Page 44 of Lost (Powertools: The Shields 2)

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Knox heard the click of the front door shutting. It meant he was alone, ready as he’d ever be to face Marcus and Kennedy and beg their forgiveness. The thought skipping repeatedly through his brain was that he had to find a way to show them he was serious about trying to become the kind of person they both already were—beautiful, generous, worthy of love.

“I’m so sorry,” he repeated.

“You don’t need to say that again, okay?” Kennedy reached up and cupped his cheeks in her hands. She guided his face to hers for an achingly gentle kiss. “I know you are. It’s just that…”

“What?” he asked. Her silence guaranteed not everything was smoothed over yet.

Marcus stood beside them, observing their exchange without interrupting.

“I’m scared,” she whispered.

Knox gripped her forearms a little too hard, horrified that he frightened her. He might have left faint bruises if Marcus hadn’t been there to peel his hands from her. But even he didn’t shove Knox away. Instead, he gathered Knox to him and held him tight, as if that would stop his shuddering.

“Come on.” Marcus slid his hands to Knox’s ass and lifted, walking them into his bedroom and settling Knox on the bed. This time they didn’t leave him alone—they joined him.

Much better.

Kennedy snuggled up to one side of him while Marcus bracketed him on the other. She cupped his shoulder, then propped her chin on top of her hand. “I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, but I think it’s important to be honest.”

“Yeah. You should be.” Knox winced. “I can take it. I deserve it.”

“No one’s trying to punish you,” Marcus said. “There’s a lot to unpack. Things are complicated as fuck right now. Hell, last week I didn’t even know I was in the market for a boyfriend, and then you turned up. I admit it, I was jealous as fuck.”

“Of me? Don’t be dumb.” Knox rolled his eyes. “You could be on the cover of a magazine. You’re in amazing shape, have a job that pays like a zillion dollars a year and lets you act like a fucking superhero—saving the planet, even if no one knows it. Plus…you have Kennedy.”

“I didn’t. Not until you came.” Marcus tipped Knox’s face toward him. “Were you listening to James yesterday? You’re a part of Kennedy. Without you, she wasn’t whole. She wasn’t able to give herself to me, because you still had her heart.”

“Andthat’swhy I’m afraid,” Kennedy whispered, her eyes shimmering. If she cried because of him, so help him, Knox wouldn’t be able to forgive himself. “I can see how things might be. And I’m petrified we won’t be able to get our shit together.”

“I’m going to do my best for you both.” Knox looked up at the two people who were capable of pulling him out of the hole he’d dug for himself and, by some miracle, willing to do it, too.

“That’s all we can ask.” Kennedy kissed a path along his chin to his lips, then sipped from them for a while before letting Marcus have a turn.

“You were incredible earlier. You got us the break we needed and kept that stuff from getting sold to unsuspecting people.” Marcus wasn’t quite as careful with him as Kennedy had been, and Knox didn’t mind in the least.

“I guess we make a good team.” Knox couldn’t deny they’d partnered perfectly. All things considered, everyone had come out alive. That alone was a miracle.

Kennedy and Marcus loved on him, caressing his chest and nuzzling his neck until things started to get steamier than simple comforting touches dictated. Knox cleared his throat. “I doubt I can get it up right now. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to watch you two enjoying yourselves. I’m sure you’re riding the wave of adrenaline still.”

Marcus and Kennedy exchanged a smoldering stare over his torso. Neither one denied it. Instead they inched closer and closer as if they were two magnets being drawn inevitably together. When they kissed, the exchange brimmed with passion and the urgency brought on by residual despair and horror.

Knox let himself float in a world where he hadn’t died and the two people he had fallen hard for didn’t hate him. He relaxed as they made out, graduating from sweet exchanges to something hungry and impatient.

After all the time they’d spent so close and yet refusing to explore their attraction, he didn’t blame them for letting their emotions boil over now. Marcus stood on the bed, making it dip. He ripped his shirt over his head, then unbuckled his jeans and when they pooled at his feet on the mattress, Knox ran his hand along one of Marcus’s chiseled calves, impressed that he could barely get his hand halfway around the widest part. Marcus was powerful and possessed enough self-control for the three of them.

He’d honed his body into near-perfection and had somehow kept his hands off Kennedy until she was ready to explore what was between them. He was a far better man than Knox could ever attempt to be. When he realized Knox and Kennedy were both spellbound, staring at his bared form, his cock twitched. “Why am I the only one naked?”

Knox’s entire outfit consisted of a pair of the cotton gym shorts James had bought for him along with a few other wardrobe essentials. The man had a good eye, Knox would give him that. Most everything had fit and been comfy, casual gear. And the few dressier outfits seemed like they might actually look decent on him, although he’d never had a reason for clothes like that before.

When Kennedy smiled coyly at Marcus and started swaying as she stripped her scrub top off, followed shortly by her yoga pants, Knox figured what the hell? He peeled his shorts off and tossed them onto the floor.

“Much better.” Marcus settled onto the bed again, this time drawing Kennedy to him.

“Hey, watch where you’re putting those knees!” Knox cupped his junk as Kennedy ended up between his legs.

“They’re right where I want them,” Marcus practically growled, going bossy and possessive in a way Knox hadn’t seen from him yet, though he couldn’t say he disliked it. “I have an idea.”

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