Page 13 of Die for You (Diamond Devils #4)

Knox

Fucking Monica .

She smirks from where she stops in the middle of the parking lot as I hop out of Damien’s SUV, her lips bright red and nails long enough to scoop an eye from its socket.

I try to keep my shoulders relaxed and head toward her with my hands in my pockets. What does she want this time?

“Hanging out in empty parking lots now?” I call. “Gotta admit: kind of a strange hobby.”

Her cackle makes the acid in my gut curdle. Normally, making someone laugh is a boost to my ego. Her laugh makes me want to set myself on fire. “You should talk. Isn’t that what you’re doing?”

“Giving driving lessons, actually.” I force a smile and nod at her car. “We were kind of hoping to have an empty parking lot.”

“Driving lessons? Do you have a sixteen-year-old in there?” She snorts.

I follow her gaze, but Rory isn’t in the driver’s seat anymore. She must’ve climbed in back for some reason.

Taking a calming breath, I clench my jaw and bite back all the venom I want to spew at Monica. “So what brings you here?”

“I figured you probably had practice or a game or something. I was in the area, so I decided to stop and say hey.”

You’d think she’d become a better liar the older we get, but it seems like she still expects me to believe the same lies she fed me when we were teenagers. “What a coincidence.”

She doesn’t notice the sarcasm in my voice and nods to the SUV. “Looks like your student has another teacher in the car. Maybe you can take a break.”

A break with her? I’d rather walk on a mile of hot coals. “I’m?—”

Behind me, a door slams and a pair of heels clatters across the pavement.

My heart hits the ground when Aurora prances toward us in a skintight black dress and high heels. Beneath the dress, her tits bounce violently with every step. No bra. Please let there be no panties under that dress too.

Jesus . Did she have those tucked in her backpack? For what—an emergency one-night-stand? And how did she go from sweats to this in thirty seconds?

I drag my gaze from her long enough to spot Damien biting his fist and Finn leaning forward from the backseat to get a good view.

Monica stiffens, jutting her chin out when she spots Aurora rushing toward us with the biggest fake grin I’ve ever seen. The sight nearly pulls a laugh out of me.

I don’t bother adjusting the hard-on in my pants. Let Monica see exactly the kind of effect Rory has on me. An effect Monica never had on me, even on her best days.

“Sorry, baby!” Aurora calls, glomming onto my arm. “I don’t want to rush you, but if we don’t leave now, we’ll miss our reservation!”

My mind scrambles to keep up before I follow her lead. “No problem, beautiful. You’re always worth the wait.”

Before I can predict what she’s got up her sleeve next, Aurora grabs my face. My heart leaps into my throat, the honey scent of her lotion wrapping around me. Her hands are so soft, tender as she cradles my jaw.

Without a word of warning, she pulls me down to her and her mouth meets mine, her lips cold from the cool night air and impossibly sweet.

I freeze for a split second before I tug her closer, her torso colliding with my erection as I slip my hands around her, engulfed in her honey scent.

Her body is tight and warm in my arms, her tongue minty and delicious as I slide mine into her mouth. She lets out a breathless gasp that makes my cock twitch, and I groan, pulling her as close as I can get her. Never close enough.

This isn’t part of the act anymore—every second of this is real.

Fuck . This is what I’ve been aching for. Dying for. Aurora in my arms, her lips on mine, her taste coating my tongue. I need more. More, more, more ?—

When a throat clears behind us, we’re both jerked out of our trance. Way too fucking soon. I forgot Monica was here.

Aurora has a way of making me forget the entire world.

“Oh!” Aurora turns to Monica like she’s just noticing her for the first time. “Hi! I’m Aurora, Knox’s girlfriend.”

Knox’s girlfriend . Damn, that has a nice ring to it.

Two car doors slam, followed by heavy footsteps. Damien and Finn witnessed this whole show. Their jealousy is palpable from here. Maybe the kiss wasn’t real to Aurora, but it was real to me. Real to them too.

Monica’s eyes narrow on Rory like she’s venomous. “Oh. Hey. I’m Monica.”

“Monica?” Aurora’s brows pull together in the most exaggerated, quizzical expression. “Sorry, I’m terrible with names. Do you have a class together?”

This girl is a damn genius. Where’s a fucking ring when you need it? I’ll kneel right now.

“No. I’m Knoxy’s high school sweetheart, actually,” Monica purrs, batting her fake lashes like she expects this to trigger Aurora’s jealousy.

My hands curl into fists that she’s speaking about me in the present tense, like we’re still anything to each other.

She hasn’t been anything to me since we graduated. “We dated for years.”

“Oh! You’re that Monica. I remember now.

” Aurora’s voice drips with poisoned honey.

She slips her arm through mine, and the faux-friendly smile shifts to a villainous one.

Finn and Damien are close enough to overhear us now.

“The Monica who treated Knox like shit, and after he dumped you, you couldn’t stand the thought of him being happy, so you crash parties on his college campus and track him down for a crumb of his attention, even though you broke up years ago. That Monica?”

Silence lands between us like a rock as the Devils’ steps come to a halt. I bite my lip to keep from cheering or egging her on.

A flush creeps up to Monica’s cheekbones, her lips flattened. She’s about to burst.

Rory steps in front of me, her arms folded.

“How about now you become the Monica who fucks off? Stop following him. Leave him the fuck alone. You treated him like shit, and you’re not entitled to any piece of him anymore.

So you need to accept that he’s moved on and get the fuck over it.

And maybe you should learn how to treat your partners the way they deserve while you’re at it. ”

Monica glares at Aurora like she’s imagining ripping her hair out, but she keeps her hands to herself. Smart.

Her gaze slides to me. “You really know how to downgrade, huh, Knox?”

I’m Knoxy when she wants something, and Knox when she’s pissed.

With that, she spins on her heel and marches to her car.

“He said I give him the sloppiest head he’s ever gotten in his life!” Aurora shouts. “Nice meeting you!”

Behind us, Damien and Finn lose it. I can’t help but laugh now too, shoulders shaking with both amusement and relief as Monica’s tires chirp and she speeds off, disappearing into the creeping darkness.

I tug Aurora close to me by the hip, the fabric of that black dress so thin and flimsy, it would be easy to tear through. So easy. “That was impressive.”

“Hell yeah, it was.” Damien’s dark gaze roams over her from head to toe. “Where the hell did that outfit come from?”

“I forgot to dress up for a recital once.” Her mouth puckers into a grimace at the memory. “I vowed I’d never let that happen again, so now I keep an emergency outfit in my bag.”

I can’t stop grinning. No one’s ever defended me like that, let alone to Monica. We both had plenty of friends in high school, but a lot of them sided with her after the breakup, even when they witnessed her hit me at parties and berate me in the lunchroom in front of everyone.

Aurora hasn’t known me for long, and yet she said everything I’ve been wanting to say to Monica for years. She managed to rescue me when I needed her most. Again.

I’d bet all the money in my wallet that she’s been wanting to say a lot of that to her own ex.

Rory plants her hands on her hips and does a smug little shimmy. “Let me know if you need me to chase off any puck bunnies next.”

“If it gets me another kiss like that, then I’ll see you at the next game.”

“What do I need to do to get a kiss like that?” The amusement has vanished from Damien’s face now. He’s staring at Rory like he wants to devour her where she stands.

Same. This girl’s got us wrapped around her finger.

Finn glides up next to her, tilting her chin so she meets his gaze.

Electric tension builds between us. God, I want nothing more than to take her back to my room and thank her. She has no idea what the three of us could make her feel.

She steps away from Finn’s touch and pushes her shoulders back. “That kiss was just for show. I needed a way to scare her off, and the kiss did it. That’s all.”

Even though I already knew the truth, my stomach dips with disappointment.

“Can you drop me off at home now? It’s late and these heels are killing me.”

“You’ve been in them for five minutes,” Damien says.

Her eyes narrow on him. “You try wearing heels for five minutes and see how long you last.”

“I want to see how long you last.” I grip her hip, eager for more of her. “In my bed.”

She shakes me off. “Take me home.”

We follow her back to the SUV, all of us desperate for her. She bites back a smile when I open the door. But I don’t shut it behind her when she slides in.

I lean on the doorframe, fixing her with a cocky grin. “Sloppiest head I’ve ever gotten, huh? Can’t wait for that.”

She rolls her eyes and jerks the door out of my grip, slamming it and ending the conversation.

But I catch her smiling too.

Sunday dinner is deafening as usual. My parents bark out orders for my siblings to take bowls to the table or line the napkins with silverware like we’re still ten years old.

All the while making time to kiss and squeeze each other’s asses in between shouting, stirring boiling pots on the stove, and pulling dishes from the oven.

My brothers and I groan every time our parents exhibit yet more behavior that will send us to therapy, but I’ve always secretly wanted something like they have. That easy, comfortable connection. A girl I can laugh with just as often as fuck.

I haven’t been able to get Aurora’s little performance out of my head for the past week.

Can’t help but wish that the part about her being my girlfriend wasn’t a lie.

That I could bring her to Sunday dinner with my family.

Hell, even if she wouldn’t let me introduce her as my girlfriend, dinner would still be better with her here.

Lately, everything is better with her around.

When we’re all finally seated at the table, Karter eyes me with suspicion and amusement. He’s the tallest and the only other brother who ever played hockey. Then he got his college girlfriend pregnant and welcomed chaos into his life. At least he’s not bored. “You’re in a good mood.”

His wife, Blaire, manages to wrangle their toddler into the chair between them before she brightens and leans forward with her chin on her fist. As far as she can, at least. Her pregnant belly is a barrier between her and the table. She’s ready to pop. “Who is she?”

My eyes roll up to the ceiling. “You’re all nuts, you know that? Can’t a guy just be in a good mood?”

“Knox!” Mom half-gasps, half-squeals. “You have a girlfriend?”

“No girlfriend.” Best to squash that hope before Mom starts planning the wedding.

“There’s a girl, though.” Dean rakes his fingers through his blond surfer locks. How does he always fucking know?

I keep my mouth clamped shut. I refuse to confirm and give them more fodder. But I can’t bring myself to deny it either. Because there is a girl. The girl.

“Oh my gosh!” Mom covers her mouth with a hand. “You haven’t had a girlfriend since Monica.”

At the sound of her name, I stiffen. An awkward silence stifles the conversation. To this day, my parents don’t know the extent of all the shit that went on with Monica, especially my mom. She’d have a heart attack if she knew everything.

But I confided nearly everything to my brothers when they finally confronted me. They’re still pissed she never suffered any consequences for what she put me through.

“We want to meet her!” Mom practically yells like I’m not sitting three feet from her.

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I remind her.

“But you will! Look at you—so handsome! And so sweet. My sweet, sweet boy. Of course she’ll fall head over heels.”

Sam’s mouth twists into a smirk, the brother who looks the most like me with matching brown hair and green eyes. Only a couple years older, and classmates always mistook us for twins in high school. “Aww.”

“If you like her, do something about it,” Karter says like it’s that simple. Dean and Sam nod along.

I haven’t felt this way about a girl in...ever. As much as I hate to ever give my family credit, especially my shithead older brothers, they might be right.

I need to make my move. I need to show Aurora everything I can do for her. Everything.