My feet carry me forward out of his embrace, and I excuse myself. “I need to get ready for the day.” His footsteps follow me through my bathroom and into my closet. I walk all the way inside, while Knox halts at the threshold.
I wanted to be alone for a moment. I need to think things through logically without the haze of their care clouding my brain. When they’re around, I want things I never thought I could have.
“Raven.”
The tugging in my chest begs me to turn around.
“Darlin’, look at me.” Knox’s voice is pleading.
I cave.
My feet shift me to face him. My eyes wander from his bare feet up his strong legs and chiseled abs. His gaze searches mine. Breath saws in and out of my lungs as I clench my thighs together. Knox bites his lip when he notices the tension in my body and extends his hand, offering himself to me.
Maybe they’ll leave. I can’t control their choices. But I can control what I do and what I feel.
And right now, I choose to feel this with him.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
RAVEN
Itake a few long strides and jump. Knox easily catches me, grabbing my ass with both hands as I wrap my legs around his waist.
Our mouths fuse together, his soft lips gliding over mine. Using my teeth, I gently bite down on his lower lip, and the vibration of his groan rumbles in his chest.
My hands slide from his beautiful locks to his neck. The tips of my fingers graze a bit of raised skin, reminding me of the ink on his back.
I break the kiss and question, “What are the skull and trees for?”
“You want to talk about thisnow?” His disbelieving shock is almost comical.
My shoulder lifts in a shrug. “I’m curious.”
The indecision on his face makes me feel like I’m asking for too much. Just as I’m about to take my question back, he blurts out his answer. “I got it at a time in my life when it felt like I had nothing going for me. I felt dead inside and like my world was burning down around me.”
My chest cracks with understanding and pain on his behalf. I know what that’s like. I know what it feels like to want to give up, to want to just curl in a ball and pass away.
I nibble at my lip. “And now?”
“Well, this beautiful woman and her son moved in next door to me, and now my life is full of light.”
It takes great effort to hold back the tears that want to fall.
“No more questions. I need to feel you, Raven.”
Knox swings me around, setting me down on the bathroom counter, never breaking our kiss. His hands travel under my shirt and up my stomach. The graze of his fingertips causes me to tremble. I push my hips forward, seeking relief.
His hands engulf my globes and knead them. My core weeps for his touch as his tongue aggressively invades my mouth.
Knox growls, “Show me those tits, Darlin’. I want to see what’s mine.”
I whimper and do as he says, whipping off my shirt and tossing it aside. I lean back, resting my weight on my hands, and let him look his fill.
The vein in his neck tenses as he grips the edge of the counter. My nipples pebble as Knox ogles my chest.
He bites his lip and slams my bathroom door closed, turning the lock. “I’m going to do everything I’ve been dreaming about doing to your body, and I don’t want to be interrupted.”
“Wh-What do you want to do to me?”
