Page 48 of Mountain Protector

His attention shifts to the road for a moment, but as soon as we pull to a stop at downtown’s lone traffic light, he turns to me again. “Are you sure?” His forehead creases. “Because if you’re not comfortable being out yet, we can go home.”

I put my hand over his. “No, I’m comfortable.”

He shoots me a skeptical look. “Then why did you go pale all of a sudden? And you got that little line”—he reaches over to trace a line between my eyebrows—“right there. You only get that when you’re nervous or worried.”

I’m not sure if I should be concerned Knox is noticing wrinkles on my face or touched that he’s so observant.

As the light changes and Knox accelerates through it, I admit, “I was thinking about… you know. Vinnetti. Just for a second.”

In profile, his jaw clenches, and the skin over his cheekbones pulls tight. He takes a deep breath and exhales it slowly. In a gentle tone, he says, “Lark, sweetheart. You didn’t do anything wrong. I promise.”

“I know.” But it doesn’t sound very convincing.

“Lark.”

“Okay. Rationally, I know. I believe you when you say it. I believe Enzo. And Officer Quillian. And my counselor.”

“Well, that should tell you something. If we all agree…”

“I know,” I repeat. “It’s just taking some time for my brain to accept it. That’s all.”

Knox threads his fingers between mine as he steers the car one-handedly. “Any time you need to talk, you know I’m here. Right?”

“Yes.” Flashing him a smile, I add brightly, “Now, I don’t want to talk about that anymore. We have a whole day planned, and I’m really excited about it.”

Signaling to turn right, Knox effortlessly turns the wheel without letting go of my hand. “Well, I’m excited about it, too.” He grins. “I think you’re really going to like this project we’re working on. You might even decide you want one in your own house.”

To start off our Saturday together, Knox is taking me to one of his job sites. It’s a house owned by a couple who winters in Florida, and the woman is a huge bibliophile. So Knox’s company is putting in a door made from a bookshelf, and it opens to a hidden library behind it, complete with custom-built shelves and a skylight. After that, we’re having brunch at Breakfast Bliss, doing some shopping downtown, and then heading to the theater to watch a showing of the originalMiracle on 34th Street.

So basically, the perfect day. And tonight we’ll go over to my place, which is thankfully all cleaned up and has a brand new security system installed, and we’ll spend the evening together. There will definitely be kissing, and while I’m not sure I’m ready to have sex with Knox yet, I’m eager to see what he looks like with fewer clothes on.

And I’m looking forward to having some of my questions answered. Like does he have a six-pack, or eight? Is his very muscly chest covered with dark hair, or just a dusting of fuzz? Does he have any tattoos? Scars? Freckles?

My core pulses with need just thinking about it.

And my nipples?—

Crap.

I’m wearing a sweater. There’s no way Knox can tell my nipples are hard through that. And he’s driving. His attention isn’t even on?—

“Songbird.” His voice is low. Rough. “What are you thinking about right now?”

“Oh.” My face goes hot. “Um. Nothing, really.”

Knox turns into a long driveway, slowing to a stop once he’s off the road. He turns to me, a smile quirking his lips. “Nothing, huh? Then why are you blushing?”

Yanking my coat across my chest, I reply, “I’m not.”

I totally am.

His eyebrows shoot up as his smile expands. “You seemed a bit… aroused.”

“Being red-haired isn’t fair,” I mutter.

“I don’t know.” His fingers brush across my cheek, cool against my heated skin. “I like it. You look so pretty when your cheeks are all pink. And if you were thinking about something interesting…”

“I was thinking about you naked.”

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