a knot still sitting low in my stomach. I glance at him, hesitating before I blurt, “Did you see the comments on your post from last night?”
Knox tilts his head slightly. “Not really. I just posted it and hopped off. Why?”
I hesitate. Just let it go. But the words slip out anyway. “Tessa commented on it.”
His expression shifts instantly, and I can see the coldness in his eyes. “What did she say?”
I grab my phone off the floor and scroll to the post. Knox steps closer as I hold up the screen, his eyes scanning the words. His lips end up pressed into a thin line.
“Selene, I didn’t see her after the game,” he says firmly, eyes snapping back to mine. “I took you back to your dorm room and that was it. I haven’t talked to her, haven’t even thought about—” He stops short and lets out a long breath as if he’s trying to keep from swearing.
“I know,” I say quickly, but my voice doesn’t sound as confident as I want it to.
“She’s just trying to get attention,” Knox says. “That’s all this is. I didn’t see her. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
My fingers tighten around my phone as I glance back at the screen. The comment stares up at me, mocking my insecurities that I’ve done so well to hide. Or so I thought.
Knox’s fingers brush along my jaw as he tips my face up, so I have to meet his gaze. “Hey. I’m with you. Not her. Don’t let her mess with us.”
I swallow, heat rising behind my eyes as I force a small smile. “I know. It just caught me off guard.”
“Then forget about it,” he says, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “Because I promise you, she’s not part of my life anymore.”
His thumb grazes my cheekbone and just like that, the knot in my chest starts to loosen. I exhale slowly, the stress that I felt begins to fade as I let myself lean into his touch. For a moment, neither of us says anything.
Then Knox tilts his head, and I immediately recognize the look in his eyes. I already know where this is going. I quickly shake my head before I say, “Knox...”
His lips quirk into that familiar smirk. “What? I can't visit my girlfriend at work?” I shiver when he leans in, and I feel his breath hot against my ear. “Besides, there's something kinda hot about fooling around here, isn’t there?”
I giggle as I playfully shove at his chest. “You're ridiculous. And we are not having sex in the library!”
“Who said anything about sex?” Knox teases, but the heat in his eyes tells a different story.
I roll my eyes, trying to ignore the way my body responds to his. “I know how your mind works, Sanchez. But I'm at work. And as much as I appreciate the company, I can't exactly take a break.”
Knox doesn't retreat, his hands settling more firmly on my hips as he backs me up against the bookshelf. “I think you can spare a few minutes,” he murmurs, his face hovering inches from mine. “I saw that you have someone working at the circulation desk with you tonight. No one's going to miss you but me.”
I can’t shift my gaze from his because the intensity in his brown eyes has me locked in. I know I should push him away, insist that I need to get back to work. But I can't seem to make myself move.
“Knox, we can't,” I breathe, even as my hands come up to rest against his muscular chest. “Not here.”
“There’s no one down here, and I made sure we're in a camera blind spot. It's just you and me, Selene.”
I hate that I have to be the bigger person here because there’s nothing I want more than for him to bend me over this book cart and take me. However, before I can protest further, he closes the distance between us and captures my mouth in a searing kiss. A muffled whimper escapes me as my fingers clench the fabric of his white t-shirt in an effort to bring him closer.
It was foolish of me to even think that I would have enough strength to deny this because I want it as bad as he does. Knox's kiss is demanding, his lips claiming mine with a hunger that makes my knees weak. You would think it was weeks since we’ve seen each other instead of a day and a half, but I don’t mind one bit. His hands roam my back, sliding under the hem of my sweater to caress my lower back beneath it.
I know we shouldn't be doing this here, now, but I can't bring myself to care. Not when Knox is kissing me like I'm the air he needs to breathe. Like nothing else matters, period.
He breaks the kiss to trail his lips along my jaw and down the column of my throat. I tip my head back against the bookshelf to give him better access. A low moan escapes me as he finds that sensitive spot just below my ear.
“Shhh,” he warns; his breath feels hot against my skin. “We need to be quiet, remember? We’re in the library after all.”
I nod, not trusting myself to speak. Knox's hands slide down to my thighs and he lifts me effortlessly. I wrap my legs around his waist as he pins me harder against the shelf. I can feel him, all of him, pressed against me, and I know my panties are growing wetter by the second.
He recaptures my mouth, kissing me deeply as he rocks his hips into mine. My mind goes hazy and even though I know I should stop this, I still can't seem to care. Not when he feels this good. Not when I want him this much.
Knox's hands slide further under my sweater, and I feel his fingers skimming my ribcage before cupping my breasts through the thin lace of my black bra. I’d worn it to feel confident today and I’m now even happier that I did. I arch into his touch as a breathy moan escapes my lips. He swallows the sound with another kiss as his hands make their way to my leggings.
Goosebumps appear on my skin as Knox's fingers tug at the waistband of my leggings before pushing them down my hips. I gasp as the cool air hits my bare skin, slightly cooling me down but doing nothing to dim the heat radiating between us. Knox doesn’t even bother to remove my leggings all the way or lower my panties at all. He shifts them to the side and his fingers find my pussy.
“Already so wet for me,” he says approvingly, circling my clit with his thumb. “It’s one of the many things I love about you.”
My eyes widen at his word choice, but my brain is only able to process what he said, not comment on it. Instead, I find myself biting my lip hard to keep from crying out. And all of that is before he slides a finger inside of me. I clench around him, my hips rocking instinctively to meet his touch. All I can think is that I want more. More of this. More of him.
“Knox...” I whimper. “Please...”
He nips lightly at my skin before he replies. “Please what, picosita? Tell me what you want.”
I swallow hard. “You know what I want.”
“I want to hear you say it.” His finger curls inside me and I’m convinced he’s discovered another spot of mine that I didn’t know existed. I have to bury my face into his chest to muffle my moan.
“I want you to—” I breathe as my nails dig into his shoulders through his shirt. “I want you keep fucking me with your fingers.”
Knox pulls his body back slightly to give me one of his cocky smirks. That is the only warning I receive before his fingers began moving faster. I can barely think straight, lost in the pleasure he is enacting on my body. His thumb presses against my clit and I swear I see the entire Milky Way.
“That's it, baby,” he encourages against my lips. “Let go for me.”
A few more thrusts of his fingers and I'm flying apart at the seams. I bite my lip so hard to keep quiet as my whole body trembles with the force of my release. Knox works me through it and doesn’t stop until I collapse against him.
“Holy shit,” I pant, trying to catch my breath.
Knox chuckles, pressing a kiss to my temple. “That's just the beginning. I'm not done with you yet.”
He eases his fingers out of me and brings them to his mouth, licking them clean. The sight sends another bolt of desire straight to my core. Before I can fully recover, he's undoing his jeans and freeing his cock. He quickly puts a condom on and grabs my legs. Before I can blink, he’s yanking off my underwear and leggings and wrapping my legs around his waist. It takes what feels like an eternity before he positions himself at my entrance and with one smooth thrust, he's inside me, stretching and filling me up as if we are made for each other.
We both groan at the sensations coursing through our bodies. My eyes drift shut as Knox starts to move, his thrusts deep and steady. I cling to him because it’s the only thing I can do to try to anchor myself. It's almost too much. Between him being inside of me and us doing this in the library where I work. I know we should stop, but at the same time, it's exactly what I crave. What I need.
“Knox,” I gasp out, tipping my head back. “Oh my?—”
He grunts in response as he finds a quicker rhythm. One hand grips my hip tightly while the other makes its way to my hair so that he can tug my head to the side to leave another trail of open-mouthed kisses along my neck. I'm so lost in everything that is happening that I barely remember my own name. The only sounds are our labored breathing and the occasional creak of the bookshelf as Knox drives into me again and again. It's a miracle no one has come looking for me yet.
Thank fuck for that.
“You feel so good,” Knox groans against my throat. “So fucking perfect.”
I can feel the pleasure building inside of me every time he hits that one particular spot that only he has found. I'm so close to slipping off the edge.
“Knox, I'm going to...” The words dissolve into a small cry as he reaches between us to rub my clit.
“That's it, picosita. Come for me,” he urges.
And who am I to not give him what we both want? A few more thrusts and I find myself biting down hard on his shirt to muffle my cries as I come undone. Knox’s hips begin to move more erratically just before he finds his release.
We stay like that for a long moment as we try to catch our breath. Knox presses his forehead to mine and I run my fingers through his hair, savoring this moment together. But reality soon slams into me. We just had sex. In the library. Where I work. What was I thinking? I can't believe I let myself get so carried away.
“Hey,” Knox says softly, sensing the shift in my mood. “You okay?”
I nod slowly, but I refuse to look him in the eye. “Yeah, I just... We shouldn't have done that here. What if someone had caught us?”
Knox carefully sets me back on my feet, keeping his hands on my hips to steady me. “No one saw us, Selene. I made sure of it.” He tilts my chin up gently, forcing me to look at him. “I would never let anything happen to jeopardize your job or reputation. You know that, right?”
I search his eyes before I release a shaky breath. “I know. I trust you. It's just... a lot to process.”
A small smile tugs at his lips. “Well, processing is kind of your specialty, isn't it? Overthinking in that brilliant mind of yours.” He taps my temple playfully.
I can't help but laugh softly as some of the tension drains from my body. “Shut up. You like my brilliant overthinking mind.”
“Mmm, I like a lot of things about you,” he says, leaning in to brush a tender kiss across my lips. “Especially the fact that you just let me fuck you senseless in the library.”
I groan, shoving at his chest as I note that he said like this time. “You're insufferable. Now help me get dressed before someone really does come looking for me.”
Knox chuckles but obligingly helps me fix my clothes. I know I’m going to have to clean myself up after these activities, but it won’t be too long before my shift is over, and the library is closed for the night. Once we're both presentable again, Knox pulls me into his arms.
And there’s nowhere else I’d rather be.