“You’re still mine, Kennedy,” I gasped as our bodies quieted.
“Yours,” she breathed before she went silent.
Her eyes closed. Her fingers tightened around my knuckles.
I wasn’t ready to move. I wanted to sleep inside her. To tell her I loved her. I just didn’t know how.
It could have been twenty minutes or an hour before we stirred. Our muscles started to cool.
I kissed her temple. “I think the storm is letting up.”
She nodded.
I rolled on my side, drawing her back against my chest, but she spun to face me. Her palm flattening against my chest, right over my heart. I drew the sheet to our shoulders. The candle wax had dripped to the mantle. A few of the wicks sputtered for air. That damn shutter had finally stopped banging against the house.
“Is this how it’s going to be?” she asked.
“What do you mean?” I searched her eyes, brushing a damp tendril from her forehead. God, she was even more beautiful now.
“We fight. We have sex. We wake up and destroy each other tomorrow.”
I shook my head. “No. That’s not the new normal.”
“It seems like it is.” Her lashes lowered.
I tilted her chin toward me, kissing her, long and hard. Our tongues twined. We finally broke for air.
“It can’t be like that. I don’t want that. Do you?”
“No.” She winced. “It seems like a pattern. Like something we’re falling into.”
I gave her a half-smile. “We are the ones who determine the patterns now. It’s all us. No one else. Everything that happened between our families ends now. We can decide that once and for all.”
Kennedy shook her head. “You really have been gone a long time.”
“Hey, there’s no one standing in our way. I’m not going back to Paris.” I could feel the heat rolling in waves off her body. I moved my hand to the curve of her hip. “I’m here. That means we have to deal with this together. No one else has a say. No one else has power. It’s you and me. That’s it.”
“Then I need to ask you something,” she responded quietly.
“All right.” I ran my thumb against her cheek. “Ask me whatever you want. What is it?” I had hoped this would happen. I needed her help, but I wasn’t going to ask for it. She had to offer it. To come to me on her own.
“I know you’ve been meeting with my assistant, Crew. Tell me what you two have meeting about it. And why is Seraphina involved? I want the truth. No more secrets, or I call Kimble.”
I rolled her on her back. She gasped. “I’m serious, Knight.”
I smiled. “I’ve been waiting for that question all night.”
“You have?” Her eyes darted back and forth.
I dragged my lips over hers. “Mmmhmm. If only you had asked that first.”
She inhaled deeply. “Are you going to tell me?”
“I am. The entire story,” I admitted. I wouldn’t leave out any of the details.
I hooked my arm under her knee. She gasped.
“But first…”
She bit her lower lip. “You’re that confident I’m going to like the answer?”
I laughed. “I am.” I lowered myself over her body, ready to love her until the last drop of rain fell from the sky tonight.
9
Kennedy
Knight’s body covered mine. His heavy, sculpted muscles weighted me to the bed. He had fallen asleep with his arm slung across my chest and his leg, pinning my thigh beneath him. I tried to turn, but he only pulled me closer to his chest, creating a cocoon with our bodies. I relented, giving in to the luxury of lying in bed for a few more minutes. Twice this week I had slept longer than usual—both times because of him.
I wiggled against him. My back pressed to his chest. His breath was steady and slow. I wondered whether he was truly asleep. I loved the way his arms wrapped around my body, shielding me, protecting me, holding me. But I knew it was only temporary. There was no way to sustain the truce. We’d agree to anything for a few hours to fall into bed together just one more time.
The storm had lingered over the city all night. I listened for wind or rain, but it was quiet outside. Kimble had probably already assessed the damage. Any minute he would knock on the door and want to tell me what the most serious threats were. He knew Knight had never left. It didn’t matter to him—he’d knock regardless of who was in my bed. Nothing happened on the manse’s grounds without Kimble’s knowledge. He was the most loyal and dedicated person I knew. He had proven his allegiance with a pledge to protect my life.
“Hey, you.” Knight’s voice vibrated against my neck.
“Good morning,” I answered. His fingers dug into my waist, rotating me to face him. My breasts rubbed against the planes of muscle. The friction felt good, like warm electricity. A slow hum buzzed between us.
“Some night.” He winked. “Do you think the power is back on?”
The candles had melted into puddles of wax that were now hardened trails all over the mantle and floor.
My heart raced. I needed to climb out of bed and start the shower. I had a full day of meetings. Two conference calls and a check-in with Victoria on the next vote in the senate. I definitely didn’t have free minutes to offer Knight. I knew better than to trust the words we said to each other last night. They were only words. We both knew how to lie to get what we wanted. Although, I couldn’t let him walk out without telling me about Crew. I didn’t have my answers yet.
The rough side of his jaw grazed my cheek. His mouth moved to my ear. My spine tingled with sensation.
“Mmm,” I murmured, rolling on my back. I looked into obsidian eyes, surprised at how quickly I felt the consuming effect they had on me.
Knight pushed forward on his palms, flexing his biceps.
