Chapter 22
CASSIA
I’m woken when Tobias returns with the food, and feeling groggy, I sit up and rub my palm over my face.
“You didn’t get much sleep,” Knight mutters, sounding upset.
I glance at him. “I’ll go to bed early tonight.”
He nods while climbing to his feet. “Stay. I’ll bring your plate.”
My eyes follow him to the kitchen, and I hear dishes clanking and his voice rumbling, but I can’t make out what he’s saying or Tobias' reply.
Knight comes out of the kitchen carrying two plates with burgers and fries. He hands me mine and sits down beside me again.
When Tobias comes into the living room, he says, “I’m going to head to a motel if that’s okay, boss?”
So that was what they were talking about.
I nod. “Be here at eight tomorrow morning.”
“Okay. Have a good night.”
“You too.” I watch as he leaves, taking Knight’s SUV for transport.
“Eat,” Knight murmurs before popping a fry into his mouth.
I take a bite of my burger, and while I chew, he says, “The private jet will be ready tomorrow at ten am. The airfield is an hour from here. I’ve also made a booking for the hotel.”
I swallow the bite down, then ask, “How much did it all cost?”
“It’s taken care of.”
I set the burger down on the plate and stare at Knight until he finally looks at me. “How much?”
“Don’t worry about it.”
I let out a sigh. “It’s business expenses. Either you tell me how much, or I’m just going to transfer a random amount to your account.”
“You don’t have my banking details,” he mutters before shoving another fry into his mouth.
Shit. He’s right.
Thinking fast, I threaten, “I’ll ask Santiago for it.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Jesus, you’re impossible.” I shoot a glare at his side profile.
“So I’ve been told.” He gets up and heads to the kitchen. When he comes back with two bottles of water, he says, “This is not negotiable, just like the issue we had earlier about your safety.” When I open my mouth, he shakes his head. “No, we’re done talking about it.”
“You don’t know what I was going to say,” I mutter.
“I’m pretty sure you were going to argue with me.”
He continues to eat while I let out a disgruntled huff. “Like I said, you’re impossible.”
His eyes flick to me, then he reaches into my plate, grabs a fry, and brings it to my mouth. “Eat.”
My lips part automatically on his command, but when I take a bite and realize the man is feeding me, a scowl forms on my face. “I can feed myself,” I mutter around the fry.
“I know.” Not breaking eye contact with me, he picks up another fry. “I want to feed you.”
My right eyebrow pops up, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.
“Eat, Cassia,” he orders, his voice deeper than usual.
Goosebumps spread over my skin, and I open my mouth to take the fry from him.
Knight’s features tighten with desire, and he looks so hot my abdomen clenches hard while my breathing speeds up.
Okay. It seems to be a turn-on for Knight to feed me.
Earlier, when he kissed me, I thought I was going to spontaneously combust. I feel the same way as he feeds me another fry while looking at me like he’s about to have me for dinner.
He places his plate on the coffee table, then taking mine from me, he orders, “Move onto my lap.”
I scoot onto his lap and wrap an arm around his shoulders while curling my legs at the side of his leg. He hands me my plate, and when I take it, he picks up a fry and begins to feed me again.
Feeling his hard manhood pressing against my butt has my core flushing with heat.
Jesus, how does sharing a meal turn into something so seductive?
Fine, I’ll admit it. I love being taken care of by this complicated man. He makes me feel so protected, which allows me to be vulnerable with him. I don’t have to pretend when I’m around him.
After eating another fry, I say, “I’ve had enough.” He picks up my burger and takes a few bites before setting it down again.
While he chews, I lift my free hand to his jaw and lean in until my breath skims over his ear.
I hope I sound seductive as I whisper, “I’m thirsty.”
His hard-on grows even bigger beneath my butt, and I swear my panties are about to soak through if they haven’t already.
He grabs one of the bottles and brings it to my lips, and as I swallow the water, I keep my eyes locked with his.
I only get in a couple of sips before he tosses the bottle to the side. I’m grabbed and lifted from his lap while he orders, “Straddle me.”
I do as I’m told, and the position has me facing him while his hard bulge presses against my clit and opening.
“Time to finish what we started earlier,” he says, bringing his right hand up and wrapping his fingers around my throat.
A tremble spreads through my body, and my heart starts beating faster with anticipation.
Knight moves his other hand beneath the fabric of my dress, and when his fingers dig into my butt cheek, he leans forward until our breaths mingle.
God, I want him to kiss me so badly.
His voice is a low rumble. “Fuck, I can smell how much you want me.” He dips his head and drags his nose along my jawline, making more tingles scatter over my body. “Your pussy is on fire. I can feel your scorching heat through our clothes.”
“Jesus,” I groan, bringing my hands to his chest. I revel in all the hard muscle I feel hidden beneath his shirt and turn my head so I can brush my lips over his rough stubble, loving how scratchy the bristles feel.
When my eyes meet his again, he moves his hands to the top of my thighs. His thumbs are dangerously close to the valley between my legs, only making me impatient for any kind of friction, but then he moves them back to my butt and squeezes my cheeks hard.
“Fuck, your ass is perfect.” He looks down and lets out a groan. “You look so fucking sexy with the gun strapped to your thigh and your dress pushed up.”
He makes me feel sexy.
Knight’s eyes flick to my face again, and he pulls at my butt, making me rub my clit over his hard-on. My body jerks from the much-needed friction, but the flicker of pleasure quickly turns to frustration.
The corner of his mouth lifts into a smirk, and he looks so unbelievably handsome I can only stare at him in wonder for a moment.
The air around us grows tenser and tenser, then he moves forward, and his teeth dig into my bottom lip before tugging at it.
My abdomen clenches unbelievably hard, and I can’t stop a needy whimper from escaping me.
God, I want this so much.
I pull one of my hands away from his chest, and wrapping it around the back of his head, I grip his hair to keep him in place as I press my mouth to his.
My heart races in my chest, my anticipation building more and more by the second.
My tongue darts out, licking him like I’m catching a drop of coffee from a cup. I feel his body shudder in response to me, and it builds my confidence.
I tilt my head as my lips move against his, and my hips swivel again, rubbing my clit over his hard-on. The pleasure I feel has me pressing closer to Knight, and with my hand still beneath his shirt, I drag my fingernails over his skin.
A hard shudder hits his body, and it makes his fingers dig into my butt cheeks while he thrusts up against my aching core.
Air bursts from me, and he inhales it while his mouth starts to dominate me.
His tongue lashes at mine as he thrusts hard against me again, causing pleasure to build in my abdomen.
My hand that’s on his chest sinks lower until I grip the waistband of his pants, then I start to move my hips and rub my clit repeatedly over his thick length.
My breathing speeds up, and I kiss him with more urgency as the anticipation in me becomes borderline torture.
A needy sound escapes me, making Knight move his hands to the inside of my thighs. His thumbs brush so close to my opening that I let out a frustrated groan and bite his bottom lip as punishment before easing the pain with my tongue.
“Christ,” he growls against my mouth, then finally, he tugs my panties out of the way, and his thumb presses hard against my achy clit.
“Yes,” I gasp against his lips, my hips moving faster and faster while I grip the waistband of his pants for dear life, my other arm is wrapped around his neck. “Link.”
When he starts to slowly push his middle finger inside me, my eyes open and lock with his. As he keeps going deeper, I’m able to rub my clit against his palm.
Every muscle in my body tightens, but what pushes me over the edge is the dark desire in Knight’s eyes. It looks filthy and ravenous, and as my orgasm hits and my features tighten, his expression only darkens more.
His jaw clenches, and a muscle starts to twitch in his cheek, which I find incredibly attractive.
It feels like I’m being zapped by pleasure, my body so tense it trembles.
As I start coming down from my high, Knight pulls his hand from between my legs. When I see the red tinge on his finger, my eyes dart to his, but before I can ask if he’s taken my virginity, he sucks his finger into his mouth.
My eyebrows lift, and intense heat flushes my core at the sight.
“You taste like pure fucking innocence,” he murmurs, his voice hoarse.
I slam my mouth to his while my fingers work to unbutton his cargo pants. As I pull down the zipper, Knight lifts his hips so I’m able to tug the fabric of his pants and boxers down his legs. I make quick work of taking off his boots.
My eyes latch onto his large erection that looks painfully hard. I’ve tried watching porn before, and he’s much bigger than the ones I saw.
When I climb onto his lap again and I reach for his shirt, his hand darts out to cover mine, and he shakes his head.
A questioning look forms on my face. “Why?”
“You won’t like what you see.”
What?
“Never,” I whisper, giving him a pleading look.
He hesitates for a moment before he lets go of my hand, and I brace myself. No matter what I see, this man is perfect.
I lift the fabric, and at first, all I see is his sculptured six-pack and the hard lines carved into his hips.
“I definitely like what I see,” I mumble while moving faster and tugging the fabric up and over his head.
Only then do I see the tens, if not hundreds, of tiny cut marks all over his chest. All of them no bigger than half an inch.
I bring my hand to his skin and brush my fingertips over the ridges of the cuts while whispering, “What happened?”
His features are drawn tight as he shakes his head again.
I lean forward and press a kiss to the few on his left pec, and pulling back, I let a gentle smile curve my lips.
He sucks in a deep breath before admitting, “Every cut is for a life I’ve taken.”
Shock vibrates through me.
He cuts himself?
Every time I learn something new about how tormented Knight is, the urge to protect him grows inside me. I don’t want anything to ever hurt him again
“Why?” I ask, needing to know the reason.
He lowers his eyes, and pain flashes over his face as he says, “It’s…”
His jaw clenches, and it has me lifting my hands to his face. I frame his jaw with my palms and give him an encouraging look.
“It’s so I can see the proof of every fucker I’ve killed in an attempt to make up for failing Ronnie.” He looks down at his chest and brushes his hand over some of the cuts. “The pain helps.”
Tears mist in my eyes, and I wish I had the power to take away the guilt he’s feeling for something that wasn’t his fault.
Wait. I do have the power.
I grab hold of my dress and pull the fabric over my head. I drop it on the floor before reaching behind my back and unsnapping my bra. As I pull the straps down my arms, I get up so I can push my panties down my legs.
When I reach for the thigh holster, Knight growls, “Leave it.”
I place my knee beside his leg and grab hold of his shoulder so I can climb back onto his lap.
Knight immediately ducks his head, and his lips close around my nipple. He sucks it until it’s a stiff peak before giving attention to my other breast.
I place my hand behind his head and curl into him while scooting forward and dragging my clit over his hard manhood.
We both shudder at the skin-to-skin contact, and while Knight feasts on my breasts, I brush my other hand over his muscled back before moving it to his bicep where there’s a tattoo of an eagle perched on a trident and anchor.
When he lifts his head, his green eyes are hooded with desire and a look of pure obsession.
“I want you, Lincoln,” I admit. “Every single broken piece.”