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She kept it where she could see it. Proof, maybe, that she’d existed before she became Carla Price, even before she became Magnolia Price. Before she became a line in Rex’s books.

I wondered how many nights she sat on her colorful little sofa and looked at the girl in that photo, and at the pictures of me she managed to take with her, and grieved a daughter who was still alive.

Was it the same kind of grief I carried over her? Or was her grief filled with regret? If she never got pregnant with me, she might not have ended up a prisoner of Rex. She might have married some guy who wore suits to work and donated to charities.

I cried as I thought about all that she’d lost because of me. I cried at the big life she could’ve had that was shrunk down to a rented bungalow and photos of the past. No new memories worth capturing, at least as far as I could tell. I cried because she chose this life, every empty fucking day of it, because she wanted to keep me safe. No one had ever loved me like that. Hell, I didn’t know a person could love like that.

I hadn’t felt a love like that since she left.

I didn’t hear Knox approach until his hand landed warm and heavy on my shoulder. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

I smiled at him through fresh tears. “Mom gave up her whole life to keep me safe. She loved me enough to live like this. For me. She could’ve gone back home and been rich and safe, but she didn’t. Because of me.”

“I would’ve done anything for you, Ivy.” She said it simply, like it was the most obvious fact in the world. “This was a small price to know you had a good life.”

“It wasn’t good,” I admitted, turning my gaze to hers. “Rex’s house had never once been good.” I looked up at Knox, this man who’d driven me across the country to give me back something I’d buried a lifetime ago. “But…” I let out a wet little laugh. “It’s been looking up lately.”

The smile Knox sent my way was slow and hot, and I felt it all over my body. But when he leaned close and pressed a kiss to my forehead? It stole my breath. He pulled back with a softer smile as if he knew the effect he had on me, and bent to take Mom’s bag from her hand. He flung it over his shoulder and turned to face her. “We need to get on the road. The sooner we’re back home, the better I’ll feel.”

I watched him go with an ache in my heart. I spent weeks telling myself that these feelings blossoming inside of me were due to our unique situation. Our proximity. The fact that he knew my body better than I did and made me feel things I thought were impossible. I told myself that this was all temporary and it wouldn’t last.

But now my whole heart swelled in my chest because I couldn’t deny it any longer. I loved him. This strong, gruff man who carried the weight of the world on his broad shoulders so I wouldn’t have to, had stolen my heart. He gave me back my mom and my belief in love and good people.

I walked to where he held the doors open for me and my mom. “You’re something special, Knox,” I told him with a smile. “I hope you know that.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Knox

Most mornings I woke up and my mind was already racing with all the shit I had to do for the day. Today wasn’t one of those days.

Even before I was fully awake, I felt her. Ivy was wrapped around me in the early morning light. Now, her mouth moved slow and lazy against mine. Her lips were so fucking soft and whenever they were on me I couldn’t fucking think straight. All thoughts of lockdown, of Rex and even the MC went right out the window. Every swipe of her lips convinced me that nothing I needed to do could possibly matter more than the feel of her mouth on mine.

Three months ago, I would’ve called a man a pussy for thinking like that. Now I was that man, lying in a bed that smelled like her, letting the morning burn off while my whole MC waited on me, and I couldn’t bring myself to give a single damn.

I had shit I needed to do. Important shit.

From the moment we rolled through the gates of the compound two nights ago, it felt like something had shifted between us. It wasn’t just that Ivy seemed more relaxed and less burdened with answers about her mother, it was that something was different between us. We still came together in feverish, needy fucks that stole my breath, but there was another layer to it that was more intense yet also softer.

I needed to go. I knew I needed to go. I just couldn’t make myself pull away from her.

Then she shifted, hooked a leg over my hip and started grinding that hot, wet pussy against me, dripping onto my cock and down over my balls, and I knew right then that I wasn’t strong enough for this.

“I need to go,” I growled against her neck.

Ivy laughed, her hands twisting in my hair. “Yeah. You should probably do… that.”

I gripped her hip and held her still before she wrecked me completely. “If I slip inside this pussy now, I won’t get shit else done today.” And there was shit that needed doing today. A lot of it. “Ivy,” I groaned, because she’d rolled her hips one more time just to feel me lose the thread.

She groaned right back, and the disappointment came off her in waves as she flopped onto her back and threw an arm over her eyes. “I know. It was shitty of me to do that.” She let out a heavy sigh. “I just… this is scary. What does lockdown even mean?”

I pulled her arm off her face, forcing her to look at me. When those green eyes met mine, my heart returned to normal. “It means nobody goes anywhere alone. All the non-members stay put unless they’ve got a member at their side. We keep a tight lid on everything until this is over.” I held her eyes so she’d believe it. “You’ll be safe. You and Magnolia.”

“I know.” She sighed and traced the line of my jaw with one finger, slow and deliberate like she was trying to memorize my face. “But what about you? Rex’s threats have been coming nonstop, and if he can’t get to me, he’ll use you to hurt me.”

I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face. I dragged her close until we were chest to chest, skin to skin. “You worried about me, Ivy?”

She nodded like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Of course I am. Rex and his men will be gunning for you.” Her palm flattened over my heart. “For you, specifically.”