Chapter 34 – Kylie
thirty-four
Kylie
I feel heat all around me and feel myself pulled deeper into the heated cocoon, and a hand roams up from my stomach to my breast and then I’m pulled flush to Knox’s chest. “Are you trying to wake me up?” I mumble with my eyes still closed but with a little smile on my face, “Because it’s working.
” I bask in his heat, bask in his arms. Bask in the fact this is the first morning in over a week that I woke up without a sense of dread in my chest.
“No.” I feel him bury his face in my neck and then I feel the little flutter of his lips kissing me right behind my ear. “I just woke up and didn’t feel you near me,” he grumbles. I put my hand on his at my breast, pushing his hand deeper into me as I blink away the sleep from my eyes.
He sighs deeply and I turn in his arms, hitching my leg over his hip, one hand going to my ass as the other goes to the back of my neck and holds me as close as he can, while I cuddle my face into his chest. “How are you feeling?” I ask him, kissing the middle of his chest softly.
My palm opens and feels his heart beating.
“Got a headache, which is normal for a concussion.”
“Is there anything you need to do for that?” I ask him, trying to move out of his arms to look up at his face, but he doesn’t let me get too far away from him.
“Rest, mostly,” he says softly, “avoid screen time and loud music.”
“Are you hungry?”
“I could eat,” he says, his hand on my ass squeezing it.
“I meant for food.” I move away from him, and he lets me.
“Why don’t you stay here, and I’ll go make us breakfast in bed.” I toss the covers off me and finally see him in the middle of my bed, and I have to put my hand on my stomach because the flutters start, a smile filling my face so big that my cheeks hurt.
“Or I can come with you.” He looks up at me and I shake my head.
“Let me take care of you.” I walk over to the end of my bed, grabbing his dress shirt and putting it on.
“If you walk out of this room wearing that”—he puts his elbow on the bed and then places the side of his head in the palm of his hand, holding it up—“I’m going to follow you into the kitchen and fuck you bent over the counter.”
I shake my head and slip the shirt off me before grabbing the light-yellow robe, putting it on and then tying the sash around my waist. “Don’t move from here.” I point to him. “I’ll be back.”
I turn and walk out of the bedroom to the kitchen, opening the shades in the room and then taking out some bacon and eggs.
I’m starting to fry the bacon when I hear hissing coming from the door to my bedroom.
He puts his hand over his eyes, and one is closed.
“That’s bright as fuck.” I look over my shoulder, seeing him standing there in black boxers as he comes into the kitchen.
“I said to stay in bed,” I snap at him.
“I missed you.” He puts his hands on my hips and smells me. “Would it be okay if we perhaps closed the blinds a bit?”
“Okay, fine.” I move away from him as his hands fall from my hips. “I’ll close the shades, but you can go and watch me from the couch.”
“But if I help you, then you’ll be finished faster and we can get back to bed,” he reasons at the same time the phone rings from the living room.
I walk around the counter. “You are the worst patient I think I’ve ever met in my life,” I scold, grabbing my phone and seeing it’s Lexi calling, “and I worked in a hospital, so that is saying something.” I answer the phone, putting it on speaker.
“Hello,” I say and then quickly add, “you’re on speakerphone.”
“Got it, so say nothing bad about Knox,” she jokes, and I laugh as I make my way back into the kitchen.
“Why would she say anything bad about me?” Knox asks and his voice isn’t low.
“So I’m guessing you didn’t kick him out of your house when he showed up at your front door unannounced.”
“I did not kick him out of my house.” I stop in front of him and put my hand on his face and look into his blue eyes. I move my thumb back and forth on his cheek. “He was injured, so I wasn’t just going to toss him out.”
He rolls his eyes. “Good to know you have empathy,” Lexi deadpans. “Anyway, your brother wants to know what time you are coming over for lunch?”
I look over at the clock on top of the stove and see it’s ten thirty. “I was about to make the grumpy patient breakfast,” I tell her. “But if you want to have lunch in about an hour and a half, I don’t have to.”
“We can do noon,” she confirms. “Will both of you be coming for lunch?”
I look at him. “Do you want to come with me?”
He closes the distance between us and puts a hand on my hip. “Yeah,” is all he says as he looks down at me. “I have to go home first and change, but we can go.”
“Okay, we’ll be there soon,” I tell her and disconnect. “Do you want to shower here or at your house?”
“Do I get you in the shower here or at my house?” he counters my question with his own.
“There is no way I’m taking a shower in your shower, unless I get ready at your house.”
“Whatever you want, Kylie. I just want to know if I’m going to fuck you here and then at my house or just fuck you twice at my house.
” He pushes the hair off my shoulder and away from my neck before he leans down and sucks the side of my neck.
“Decision made.” He wraps an arm around my waist and picks me up.
“Fuck you here then at my house,” he declares, carrying me back to my bedroom and straight to my bed.
There he fucks me hard and fast before getting off the bed and grabbing my ankle and pulling me off.
“Let’s shower here, and then we can just fuck at my house, and I can get dressed. ”
“I’m not going to get undressed at your house; you can save your strength for later.”
“Well, I’ll be undressed,” he mentions as he walks to my bathroom and turns on the water to the shower, “so you can maybe get on your knees.” He winks at me, and I shake my head.
“You’re lucky I like you,” I tell him as I step into the shower.
“You like me.” He steps in with me. “That’s good to know.” He kisses my lips. “That is very good to know.”
The shower ends up with him accidentally bending me forward and sliding into me from the back.
We are rushing out of my house an hour later, me wearing my light-blue jeans with a short-sleeved white top and a light gray, almost cream-colored sweater.
He walks out wearing his suit from last night.
His shirt open at the collar and the sleeves rolled up, while he holds his jacket in one hand and my hand in his other.
I get into the SUV and watch him get in the passenger seat.
I lean over to kiss his lips before I start the car and head over to his house.
I follow him into the house and then up the stairs to his room.
He walks into the closet and he throws his suit jacket on the chair and then the pants.
The shirt follows while he grabs a pair of black joggers and then stops in front of me, “I like having you here,” he says, kissing my lips before walking over and grabbing a T-shirt and a sweater with the team logo on it and his number in the corner.
I make a mental note of perhaps stealing that sweater and keeping it for myself.
He puts on his sneakers and then grabs a baseball hat, putting it on backward before going to the bathroom, and then coming back out to smile at me. “I’m good to go.”
He slips his hand in mine as we walk out of the house and get back into my SUV. We arrive at Lexi and Kirby’s, and he puts his arm around my shoulders and pulls me to his side as we walk up the steps and he rings the doorbell. “I would make out with you, but your brother has cameras.”
I laugh, getting up on my tippy toes. “So if I asked you to kiss me, you would say no?”
He turns toward me, lifting one hand and putting it over the doorbell camera before bending to kiss me. His tongue slides into my mouth as I melt into him. The sound of the door opening doesn’t even register until Lexi clears her throat. “Should I come back?” she asks and I let go of him.
“Sorry,” I say, letting go of him and smiling at Lexi, who just smiles at me as I walk in, and she gives me a side hug. “Hi.” I pretend that she didn’t catch me making out.
“Hi,” she replies then looks at Knox. “You look good.”
“Thanks,” he says, “a little headache, but it’s better than it was this morning.”
I turn to him, the worry all over my face. “You,” I put my hand on his chest, “you need to rest.”
He puts his hand on mine. “I’m fine.”
“Hey,” Kirby greets, coming to stand next to Lexi. He looks at me then at Knox, unsure of how to act or what to say. “You guys are here.” His eyes go to my hand on Knox’s chest.
“Knox,” Lexi says to him, “how about you help me in the kitchen and let the brother and sister talk?”
He looks at me, waiting to see what I’m going to say. “Are you going to be okay?”
“Is she going to be okay?” Kirby snaps. “Are you kidding me right now? She’s my sister,” he huffs, “of course, she is going to be okay.”
He bends to kiss my lips before he walks with Lexi into the house and I watch him.
“Okay,” I turn back to Kirby, “where do you want to do this?” I ask him, getting nervous all of a sudden.
He walks toward the living room that is off the front door and sits down on one of the couches and I follow him to sit on the other one, facing him.
I put my purse on the table. “I know what you are going to say,” I tell him, and he raises his eyebrows at me.
“Do you now?” He leans back into the couch. “I don’t think you do.” I put my hands on my knees. “Are you sure about this?” he asks me softly.
“I am.” I nod my head.
“You’ve never dated anyone,” he points out the obvious to me, “in your whole life.”
“I’ve dated.” I roll my eyes. “I just never got involved with anyone before,” I confess to him, “but with him it’s different.
” I look at him. “He’s different.” I blink rapidly to make the tears go away.
“I don’t know how it happened. I don’t know when it happened.
I…” I take a deep breath in. “I didn’t even want it to happen, and I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know I don’t want to be without him.
I know he makes me happy. I know he makes me smile and for the first time in my whole life,” I swallow the lump, “he makes me feel safe.”
“I don’t want him to get hurt,” Kirby says when he scoots to the edge of the couch. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I don’t want that either,” I admit to him.
“I’m so scared, Kirby,” I say softly. “I don’t know what love even is.
” His face turns white. “I never had anyone besides you who cared about me before. No one who loved me and treated me the way I should have been.” I shake my head.
“Then this thing sort of started and…” I shrug. “I just—”
“You are one of the best people I know. He’s also one of the best people I know.” He stands up. “But if he hurts you…” I smile at him. “Or if you hurt him,” he comes to stand next to me and holds out his hand for me, “it’s not going to be good for anyone.”
I put my hand in his and get up as he takes me in his arms and hugs me. “I love you, Kylie.” he states, putting his cheek on the top of my head, “and if anyone deserves to be happy,” I close my eyes and the lone tear escapes, “it’s you.”
I wipe my cheek. “He makes me happy. I mean, he aggravates me as much as he makes me happy,” I tease and he laughs, letting go of me.
“The first clue that I liked him was when I answered his phone call after taking me to a wellness retreat in the fucking mountains without cell service.” I make a joke about it, the beating of my heart going a million miles a minute.
“I’m going to do whatever I need to do to not fuck this up. ”
“The good news,” I hear from behind me and turn to see Knox standing there, “is we are going to work on not fucking this up, together. I just came to make sure you were okay.”
“I told you they were fine.” Lexi comes waltzing in. “I told you to give them a minute.”
“It was two,” Knox retorts, “so I gave you double.”
He looks at me and I nod to him, silently telling him I’m okay. He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and I wrap my arms around his waist—one in the back, one in the front. “We should eat.” I look up at him. “He needs to eat.” Then I look at Kirby. “Thanks for having my back,” I tell him.
“Forever,” he reassures me, and I watch as Lexi walks to him and they share a look. “Let’s get these two fed.”
“Yes,” she agrees with him, “then we can ask all the questions we want.” She looks back at us. “We want to hear all about how this even started.”
“Well, he thought I wanted to suck his dick,” I reply, and Lexi’s eyes go big while Kirby’s face goes rigid, and Knox throws his head back and laughs.
“Of course you would start with that,” he says.
The tightness and nervousness about the conversation leaves the minute that the laugh escapes him. “Is that not how this thing started?” I look up at him and he looks down at me.
The lightness in his eyes and the smile on his face makes me feel like this is how it’s supposed to be.
This is what love is. “I would do it again in a heartbeat if it means I’m standing here with you.
” He bends to kiss my lips. “But she was also very mean to me.” I’m the one gasping out now. “Let’s eat.”