Page 18

Chapter eighteen

Knox

B eing with Mia has given me a new appreciation for being an early riser. Normally, I’d roll out of bed whenever I felt like it and go about my business. Unless I had to be somewhere early for the club. But mornings look a little different when you date the school librarian. I make sure to send her on her way to work with a wide smile on her face by waking her up with either my tongue or cock. Sometimes both if we have time. I was serious when I told her I didn’t want a day to go by without her taste on my lips. I’m a glutton for the woman, and that’s not changing anytime soon. I was hoping to have a chance to leisurely wake up next to her so I could take my time this morning, but apparently, she volunteered to help with the parade staging that starts at the high school.

Does that mean I’m going to let her out of her bed without making her come? Fuck no.

After she screams my name while I’m buried deep inside of her—and I let out the roar of my own release—we get in the shower. The last two nights have been spent at my house, so Mia wanted to make sure we were at hers this morning so we could have morning coffee with her grandmother. It’s a little tradition they have, and her spending time away from her own house has cut into that. Of course, Mrs. Dawson, or Elaine as she’s insisted I call her time and time again, doesn’t seem to mind. I think the woman sees how badly she needs someone of her own to take care of her the way she deserves. It’s obvious that Mia has always been the one doing that for other people. I’ve caught her staring at us a couple of times, and the smile she wears tells me she’s happy her granddaughter finally has that.

After quickly getting dressed and ready for the day, we walk hand in hand to her grandmother’s house. Mia knocks, then lets herself in the back door before her grandmother answers.

“Good morning,” she calls into the house.

Elaine comes around the corner, already dressed as though she’s about to leave. “Oh, I thought you’d be getting an early start this morning,” she says, smiling. “I have a pot of coffee ready if you'd like, but I’m leaving in a few minutes.”

“I didn’t realize you had plans this morning. Are you helping with the parade?”

There’s a knock at the front door, and Mia looks to where the sound came from, then back to her grandmother with confusion.

“Knox, be a dear and get the door for me. Tell him I’m almost ready.”

I nod and head through the hall toward the front of the house and pull the door open. Gramps is standing on the other side with a small bouquet of flowers in his hand.

“Good morning, Knox. I’m here for Elaine.”

“Hey, Gramps,” I say with an amused grin on my face. “Come on in. Elaine will be right out.”

“Didn’t know you were going to be here,” he says.

“Didn’t know you were, either.”

“Elaine and I have known each other for years. I’m taking her out to breakfast before the festival gets underway.”

“You don’t owe me an explanation. I’m not her keeper.”

“Good morning, Arthur,” Elaine says, coming from the kitchen, followed by Mia.

“Elaine, you look beautiful today,” Gramps says.

She smiles at him and, if I’m not mistaken, has the same blush that covers Mia’s neck and cheeks when I pay her a compliment.

Gramps holds out the flowers to Elaine and she accepts them, taking a long whiff of the fragrant buds. “Thank you so much, Arthur. I love fresh flowers.”

Gramps stands with a proud smile on his face and Elaine hands the bouquet to Mia. “Would you mind putting these in water for me, dear?”

Mia takes the flowers and smiles. “Of course not. We’ll see you at the festival.”

Gramps opens the door for Elaine and offers his arm as they walk to his truck.

“Is he courting my grandmother?” Mia asks, watching Gramps help her grandmother into his truck.

“Looks like,” I reply.

She giggles and walks back toward the kitchen. “Come on,” she calls. “Let’s have some coffee, then I need to get going.”

Apparently, I'm not the only man who has been taken in by the Dawson women’s irresistible charm.

After dropping Mia at the high school, I head to my brother’s place. When I walk in, Linc is sitting on his couch with coffee in hand, and Jude is in one of the chairs on the opposite side of the room.

“Hey, grab a cup,” Linc says, holding up his mug.

I pour myself some coffee, then head back into the living room and have a seat.

“Where’s Charlie?” I ask.

“Over at my place,” Jude answers.

“I have a feeling the two of you living next door is a smoke screen for the girls to basically still live together.” I swear, anytime I come visit, one of the girls is at the other’s house while either Jude or Linc is hanging out in the other house.

Both my brother and Jude shrug, completely nonplussed.

“You coming to help today?” I ask Jude.

“Of course. Tanya would have my arse if I skipped out.”

“What about Charlie and Lucy?” I ask.

“Lucy is working so Maizie can take Colby to the festival,” Jude says.

“Charlie is meeting us there later. She needs to work on her psych paper for a few hours.” Linc says.

My phone vibrates with a text. When I pull it out and open my messages, there’s a picture of Mia standing in front of a dunk tank with a wide smile on her face.

Mia : What would I have to do to get you to be the dunkee today?

Me : No way in hell am I getting in there, sweetheart. I’ll freeze my balls off, which would be a travesty for the both of us.

I turn to Jude. “Have you had a chance to talk to your brother about the dead girl they found?” A couple weeks ago, the mutilated body of a woman was found in a shallow grave outside of Boston. It looked like there were ties to the women found in New York last year. Seeing as Liam has had some dealings with the now-dead skin traders who worked out of New York, Ozzy is worried that this shit is back in Massachusetts—and way too fucking close to home again.

“He hasn’t found anything that could be linked back to anyone defying Petrov and getting back in the skin trade after they were explicitly told it’s off the table,” Jude answers.

Nikolai Petrov runs the New York Bratva, and it was his father who was dealing in women.

Key word being was .

My phone dings again, and it’s another picture, this time of Mia in front of a kissing booth.

Mia : Fine. But I’m going to volunteer in this one then.

Me : Over my dead body, or rather the dead body of any man who attempts to claim that particular prize. Those lips are for me alone, Mia.

Mia : Touchy this morning, aren’t you?

Me : Not as touchy as I’d like to have been .

Mia : Ugh. I walked right into that one .

Me : Sorry, sweetheart. That was too easy .

Mia : Your mom’s here and asking quote “where the hell are Knox and Linc?” It’s safe to say you guys should get here soon.

Me : On our way.

“Mia texted. We need to go,” I say as I stand from my chair.

“Oh, the little woman is already calling the shots?” Jude asks while laughing.

Like this fucking guy has any room to talk.

“One,” I say, holding up a finger. “Yes, and don’t act like your woman doesn’t one-hundred-percent wear the pants in your relationship. And two,” I hold up another finger. “My mom is looking for us.”

Jude and Linc’s eyebrows shoot up, and they both stand from their seats, all of us filing into the kitchen to empty our cups.

I chuckle at the fact that all it takes is mentioning my mom and even the toughest bikers I know jump to attention.

The three of us park our bikes next to where the rest of the Black Roses have parked theirs in the lot at the school. Since the main road was closed for the parade, we had to take the back way in. I spot a man in the parking lot, eyeing us as we get off our bikes. I don’t like the stern look he has on his face, but I’m accustomed to guys who aren’t in the club giving us that type of angry scowl. I could really care less that some punk bitches are intimidated by me and my brothers. They know damn well all they can do is sit there with pissed-off looks on their faces. None of them actually have the balls to say anything. But because I’m me, I look right at the guy and give him a little chin lift. He turns on his heels and stomps away being followed by Jude and Linc’s laughter.

“Who the fuck was that asshole?” Jude asks.

“No clue," I respond and head in to find my woman.

The parade has ended, and now all the kids are running around to get in line for the face painting or one of the many game booths that are still being set up.

“You’re late,” my mother scolds, coming from behind me.

“It’s Knox’s fault,” Linc tells her with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“Lincoln Anderson, you have two feet and a head of your own. Don’t try to blame your brother for not being here on time.”

Jude snickers next to him, but all that does is redirect my mom’s focus to him. “Same goes for you, Jude.”

The Englishman looks sufficiently chided, not that it takes more than a few words from my mom to do the trick, and apologizes.

“I need you to help with setting up the goldfish toss,” she says to my brother. “Jude, you go help set up the dessert raffle, and Knox, go find Mia. I think she’s over at the fish pool.”

Every year, we have a giant catch-and-release pool set up for the kids to try their hand at fishing. It was one of my favorite things to do when I came here with my brother when we were kids.

I find Mia next to the pool, talking with one of the guys who runs it for the kids. Lo and behold, it’s the same guy who wanted to buy Mia a drink the other night at Thorn and Thistle.

“Hey, sweetheart,” I say, coming up to her and grabbing her around the waist, placing a hard kiss on her mouth. Mia instantly melts into the kiss as she always does.

When we separate, she turns to the man and introduces us. “Will, Knox. Knox, Will,” she says, waving her hand between us.

“Nice to meet you,” I say, shaking the man’s hand a little more forcefully than necessary.

I catch the way he stretches his fingers at his side when I release him, and I can’t help the small smirk on my face.

“Mia, I’m going to go grab the rest of the fish while one of my guys sets up the poles.”

Mia turns to me before Will walks away. “How are you with a fishing pole?” she asks.

“I can hold my own,” I reply, and she turns to Rusty.

“Knox is going to help with poles, too. These kids are about to swarm us.”

Will nods and walks away before Mia turns her attention back to me. “Was that necessary?”

“Yes,” I reply, not caring if I come across as a caveman.

“Are you going to piss a circle around any man who has ever been kind to me or even shown the smallest amount of interest?”

“That’s not really my thing,” I say, and she looks at me with slight irritation but smiles nonetheless.

“What am I going to do with you?”

“Give me another kiss?” I suggest with a shrug.

Mia rolls her eyes but perches on her tiptoes and plants a sweet, albeit brief, kiss on my lips.

“There, now get to work,” she says, pointing at the row of fishing poles.

“Yes, ma’am,” I say and salute her.

She laughs and walks away, writing something on the clipboard in her hands. I watch the way her hips sway in her tight jeans, not giving a flying fuck that I’m ogling my girl before I turn and get to work.

A few hours later, the festival is in full swing. Kids are running around on sugar highs from the sweet treats, and parents are laughing and cheering on their kids playing carnival games. I’ve stayed at the catch-and-release pool for most of the morning and early afternoon to help with the crowd, show the kids how to cast, and to restring the poles when needed. Since the crowd around the fish pool has cleared a bit, I tell Will I’m going to see if Mia needs help anywhere else.

As I walk through the crowd, I spot my mom talking with Trick.

“Hey, Mom, have you seen Mia?”

“Yeah, she needed to grab something out of her office.”

“Thanks,” I reply, walking toward the school.

I know exactly where the library is, but I’m not too sure where her office is. I walk to the front doors of the library, which are locked. Obviously, no one has been coming through this way then. Walking around to the side of the brick building, I spot Mia talking to a man whose back is to me. He looks familiar. Mia doesn’t see me right away. Her gaze is focused on the man in front of her, and she looks pissed.

“You allowed that biker to kiss you in front of students and parents alike while you were performing your duties as a school librarian,” the man says.

“First of all, Leonard, I am volunteering my time as a resident of Shine. The only reason the school is involved in the festival is because, as with years past, it allows the town to use this property for the festival. Second, it is highly inappropriate for you to be commenting on my private life in any capacity at any time.”

“You’re going to lose your job with the school. Then what? Take your clothes off for money at that perverted club they own?”

“Hey!” I holler, quickening my steps. Grabbing the man by the back of his collar, I spin him around and slam him against the wall. Well, would you look at that. It’s the punk-bitch from the parking lot.

“Knox, stop,” Mia says, putting her hand on my arm.

“Is this your vice principal? The one who’s been giving you a bunch of shit?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“I have it under control,” she says, but I’m too pissed to listen to her after what I just heard him say to my woman.

“Let me make something very clear to you, Leonard . No one talks to my woman like that. You have a problem with my club; you come talk to me like a fucking man. But a guy like you is too much of a pussy to confront a man like me, aren’t you? You think you can tell my woman what she can and can't do? Who she can and can’t spend her time with? You think you have some sort of authority over her? You threaten her job?”

“Knox!” Mia yells, this time pulling at my arm as I keep Leonard pinned against the wall.

I release the prick and take a step back.

He straightens himself and pulls at his rumpled shirt. He doesn’t say anything, but he gives Mia a scathing look and turns, scurrying away like the little weasel he is. I watch him until he rounds the corner, heading the same direction I came from.

“Jesus Christ, Knox. I had it handled,” Mia says.

I look at her and see the anger in her gaze is directed at me. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, I’m serious. I told you before to let me handle him. This isn’t something that’s going to be resolved with brute force. You putting your hands on him gives him ammunition. And until you did that, I had the upper hand.”

“Yeah? And what were you doing with it?”

“I was handling it!”

Mia turns toward the door and grabs the handle, throwing it open so she can stomp away. I follow her angry steps into what I can tell is her office. Her sweet scent surrounds me, and I see a couple pictures on her desk of her and her grandmother and another one of her, Lucy and Charlie, at a color run they did last year to raise money for the women’s shelter.

“You think you have everything handled all the time. That you’re the one who has to manage everything and everyone. Jesus, I do the bare minimum—which is stand up for you—and you jump down my throat about it. Mia, I never said you can’t take care of yourself, but I’m not going to stand back and allow that.”

“You can’t fight my battles for me.”

“Not all of them, no. But that one?” I point toward the door that leads outside. “I sure as shit can.”

“You don’t understand,” she shouts, holding her hands up in frustration.

“I understand better than anyone. You’re so in your head all the time about taking care of everything yourself because you don’t trust anyone else to do it. I understand that, for the entirety of your life, it’s been your responsibility. I also understand you don’t know what the hell to do with someone who wants to take that pressure off you. To be the person you can turn to. To take care of all the shit that’s been resting on your shoulders for far too long. I understand because I feel the same way about you. It’s fucking scary to allow another person to be the soft place for you to land and trust that they can deal with it. But I’m here, Mia.” I walk over to her and lean down, taking her cheeks in my palms. “No one is going to say those kinds of things to you and walk away unscathed. No one is going to make you feel inferior because you follow your heart. No one gets to tell you how to live your life. If I see it, I’m putting a stop to it. Period. No one is allowed to treat the person I love like that.”

Mia’s eyes widen, and her mouth parts on a gasp. “You love me?”

“Yeah, sweetheart. I do.”

I don’t wait for her to say it back. My lips find hers, and I kiss her with all the emotion swelling inside of me. I love this woman. Her soul, her heart, her unending loyalty and the kindness she shows to the people she cares about. I love every inch of her. It would be impossible to spend any amount of time with the woman in my arms and not fall for her.

Her arms clutch my waist as she pulls me closer, pressing her curves against me. When her hips begin moving as she rubs herself against me, trying to find purchase, I yank my mouth away and stare into her bright eyes.

“Don’t start something we can’t finish,” I say in a low whisper before moving my lips to the soft skin on her neck.

Mia lets out a groan, and my tongue reaches out to taste the skin below her ear as my teeth scrape her delicate earlobe.

When her fingernails scrape up the back of my neck and tangle in my hair, I decide fuck it —we’re going to finish this right here.

I grab her by the hips and turn her quickly to face her desk, taking her hands in mine and placing them in front of her.

“Stay,” I say as I walk to her office door and shut it, locking it for good measure. I doubt anyone will be coming to the library, but I like the added security that there’s no chance for anyone else to see my woman’s face when I make her come.

Mia’s hands rest on the desk, and I notice the tips of her fingers digging into the faux wood finish. A thought runs through my mind—her wrists tied in beautiful knots with a dark-blue rope that would look perfect against her fair skin. My cock pulses against my zipper. Then all thoughts escape me when I catch the way Mia’s eyes beg me to take care of the ache building inside both of us.

“I want to taste your perfect cunt, Mia, but my cock is feeling particularly greedy right now.” I rip the jeans she’s wearing down her legs and clasp the back of each of her thighs, gripping hard as my hands run up to her ass, where I squeeze the ample flesh there. I fucking love the way Mia’s ass bounces when I pound into her from behind. My lips connect with each smooth cheek.

“You’re teasing me,” Mia groans.

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, stop,” she pleads.

A dark chuckle escapes me as I run my hands under her shirt and over the taught muscles of her stomach that are tight with anticipation to the cups of her bra. Pulling the material under her breasts, my hands knead her perfect fucking tits while my fingers twist her already hardened nipples.

“You don’t have a say in that do you, sweetheart? The only thing I want you to do is try not to scream while I sink so far into you that when we leave this office, your jaw hurts from how hard you’ve had to clamp that pretty mouth shut.”

I grab my wallet from my pocket and pull out a condom, tossing the leather on the desk next to her. With shaky hands, I roll the condom over my stiff length. I’m so fucking excited to be inside her that the anticipation is strumming through me with each beat of my heart.

I line my cock up with her entrance, and when I sink into her, we both let out a groan as her head falls backward. The same intoxicating feeling that rushes through me every time I enter Mia is back in full force. It’s like coming home and feeling like I could explode at any second, coupled with the rightness of our connection, all rolled up into one.

My hips begin moving, and I thrust in and out of her at a fast pace with my hand around her throat. Not enough to cut off her air, but enough to hold her steady, to make her understand there is no escaping me—escaping us. We don’t have much time, but I need to feel her, to claim her as mine. To show her what that means. Sweat drips down my brow as I continue my furious pace, trying desperately to bring us both the release we crave. When I adjust my stance behind her, my cock finds the spot inside of her that has her crying out.

“Shh,” I say, leaning over her so my front is flush with her back. “You can’t scream, remember?”

I don’t stop. At this point, I don’t think I could—not even if the walls were caving in around us. Mia is mine, and every time I sink deep inside of her, I’m claiming her over and over.

“I’m going to come,” she says in a harsh whisper.

“I know.”

The walls of her pussy have begun fluttering around my hard cock. I feel the vibration of a hum in the back of her throat against my fingers, that telltale sign that she’s going to scream out her release. My hand moves to her mouth, and Mia lets out a cry into my palm, not as loud as usual when we’re at either of our houses and don’t run the risk of being overheard, but loud enough that it needs to be muffled.

Her pussy grips me like a fucking vice, and there’s no way I can hold back. With my forehead pressed against the back of her head, I release myself into the condom.

“You’re mine, Mia,” I whisper, still pumping into her, feeling wave after wave of her orgasm as I’m tumbling through mine. “Mine to take care of, mine to protect, and mine to love.”

“Yes, yes, yes,” she chants as we both ride out the last of our releases.

I’m still inside of her, my hands on either side of hers as I hold myself up as we try to catch our breaths. My face tangles in her hair, and I kiss the back of her head before pulling out. Her jeans are still around her ankles, so I bend and pull them up, putting her panties back in place before tugging the denim over her glorious ass.

Mia straightens and turns toward me as I find a tissue on her desk and pull the condom off, disposing of it in the trash can at the side of her desk.

“I love you too, you know,” she says while I’m putting my own pants back in place.

“I know.”

“Oh, really?” she asks with her hand on her hip.

“Baby, I can read you like an open book.” I swipe her hair away from her face and cup the side of her neck as I press myself against her. “And I’m so fucking happy you feel safe enough with me to finally admit it.”

I’m not sure she would’ve had I not said it first, but if she needed me to take the lead on that, then, of course, that’s what I’m going to do. No matter what, Mia comes first in every way, shape, and form—even if that means protecting her from her own insecurities.