Page 108 of Wanted
He never wanted to go through anything like it again.
“Okay,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to Knox’s warm neck, desperate to make up for his initial reaction.
Knox entwined his fingers with Liv’s, but then abruptly pulled back and lifted Liv’s hand. “What’s this? What happened?” he asked, pointing to the dressing on Liv’s finger.
Liv scowled. The truth was too embarrassing. “Nothing. Just a flesh wound, and all that.”
Liv’s heart sped up when Knox pulled his hand to his lips and kissed it. “Be careful next time. Ireallylike your fingers.”
“Just never let me cut salad, and we’ll be golden,” Liv said with a shake of his head. “Fortunately, it’s the left hand, and these can still do magic,” Liv said, wiggling his fingers in front of Knox’s face.
“No salad cutting. Noted. Let’s go see how Jag is doing with my rabbit. You good?” Knox asked, squeezing his hand and looking straight into Liv’s eyes. The new kind of connection they’d forged since leaving California was raw. Pure. Electric.
It was like nothing Liv had ever felt, yet it no longer scared him. He’d work until his skin rubbed off his hands to make sure Knox was safe. He’d beg, borrow, steal, lie, cheat, or kill to get him that surgery.
Because Knox waseverythingto him. Making him smile was Liv’s reason to keep on living, and when Knox’s eyes sparked at him with awe, he felt like he could race a Formula 1 driver in an old van and still win.
“I love you.”
Knox’s expression softened, shining in a way Liv was usually terrified of seeing. Not this time.
Knox snorted and playfully punched Liv’s shoulder with his cheeks flushing. He was so fucking beautiful. “I love you too, Little Spoon.” A nickname he only ever used when they were alone. Initially, Liv had been self-conscious about it, but itexpressed that Knox knew him better than anyone. That they belonged together and gave each other everything.
He dove in for the softest of kisses, shivering when Knox’s long lashes tickled his cheek. He felt so much lighter now that he’d confessed his feelings. “That… that was the right moment.”
“Oh, yeah? Were you rehearsing for a long time? Making a list of my pros and cons?” Knox laughed and slid his hands into the back pockets of Liv’s jeans as they kissed again.
Liv chuckled and pulled Knox’s head to his shoulder, cradling him to caress his jawline. It was as if weights that he’d been carrying at all times have suddenly dropped and he might just float up like a helium balloon. “Not really. I just say what I feel, babe.”
Knox smiled and opened his mouth, but a series of car honks outside made him back out of Liv’s embrace. “That must be Ezra! He’s got the turkey!”
His excitement disarmed Liv. There was no other choice but to submit to this Thanksgiving ambush, and right now Liv couldn’t understand why he’d been upset in the first place.
Maybe Knox was right and he’d gotten so wrapped up in the idea of saving him that he forgot how necessary it was tobewith him when it mattered. “Oh man, remember how my mom came over one Thanksgiving, convinced us to spend it with her, and then bought heroin for the cash I gave her for the turkey? Dark meat had never been as good as the bits Mr. Walters gave us out of pity.”
Knox laughed, even though the memory had so much darkness in it. What else could they do when that had been their reality?
“Jesus Christ. I must have eaten ten biscuits with gravy and then gotten sick. But you were there to nurse me. Even if reluctantly.” He winked at Liv and walked out.
Ezra was standing next to his car as Frank lifted the steaming turkey out of the trunk.
“It’s done,” Ezra said with a flush and wiped away a strand of hair sticking to his forehead.
“Hell yes! I’m so damn hungry!” Dex yelled.
Frank looked to Liv with a smile. “You’re right on time. First night off in forever, eh?”
Liv smirked, pulling Knox close by the waist. They approached the fire, which livened up the messy piles of junk, but also all their faces, providing more than enough warmth to sit outside in comfort. “Fortunately, Knox took matters out of my hands.”
The smile he got from Knox was filled with so much love and tenderness Liv’s whole chest felt light, and he promised himself that just tonight, he wouldn’t be thinking about money, the surgery, or the piles of work on his plate.
“I need to check on the rabbit,” Knox said and gave him one more kiss before joining Jag at the grill.
Shane nodded at him with a grin. “It wassohard to keep this secret.” They often worked together at the junkyard, and Shane managed to keep his mouth shut. Which somehow both made him a great and terrible friend.
“I feel duped. And blind,” Liv said, sitting on one of the empty benches while Frank and Ezra arranged the food in front of them.
The feast filled the table to the brim. Sweet potatoes, carrots, gravy, pies, a pot with a sticky note statingDex’s Thanksgiving Ramen, and a salad of mixed veggies.
