Page 125 of Knights Game

I squeeze my eyes shut, and he tilts my chin up to the side to see me fully.

“They don’t see your battles; they don’t see your struggles; they don’t see you dance when no one is watching. They don’t see your pain. But I see you. All of it, and all of you. Just like you see me, sunshine. The dark and the light.”

“Dark and light,” I whisper.

“I see you, Layla.” He kisses my lips gently.

And the moment feels perfect.

I feel so loved, and so settled, but I know this is just a moment. Because chaos is just around the corner, and can you really build a castle on a foundation made of sand?

41

Luca

We lie facing eachother on my huge master bed, our bellies full of Chinese food and our muscles relaxed from the long soak in the bath.

I want to bury myself in her all night, to feel me everywhere. I shouldn’t be here, I should be turning over every stone trying to work out who fucked me, but I don’t leave her.

For the first time ever I’m where I want to be, not where I’m supposed to be.

My phone is dead, my doors are locked, and right now nothing exists outside of this moment. I pull her dressing gown open, reaching to feel her soft skin.

“You’re insatiable.” She giggles and I kiss her.

“I can’t help it.”

She smiles against my lips, and my fingers trace her stomach, stopping at the scar.

“Will you tell me about this?”

She sucks a breath in through her teeth, her mouth stilling against mine and pulls back, her eyes sadden.

“When I lost my parents. I never thought I’d recover,” she admits, holding her hand on top of mine. “I barely have if I’m honest.”

I place a soft kiss on her nose. “I know what happened to you, Layla, you don’t have to tell me if it’s too painful. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“No. No it's fine. I mean you know from a piece of paper right. Did I ever rip you a new one for having a sodding file on me,”

I mouthmeand try to pull my best innocent face. “I was sixteen. We were driving back from Grandad’s. I remember the song that was playing on the radio. Mum was facing me. It all happened so quickly. One minute we were all laughing, the next.” She pauses, wincing. “A car swerved into our lane. A man had fallen asleep behind the wheel. My dad, he tried to control the car, but the speed and force propelled us into the central reservation. They were killed instantly. I survived. This—” She moves my hand along the length of the jagged scar. Her stomach tensing at the sensitive tissue that has been knitted back together. “This is where they removed an eight-inch piece of bent metal.”

I lower my head to kiss the scar. “Do you remember it?”

“I just remember waking up and seeing them.” I pull her closer, wrapping her in my arms. “I can barely remember their faces,” she says, and I wipe away her tears. “But I remember seeing their broken bodies and I remember that godforsaken music that was playing on the radio. Even now when I close my eyes, I can see it, I can hear it. But I can’t remember their faces. Not anymore.”

“I’m sorry,” I say kissing her head, and she pulls back. Her bright blue eyes are full of emotion. “That’s what made you want to be a doctor.”

She nods. “The first responders that day, the firemen who cut me out of the car, the paramedics that held my hand. They were amazing.”

“It’s not an easy job, but I can understand why it’s important. Why you have that drive to be one.”

“It would be hard, but I’ve always wanted it, it's like it's my calling. It’s what I was meant to do. But now I don’t let people in because I don’t think my heart can take anymore. The accident, grandad, struggling to pay bills. Katy once said I’m not living, I’m just dying slowly.” She sniffs and reaches out to touch my chest, pulling at the hairs there. “Everything can change so quickly,” She muses, I roll her onto my chest, and she smiles, repositioning herself. “A heartbeat, a decision, a second. Then wham, everything can change.”

Stillness settles between us, both lost in our own thoughts. Her thinking of her parents, me thinking about how that decision to save us was probably one of the best and worst she has ever made. “Do you believe in fate?” She asks.

I’m quiet, letting her question wash over me as she moves against me. I hold back a groan. “You keep fidgeting and I’m going to bury myself in you, again,” I say as my cock hardens, and the little minx wiggles. I grip her hip and hold back my smile. “But no, I don’t believe in fate. People use fate as an excuse for when they lose control. I’m a firm believer that your thoughts, your choices, put you on your path. It’s nothing to do with fate. People use fate to find reason in the unreasonable.”

“What about karma?”

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