Page 2 of Claimed By a Knight

‘I’ve got cash. I could treat you to a nice night out any damn time you want,’ is what I would’ve said if my backbone hadn’t turned to fucking jelly.

“Affluent asshole.” I chuckle, but I like it. Alliteration tickles my brain in ways I don’t understand. It’s better when it comes from Gracie’s lips. “Well, he’s one lucky guy. I’d kill to have someone like you on my arm. Even if it’s just to spoil you.”

Where the hell did that come from? Fuck. I knew I should’ve kept my big mouth shut, and seeing Gracie’s eyes widen and her teeth sink into her lower lip nervously, I couldn’t help but feel I’d crossed a line.

It would’ve come out sooner or later, of this I’m certain.

But why did it have to be tonight? The first date she’s gone on since college. Now I just look like a jealous fool, covering his cock with a pink, fluffy pillow.

2

GRACIE

There’s no way he means it the way I want him to. While I’ll never discredit Talon’s compliment as anything but, he’s just saying it because he doesn’t approve of the man I’m going out with tonight. Right?

Sure, I’d have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to miss the way he looks at me. How his eyes travel the length of my body when I wear something a little too skimpy. Subtle changes in the tone of his voice when I parade myself around one of our apartments in short shorts and a tank top that hardly covers my tits. But he’s never shown interest in that way, much to my chagrin.

I’ve always chalked it up to him being a man and me being a woman. No matter where the friendship flag stands, we can still appreciate one another as the attractive people we are.

I rest a hand on Talon’s chest and feel the slow, rhythmic thump of his heart. He’s barely moved since I sat next to him, and if he weren’t talking, I might’ve believed he fell asleep.

“It’s not that big a deal, you know? And it’s not going to change anything. We’ll still hang out all the time.” I shouldn’t feel ashamed for going on a date.

I’ve waited for Talon to make a move for years. If he has any hidden feelings inside, he’s damn good at keeping them locked away, but if I’m being honest with myself, I know why nothing has come of us.

We’ve been together forever. We met in our first year of high school, and barely left each other’s sides since. But the hardest, or maybe it’s the easiest part about it, is that I’ve wanted to be with him since our first interaction.

He was smaller then. Half the height he stands now, with twigs on his arms instead of the massive tree trunks he sports now. A rake-thin sapling with a nervous smile and an offhand compliment about the novel I was reading.

“I know.” He shrugs, adjusting himself up my headboard.

“Then why do you look so upset, sourpuss?” My attempt at lightening the mood makes him wince.

“I’m not.” His raspy voice gives me all I need to know the real answer hidden beneath his lie. “Well, not with you going on a date.” A quick attempt to recover that makes his heart thump a little faster against my fingers. “It’s the guy you’re going out with. You know he’s no good for Boulder.”

Once upon a time, a change like this would’ve been exactly what Talon yearned for. But his view of our little university town changed when he joined the Knight Riders. I’m not sure if it’s for the better or worse, but his fiery passion to keep Boulder safe is damn sexy.

“Make hay while the sun shines.” I slide my hand back slowly, enjoying the feeling of his firm chest against my fingertips. “That’s what Momma always said.”

“Momma’s a wise woman.” He’s met her a thousand times over, so he knows how far her wisdom extends. “Anyway, let’s not dwell on me. Of course, I’ll drive you there. Bring you home when you’re done, too, if you’d like?”

I must be all kinds of screwed up to be upset by him wanting to do what I asked. I had no ulterior motives in asking him for a ride or telling him I’m going on a date, but some part of me deeply wanted him to object and fight for me to stay here with him instead. It could’ve been the catalyst that made us take the step away from friends to something more, but maybe that’s just me being delusional. Seeing something where there’s nothing because it’s what I want to happen.

For all I know, his reaction really is set in the fact that Ezra Green isn’t a good person and has nothing to do with me seeing someone.

Getting up from the bed, I keep my hand on Talon’s chest as long as I can before it becomes too hard to explain why I’m still touching him.

He opens his mouth to say something, but shuts it just as fast with a humph and a sigh. The short walk down the set of first-floor stairs to the main lobby is taken in harrowing silence. Only the sounds of his footsteps and the occasional grumble from Talon, no doubt wanting to say whatever made him react this way in the first place.

I just wish he’d actually say it. Come out with whatever’s running through his mind so we can get past this. But all the way down,right until we’re standing next to his bike, Talon doesn’t speak. He doesn’t even look at me with those dreamy hazel eyes. He simply stares ahead, with a stern gaze that would make the devil quiver in his boots.

A chilly wind blows through the night as we stand in front of his motorcycle. I knew I should’ve brought a coat, but in a rush to get away from the awkwardness, I barely remembered to grab my cellphone off the kitchen counter as we walked by.

But here it is. His last chance to speak up and tell me to stop. The only question is, will he take it?

And my heart shatters into tiny little pieces as he opens his mouth and asks, “Ready?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I answer, masking my frustration with a fake smile.

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