Page 1 of Claimed By a Knight

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TALON

“Never thought I’d see the day a big biker was crawling on his hands and knees for me.” She’s in the bathroom, doing God knows what, while I neatly lay cabling from her newly hanging TV to the wall socket.

Little does she know, all she ever had to do to get me crawling around the floor like a damn puppy was ask. I’d do it in a heartbeat. Hell, for her, I’d find a way to make the world stop turning to spend eternity in her presence.

Because at the end of it, it’s all about her. Her. Gracie Kimble. My oldest friend. We’re two drifters, together through life, walking the long and short roads side by side. It’s how we’ve always done it, and it’s how we should keep it. Even if it drives me nuts.

Lately,nutsisn’t the right word to describe it. I hardly stay in control of myself around her. Maybe walking on all fours like a puppy is the wrong analogy. I’m more like a rabid mutt, desperate for her attention and pawing at her side for more, more, more.

“Never took you for much of a handyman.” Her subtle jab leaves me grinning like a fool, and I turn my head to her door in hopes she’s standing there. She isn’t. The door’s half shut, with only the smallest crack exposed, giving enough room for her intoxicating perfume to flood through and suffocate my mind in a haze.

“Handsyman is a better way to put it.” I chuckle at my own silly joke. Words spill out of me freely with her. Teasing more so. She brings out the best in me without realizing it.

Finishing off the cabling, I flick the switch and ensure the mounted TV turns on. A deafeningly loud advert for some pharmaceutical company pierces the mostly quiet room, making me jump in place. Lowering the volume, I can hear Gracie laugh in the bathroom. Though it’s more of a snicker, as if planned in advance to give me a fright, knowing I’d be the first to hear it.

“You wanna grab a pizza when this is done?” I ask, playing off her prank with cool charm.

“I can’t.” Her answer pierces my heart. “I’ve got plans. I hope I’m not being a nuisance, but it’s another reason I asked you over.”

“You need a ride?” It isn’t the first time I’ve taken her around the city for a night out, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I flop onto her bed and flick through a few channels to make sure I didn’t screw anything up with the install.

While I lie lazily, the bathroom door swings open, but no one stands inside it. Only another waft of her delicious scent. I’m choked out and left reeling. Desperate to be the one to bury my face between her breasts to breathe deeply her aroma. Tongue lashing at every inch of skin in a vain attempt to coat my tongue for a taste of what drives me so fucking crazy.

After a short pause of me staring and her doing whatever inside, Gracie emerges from the en-suite, and my jaw nearly drops through the carpeted floor.

“Fuck.” The word claws its way out of my choked, tight throat. “You look stunning.”

Locks of gold cascade down her shoulders, tickling the straps of her awfully revealing dark blue dress, bouncing with every step. The material clings to her fit body, exposing every curve—from ample bosom to narrow waist and wide hips—perfectly. If it wasn’t bad enough, the dress rides high up her milky white thighs and leaves very little to my imagination.

“You think so?” Deep red covers Gracie’s snow-white cheeks before she has a chance to twist away and hide her blush.

“Know so.” Before I make a bigger ass of myself, I get back to our original conversation. “So, where am I taking you looking this pretty?”

Gracie stops dead in her tracks and gulps so hard her neck muscles stiffen.

“I’ve got a date.” She speaks in a whisper, too nervous to say it outright. As if those words are the ones to send me over the edge and drive me deep into insanity. And if that’s the case, she hit the nail right on the head.

“You what?” A blow to the gut is an understatement. Fuck, it feels like someone’s taken a sledgehammer to my chest. Jealousy and annoyance that I’m not the one to take her out bring me right to the edge, ready to scream. “I mean…” Nope, no way I’m talking myself out of this one without making things worse; I’ll just shut up and accept defeat.

“A date.” She crosses her arms over her chest, and I can’t help but follow the action. Scanning the curvature of her elbows as they curve her forearms under overly exposed breasts. Jesus, a strong breeze would be enough to have them spilling out. Maybe I should rush her into the night for a chance to get a glimpse of it. “You know? Two people going out, having dinner, drinks, a laugh, and whatever else might happen.”

Grabbing one of her decorative pillows, I sneakily adjust it down my body and rest it over my ever-swelling cock. It’s not my proudest moment to be flaunting an erection. Especially when I’m annoyed and embarrassed at myself for overreacting. But one look, that’s all it takes. Her body has a direct connection with every pleasure receptor in my brain. Defeated or not, nothing will change the way I see her. Like every time is the very first. Her plump lips in a brimming smile, joyful eyes holding the promise that everything’s going to be okay.

God, what I wouldn’t give to just kiss her right here. Throw myself into her and dissuade this foolish notion of spending her time with another. Somehow, it feels cruel. No matter how I feel inside, throwing away the best friendship—hell, the only real friendship—I’ve had because of my own wants isn’t something I can do.

“You should try it sometime. A handsome man like you, I’m sure you could get any woman you want,” she concludes before stepping into high heels and collecting her purse.

“Who’s the lucky guy?” Deflecting her statement is easier than playing along. I’m already walking a fine line between exposing my desires and annoyance at the straw man she’s going to see. I might say or do something regrettable if I’m not careful.

“Ezra Green.” Her eyes are locked on mine. Scanning not only my reaction, but searching into my soul for some answer I don’t know how to give other than with bitter disgust.

“You’re kidding me, right?” How I manage to say it without sounding furious is beyond me. “You can do so much better than that asshole.”

Ezra Green, with a pencil-thin line of black running along his receded smile. Too much gum showing to be genuine, especially when plastered on his gaunt, sickly face. Some higher up in the mega corporation setting up shop in Boulder, Ezra has been on my radar for a while now. And after tonight, he’s got a ticket straight to the top of my list of dick heads to keep an eye on.

“Maybe,” she says, taking a seat on the edge of the bed. “But I’m not looking for the guy I’m going to spend the rest of my life with tonight. And Ezra may be an asshole, but he’s an affluent asshole, and he’ll treat me to a good time.” She crinkles her nose at me and leans a little bit closer. Every inch an excruciating test of my resilience.

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