Page 58 of Buried Beneath Sin

At this, Knox's face lights up, all traces of his annoyance vanishing. His bright grin is devastatingly handsome. It's one of the things that attracted me to him in the first place. Though gaining my attention while I'm on a hunt is never a good thing. Unfortunately for Knox, he found that out the hard way.

“Don't worry, I already have the kitchen of my dreams designed up in here.” He taps the side of his temple with the end of the spatula. “I'll draw it up and we can get to it right away.”

My chuckle is soft as I prowl over and come up behind him. “Why do I have a feeling this renovation is going to cost me an arm and a leg?”

Knox's body shakes hard as he laughs. I can feel it as my hands land on his hips and I drag him back into my body. I don’t completely close the distance between us. As much as I ache to, I know what that would do to Knox. And while I enjoy his screams, tonight I just want to celebrate our win.

“Interesting choice in words,” he purrs with amusement.

I glance at the dinner he's prepared. The meaty lasagna smells and looks delicious. Then again, there isn’t a meal that Knox doesn’t go all out for when he gets the chance to cook. However, the better looking meals usually host a dark surprise. Given his comment, I have a feeling tonight is one of those nights.

“Which one is it? An arm or a leg?”

Knox's body trembles with his soft snicker. “Neither.”

I dip my face so that I can skim my lips up his neck. Knox shivers.

“Whatever it is, I will enjoy it. I always do,” I murmur. With a heavy sigh, I let him go. “Where's my sweet little stepsister?”

Knox laughs loudly. “Can you call someone sweet if they can stand there and watch someone get cooked?”

“It makes them the sweetest,” I assure him and laugh softly as he looks over his shoulder to flash me a grin.

As I start to step away, the young woman in question walks into the room.

She hasn't changed from her black, fashion-forward romper yet. It shows off the lovely silhouette of her curvy frame, hiding all skin yet leaving little to the imagination of what's beneathit. The two plaits in her hair have become a bit frizzy, and the makeup she wore earlier has been wiped away. Still, she’s beautiful. Maybe even more so now that she belongs to us.

In her presence, the world shifts violently. I don’t realize I’ve been viewing the world around me on a tilted axis until it straightens. When I told Knox she was the final piece of the puzzle, I hadn’t been exaggerating. Her presence causes my wayward soul to finally settle. With Knox and Beatrix sharing this life with Sagan and I, I know my life couldn’t possibly be fuller.

“Knox, I forgot I'd hidden this under the floorboard to keep Mom from selling it. It’s my grandmother’s. Do you want—oh!” She looks up from the small emerald-green velvet box in her hand and freezes just inside the kitchen when her gaze lands on me.

I watch as my stepsister's chest expands as her breath catches and her eyes widen in surprise. God she's beautiful. My dick stirs as my eyes trace her over face, committing it to memory. With a deep breath, Beatrix's shoulders drop, and her feet move toward us. Her expression shutters before it becomes reserved and speculative, just as it had been at the bar when I sidled up beside her.

“Good evening,” I greet, giving her my best smile.

“Hello again.” She stops beside me. It doesn't slip past my notice that she keeps an arm's length between us or the bright flash of curiosity in those beautiful, large amber eyes. “It's Thatcher, right?”

My smile grows bigger. “You can tell me and my brother apart, wonderful. It's the hair, isn't it? My brother has the wild man look going with all that hair in his face, but I prefer a more…civilizedappearance.”

Knox snorts loudly as he slides the plate of food toward me. “You? Civilized? In what fucking world?”

I chuckle and Knox throws me a warm look that sends heat blazing through my veins. Jerking my attention away from him, I look back at my little stepsister who watches the two of us closely.

“Sure, your hair is a dead giveaway, but there are other tells,” Beatrix admits, her voice subdued. Her gaze travels over my face as she asks a heartbeat later, “Did you… Is Trevor… gone?”

“Yes, he’s been taken care of,” I confirm. My eyes travel over her face, searching for any sign of regret or terror in her expression. Instead, I find a flare of relief in her eyes. “Sagan’s just finishing up some stuff down at the funeral home, and he should be here any minute now, butthatparticular job is done.”

She bows her head gratefully. “Thank you.”

Knox throws back his head as he barks out an incredulous laugh that causes Beatrix to flinch in surprise.

“Who knew you’d ever getthankedfor killing someone, Thatch? Is that weird for you? It’s weird to hear even for me,” Knox says as his laughter dies down. He leans his forearms on the island and eyes the box in her hand with interest. “Whatcha bring for me, Starr Girl?”

With a generous amount of care, Beatrix places the jewelry box on the island before sliding it toward him. “I was moving some of the old stuff out of the primary bedroom for you and forgot I'd hidden these. I don't want them. I thought maybe you might?”

“Be careful gifting Knox with anything.” I’m only half teasing as I say this. “Giving our Pretty Boy gifts is like giving gremlins water after midnight. He becomes a spoiled brat quickly.”

A look passes between Knox and Beatrix—one that I can’t quite decipher. Something must’ve transpired between the two of them while Sagan and I were busy. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been too bad given that neither looks upset. Both just seem speculative.

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