Page 22

Chapter Twelve

C orie

I’ve never been kissed like this.

Knox is gripping my thighs, my back is pressed against the house, and his mouth is hot and insistent with every stroke of his tongue against mine. It’s pure bliss, and I need more. I rock my hips against his hard length, and he groans. I do it again and again because I want more.

I need more.

I’m not this girl. I’ve never been one to be so bold as to demand what I want. In fact, I’ve never wanted anything as badly as I do his kiss. Now that I’ve experienced it, he’s not the only one who can’t go back.

That complicates things, but I can’t think about that right now. This might be it. He might tell me no more and walk away, regardless of his claims that he won’t be able to. I’m taking the whole experience. I’m not stopping until he does. I’d be perfectly fine if we never did.

Eventually, he eases the kiss and presses his forehead against mine. Our breathing is labored, and my heart feels as though it could beat right out of my chest. He makes no move to place me back on my feet, and for that, I’m grateful. I’m not so sure I could stand on my own just yet.

Finally, he speaks. “He’s going to kill me,” he rasps.

“Then don’t tell him.”

Knox lifts his head. “What are you thinking in that beautiful head of yours?”

“We don’t know what this is, right? It could be fleeting, and telling him would cause more harm than good.”

“So, we, what, sneak kisses when we can? I don’t know if that’s enough for me, Corie.”

“I don’t know. I don’t have the answers.”

He studies me for several seconds. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”

Closing my eyes, I rest my head against the house and tell him what’s floating through my mind.

“I’m thinking that I’ve never been kissed like that.

If I were allowed more of those kisses and more of you, I wouldn’t hesitate to take them.

I’m thinking that this is new, whatever this is, and it could fizzle after a few more kisses, and telling Landry or anyone else could ruin a lot of things.

Friendships and careers are on the line.

Maybe it’s something that’s just between us.

” I open my eyes as I finish my speech to find the intensity of his gaze locked on me.

“For how long?” he asks, his voice gruff.

“I don’t know. Until we’re done.”

“What if we’re never done?” he counters.

I shrug again. “Then, we cross that bridge when we get there. Your life is hectic, and I’m starting a new job. Neither of us has the time or energy to put into something serious. I say we lay low and play it by ear.”

“You’re telling me we steal kisses when no one else is looking?” There’s an edge of disbelief in his tone.

“Something like that.” I smile up at him.

“We’re playing with fire, Corie girl.”

“We both have our eyes wide open. We won’t get burned.”

He leans in close. “Having more of your kisses is worth the scar of the burn.” He takes my mouth yet again, and I moan into the kiss.

It’s fast and demanding, and he's pulling away again before I can catch my bearings. “We’ve been gone too long. Go inside and go out the back door. I’m going to handle this”—he places me on my feet and nods to his hard length—“and get changed. I’ll be out in a few. ”

“So… kisses?”

“All of my kisses are yours, Corie, until you tell me you no longer want them.”

“Careful, Beckett,” I tease. “I might take them all until the end of time.”

He nods, pecks my lips one more time, and takes a step back, putting some much-needed distance between us. “They’re yours,” he says, before turning and walking back around the house.

With a deep inhale, I rush to the front porch, slip inside, and head to the bathroom just off the kitchen. I hear the patio door open, and Landry calls out for me.

“Corie!”

“Hold on!” I call back. I flush the toilet, even though I didn’t use it, and wash my hands before pulling open the door. “What?” I call back.

Landry’s standing at the kitchen island. “I thought you got lost. Did Knox leave?”

“I don’t think so. I walked him to his truck and left to come use the bathroom.”

“You okay?” He furrows his brow. “Your face is a little flushed.”

“I’m good. Something didn’t agree with me.” I place my hand over my belly to, hopefully, pull off the lie.

“You need anything?”

“Nah, I’m good. Thank you, big brother.” Guilt washes over me for lying to him, but I push it down, telling myself it’s a few harmless kisses. We’re both adults. We can make these choices without my brother or anyone else knowing or sharing their thoughts about our decision.

The front door opens, and Knox walks in. His hair is mussed, and he looks sexy as hell. I can feel my face heat, knowing what we just shared and what we agreed to in the dark shadows of my brother's yard.

“What took you so long?” Landry asks him.

“Everly called about wedding planning,” he says, not missing a beat. “I sat in my truck and talked to her for a few minutes.”

“How’s that going?” he asks.

“Good. She’s got it all under control. I think she uses the wedding as an excuse to call and check on me. I might be two years older than her, but she treats me as if I’m ten years younger.”

“She just worries about you,” I tell him. His eyes finally find mine, and he gives me a soft smile.

“She’s right. She would know a little something about that,” Landry teases, tossing his arm over my shoulders.

“Well, you better get changed and hurry up. The guys were ready to send a search party,” Landry teases. He pulls me a little closer. “The things we do for our little sisters.” He kisses my cheek and turns us as we make our way back outside.

I make a beeline for the loungers off to the far side of the pool and take up residence.

I spot Sloane on the other side, and she casually strolls over to sit beside me.

The guys are laughing and horsing around as Landry jumps into the water, making a huge splash.

A few minutes later, Knox walks out of the house and does the same, yelling, “Cannonball!” as he barrels into the pool, ensuring everyone gets soaked in the process.

Everyone except Sloane and me. We’re sitting too far away to be heard or to get wet, which is by design. She’s been quiet, but I know she’s dying to ask questions.

“Are we going to sit in silence all night, or are you going to tell me what happened?”

“When?” I don’t turn to look at her, or I’ll crumble and spill all—not that I won’t anyway—but I need to make her work for it.

“Corie!” she scolds quietly, so as not to be heard.

“Fine, but you can’t get all excited. This needs to appear to be a normal, non-exciting conversation. If you can’t handle that, we’ll wait until they’re all gone. You also need to keep this between us. No one can know about this. No one.”

“I can handle it,” she assures me. “And I’m your vault, bestie. You know I’ve got you.” She reaches over and squeezes my arm.

“We kissed.”

“I know that.”

“No, I mean we kissed again.” It feels off calling it a simple kiss because it was more like an avalanche of lust and desire rolling through my body.

Her eyes widen, and I give her a quick rundown of what happened and what I proposed.

It’s still hard for me to believe that I’m doing this. There is so much on the line.

“As long as we’re smart about it, for however long whatever this is lasts, it will be fine.” I’m not sure if the words are for her or me. I’m pretty sure I’m saying them for both of us.

“Two things: first, get it, girl.” She winks. “And the second, Corie, are you sure this is a good idea?”

“No. No, I’m not sure this is a good idea. What I do know is that I’ve never felt this way. I’ve never craved a touch, a kiss, or hell, just being in a man’s presence.”

“Do you think it’s just your crush from all those years ago?”

“At first, I did think that, but this is different, Sloane. I can’t explain it, but it is.”

“I’m worried you’re going to get your heart crushed. Not just, hey, this jackass cheated on me, and I’m mad about it, but broken into a million tiny pieces that you might not ever be able to put back together.”

I laugh humorlessly, “Oh, that’s going to happen,” I tell her. “He’s too magnetic. He’s too… everything.”

“You do realize you’re with most of the world’s dream guy, right?” She chuckles.

“Yeah, but they’ll never know it. He’s going to wise up and realize he wants more than his best friend’s little sister. I’m just along for the ride until he does.”

“You’re more than that,” Sloane says, her voice hard. “Stop letting what that jackass Conner did to you dictate how you see yourself. He was a loser you didn’t even care about. Not really. Sure, you liked the guy, but that’s as far as it went, unless there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“No. I mean, he was nice enough, and it was nice to have someone who was connected to all of this”—I wave my hands in the air at the house—“world. It was the idea of him that had me agreeing to date him, not the man himself. Although he’s an asshole, he is easy on the eyes.

” I try to lighten the heaviness of the conversation.

Besides, it’s true if you like the look of a GQ model.

“Sure, I’ll give him that, but that man has nothing on the five of them.” She nods toward the pool.

“Nope,” I agree. Sloane is right. Millions of women would give anything to be in our position at this very moment.

“Um, Reid, bud, you’re dripping all over me,” Sloane says with a laugh.

I turn to look, but a shadow falls over me, and then a drop of water. Looking up, I see a smiling Knox standing above me. “What are you doing, Beckett?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer. Sloane squeals with laughter, but I can’t look at her. I can’t tear my eyes away from Knox as he bends down and grips my hips, tossing me over his shoulder. Lifting my head, I see Reid racing off toward the pool, and he jumps in with Sloane in his arms.

I smack Knox’s ass, fighting him like I’m supposed to, but let’s be honest here, I don’t want him to put me down.