Page 15

CHAPTER 15

LARK

“Do you know just how gorgeous you are?”

Knox gazes at me, his blue eyes stormy with desire. “I thought I knew. But seeing you like this”—he trails his fingers across my collarbone—“bared to me, with your silky skin and these incredible freckles all over… just covered with bits of lace… songbird. You’re breathtaking .”

My skin tingles from the brush of his work-roughened fingers against my skin. Need builds at my core, an insistent ache demanding to be filled. Slightly breathlessly, I ask, “You like my freckles?”

His lips curve up. “Lark. I more than like them. I love them.”

If only my teenaged self had known. The bane of my existence, the persistent spots that popped up at even the mention of sun, the exact opposite of the golden tan I wished I had as a teen—and this incredible man loves them. Thinks they’re incredible .

“I meant it when I said I’m kissing every last one of them,” Knox continues, his gaze heating as it sweeps over my body. Then he lowers his lips to my shoulder, feathering light kisses across my skin.

“There are a lot of—” As his lips move to a tiny freckle at the base of my neck, I suck in a breath. Sizzles of electricity surge through my body.

“Good. I want to take my time.”

Oh. He’s using that growly voice again.

I never realized a man’s voice could be this sexy.

“I love these freckles, especially,” Knox says—growls—and presses his lips to the tiny cluster of them on the swell of my breast. “They look like a little heart.”

His big hands frame my waist, pulling me even closer to him, so I can feel his arousal jutting against my belly.

The lace between my thighs goes damp.

Breathing is a forgotten thought as he kisses his way across my chest, each one soft but sensual, setting my already sensitized skin on fire.

I want to touch Knox, to unfasten his pants and free his arousal straining against them. See what it looks like for real instead of in my imagination. But I’m frozen. My muscles are on strike. All I can do is stand here, feeling more treasured and desired than I ever have, hardly believing this wonderful man is mine.

That he wants me. That he thinks I’m gorgeous. That he might even feel the same way I do about him.

Then he drops to his knees and presses his lips to the little tattoo on my hip. His tongue swirls across it, leaving a searing brand behind. When he lifts his head, he looks up at me as amusement glitters in his eyes. “A sprig of holly?”

Just as I start to answer, his fingers brush the underside of my breast.

My womb clenches. My nipples go hard. Taking a full breath seems an impossibility.

“I was eighteen,” I finally manage. “Freshman year of college. Kate wanted to?—”

Oh.

He palms my breast, his thumb brushing across my nipple. I arch toward him, and a tiny moan falls from my lips.

“The tattoo?”

“Right.” But it’s hard to think amid this flood of sensation. Amid this tsunami of need. “Kate. She wouldn’t go alone. So I?—”

Knox takes my nipple into his mouth, sucking and laving through the layer of lace.

My mind goes blank.

This is… oh. So?—

A moment later, he releases my nipple with a little pop. A wicked smile quirks his lips. “And what about the tattoo?”

Forcing myself to focus, I say, “I promised I’d go with her. I didn’t plan to actually get one, but she convinced me. It was just before Christmas and she suggested to pick something that was meaningful. So… I picked this.”

“I like it. It fits you.” His smile fades and he looks at me seriously. “Happy. Bright. It represents something people love. Something special.” A beat, and then gruffly, “You are special, Lark. The most special and amazing woman—no, person—I’ve ever met.”

“Knox.” My throat goes thick. “I’m not that?—”

“You are.” Something flickers across his face, an emotion gone too quickly for me to read. “You’re beyond special, songbird. You’re perfect.”

Oh.

OH.

I almost blurt it out. Right here. Right now.

I love you.

But if he’s not ready to say it yet, I don’t want to ruin this incredible moment. And I want to make love to Knox more than anything. I want to feel his naked body against mine. Kiss him all over. Feel him inside me, thick and hard, first moving slowly, and then crescendoing to a frenzied joining. I want this connection with him.

“I want to see you,” I announce, finally breaking free of my paralysis to reach for his waistband. “You’re dressed and I’m not. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“But I’m not done kissing you,” he replies, his lips lifting again.

“Well, you can finish when we’re both naked. That seems like a good solution.”

“I suppose so. But—” He stands and walks over to the couch, plucking a fluffy throw off the back of it. When he comes back to me, he lays it out on the floor, just in front of the tree. “This is part of your fantasy, right? For us to make love in front of the tree?”

My mind sticks for a second on the making love part of his question .

Does he?

But he’s still looking at me with a question in his eyes, so I quickly reply, “Yes. This is one of my fantasies.”

“Oh, sweetheart.” Knox starts unbuttoning his shirt. “I can’t wait to hear the rest of them.”

“And yours, too,” I add, as I push his hands aside and take over, letting my fingers brush across his skin as it’s revealed. “I want to know what you want.”

“This.” Desire heats his gaze. “This is what I’ve dreamed about over and over. You. Sharing yourself with me. Trusting me.”

“I do. I trust you with everything.”

Even my heart.

“Songbird.” Emotion roughens his voice. “You have no idea how lucky I feel right now. How thankful I am to have met you.”

“Yes, I do.” Framing his face with my hands, I pull his head down to kiss him. “Because I feel the same way.”

And I do.

I feel so lucky.

So thankful.

That somehow the stars aligned and allowed me to meet this man. A man who’s kind and gentle, but can be brave and protective when he needs to be. A man who will do anything for me. A man who makes my heart beat faster, makes my body sing, who brings a smile to my face every time I’m with him.

A man I’ve fallen in love with.

And as a bonus, he’s pretty darn great to look at, too.

Actually.

Who am I kidding? He’s gorgeous .

I already thought Knox was the most handsome man I’ve ever seen. But now that I’m seeing his naked body on full display?

His broad chest is thick with muscle, his golden skin covered with a fine dusting of dark hair that trails down below his waist. The question of whether he has a six-pack or eight is answered—it’s neither, the hard planes and ridges on his abdomen add up to at least ten, which I didn’t even think was possible until now.

Strong legs display even more muscles; not giant, bulging ones gained from hours lifting weights, but from the cross-training and manual labor Knox does every day.

And oh, my. I’ve felt Knox’s hard length when I’ve sat on his lap or had it pressed against my belly, but that clearly wasn’t a good gauge of its size. I should have thought—he’s six-two, easily twice my weight—that he’d be that big, but clearly, imagining isn’t the same as seeing.

“Don’t worry,” Knox says as he catches me eyeing his arousal with slight alarm. “I’ll make sure you’re ready, Lark. I plan to make you come at least twice before I even think about being inside you.”

What?

“Twice?”

Not to bring past relationships into this, but in my few previous ones, I was lucky to finish once.

He closes the distance between us and deftly removes my bra, then slides my bikinis down my hips. “Is twice not enough?” Pausing, he adds with a tiny frown, “You’re right. What was I thinking? Three times at least. Maybe four. ”

In a choked voice, I reply, “Oh. Twice is fine.”

“Oh, no.” A determined expression moves across his handsome features. “Fine won’t do. This is our first time making love, Lark. I want to make absolutely sure you enjoy it.”

And he does.

First, sweeping me into his arms— oh, swoon —and carefully laying me out on the blanket. Then keeping true to his promise and kissing me all over. Not a freckle is left unnoticed, and by the time he’s done, it’s all I can do not to leap on him and demand he has sex with me right now .

But Knox wasn’t kidding about the at least three times thing.

He uses his fingers to bring me to the first peak, the drag of his lightly calloused skin against my inner walls the most delicious, sensual feeling.

Then he kneels between my legs, draping them over his shoulders as he works his magic, the combination of his tongue and fingers flinging me over the precipice so much faster than I could have anticipated. I thought I was too sensitive from the first time, but within minutes I’m moaning, making sounds I’m fairly certain I never have before.

After that, I sit up and push Knox to the floor. Straddling him, I use my hands and mouth to take him right to the brink. It’s the sexiest thing, watching his features go taut with pleasure, his hands fisting as he tries to hold back the impending release. And when he looks at me… it’s not just with desire, but a depth of emotion that means so much more than words.

“Lark, sweetheart.” On a groan, Knox gently pushes me away, adding, “As wonderful as that is, the first time we’re together, I’m finishing inside of you.”

“Okay.” Every inch of my body is on fire for him. “Then let’s do that. Now. Please.”

“But it’s only been twice,” he starts.

“Knox.” My voice turns to a throaty purr. “I don’t care about how many times. I want you inside me. Now.”

The corner of his mouth lifts. “Well. If that’s what you want.”

I move, positioning myself above him, close enough to feel him nudging at my core. “It is. I want you.”

“Anything for you,” he replies. “You just tell me what you want, and I’ll do it.”

Holding him steady, I sink down, taking him slowly inside me.

He’s big and I’m tight, but Knox was right. I am ready. And once we’re finally joined, we’re a perfect fit.

“Songbird.” His jaw clenches. Both hands come to my hips. “You feel so damn amazing. No. Not amazing. Perfect.”

It’s all perfect.

Moving together slowly at first, a tender connection, trading kisses and soft looks and gentle caresses.

Then it’s more intense, our bodies colliding in a frenzy of need, our gazes dark and hot and filled with desire.

Ecstasy coils inside me, a balloon ready to burst. Every time Knox lifts me and pulls me back down on top of him, I’m brought maddeningly closer to that final explosion .

And then, in a move so freaking sexy I can barely stand it, Knox rolls us over and brings my legs up, tilting my hips so he can sink impossibly deeper. He rubs my sensitive bud as he hits a spot deep inside me, and oh, my?—

It’s not just an explosion. It’s a supernova. A galaxy bursting to life.

Everything goes blank for a few seconds—or hours, I’m not sure—while my body shudders with ecstasy. Knox plunges into me once more and stiffens, pulsing thick and hard inside me. He groans, and through my half-lidded eyes, I watch the pleasure wash over his face.

And in his eyes, I see the truth of how he feels about me.

Any hesitation I had disappears in an instant.

Still joined, Knox rolls us back over so I’m draped across him. We’re both breathing hard as the aftershocks ripple through our bodies. He strokes my hair and presses his lips to the top of my head.

We just lie here, glued together, as our hearts settle into the same rhythm.

“Lark,” he murmurs, his breath feathering across my hair. “That was incredible. I knew it would be, but?—”

“I love you.”

Oops. I didn’t mean to blurt it out quite like that.

His hand stills midway down my back. “Lark?”

Lifting my head so I can meet his gaze, I swallow back my nerves and say, “I know. Maybe it’s too soon to say it. And if you don’t feel the same way, it’s okay. I just… I didn’t mean to blurt it out like that, but the feeling is so big inside me and?— ”

“Songbird.” Knox rolls us over so we’re facing each other. His hand comes to my cheek, the touch feather-light. “It’s not too soon.”

“It’s not?”

“No. I’ve been trying to figure out when to tell you, too.”

My heart leaps. “To tell me…”

His eyes soften. “I love you, too. And I don’t care about the timing. I spent thirty-eight years never knowing what it really felt like. To be in love. Now I do.”

“Oh, Knox.” I push a lock of hair away from his forehead. “I’ve never felt this way, either.”

“It’s funny. When my friends would talk about falling in love. I was happy for them, of course. And I thought it sounded really nice. But foreign. I love my teammates, I mean, and Tom, but…” Pausing, his brow wrinkles in thought. “This is different. The other love, it’s… comfortable. But with you, it’s more than that. It’s fierce. All-consuming.”

“I know what you mean. It feels like… you’re my heart. And there’s just this… certainty that you’d never hurt me. And I’d do anything rather than hurt you.”

“Sweetheart.” Knox wraps an arm around me, hugging me to his chest. “I would die before I hurt you.”

As he looks at me with absolute truth in his eyes, I admit, “I was scared. To let you in. All those times you’d come over to help around the house, or we’d have dinner together, I felt something for you. But I was terrified of being hurt again.”

His jaw tightens. “What do you mean? Who hurt you? ”

“It’s not important no?—”

“Lark. Please.”

A tiny shiver runs through me, and Knox pulls the blanket around us so we’re like a burrito. “Some people in the past,” I explain. “But I don’t want to talk about them when we just had?—”

In an achingly tender voice, he says, “I want to know everything about you. There’s no bad time to tell me.”

“Some of the guys I dated—” I stop to amend, “There haven’t been many. At all. Just two that were anything serious. One in college, and then about a year and a half ago. Which sounds pretty sad, really.”

“It doesn’t.” Knox holds my gaze. “I’ve never dated anyone for more than a few months. With the Army, it was too hard. And I just never met… Well. No one was like you.”

Aww.

“The guy in college broke up with me when I finally told him I couldn’t have kids. He said he wanted a family, and he wanted to have it be… normal. That’s what he said.”

A low growl rumbles in Knox’s chest.

“Anyway,” I hurry on, ready for this conversation to be over. “We were young. And we weren’t meant to be together. So it was okay.”

“That’s not okay.”

“The second guy stayed with me after I told him, but he made me feel terrible about it. Like I was broken. He’d insinuate that I’d never find anyone else who’d be willing to deal with my issues. That I was lucky to have him. ”

“The fuck?” Anger flares in his eyes. “You’re not broken. You’re amazing, Lark. Any man?—”

“I know I’m not broken. But it took me a while to realize that. To realize he was just an asshole. Once I did, I broke up with him.”

“Good. He didn’t deserve you.”

“He didn’t,” I agree. “And looking back, I’m glad he was such a jerk. Because now I know what actual love is. With you.”

“Did you think I wouldn’t want to be with you if I knew?”

“In the beginning, I was afraid of it. It sounds so cowardly, when I say it. But I have been. A coward. It’s why I focused on my career and working my way up in my dad’s company. It was something I could control.”

Knox stares at me for a few seconds. “If you could do anything, what would it be?”

Well. Here we are. Jumping into the thick of it. And I certainly never intended to get this deep tonight, especially right after mind blowing sex.

“I didn’t mean to make this into a whole thing. We just had sex?—”

“Made love,” he corrects. “And if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay.”

How can I not, though? When Knox has been so open with me? When we just connected as closely as two people can?

“I don’t mind my job. But… if I could do anything, I’d… I’d like to have a family. I could do financial advising part-time from home for extra money; it pays pretty well. But my dream has always been… to be a mom. I think I’d be good at it. ”

“Oh, Lark.” His lips press to my forehead. “You would be an incredible mom. And I know it’s probably too soon to say this, but I love you. And I see a future with you. If I’m lucky enough for you to not get sick of me?—”

“I won’t.”

“Well.” A quirked smile appears. “I hope you don’t. But if we get to that point, I’m on board. There are lots of ways to have kids. It doesn’t matter how to me. And between my company, my savings from the Army, and my pay from GMG, I do pretty well. So if you wanted to stay home, that would be fine with me.”

Emotion wells up in my chest. “Knox.”

“I mean it, Lark. I love you. And I want you to be happy.”

Blinking against the threatening tears, I say, “I am happy. Right now, in your arms, I’m so happy.”

“So am I.” Closing the inches between us, he kisses me. Then he unrolls us from the blanket and tucks it back around me before lifting me bridal-style into his arms.

“It’s really sexy when you do that,” I comment as he carries me over to the couch. “It makes me think of one of my other fantasies.”

“Oh?” His brows lift. “What’s that?”

“Well, you would rescue me, and carry me to the bedroom, all growly and protective.”

He grins. “I can do that.” Settling me onto the couch, he says, “Later, we can definitely try that. But now… I want to finish our date. Watch that movie. Feed you dessert. And give you the present I’ve been hanging onto all night. ”

Knox grabs his suit jacket off the chair and reaches into the inside pocket. When he gets back to the couch, he sits beside me and unfurls his hand. Resting on his palm is a tiny golden bird hanging from a delicate necklace.

“It’s a lark,” he explains. “I know it’s hard to tell since it’s all in gold. But it has those little horns. Not real horns, of course. But when I looked them up, I thought it was kind of cool. Distinctive.”

“It’s so pretty.” As I finger the bird, Knox adds, “I wanted to get you something special. But this also… well, if you don’t like it, I can have a new one made.”

“What wouldn’t I like?”

“There’s a tracker in it. So if anything ever happened—not that I think it will—but I could find you. All the guys at Blade and Arrow have them, their partners, too. And we had rings made for our team that work the same way.” He points to a tiny raised dot on the tail of the bird. “You can press it and we’ll be alerted. So we’ll know you’re in trouble. And I—well, me and my team—will get to you right away.”

“Oh, wow.” I lift the necklace up to inspect it more closely. “That’s amazing.”

“I would never check on your location unless you were in trouble, Lark.” Tiny lines of worry etch across his forehead. “I wouldn’t invade your privacy like that. I just thought… you might feel safer with it. And selfishly, I would, too.”

Holding the necklace out to Knox, I say, “I know you wouldn’t. And I think it’s a great idea. Can you put it on for me?”

“Of course. ”

Once the necklace is fastened, I look down at the tiny bird—lark—resting on my collarbone. Then I raise my head to meet Knox’s gaze. “I love it. And I’ll feel much safer. Knowing you’ll be there to protect me.”

“Songbird.” His features soften. “I promise. I will always protect you.”