Page 42 of Reckless Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 7)

Tipping the bottle to his lips, I watch the muscles of his neck pull and stretch as he swallows.

Hmm. Delicious indeed.

“It could be worse,” he confesses, taking another sip.

I roll my eyes at him, and the smile I get in return would knock me on my arse if I weren’t already on it.

“So… what now?” I ask almost nervously. I hate that I sound unsure. I’m not usually like this with guys, but then I guess those guys aren’t Toby, and they usually are just only one night. We’re currently on night two and everything is changing between us.

Yes, I’m still sitting here practically panting for him to take me again, but there’s so much more than that.

Just looking at him makes something settle inside me. His touch has the power to burn me right down to my soul. And when we’re together, nothing else in the world exists. It’s—he’s—exactly what I need right now.

“Now,” he growls, placing his bottle down by mine and turning to me with a hungry and downright filthy look in his eyes which makes my heart gallop in my chest.

He rises up and looms over me, making me feel like a tiny mouse about to be captured by the big bad hunter.

Grabbing my calves, he tugs me down the sofa, my towel barely holding on as I move, before falling over me.

“Now,” he repeats, his nose—and more importantly, his lips—only a breath from mine. “Nothing.”

He drops down beside me, squishing his large frame between me and the back of the sofa, and I let out a shocked and disappointed laugh.

“Baby,” he sighs. “I know what you’re doing. And while I might be more than happy to oblige, I also know something you need more than sex.”

“Not possible,” I sulk.

“When was the last time you slept properly?” he asks, and my entire body tenses up as I try to come up with an answer. “Exactly,” he whispers, the rush of his breath against my neck making my entire body shudder. “I could spend all night doing a million and one things to you, making you forget your goddamn name, but I won’t.”

“Why?” The word comes out needy as I try to bite back my pleas for him to do exactly as he described.

I stare into his dark blue eyes as I wait for his response. His fingers tickle as he wraps his hand around the back of my neck, pressing his brow to mine and anchoring us together.

“One, because I want you to be able to walk tomorrow. I have plans to take you out for breakfast.”

“Oh,” I gasp. This thing really isn’t just a one-night stand for him either, is it?

Hope foolishly begins to soar within me as I consider that this may actually be the start of something good after all the shit that’s been thrown at me recently.

“And two, you need to sleep.” His lips find mine before I have a chance to argue, and he kisses me until my toes curl. My hands roam around his insane body beneath the blanket he pulled over us, and I shamelessly tug the towel from him so I can reach around and grab his arse. His cock rubs hungrily against my thigh, but he never tries for more as his own hands roam, branding himself on my skin.

* * *

Hushed voices somewhere close fill my ears as I begin to rouse from sleep.

Reaching out, I mindlessly search for Toby without opening my eyes. My last memory from our night together was having my limbs tangled with his and his lips on mine.

Perfect.

“What?” a familiar voice gasps. “We were not that loud.”

“Wanna tell that to your neighbour who came to knock? She thought you were being maimed in your sleep,” a deep voice rumbles, one that makes a wide smile spread across my lips.

“Well, she was. Her neck is nothing, you should see her ti—”

“I’m good,” Toby says, and Bri squeals as if Nico was actually going to show off the mess he’s made of her chest.

“Bro, you can criticise all you fucking like, but don’t think we didn’t hear you both in the shower,” Nico starts.