Page 10 of Deal with the Devil

He chuckled, unbuttoning his vest. “Some of us enjoy autumn colors, lady blue hair.”

Amelia glanced at him, and with wicked glee on her face, stuck her tongue out at him. He cocked a brow and she immediately sucked it back into her mouth with a blush. Knox chuckled to himself, pulling his vest clean from his chest. Sweat had drenched through most of the fabric and everything down to his socks stuck to his flesh.

“I’d jump on your bed to test it, but I’d stain the sheets,” she snorted.

“Don’t worry, you’ll get plenty of bouncing time in those sheets later.” He smirked, catching the subtle pull at her lips.Good girl, give in, you’re so close to just being mine.He could tell she was more comfortable than ever, proudly standing nude next to his bed without shrinking inwardly. She snatched up the crystalpad by his bed.

“Hmm, wonder what naughty books you have stashed on here, huh? Avid reader, bet you have some truly toe-curling stuff on this?” She waggled it at him teasingly.

“Go on, password is 6492.” The same password he used for his non-work-related devices. His crystalpad was just used for reading in bed, watching the news, or looking up something off the top of his head.However, she had a point, he did havetoe-curling stuffon there.Knox was an avid reader. He devoured books in his down time. Easier to keep the mind clear of doubt and judgment when the brain is busy reading someone else’s fuck ups.

Her mouth dropped open, and she gave a faux gasp of scandal. “Knox, naughty boy!”

“Which one’s your favorite?” She flashed him a cover of a book and he giggled evilly. A cover of a minotaur ripping the bodice off a succubus on the warped wood of a pirate ship. He had every one of theHoofin the Sailsseries. “I’m particularly a fan of that one. The first one always holds a special place in my heart.”

“You filthy fiend, I should have known you’d read erotica. I mean, look at you,” she winked at him, returning her gaze to the crystalpad.

Knox glanced down at himself before scoffing and looking back at her. “And what does that mean?”

She wiggled her brows but didn’t look his way. Instead, she sauntered around his room, flipping through his vast collection. “I see some I haven’t read.”

“Mmm, and you say I’m the filthy one?” he teased, dropping his shirt into the basket. She peeked up at that moment and the ego boost from the flicker of hunger in her eyes would sustain him for years. Knox knew he wasn’t ripped. He was sturdy, he was lithe, he was lean, but unlike most of his muscled employees, his strength didn’t come from ripping iron at the gym. Just natural fiendish talent.

Amelia rolled her eyes. “I’m allowed to have a filthy mind, call it research.”

“Research?” He blinked once before his lips curled wickedly. “You don’t say, now, Pet, you’re not by chance a writer, are you?”

“Murder mysteries and thrillers, but…” she twisted and caught him staring at her, pants half off his hips. “Sometimes I write sex in my murders.”

“You write thrillers? About what?” He crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back into the door.

Her face broke out in a hot blush as she glanced away quickly. “Uh, you know, thrilling stuff.”

“You wouldn’t happen to write…crime—”

“Look! I didn’t know I was going to literally sign a contract with a mob boss when I wrote a mafia thriller, okay? This is karma, yes, I see that.”

Knox put up his hands like white flags, chuckling to himself.Interesting.He watched her put down his crystal pad and head for the bathroom.An author? She must write under a pen name.Knox pulled his pants off his hips, his tail whipping back and forth, grateful to be free again. A knock at the bedroom door stole his attention from the naked woman poking her head into his bathroom. He cracked the door open, catching Zavros on the other side.

“Everything settled?”

“The widow is safe and sound, I’ve got Tux watching her place and the kid. You want me to lock the doors? Keep the sister inside?” Zavros leaned against the door frame, the wood groaning with his weight. The ogre was seven and a half feet tall, a dark forest green, and had tusks that made elephants jealous. His fuzziest feature was the mutton chops. Knox employed Zavros over a lifetime ago, the ogre was stuck in a dead-end job at the local bank. Security can be mind-numbing.

“No need, Ms. Armstrong has been happily keeping her side of the bargain.” Knox leaned slightly to the right, looking into the bathroom. Amelia already sank in the massive, claw foot tub. Her back was to him as the steam rose over her body.

“I was wondering cause the boys told me she tried to make a break for it earlier?” Zavros shifted, looking inside the door.

“I asked her to run for me.” Knox gauged his muscle’s reaction. Zavros made an ‘alright then’ face, lips pursed around his tusks. “Don’t worry, Ms. Armstrong’s a good girl, she knows what’s best for her and has been very well behaved.”

“Well then, uh…I guess I just have two questions.” Zavros returned to having his shoulder against the doorframe. “First,if we’re not having the widow clean the Bonesaw coin, who are we?”

“Bank managers are a dime a dozen, she was just convenient.” Knox checked on Amelia, toes wiggling in the air as she sank under the water. She burst from the water like a mermaid, splashing her hair back. He chuckled, “I’m sure we know someone who owes me money who has a cousin with weak kneecaps and keys to a bank vault.”

Zavros nodded, “Fair. Alright, then boss, second question, did you send the clean-up crew for Rick’s body?”

Knox furrowed his brows, “Absolutely not, why?”

“Well, when I went back to ensure things got cleaned up, his whole body was gone. Blood was still there but everything else was gone.” Zavros pulled out his phone and showed Knox a photo of the rotten cabin through the door.

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