2. Chapter one
Chapter one:
Knox
TW- Dubious Consent
Well…didn’t think that was going to be how I settled that debt. Knox made a few rules for himself and his business. Never loan money he can’t collect, never expect a loser to pay on their debts, and never go into a situation na?ve. Before he’d had Rick snatched off the floor of his casino, he knew what was going to happen. Rick owed him more than money. He was a card counter, a liar, and a piss-poor loser. He’d punched one of the waitresses the other week and broke her nose. Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem, as Knox employed the best healers money could buy. His life was messy, so what. But then Rick tried to take out a few other employees before he was dragged out. Knox found out days later he’d stolen the waitress’ wallet and maxed out her credit cards.
So, when Knox had the rat bastard ripped out of his chair, he threatened his life and asked for all the money he’d let slide up until now. Rick gave up his wife. She’s a bank manager, she could get you in and get you clean money, easy peasy. Now, Knox didn’t fancy getting put in jail for bank robbery. No, he would be smarter than that. Penny Calhoon would help him launder some of his peskier bills and it would be settled…after he killed Rick that is.
He didn’t calculate that Amelia would be anywhere near as fantastic as she was. What a feisty, delightful pet, arming herself and saving her strikes like a well coiled cobra. She caught her prey and cut him down before he saw it coming. Smart, quick, powerful, that’s what Amelia was…as well as gobstoppingly gorgeous. The cute blue hair she’s kept in a high ponytail, the heart shaped face, the thighs thick enough a man could die choking on her cunt happily.
Knox prided himself on seven backup plans for his backup plans. What he didn’t expect was for her to offer to take her sister’s place. Should he have told her that he wasn’t going to harm Penny? Probably, but she was too feral to ease up. If he let go of her for even a second, she’d sink that knife into his neck. Could he blame her? No, not even for a second. He’d been absolutely shocked—nay, gobsmacked—when she asked what he wanted. Oh no, pretty thing, don’t ask me that…you won’t like the answer.
“Boss?” Zavros asked, holding up Penny in his arms.
Knox glanced over his shoulder at his employees, Zavros being his best muscle. “Take her home, all of you, I want her back in that house safe and sound before you return home.”
He stepped through his portal to the city street, following his gorgeous partner for the next twenty-four hours. She was already perched on the seat inside his town car, eyes straight forward, hands clenched up in her lap. As he sat down in the seat, his driver, John, closed the door to his right.
The second the lock clicked, she twisted toward him. “I want to be very clear that I’m just trading twenty-four hours of debauchery for my sister and I’s complete erasure from your books.”
He cocked a brow, eyeing her. “Pet, I know what contract I struck with you. That’s kind of my thing.”
“Right, but I just want to be clear on the rules of our arrangement. I’m yours and yours alone, you’re not about to pass me around like a dinner roll. I’m consenting to this solely because it benefits me.” Her face was solid stone as she bore holes through his face.
Well…isn’t this interesting. He shifted, knocking his knees against hers. Leaning an elbow against the door, he propped his cheek up against his fist. “I don’t intend to share you, so take solace in the fact I’m a rather possessive lover.”
“Okay, then, I would also like to fully discuss—”
“You’re not secretly a lawyer, are you, pet? Because I’ve never had anyone strike a deal with me and have so many… provisions. ” He smirked wickedly, seeing her left eye twitch.
“I want to be thorough.”
“I’ll be sure to be thorough .” Knox relished the shiver that rattled her composure. That strong gaze darted away, hands knotted once more. She couldn’t possibly hate that she likes this more. Knox spent his life learning to read people. And Amelia Armstrong was struggling to accept that she liked him…even just a little. Deciding to give her an ounce of reprieve, he let out a breath, “Tell you what, I promise you that you’ll enjoy everything.”
She instantly snapped her sharp, honey brown eyes his direction. “I won’t enjoy any of it.”
“Mmm, I don’t think that’s true.” He reached a salacious hand to her knee and slapped the inside of her thigh. She jumped, her skin breaking out in goosebumps. “Look at you, practically weak at the knees.”
“You sure are smug, aren’t you?” she spat back.
“Comes with the title.” He felt the smugness oozing off him and it made her left eye twitch again. This was going to be utterly delicious.
Her face fell, swallowing audibly. “What…is your name, anyway?”
“Ah, probably should know that as you’ll be screaming it for the next twenty-four hours. Do you prefer honey tea or lemon tea?”
“Fuck you.”
“That’s,” he raised a finger; Amelia lurched backward, fists up and ready, and Knox chuckled, “precisely the point, pet. You can call me Knox.”
Amelia sat back in her seat, fiddling with the edge of her bathing suit bottoms. Knox allowed himself the lewd opportunity to enjoy her against his car seat. Blue and white striped bottoms with a ruffle along her thighs. The tops cupped her breasts perfectly in the way pin-up models like to do. He liked his partners to have a bit more on their bones, like a tummy he could bite, an ass to grab and hold. Knox was all knees and elbows and horns.
He could see she was back to being uncomfortable and he couldn’t have that. She’d said it herself; she’d consented to this. He wasn’t looking to have sex with someone uncomfortable. She sold him twenty-four hours of whatever he wanted. Knox hadn’t thought about what he wanted exactly but he wanted her fiery nature, not her worry and concern. He didn’t deal in people, and he wasn’t about to start dealing in unwanted fucks.
No, she was gonna ask for it, and he was going to revel in seeing her beg for it.
Breaking the silence, he nudged her with his knee. She jumped again, glancing at him anxiously. He spoke, “So, Rick.”
“Rick,” she sighed heavily. “I mean, it’s not good to speak ill of the dead.”
“Seeing as you stabbed him, however,” Knox prodded.
“I did—it was personal. My sister and him met up over five years ago, they have a one-night stand, she gets knocked up, he does the wrong thing by asking her to marry him. Then fucks everything else up in her life. Every time she’s taking a step forward, he dragged her back. So, yeah,” she snapped her full attention to him. “It was personal.”
“You’re twins, correct?” He softened his shoulders, slouching more.
“You did your homework.” She mimicked his body language.
“I don’t do anything without every outcome planned for.” He winked at her, reveling in her angry shiver.
“Oh please,” she sneered.
“What?” he chuckled, grinning broadly once more. She glared at him. He wiggled his brows suggestively.
“You couldn’t have known I would offer this! I didn’t even know I would offer this!” She tossed her arms out with a huff. He held onto his silence, watching her brew across from him in the seat. Her lips pursed as she seethed. “You’re a filthy liar.”
“Well, maybe I didn’t imagine you would intercede. I also didn’t imagine you would kill Rick. I was kind of looking forward to doing that for myself.” He brushed the hair from his face. That’s when he realized one of his gloves was still on the floor of that rotten cabin. Damn, and they were nice gloves too. He peeled the other one off his palm.
“Mmm, sounds personal. ” She made multiple childish faces.
“You know, normally I don’t allow anyone to talk to me like this,” he snorted, sitting up straighter.
“Well, how many women do you contract to have sex with you?” She stuck her tongue out at him.
“I didn’t say sex.” Knox watched as her whole composure broke apart. She flinched, realization and cold, confused horror washing over her features. He chuckled darkly, “For your information, you are the first deal of this… persuasion , I’ve made. Like I said, I don’t deal in people. However, your deal was very appealing to me. The contract is you belong to me for twenty-four hours. If I want you to sit on my lap while I wax poetic about sail boats, then guess what you’re about to do?”
“Sit like a pretty princess on your knee while listening to you wax poetic about sail boats?” She grimaced, a layer of disgust settling on her face.
He barked with laughter, “Good pet. Now, about my personal vendetta against Rick…”
There was a sparkle in her eyes as she listened to him start from the beginning. It was the start of something. He didn’t know what…but it was something. And fuck, did he like it.
“We’re here sir,” John called through the partition.
“Thank you, me and my guest are going to stay a little longer,” Knox announced, glancing at Amelia. She scowled at him harder, sinking into the seat more. With an impish grin, he returned his attention to the human behind the wheel of his vehicle. “We’ll be inside momentarily.”
John rolled up the partition and left the pair alone in the car. Knox sat back in the seat, stretching his legs out before him, and cracking his shoulders simultaneously. Amelia was watching him with that prey-like stare that hinted at more bite than she let on. She might not be in control, but he knew what she was capable of and how fast she was capable of doing it. Strange, he hadn’t found anything in her profile or social media that gave him that idea. His cursory glance at the sister of his target showed nothing quite as feral as she’d been with that rusty knife.
“Why are we sitting here?” she finally asked, sitting up straight.
“I was enjoying our conversation; I didn’t want it to end.” He flashed her a toothy grin. That signature eye twitch entertained him endlessly.
“Wow,” she let out a judgmental huff, rolling her eyes in tandem. “You must be really lonely, buddy.”
Knox lurched across the seat, enjoying her body freezing in place. Hovering over her, an arm across her body to cup the side of her knee, the other hand at the nape of her neck, he could feel her pulse. He could taste the sun block on his tongue as he breathed in the fresh scent of lake water on her skin. Knox whispered directly into her ear. “Maybe I am lonely, Amelia. Maybe it’s so very lonely at the top. Maybe that’s why I took your wicked deal, my pet.”
She shivered hard in his hands, eyes clenched closed. He let out a soft breath against the shell of her ear. Her body melted, goosebumps breaking out across the sides of her arms and across her thighs. This close, he could feel every muscle of hers tense and twitch. Scraping his teeth against her ear lobe, he tugged until she leaned into him. Lips brushing against her jaw, down her throat, he relished the heavy thump of her heartbeat within her jugular.
“Oh no, poor thing,” he croaked, knowing exactly what he wanted now. Cock pressed hard against the front of his pants, he shifted his legs against the leather seats. Then, with a sharp tug, he ripped her toward him. She dropped into his lap hard, and he groaned. The pressure of her cunt against him, her hands flying to his shoulders to steady herself, a wash of delightful pleasure rolled over him. Amelia shivered to the point of trembling. He plucked at the fabric tied at the base of her neck. The only piece of fabric keeping her chest from his vision. “Poor thing, you’re shivering so hard. You must be so cold in these damp clothes.”
Her lips parted, breathing heavy as he brought her face close to his. Their lips brushed and electricity ran the length of his nervous system. Every inch of his flesh was a live wire, needy for every scrape of her body. Her nails curled around the lapels of his coat and his cock twitched. She settled fully into his lap and his stomach twisted in knots.
“Let me fix that for you,” he murmured against her mouth, tasting her hot breath as it tickled the top of his tongue. The thin, stretchy fabric snapped open with little convincing. He grinned, pulling his lips from her by an inch. She leaned into him, and he toyed with her. Brush for brush, never fully kissing her, leaving her nerves frayed. Then, he gathered her top in a bunch of fabric at the small of her back and tugged. Her arms went and he tossed the flimsy fabric away from him. Every inch from her belly button to her collarbone was broken out in prickled flesh. His attention dropped down her torso, memorizing every slope, every line, every hidden freckle, even the color of her nipples. They were rock hard, tiny pebbles he could pop in his mouth.
Knox ran his hands down her side to the top of her bottoms. Recognition lit up her eyes as she followed his gaze to her waist. His thumbs slid under the hem and popped it against her skin. She said nothing as he slid the fabric down her hips till she was forced to sit up and off his lap. He tugged them, easing her knees out of them with his guiding hands until they fell off her ankles behind her.
His gaze roamed up to meet hers, knowing she could see it in him. The hunger, the desire, the delight; it burned in him like the fires from once he was born. She sank down into his lap, never breaking their locked stare. He leaned forward, noses touching and tasting her breath again. He smiled as her eyes fluttered shut, her mouth searching for his. Once again, he toyed with her. Just as she laid her hands against his chest again, he tossed his jacket off his shoulders. Her eyes ripped open, watching him with sharp confusion as he whipped the fabric off his body much like a magician does a tablecloth. A simple spell, really, but he liked seeing her trying to understand it. Her eyebrows knitted as she stared at the thick, wool trench coat he turned toward her. Slowly, arm by arm, he draped it around her shoulders.
“There.” He grabbed her by the lapels of his coat and wrenched her forward. Their lips smashed together. He devoured the gasp of surprise and swallowed his own groan of delight. Her fingers scraped against his vest, curling around the fabric. Hips rutting against his, warmth soaked through his pants into his lap. Their kiss was nasty. Teeth clinking together, pulling at each other’s lips, tasting the hint of bubbly soda from earlier, they pushed and pulled each other. Knox sank his hands into the coat, wrapping around her. When he grabbed ahold of her ass, she shivered. His fingernails scraping up across the flesh, he relished her thighs tightening around his hips. “Hmm, poor thing, you’re still cold?”
She shook her head, panting for air against his mouth.
“You’re still shivering like a leaf in the wind,” he snickered, snatching her bottom lip between his teeth and tugging on it. She whimpered as he let it go. “I wonder…there must still be something wet on you still.”
“What?” she rasped, blinking rapidly.
He dug his nails in and ran them down the back of her thighs. Her shivers returned with a vengeance while he raked his fingers up the front of her thighs. As his hands landed at her apex, her body melted into his touch once more. He cupped her cunt, tracing her slit with a single finger. There it is. A wicked smirk painted his face. Desire and need coated his fingertip as he ran it along the seam of her cunt. “Very wet, poor thing; you need warming up.”
Her head flopped back, hips bucking against his touch, as he slipped his forefinger through her warmth that third time. Arms trembling, she held onto him for dear life. Delicious. He found her clit within a moment, already out and begging for his touch. One circle and she inhaled sharply. Two circles and her toes curled as tight as the fist she had around his vest. He slipped a second finger in, circling her clit for a third time, and she was his.
Knox knew from the way she ripped forward and captured his mouth again. She was no longer letting him toy with her. Amelia dropped his vest to cup his face, bringing his mouth to hers over and over as he worked her clit into a frenzy. It didn’t take long before her hips were rutting against him too viciously he was forced to grab her with one hand and sink his fingers deep inside her with the other. Soaked down to his knuckles, he thrust his fingers into her and curled around her walls. Thumb pressed against her clit, he picked up his speed to keep with her needy movement. That’s it, give me all of you, give in to me, be mine.
She let go of his face and he latched onto her throat. Tasting of sun and salt water, he ran his tongue along her jugular before sinking his teeth into her flesh. The bruise would last far longer than their contract. He reveled in giving her parting gifts.
“Knox,” she yelped, her fingernails clawing up into the back of his head. “Don’t stop.”
He chuckled, “I had not planned on it, pet.”
“Please, please, please,” she chanted, riding him hard.
“You want to come, pet?” he purred against her pulse.
“Yes, please, Knox,” she babbled.
“Beg for it.” He pulled back from her throat, sitting back in the seat. Keeping a steady pace, pressing into her spongey walls, he held her on a knife’s edge. She tried to rock him deeper, and he only slipped his digits from her warmth. Amelia gasped. Come on, beg for it, give me your desire. He watched her face expectantly.
“Knox,” she exhaled, bucking against him. His thumb kept her clit agitated but his fingers played with the drenched lips of her pussy.
“Beg for it, pet.”
“I thought you hadn’t planned on stopping?” she spat back.
“I love your naughty mouth, pet.” He chuckled, slowing his thumb to a stop. But he was not one to let bad behavior go. A long whine came out of her throat. Arching a single brow, he studied her needy expression. “I can do this all day, but you won’t come unless you beg for it.”
Recognition filled her eyes as she inhaled sharply through her nose. “Please, Knox, I want it, make me come.”
He slammed his fingers back into her, using his digits digging into her side to pull her down onto his hand more firmly. Her face exploded in red as she bucked in tandem with his fingers. “Such a good, obedient pet.”
“Please, don’t stop, please, make me come, please,” she continued, the words falling off her reddened lips.
Knox leaned forward, taking hold of one her hardened nipples and tasting the sun on her skin once more. She engulfed him in her arms clawing at his back as she wound her orgasm tightly around his fingers. Then, with a moan against the top of his head, her coil snapped. Walls rapidly opening and closing around his fingers like she could milk him of every drop, her orgasm washed down his fingers and spread into his lap. He fucked all of her that he could out of her cunt, making sure she rode every crash and wave of her orgasm. Desire and release coated his hand before she finished, and when he pulled away, his fingers shimmered with her.
“There, you should be all warmed up now.” He brought his fingers to his mouth, sucking the tangy release off his digits with ease. Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Eyes blown wide, mouth ajar an inch, she was a delectable vision. Red blotches in her cheek, burning blush down her chest, even her stomach was reddened. Her hands slid down from his hair, across his chest and stomach. He stopped her with a gentle hand before she got to his belt. Tsking, he shook his head. “Not yet, pet. I don’t fuck in cars. Gets guys like me stabbed; you understand.”
She glared at him in disbelief and blatant confusion. However, he didn’t sit there to enjoy her post-orgasmic rage. He busied himself with closing his coat around her and tying it shut with the wool belt. With a cheeky wink, he grabbed the door latch and popped it open.
“Out you go, pet, I want you to see your new home for the next twenty-three hours.” And they stepped out into the setting sun.