Chapter 11
CHAPTER ELEVEN
It was the latter part of Knox’s comment that had hit Ellie in the chest with enough force to cause her to draw in a deep and sharp breath before finally accepting his invitation.
I want you to feel safe returning to your own apartment.
Because she didn’t. Feel safe. Anywhere. In fact, she genuinely feared Andrew’s reaction to Knox having paid him a visit earlier today.
Having to come out of her office and face Sally and Benny, after Knox left, had been awkward to say the least. But neither of them mentioned the fact that Ellie visibly had beard burn on the side of her neck and on her chin, that the buttons on her blouse weren’t fastened properly, or that she smelled faintly of sex.
Neither of them mentioned any of those things, so Ellie chose not to either. Instead, she went to the bathroom and tidied herself as much as possible before going down in the elevator to the lingerie store on the second floor.
As she’d told Knox, she had a meeting with her lawyer that afternoon, and that wasn’t going to take place with her not wearing panties. She’d half expected Knox to insist on being present during the meeting with her lawyer once he knew about it, although she was pleased that he hadn’t.
Whatever was between her and Knox, it was still very new, and she needed to continue to make her own decisions and maintain her hard-won independence.
Besides, she didn’t want to come off as someone whose life was an absolute nightmare, with her dangerous ex-partner still harassing her. It didn’t exactly scream that she was date-worthy material.
Although, from the intimacy the two of them had shared in her office after Knox had spoken to Andrew, Knox didn’t seem to be deterred by that complication.
Yet.
Ellie already knew that Knox was a patient and controlled man, but even he might grow tired of having to deal with her problematic ex if it continued.
Once her lawyer arrived, she had told him the circumstances and put forward the idea of a restraining order against Andrew.
Once she’d shown her lawyer the medical reports, he’d assured her he had absolutely no problem going to a judge with the records of her two visits to the hospital.
She had also provided him with the photographs she had taken on her cell phone of the wreckage Andrew had made of both her office and her apartment.
Her lawyer was sure they would be enough to get an immediate temporary restraining order against Andrew, with a court date to be arranged at a later date to take it further.
Thankfully, he called Ellie before the end of his workday to let her know that the temporary order had been issued and the papers had been served on Andrew.
Ellie had immediately switched off her cell phone, knowing Andrew well enough to realize that he wouldn’t obey the injunction forbidding him to contact her or go to her office or home.
Hours later, her cell phone still off, and sitting in the passenger seat of Knox’s car, without having either sight or sound of Andrew, Ellie found herself feeling more relaxed than she had for a very long time. And she knew that was all down to how Knox made her feel.
He had picked her up from her office at six o’clock, as he’d said he would, and then driven them both to Ellie’s apartment.
Her small suitcase, containing three changes of work clothes and enough casual clothing for the same number of days, plus her new underwear, was in the trunk of the car.
She hadn’t wanted to assume she would be staying with him for any longer than the weekend and maybe a couple of days after.
It was dependent upon how soon Linus could check and improve the security in her apartment building.
She would start looking for a new apartment in the meantime.
She had also packed a box of ingredients for their dinner this evening, which Knox had put in the trunk with her suitcase.
She had no idea what make of car Knox was driving, only that it was a black sports car that could no doubt go from zero to sixty in a matter of seconds. Except it couldn’t, not in New York City, the roads being too congested for cars to even reach the city speed limit.
Knox was no longer wearing the formal suit, shirt, and tie he had worn earlier today, evidence that he had been home and changed before coming to collect her at six o’clock.
He now wore a thin navy-blue cashmere sweater, the sleeves pushed up to just beneath his elbows, along with faded blue jeans that molded to the taut lines of his waist and that firm butt.
The beginning of a sleeve of heavy tattoos was visible on his left arm.
Having offered to share a shower with her when they reached her apartment and having been refused, Knox had instead lounged in one of the armchairs in Ellie’s sitting room, scrolling through stuff on his cell phone while she showered and changed.
She was now wearing a burnt-orange sweater with slim black jeans. She had decided to leave her hair loose after washing and drying it. She was also wearing the large-lens glasses, still feeling the need to have them between her and the outside world.
One very passionate encounter with Knox hadn’t changed that!
It was because of what happened earlier today that she hadn’t quite known how to behave toward him when he came to pick her up at the HERA offices.
Knox hadn’t felt any such qualms, stepping into the reception area before taking her in his arms and very soundly kissing her.
Making her doubly grateful that Benny and Sally had already left for the day.
“You’re very quiet.” Knox now broke the silence between them.
Ellie turned from looking out the side window of the car at the shops they were driving past. “I’ve never been a chatterbox.”
“Your silence is peaceful.”
“As opposed to…?”
“People who think they have to fill every moment of silence, even if it’s only to spout nonsense, usually because they like the sound of their own voice. Day is one of those people,” he added grimly.
“Yes.” There was no arguing with the truth.
Especially when, on too many occasions, Andrew had rebuked her for not being more gregarious when they were in a social situation. She had always thought he talked enough for both of them, but she had never actually said so.
“Talking of which… Do you want to know the current woman he’s having an affair with once Linus has that information?”
Did she?
Was it necessary to know the name of the woman who was currently sharing Andrew’s bed?
“No,” she answered firmly. “Whoever she is, she’s welcome to him.
I doubt the relationship will last anyway.
Andrew told me she was just the last in a long line of women he’s been involved with during the years we were together.
My lawyer had the temporary restraining order served on him this afternoon, by the way. ”
“Good,” Knox said with satisfaction.
“It won’t stop him from trying to hurt me again,” she predicted.
“I’m hoping not,” Knox drawled.
“What?” Ellie gasped.
He grimaced. “I only met him once, and I already know he’s an arrogant little bugger, but he’s also a coward. When he makes his next move against you, we can have him arrested for breaking the conditions of that restraining order.”
Ellie stared at him incredulously. “You want Andrew to attack me?”
Knox gave her a sharp glance. “Of course I don’t— What the— Do you think I would ever allow him to get anywhere near you?” he growled.
“But you just said—”
“I said when he ‘makes his next move against you,’” he bit out. “That could be trashing the office or your apartment again, or sabotaging the brakes of your car—”
“I don’t own a car.”
“Then at least we can discount making sure that doesn’t happen.
” Knox nodded. “Whatever he tries to do to hurt you next, he won’t succeed.
But being caught out in the act of trying would be enough for a court of law to arrest and charge him.
Hopefully, they get to him before I do, or there might not be anything left for them to arrest or charge,” he added grimly.
“We can’t have eyes everywhere—”
“My men can.”
Ellie stilled. “Your men?”
He nodded. “I’ve had half of a Wynter security team watching Day, the other half protecting you, with another full team on standby, since I left his office earlier today.”
“I— You— I didn’t ask for them to do that,” she protested.
“No, I did,” he dismissed.
“Do they— Do any of the Wynter family know— Oh God, what must they think of me?” she groaned as she buried her face in her hands.
“They don’t think anything, because apart from Linus, they have no idea of your existence,” he dismissed.
“Oh.” Contrarily, Ellie now felt slightly indignant that none of Knox’s friends or work colleagues knew of their relationship. She was a mess! “In that case, I insist on paying for the protection Wynter Security is providing for me.”
Knox huffed. “You can insist all you like, doesn’t mean it’s going to happen.”
“Knox, they’re protecting me, following my ex-partner to make sure he doesn’t do anything else to hurt me.”
“That may be true—”
“It is true,” she insisted.
“Maybe.” He shrugged those broad shoulders. “But there’s another way of looking at it.”
“What way is that?” she scoffed.
“That they are protecting my woman from her ex-partner for me.”
“I— You— You’re what?” She had no idea how to categorize their relationship, and she doubted Knox did either, but she certainly didn’t think they were at the my woman stage.
“Just give up arguing, Ellie,” he advised lightly. “Whether you like it or not, my guys are staying in place, on my instruction, and that’s the end of the subject.”
* * *
Truth was, Knox hadn’t bothered asking any of the Wynter family what their opinion was about Linus spending time checking on Day for him and for Knox to then redirect a team to protect Ellie and follow Andrew Day.
None of them had asked him for an explanation yet either. He could only assume that was because Linus had already told them about the digital surveillance he was going to do on Day, and that they had all drawn their own conclusions from that information.
Which was that protecting Ellie was personal to Knox.
Knox had no doubt he’d get a phone call from Magnus in the next few days. The nosy bastard would probably ask him when the wedding was and if he could be best man.
As far as Knox was concerned, the answer to that was “the sooner the better, and yes.” Angel and Karen could be bridesmaids, if Ellie was agreeable, and as her closest male relative, Geoff could give her away. The twins could even be the ringbearers.
The only reason he hadn’t specifically asked Ellie to marry him yet was that he knew it was too soon for her.
Just as he knew she had been acting a little skittish when he picked her up from the HERA offices a short time ago.
Because in the hours since he’d seen her, he knew the barriers had been put back in place.
Just as those overlarge glasses had once again been perched on the end of her nose, hiding the emotions in her eyes.
Knox might accept that it was too soon to ask Ellie to marry him, but he wasn’t going to allow her to put up any barriers between the two of them.
They had kissed and made love in her office earlier today, and he intended to repeat the experience very soon, hopefully this time somewhere more comfortable and where they couldn’t be interrupted by Benny or Sally at any moment.
Not that he or Ellie had thought of that at the time, but he was pretty sure Ellie would have thought about it later.
He had known, the moment he held her in his arms again and kissed her when he went to her office this evening, that she had somehow managed to wash off the scent of his cum he had rubbed possessively into her flesh earlier.
Probably in the office bathroom with the door locked for privacy.
He had been feeling feral when he guided spurts of his cum all over Ellie’s abdomen and between her legs, recognized that the urge to rub it into her flesh was a positively primitive one.
He had done it anyway.
Done it and enjoyed every moment of staking his claim.
“It isn’t funny, Knox,” Ellie snapped in response to the smile currently curving his lips.
Knox glanced at her and then back at the road. “I wasn’t thinking about that.”
“Then what were you thinking about?”
“How much, when you do meet them, the Wynter family are going to love you.” He deliberately opted for a safe subject, not one that was going to make Ellie retreat even further.
“They are?”
“Oh yes. I know Angel will, especially.”
“You said she was Magnus Wynter’s stepdaughter?”
He grimaced. “In every way that matters, she is Magnus’s daughter.”
“Her real father is out of the picture?”
“Have you ever heard of Marco Carlucci?”
She frowned. “I’ve heard of the Carlucci family. Roman Carlucci, mostly. He lives in DC, I believe. For years, it’s been rumored that he’s Mafia.”
“He was. Marco was his son.”
“Are you saying he’s Angel’s dad?”
He nodded. “Before Sapphie became Magnus’s wife, she was married to Carlucci junior for a short time. Unhappily.”
“Wow.”
“Yeah,” he agreed.
“That’s… What do you mean, the Wynter family is going to love me?” She turned in the car seat to face him. “I doubt there’ll ever be a reason for me to meet any of them.”
Knox gave her another glance. At least she had some color in her cheeks now. Even though it was only because of arguing with him. He could work with that. “I’m sure you’ll meet a few of them in the next few months,” he dismissed. “But you’ll meet all of them en masse at the wedding.”
Ellie startled. “What wedding?”
One look at the apprehension on her face and Knox knew he had to change his answer from what he had originally intended, and quickly.
Ellie looked absolutely terrified that he might be talking about their wedding. Which he had been. Maybe not for next week or even next month, but sometime not too far in the future.
But it was obviously much too soon for Ellie to even think beyond the next few days, let alone to consider marrying him.
“My friend Declan Quinn is marrying his beloved Fawn in London next month,” Knox told her instead. “I would really like it if you came with me as my plus one.”