Page 77 of Whiskey Run Heroes

Knox’s eyebrows raise, and his eyes darken as he stares back at me. He nods and takes a bite. For a while, neither of us says a thing.

I’m in the middle of eating when I realize he’s not moving, he’s only staring at me. But he’s not staring at me; he’s staring atmy shoulder. I look down, and the oversized shirt is hanging off it.

“He did that to you?” he asks. He doesn’t even sound like himself. He’s staring intently at me. He saw the bruising earlier, but in this bright light it looks even worse.

I pull the shirt up to cover it. “He did.”

He drops the fork, and it clatters on his almost empty plate. He pushes himself back from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

He strides from the dining room, and I watch as he walks through the front of the house and out the door. My appetite is lost now, and I start to clean up. I’m almost done when I can feel a change in the room, and I know he’s behind me.

I turn to look at him. “I’m sorry for....”

He walks over to me and stops when he can reach out and put his finger over my lips. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”

I nod my head and pull my head back so I can talk. “Yes, I do. I shouldn’t have come here. It’s not fair that I didn’t want to endanger my family, and now, here I am doing the exact same thing to you. If I can just get some sleep, I’ll leave in the morning.”

He shakes his head. “You’re not leaving, Kali.” He flinches when he says it, so before I can argue with him, he explains himself. “I mean, I’m not holding you captive. That didn’t sound right, but Kali, I can’t let you go. I need to know you’re safe.”

“But...”

“Let me put something on these.” He reaches up and touches my bare shoulder. The bruising is sore, and there’s a few scratches that I know I should tend to.

“I can...”

He grabs on to my hand. “Let me.”

When all I can do is nod, he pulls me through the house toward his bedroom. His hand is large, rough, and wrappedtightly around mine. I try to commit the feeling to memory because in his hold, I feel safe. Safer than I have in a long time.

He stops in his bedroom and points to a chair. “Have a seat. I’ll be right back.”

He walks into the bathroom, and within seconds he’s right back, pulling up a chair in front of me.

He’s caring for my scratches and my bruises. It shouldn’t be intimate, but I can’t understand why my heart is racing in my chest. Or the way my body comes to life under his touch. My nipples are pebbled under his shirt, and I’m hoping he doesn’t notice, but I don’t know how he couldn’t.

It’s so confusing, and I can’t help wanting to explore the way he makes me feel. It’s the first time since I dated in high school that I’ve even wanted to explore any sort of romantic or sexual relationship with anyone.

But maybe it’s the fear that has me confused. It’s been a long and trying few days. I’ve definitely had a huge shock. Can I trust the way I’m feeling about Knox?

8

KNOX

She wants me. I can tell by the way her breath is coming out in little pants. The way her body flexes as I put the ointment on her skin. The way she can’t look me in the eyes. Her nipples are pebbled, poking against the soft material of my shirt she has on. She looks good wearing my shirt, almost too good. I want to take it off her and cover her naked body with my own. But I can’t.

“Kali...” I start softly, about to tell her that she needs to go back to her room and lock her door when my phone starts to ring.

I pull it out of my pocket and see Dylan’s name on the caller ID.

“Yeah,” I say into the phone, staring at Kali.

“We’re here.”

“Got it. Give me two minutes to disarm everything. Use your code for the gate.” I turn back to Kali as I hang up. “The guys are here.”

She nods and takes the first aid kit from me. “I’ll put this away.”

I reluctantly walk out of the room and go disarm the alarms. I no sooner do that than Dylan, Bear, Logan, Aiden, and John are all walking in. I take in the guys and know that Kali is probablygoing to be scared of them. She seems skittish, and I don’t want to do anything to upset her even more. “Try not to look so intimidating, guys.”

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