Page 42 of Knox

How was he supposed to keep a cool head when Knox looked like that?

That demand wasdefinitelynot realistic.

"If you want to sleep in my room tonight," Adrian blurted, "I demand the ducky pajamas."

Oh God, had he really just said that?

Knox’s eyebrows rose and Adrian’s face heated.

"You don’t like my outfit?" Knox asked. "No." He smirked. "I think you like it a little too much." He stepped closer to Adrian.

Adrian felt his face flush even hotter. "That’s not?—"

"Your heart’s racing, Adrian." Knox’s voice was a low, confident. "I know you want me."

Adrian’s breath hitched. He wanted to say something clever, something to deflect the attention Knox was giving him, but his brain seemed to have short-circuited.

"I won’t force you into anything," Knox continued, his tone softer now, almost sympathetic. "But you don’t have to be ashamed. I’m an incubus. I’m very used to having this effect on people."

Right.

This was all normal for Knox. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing special.

Adrian swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry. He needed to regain control of the situation, or at least some semblance of it. "Look," he said, forcing his voice to steady, "we have a big day tomorrow. I have things I need to prepare."

Knox’s eyes searched his face for a moment before he nodded. "You’re right." He took a step back, giving Adrian some much-needed space. "I only wanted to check on you. You seemed uncomfortable earlier."

"Yeah," Adrian muttered, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "All of this… it’s a lot."

"I understand. My allies and I can find other accommodations if necessary."

"No, it’s fine."

"As long as I put on those delightful ducky pajamas?"

"Yes." Adrian forced a smile. Looking at Knox now, he realized no outfit, no matter how ridiculous, would keep him from wanting to jump the demon. If he could just have a repeat of the morning with no questions asked…

"I will try not to make you uncomfortable again," Knox said. "Thank you for your hospitality."

"Thank my grandmother."

"I shall."

Knox gave him one last lingering look before turning and leaving the room.

Adrian let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and sank onto his bed. He needed to focus—on the blog post, on theconvention tomorrow, on anything but the way Knox made him feel.

Taking his laptop in hand, Adrian began to type:"Big News for All ‘Monsters of Veridia’ Fans! Meet the Real-Life Knox at Greenwood Convention!"

He paused, fingers hovering over the keyboard. How could he convey the gravity of the situation without sounding completely insane?

"I’m sure you’ve all seen the news on television. The Shadow King has entered our world, but he is not the only one! Knox, Lyrian and Zev will be there as well! If you’ve ever wanted to meet your heroes, now’s the chance! I know how absurd this sounds, but #ShadowSavior is trending, and I need you all to remember that Caelen draws magic from his followers. Don’t give him that kind of power! The people out there don’t know better, but we’ve read the book, we know what havoc the Shadow King could wreak on our world."

Adrian leaned back in his chair, reading his words again before he hitPublish.

He didn’t know if his readers would believe him. Even with all the weird occurrences being covered on television, it all seemed so impossible.

His phone buzzed a minute after he’d uploaded his post. Finally, Leon was online.