Page 16

Chapter sixteen

Mia

K nox was true to his word and woke me up this morning with his head between my thighs. Good thing, too, because I slept through the alarm he set after a night of five, count them, five orgasms. That was certainly a first for me. I didn’t even think it was possible. He held me in his arms and told me how beautiful and perfect I was for him every single time he made me fall apart.

Which leads us to this moment. After he brought both of us to another earth-shattering orgasm with his fingers and cock, thrusting into me from behind while we lay on our sides, he disposed of the condom. He then hauled me over his damp chest and began drawing lazy circles on my back with his fingertips.

“I really have to go,” I say with a tired groan.

“I know.”

Neither of us moves, though.

“You gonna make me breakfast?” I ask, running my fingers through the soft hair on his chest.

“And coffee,” he answers.

“I was just kidding. I can grab something on the way to work.”

“Absolutely not. You’re in my house and let me into your body. The least I can do is make you a plate of eggs and brew a pot of coffee.”

Knox kisses the top of my head and rolls off the bed. He looks down at me, and the salacious grin on his face as he takes in my naked form is enough to make me squirm.

“Baby, you better get out of bed now; otherwise, no one is leaving this room today,” he says when he sees the way my thighs rub together.

Knox walks over and pulls a pair of boxer briefs from the tall armoire on the other side of his room. When he pulls them over his ass and turns toward me, he catches me staring.

“Like what you see, sweetheart?”

“Fuck yes, I do.”

A bellowing laugh escapes him as he walks over to the bed, giving me a kiss before walking out of the room.

As I dress, it hits me even harder than it did yesterday. Knox Turner spent the night in my bed, or rather, I spent the night in his. Every touch, every kiss, every word spoken of devotion and him claiming me actually happened. Things like that don’t happen to me. My friends are lucky enough to have men like that in their lives. It’s never been me.

But it is now.

My smile is wide when I walk out of Knox’s room in the clothes I was wearing last night. The sun is barely in the sky since it’s so early, but waking up at this hour didn’t bother Knox in the least. He wanted me to stay the night, to sleep next to him. Though admittedly, neither of us got that much sleep.

For a few moments, I stand on the other side of his kitchen island and take in the man, in his underwear, cooking me breakfast. He doesn’t notice me right away, so I have a clear and uninterrupted opportunity to stare at him. His muscular back flexes with every move as he mixes the eggs and pours them into a heated pan. He pops a few pieces of bread into the toaster and uses a spatula to stir the eggs around the pan.

“You might as well take a picture,” Knox says without turning around.

I laugh, then walk behind him, raising myself on my tiptoes before kissing the space between his shoulder blades. “Sorry, I like looking at you.”

He turns his head and smiles down at me, our height difference more pronounced since I’m not wearing any sort of heel.

“You don’t ever apologize for staring at your man. I like when you openly ogle me.” He winks and turns back to his task as I walk over to where a cup of coffee sits waiting for me. “I bought some sort of caramel creamer stuff. It’s in the fridge if you want it.”

“I thought you liked your coffee black?”

“I do, but you like that frou-frou shit, so when I stopped at the store the other day, I grabbed a bottle.”

After all the orgasms, after all the sweet words…that’s the thing that has my eyes filling with tears. He thought of me when he was at the store. He knew my preference for coffee and grabbed a bottle of creamer. No one’s ever done that for me. No one’s ever thought of me when I wasn’t right in front of them—not enough to remember something so seemingly trivial and go out of their way to brighten my day with a thoughtful gesture like that.

Walking back over to him, I wrap my arms around his waist from behind and press my forehead against his back. Knox has no idea that he has me about to cry into my caramel-flavored coffee. He simply places one of his strong hands over mine and continues scrambling the eggs.

I clear my throat and walk over to the fridge, grabbing the creamer and pouring a healthy amount into it before I notice Knox watching how I prepare my coffee.

When I take a sip, a long moan escapes. “This is perfect. Thank you.”

He smiles and walks in front of me, opening the cabinet behind me to grab a couple plates. He leans down and places a kiss on my lips, finishing it with a teasing bite to my lower lip.

“Careful of those sounds that come out of your mouth, sweetheart. Unless you want me to say fuck the eggs and eat you on the counter instead.”

“If I didn’t have to work today, I’d say that sounds like the best idea you’ve had so far this morning.”

He tilts his head to the side. “Really? That’s my best idea today?” His knowing smirk puts a smile on my face.

“Well, I guess you had some pretty good ones earlier.”

His chest rumbles with laughter as he walks back over to his stove and dishes scrambled eggs onto plates before sprinkling both servings with a little cheese. The toast pops up, and when I attempt to grab a knife to butter it, Knox takes the knife from my hands and nods toward the kitchen island. “Sit.”

“Yes, sir,” I say, and Knox growls.

“Careful. I’ve never been particularly interested in having my woman call me sir, but you might have me rethinking that particular kink.”

Knox finishes with the toast before setting both plates down and coming around to sit next to me. We eat in companionable silence, his hand on my knee and my fingers laced through his. That’s one thing that I’ve come to love about Knox in the last few days. He’s so tactile. Some touches are meant to elicit a response, but ones like these—or when we were on his bike or having dinner—are simply about connection. I never considered myself a touchy person, but as with most things involving Knox, I’m learning something new about myself.

When I finish, he takes the plate and sets it in the sink as I grab my purse and keys before slipping into my shoes. Knox puts on his boots, still only in his underwear and walks me to my car.

“So this is why you live on so much property. You can walk around in your underwear without the prying eyes of neighbors,” I joke.

He laughs and grabs me around the waist before I can get in my car. “No, but it’s an added benefit.” He dips his head and presses his mouth against mine. God, if I didn't have to go to work, this would lead to so much more.

“Do you have plans tonight?” he asks when he pulls away.

“I was going to hang with Charlie for a bit at the bar. Lucy’s working, which means Jude will probably be there…”

“I don’t give a shit where Jude is. If you’re going to be there, then I want to be there, too. If that’s okay. I don’t want to interrupt any ‘girl gang time’ or whatever you guys call it.”

I laugh, thinking of all the stupid names Lucy’s given our group of friends—and the fact that they’ve all been vetoed. Thankfully.

“I’d love to see you tonight,” I say, kissing him one more time before he opens the car door, and I sit down.

“Drive safe. I’ll see you later, sweetheart.” Knox closes the door, and I pull away, looking back in my rearview mirror at the man still standing in his driveway before I turn onto the main road.

And the goofy smile stays on my face the entire drive back to my house.

Walking into the library, I feel as though I’m floating. The day goes by in a blur of paperwork, ordering a few things for the teachers and assisting three honors classes with their research projects. All in all, a normal day, but I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time. I’m finishing up finalizing a book order when Leonard, or Mr. Miller , as he apparently prefers to be called, walks into my office.

“I just wanted to let you know the board has received your proposal and they’ll be reviewing it next week,” he says, having a seat in front of my desk—without being invited.

Obviously I already knew this, considering I’m the one who turned it in.

“Thank you, Mr. Miller,” I reply and watch as he looks around my office. The man hasn’t gotten up from his seat, so that makes me think he has something else to say. What that is, I have no idea. I really don’t understand why he’s in here at the end of the day when everyone is on their way out like I should be.

“Is there something else I can help you with?” I’m excited to leave, go home and change, then head to Thorn and Thistle to see Charlie. And Knox. And this asshole is standing in the way of it.

“You know, your contract is up for renewal as well,” he finally says.

“I’m aware.”

I was hired here because the last librarian who held my position retired. It just so happened to coincide with moving back to Shine, but I was only offered a two-year contract at the time. I’ve done a damn good job, so there wouldn’t be any reason not to renew my contract. As far as I know, not many people are graduating with a degree in library science and moving to Shine in the hopes of becoming the only high school’s librarian.

“The district takes my recommendation into consideration when they renew contracts. Did you know that?” His tone is becoming a little hostile, and quite frankly, it’s making me uncomfortable.

“I would assume so, yes.”

“So, if I had an employee who seemed to spend all her free time hanging out with a criminal organization and those associated with that organization, how do you expect me in good conscience to recommend her for a position that puts her in the company of children?”

Is this guy fucking kidding me right now?

I lean back in my seat, considering how I’m going to approach this professionally because my instinct is to tell him to get the fuck out of my office or for him to take his Napolean complex and shove it straight up his ass. Or both.

“I’m not exactly sure which organization you are referring to, seeing as there isn’t one in Shine that has been accused or convicted by a court of law of being one.”

“Don’t play stupid with me, Mia. I know exactly who and what the Black Roses are.”

“A group of men who own several local businesses and like to ride motorcycles?” My head tilts to the side as I give him a blank expression. His stare is anything but blank though. It’s filled with simmering rage, which is strange considering as far as I know, he has zero ties to the MC. He’s not even from here. In fact, he hasn’t been at the school much longer than me.

He blinks slowly and when Leonard opens his eyes again, the rage has turned into the normal look of annoyance he usually has on his face. How this man was hired in this position is beyond me.

“I’m going to give you some friendly advice, Mia.” Oh, this is going to be fucking good. “You may want to think about who you spend your time with outside of school. People are watching, and if they see things that don’t align with our values, there may be consequences.”

“I can assure you, Mr. Miller, there is nothing that I do outside of school hours that could ever be called into question. My family has a long history in this town. In fact, my grandmother used to be on that very school board that you seem to be threatening me with. She’s still active in this community, as well. She'll be at the Spring Fling. Maybe it would be in your best interest to introduce yourself to the matriarch of one of the oldest families in Shine.” Man, I can really pull off that entitled rich-bitch attitude when I want.

Leonard stands from his seat abruptly and heads to the door. “I was coming to you as a courtesy, Mia. Remember that.” He walks out of my office and shuts the door behind him, leaving me absolutely fuming.

Because I’m a mature adult, I hold up both my middle fingers at the closed door and mouth fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. Does my silent tirade at the asshole who has consistently pissed me off since I came to this school make me feel better? Yes, yes it does.

I pack my bag up with fast and angry movements, shoving my computer and files into my briefcase. Grabbing my phone and the rest of my things, I stomp toward the door and slam my palm against the light switch to turn it off.

When I get to the parking lot, Leonard’s car is still there. The man obviously has no life, considering it’s well after school hours, and he’s still sitting in his stupid office behind his stupid desk while the rest of the world actually goes out and lives their lives.

Okay, so maybe my angry outburst didn’t help as much as I was hoping.