Chapter 41 - KNIGHT #2
Harper shakes her head. “I know that you would never hurt me or try to push for something I wasn’t ready for.
I know you make my body come alive in a way that nobody ever has before.
I know that you have a good heart, despite being a bossy asshole.
But I don’t truly know you. I don’t know the little things.
I don’t even know the names of those two guys who dropped my keys off in the hospital when you were too pussy to show your face.
I don’t know your favorite color. Your favorite meal.
Or how the hell you managed to get shot three times. ”
“You’re talking about superficial things,” I say, feeling as though that shit doesn’t matter, but the way she’s looking at me makes me wonder if perhaps it means something more to her.
Harper nods, and something softens within me. Don’t get me wrong, I sure as fuck haven’t changed my mind. This woman will be living with me by the end of the day, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t take a moment to give her what she needs to be okay with this.
Scooping her back up into my arms, I stride across the small apartment and place her down on her kitchen counter, that bright green gaze locked on mine as I brace my hands on either side of her thighs, caging her in.
“My favorite color,” I start, “is jet black.”
Harper scoffs, interrupting before I get the chance to explain. “That’s not a proper favorite color. That doesn’t count.”
“It sure as fuck does,” I tell her, reaching up and brushing a stray lock of jet black hair off her face.
“Why? Because it matches my jet black soul?”
“No,” I say slowly, letting her hear the need in my tone. “It’s the color of your hair, and whenever I see it, I think of you, and the way I wanna curl it around my wrists and fuck you until your tight little cunt is squeezing my cock.”
Her cheeks flush, and she glances away, rolling her eyes. “Okay, whatever. Jet black can be your favorite color.”
I laugh but carry on. “The two guys who came to your hospital room—”
“Dumb and dumber?”
“Mm-hmm. Ace and Diesel. They’ve been my best friends since we were rookies, just starting out in the force. They’re my brothers. They’ve had my back, just as I’ve had theirs. They’re both part of my team, and now that you’re mine, they’re your brothers too.”
She arches her brow. “They’ll just welcome me with open arms despite not knowing a thing about me?”
I nod. “They know me, doll. They trust my judgment, and if you’re someone important to me, then you’ll be just as important to them. They will have your back, just as much as they have mine.”
“Wow.”
I nod again. “Anything I’m forgetting?”
“How you managed to get your ass shot three times,” she reminds me.
I let out a sigh and pull up my shirt, letting her see the first scar I received from a bullet on my hip, pointing it out so she can see it among the tattoos.
“Courtesy of Ace during training camp,” I tell her, watching as she reaches out and brushes her fingers along the barely visible scar.
“Complete accident. He was a lousy shot for a while.”
“You’re kidding?”
I can’t help but laugh. “I really fucking wish that I was.”
“And the second time?”
I turn and pull my shirt over my head, pointing out the second scar high on my back. “Hostage situation gone wrong. There was one bullet left in the chamber, and it was either going to be for me or the asshole’s daughter. He chose the daughter, but so did I.”
Harper sucks in a breath, and I turn back to see her horrified expression. “You took a bullet for a girl you didn’t know?”
I stare back at her, confused. “Wouldn’t you?”
“I . . .” she lets her thoughts fall away, her brows creased.
“I suppose I’ve never had to think about it before.
I’ve never been in a situation that would even resemble me having to make a call like that.
But I guess I would. If it was either me or a child, I would take the bullet.
At least, I’d like to think that I would be brave enough to do that. ”
“You are, Harper,” I tell her. “Doing what I do, you quickly start to learn how to read people, learn things about them that they wouldn’t even know about themselves, and you would take that bullet without hesitation.”
She gives me a tight smile and nods before letting her fingers dance across my hip. “The third one?” she asks in a small tone, making me wonder if she truly wants to know anymore. After all, learning about the hard realities of what I do and the risks I take every single day aren’t easy.
“About eight years ago now,” I say, taking her hand and brushing it across the angry scar on my ribs. “This was the closest call I’ve had. Punctured a lung and had me on desk duty for three months. I almost ended up on one of your tables.”
“Shit,” she says, sucking in a deep breath. “And you do this every day? I just send you off to work knowing you might never come home again.”
“Yes,” I say, not sugarcoating it because honestly, that’s just the risk you take in my line of work.
“But I expect you to trust that I have curated the best team members who are more than equipped to handle the situations we face daily. My team doesn’t make errors.
We have each other’s backs, and we make sure that each and every one of us makes it home at the end of the day. ”
She nods before letting out an awkward laugh. “I wasn’t expecting that to get quite so heavy.”
I laugh with her. I wasn’t either, but I don’t regret sharing it with her. It’s important that she has a firm understanding of this. “Is there anything else you’re dying to know about me before you cave and accept that you’re moving in with me?”
She lets out a deep sigh. “I really don’t have a choice in the matter, do I?”
“Not even a little bit.”
“Fine,” she finally says, just as her apartment door flies open and Ace, Diesel, and Izzy march in, their arms loaded with boxes, tape, and snacks.
“Uhhhhhh . . . What the actual fuck?” Harper says, gaping at the newcomers who are making themselves right at home.
Izzy strides over, dropping the snacks onto the kitchen counter beside us before explaining herself.
“Dumb and dumber just showed up at my place and kidnapped me,” she starts, looking more than delighted at that fact.
“Apparently it’s moving day, but don’t expect me to help.
I’m here to watch as they get all sweaty and have to take their shirts off so I can get a better image for my spank bank. ”
Ace laughs from across the apartment as Diesel, the no bullshit guy that he is, starts putting the boxes together, not bothering to wait to see how breaking the news went. He’s here to do a job, and nothing is going to keep him from doing that.
“Well, shit,” Harper says, turning her dazzling green stare right back to me. “Looks like you really were going to kidnap me if I said no to moving.”
“Did you really think I wouldn’t?”
Harper groans and shoves me away before jumping down off the kitchen counter.
“Fine,” she says, surveying the array of snacks.
“I’m going to shower, but I swear, not one of you nosy assholes is permitted to look inside my bedside drawer, and if I find out that you have, all three of you will have matching testicle bowties—and trust me when I say that I will mix and match that shit.
You’ll all be wearing each other’s balls like one of those BDSM collars. ”
And with that, Harper harrumphs and stomps off to the bathroom, leaving me and the boys to move this brat into my place, her bedside drawer and all.