Page 5 of Reckless Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 7)

Brianna would be ashamed of me right now.

“Are you okay?”

Sucking in a deep breath, I mentally pull on my big girl pants, square my shoulders, and try to own the fact that I look like a fucking mess.

“Yeah, of course. It’s good to see you.” I force a smile onto my face, and he stares at me like I’ve just grown a second head before his eyes drop to the ice cream and then lower, taking in my leggings and Ugg boots.

Christ, could I look any more pathetic right now? At least he can’t see that I’m not wearing a bra.

Reaching out, he tugs the ice cream from my hands, much to my irritation, and throws it back into the freezer.

“What the hell are you doing?” I ask, sounding embarrassingly horrified by his actions.

“Come on, Demon.” He winks, taking my cold hand in his “We can do better than that.”

Too shocked to do anything, I let him tug me away from the freezer section, looking back and mourning the loss of my ice cream.

The second we’re outside, he pulls me into his side and wraps his arm around my shoulder.

If it were any other night or any other guy, I’d probably fight it. But with him, I quickly find that I don’t want to be anywhere else but surrounded by his warmth and familiar scent.

“So, what are we being depressed about? Some dickhead make the stupid mistake of dumping you or something?”

Risking a glance over at him, I find an arrogant smirk tugging at his lips.

“So you think I’m the kind of girl who’d have spent the night with you despite having a boyfriend?”

Thankfully, his smile slips.

“I ain’t one to judge, Demon.”

I blow out a long breath. “My stepdad died,” I blurt.

Toby’s step falters. “Oh, shit… I, uh…”

“Don’t say it,” I snap. “It wasn’t your fault, so why apologise for it?”

“I wasn’t going to.”

He turns us down the next street and I happily follow, just like I did the last time he took me somewhere.

Something stirs within me, a twisted desire to repeat that night. To lose myself in the intensity of this guy beside me.

“Where are we going?” I ask when he continues down the road before stopping at a really fancy BMW. The lights immediately come on, making it look like some kind of spaceship.

“This is not your car?” I gasp in shock. Although, when I think about it, it makes a lot of sense. He walked us into Hades as if it was any normal kind of club, so it stands to reason that this guy has more money than sense.

He smiles at me and actually looks a little embarrassed.

“It was a gift,” he explains.

“Wow, someone clearly loves you.”

He scoffs, although quickly covers it with a cough before agreeing. “Yeah, something like that.”

Pulling the passenger door open, he gestures for me to get in.

“I’m not sure I’m dressed for a trip in this.”