Page 35 of As Thick As Thieves

I exited out of it and scrubbed a hand over my face, jumping when Knox spoke from behind me. “Fucking knew you liked her. You need to work at your flirting skills though, man. Sending her home isn’t how you play hard to get.”

“Don’t sneak up on me, you dick,” I spat, and he raised an eyebrow. I could tell he wanted to punch me but he was holding himself back which worried me more. Knox was predictable when he was mad, he hit things and moved on, but this was new and I didn’t fucking like it.

“I’m a dick? Big words for the resident asshole.” He dropped into a chair beside mine, kicking his legs up on the desk to watch me. “Was it worth it?”

“What are you talking about? I thought I was doing the right thing and getting rid of her at the same time. If I’d have known—”

“Your brother would be ashamed of what you did,” he said flatly. “Ezekiel never would’ve sent a woman back to a monster just because he didn’t like her. Especially if his best friends were in love with her. The fuck is wrong with you?”

“Don’t bring my brother into this,” I warned, a snort leaving him.

“Why not? You need a reality check. Drake’s devastated, and it will be a miracle if you see Cruz again. You didn’t just sell her out, Stone. You tore your entire family apart.”

“Once everyone’s calmed down, things will be fine.” I was lying, I knew it wasn’t that simple, but Knox’s next words turned my blood cold.

“You know Cruz is done with you, right? This compound? The Thieves? All of it. He’s getting a place with Penn, and that means Drake’s likely to go with them. Now I have a decision to make.”

“You’d leave too? For her? You’ve all gone soft,” I said tightly, not surprised when he sat up and punched me in the cheek. He didn’t curse or scowl at me, he was void of emotion and was eerily calm.

“I’d leave for him. You destroyed anything I had with Penn, but do you really think I’d stay here if Drake left? When everyone realizes this place is crumbling, they’ll all jump ship and leave you alone in your big castle of deceit. Have fun being the King of nothing.”

“Before she came along, you never would’ve let Drake leave. Just tell him to stay.”

“That’s because I didn’t realize how incomplete Drake felt before she got here. Don’t you see what she does for him? I don’t like sharing him, but she chases the shadows away that have been in his eyes for so fucking long. He needs her gentle touches and her soft heart because it’s his love language. She taught me to give him some of that, but it’s not who I am and he deserves so much more than I can give him. That’s how you should’ve seen things before making her disappear. Your brothers loved her, but since you didn’t, you decided she had to go.” He stood, walking towards the door and glancing over his shoulder. “I love you, bro, but I’m in love with Drake. I don’t want to choose between you, but I will if it comes down to it. You’re going to be really fucking lonely if that happens.”

He left me sitting in silence, and I clenched my fists on my lap. They couldn’t leave me. Without them, I’d have nothing.

Chapter Eight

Drake

I woke up to the feeling of lips on my neck, and I let out a content sigh as I leaned back into Knox and his rough palm slid over my hip.

“Morning. Is that a gun in your pants or are you—” I was suddenly on my back with Knox’s body pinning me to the bed, my words cut off as he kissed me hard. It was unexpected but not unwanted as I groaned, my dick hardening against his as he ground against me.

Once he’d scrambled my damn mind, he leaned back and peered down at me, amusement flickering in his eyes. “Morning.”

“You’re in a good mood. Why?” I asked suspiciously as I tried to slow my heartbeat.

“Can’t I be in a good mood just because I woke up next to you?”

“This is a dream. You’re being nice, so there’s no way this is real,” I joked, my breath stalling as he kissed my chest, making his way lower at a slow pace. My abs tensed as his stubble grazed my skin, and I became deathly still as his tongue teased me just below my navel. Knox would never put my damn dick in his mouth, I knew that, but this was a lot further than he’d usually go.

He held my gaze as he moved even lower, past the brick in my pants and down to my inner thigh where he bit me sharply, making me yelp in surprise.

“I love how needy you get for me,” he murmured, dipping his fingers below the waistband of my boxers. “How you beg me with your eyes to have my wicked way with you.”

A whimper escaped me as he slid his hand into my boxers to stroke me, my hips lifting desperately for more. He continued to kiss and bite my inner thighs, his breath fanning across my balls as he moved higher.

My fingers threaded through his hair, and I had to force myself not to yank his mouth towards my dick. He’d shut this shit down so fast, and I wasn’t ready for that. He’d pushed his boundaries for me, and I wasn’t surprised when he moved back up my body to kiss me, stroking me faster. I cried out as I came hard, my cum soaking my boxers, and Knox slowed his hand, making me jerk as he ran his thumb over the tip to tease me.

“I’ll always choose you,” he said quietly, the words taking a second to sink in. I tried to catch my breath, but it was hard when his thumb kept running over my slit every so often.

“What are you talking about?”

“If you go, I go too.” He climbed off me, grabbing his shirt from the floor to hand it to me. “Clean up. Today’s going to be a shit show.”

“What do you mean? You can't scramble my brain then have a serious conversation, man. I don’t know my name right now, let alone understand sentences,” I huffed, and despite him rolling his eyes, the corners of his mouth tipped up in a smile.

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