Page 83 of In the Long Run
‘So serious.So dedicated.Fuck, your body’s perfect, Gen,’ Knox murmurs, kneading my tired glutes before shifting forward, leaving a trail of goosebumps over my hip bones as he slides his hands inside my pyjama pants.I skipped underwear hoping something might happen.‘So strong and sexy.’
I gasp when he slides a finger through my pussy, teasing my clit.
‘And so ready.You have some good dreams, Halliday?’
‘Mmhmm.’I rock against his finger, moaning when he pushes it inside me.
‘Want to tell me about them?’
I’m about to answer when his phone rings.
‘I don’t care who it is,’ he says but my gaze snags on the name displayed on the screen.
‘It’s Eugene.’
Knox throws an arm over his face, but it doesn’t hide the apology that I know is coming.‘Sorry.’
I climb off him.I don’t want to, but it feels weird to basically be sitting on Knox’s cock while he talks to Eugene.
‘Hold on.I don’t understand,’ Knox says into the phone.‘What’s happened?’
I know it’s bad when he sits up and checks the chunky sports watch he always wears.‘I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to go down there,’ he says, scratching at his jaw as his gaze shifts to the ceiling.‘Let me call Celeste.’
There’s an outraged sound from the other end of the phone.
‘No one’s trying to cut you out, Eug.How many times have I tried to get you involved again?Asked you to come see suppliers?Help redesign the menu as we add things back to it?I just don’t want you to get hurt.’Knox pauses, his chest falling as he exhales slowly.There’s no trace of the lighthearted guy who was just about to rock my world, which makes me sad for both of us, but mostly him.Knox carries so much of everyone else’s burdens.
‘I get that, but it might not be safe for you to be there,’ he continues.‘Depending on the damage.’He mouths another apology to me.
‘Do we need to go?’I mouth back, relieved when he understands me perfectly.
He nods regretfully and I scoot off the bed, gather up some comfy clothes to drive home in, and go to the toilet to give Knoxsome privacy when Eugene raises his voice again.I dress in a rush, forgoing a bra because my back’s still sore.Hopefully my jumper hides the fact that the girls are unrestrained.It wouldn’t suck if Knox noticed though.Might make him smile, and something tells me he’s going to need that today.
Knox is brushing his teeth when I come out.He’s shirtless, a pair of grey sweatpants hanging low on his hips.He spits his toothpaste out and rinses his mouth with water, and I step into the spot next to him.
‘Someone broke into Alizée’s.’
I drop my toothbrush.‘What?When?’
‘Not sure.The cops think it was probably right after it closed.’
‘What did they steal?’
He cages me in against the vanity, his head resting on my shoulder, our eyes meeting in the mirror.‘Nothing.They didn’t touch the safe.Didn’t even check the till.’
My eyebrows creep towards my hairline, and Knox snakes his arm around my middle.‘They stuffed things down all the sinks and turned on all the taps.Flooded the place.Blocked all the toilets with the leftover pastries that Celeste had packed up to donate today.’
‘Like a prank?’I ask.But that doesn’t make sense.Toilet papering the place would be a prank.
‘I doubt it.Not considering the complaint the council received the other day.’He doesn’t say what I bet we’re both thinking.Is Brand responsible for this too?
‘Do you guys have security cameras?An alarm?’
He shook his head.‘It’s an old system.The cameras only record to an SD card, whichwastaken.You can’t access them remotely.And Celeste forgot to set the alarm.’
‘Poor Eugene,’ I say.
‘He wants to go down there, start cleaning up, check things out with his own eyes.I’m sorry to do this—’
