“It was overloaded in the hurricane last month. The replacement hasn’t been installed.” I heard her voice, but it was as if she was somewhere else. Her thoughts were on the rain or the streaks of lightning.
“I’m going to light some candles. Okay?”
She stood still while I struck matches and lit the tapers lined along the fireplace mantle. I made sure to light the ones on the coffee table and next to the bed as well.
The roof shook and the power surge lasted longer. I knew there was no way the power would last. Not in this kind of storm. Had she known that all along?
“There. I think we’re good,” I announced.
“No, Knight. We’re not good.” She faced me. I saw the fury in her green eyes. It was layered with hurt and distrust.
“I was talking about if the lights go out.”
“I know. But that’s not why you’re here. I don’t need you to light candles, check my flashlight batteries, or make sure I’m safe in a storm. I pay people to do that.”
“I don’t need to be here.” It was obvious this was some kind of game. An angle. I’d said I was sorry. It wasn’t going to be enough. Tonight, wasn’t the night to reach her. It was going to take more time, and it wasn’t going to happen when she looked like she could eat me alive. “I hope you make it through the storm, okay. I’ll let myself out.”
“No,” she snapped. “Not yet.”
My hand had barely touched the doorknob when a peel of thunder rocked the entire house and the lights faded. The flames I had lit danced around the room. There were enough to make the entire room glow.
I inhaled. “What’s this about?”
“Trust,” she whispered.
I slowly turned around. “Trust? All right. I get it. You don’t trust me. You found out about the PAC the wrong way. It was a betrayal. I understand. I betrayed you. You can’t trust. Don’t you think I know that?”
She shook her head. “No. I want to know if you trust me.”
She slinked toward me. I swallowed, wondering if when the power grid went down, another switch had been flipped—something inside her was different than when I first walked in the room. Her eyes were dazzling. Seductive.
I reached behind my back and turned the lock on the door.
“I guess that depends. I trust you not to cheat at poker.” I winked as I stepped toward her.
“When have we ever played poker together?” she asked.
My hand landed on her hip. My fingers instinctively curled into her waist. Our eyes met and I wondered if she had let go of the anger or if it was still there beneath the surface.
“I don’t think we ever did,” I answered.
Her chin tilted upward. “What if I told you I knew what you were doing?”
I shrugged. “I’d be fine with that.” I brushed the hair off her shoulder. “You know the big secret.”
“I’m not sure I do.” She bit her lower lip and I fucking lost it.
7
Kennedy
How many times was I going to do this? How many times could I handle it? Was I going to be able to keep the plan together? The house rattled the same way my nerves did—from one corner to the other. It wasn’t the thunder. It was Knight. His eyes. The heat radiating off his body. His lips. The candles bounced our silhouettes around the room. There was darkness. Darkness in his gaze. In the air. Danger invaded everything we did. How did I forget the threat he posed? The threat of letting him walk out again. The threat that the world we knew could be washed away tonight.
Could I shut the gate in my mind between what I had to do to save my organization and the part of me that was drawn to him? Was that gate reinforced with enough steel to keep the division intact? I knew the games he played. I thought I knew them well enough to write the script for this night. So, why was I struggling with my emotions now? I had a plan in place, and it was faltering quickly. Twenty minutes ago, I was certain.
But Knight moved around my body with familiarity that no other man had. He brushed the hair from my shoulder, and I doubted just how detached I could become from the way my skin fired when he touched me.
It only took one hint. One suggestion. The slightest offer of my lips and Knight’s mouth crushed mine. His eyes had betrayed every intention he had before it happened. The impact would shatter me, but the way Knight kissed always surprised me. He kissed me like he had always loved me. As if he was trying to know me now, under layers of sadness, pain, and power. His kisses consumed me. Fed off our energy. Depleted me of resistance.
I didn’t want to feel anything. I didn’t want to accept I had lied to myself about what kind of self-control I had tonight.
I wrestled against his strong frame, but once his arms encircled me, I yielded to the firmness of his lips. The flick of his tongue. The tug of his teeth raking across my lower lip. I ran my fingers through his hair, still damp from the rain.
He moved from my mouth to my neck, kissing my throat, running his tongue over my skin.
“Knight,” I whispered.
“Hmm?” The lightning flashed. I flinched, pressing my body closer to his. “It’s okay,” he assured me. “I’ve got you.”
Our eyes met and I attempted to figure out which of the stage of the game this was for him. He was doing the same thing, searching my eyes, trying to read my thoughts. Who had the upper hand? Who had the power?
I shoved hard against the planes of his chest. I backed away, creating some space.
“We haven’t talked about the reason you’re here.”
