CHAPTER 053: Share A Bed
Just like that, the desire drains from Knox’s face.
“Hard?” he says.
“He’s clearly not doing well with me leaving. And it’s understandable. I’ve been the only constant in his life for years. He hardly goes home. He doesn’t have you. He doesn’t have friends. Just me. And Delilah, of course. Who knows what he’ll do next? He could get himself incarcerated or worse. He needs help, Knox. Not threat Not more trauma.”
His jaw flexes.
“What are you saying exactly?”
“I’m saying let me get him the help he needs. There’s no rule that states I can’t date one brother and help the other.”
“Sloane-”
“Come on. I won’t be able to live with myself if he does something he can’t come back from. He’s crazy. I should have known he’d not take this well. He doesn’t cope well with abandonment. I just need to make sure he gets therapy.”
“You mean get institutionalized?”
“Please?”
Knox sighs and looks away, muttering something I don’t catch. But when he turns back, I know it already.
He’s not going to say no.
Not to me.
“How about we talk about it in the morning?” he says. “When we’re both thinking clearly.”
I nod, relieved. “Alright. I’ll stay here with him until he’s discharged tomorrow. Maybe call in sick at work.”
He tightens his grip. “No.”
“What?”
“You’re not staying here. He’ll be fine. There are nurses.”
“I can’t just leave him.”
“We’ll come back in the morning.”
“It’s almost a forty–minute drive back to my place.”
He starts walking. “Then we’ll go to mine. Ten minutes from here. I wasn’t going to let you drive home anyway.”
“Knox-”
He pulls me gently but firmly toward the front desk where we return our visitor badges.
“I haven’t even said goodbye,” I say, trying to resist.
“You can call him on the way.”
And just like that, we’re outside. The night air is cold against my skin.
“My car’s over there,” I say, pointing.
“Leave it. I’ll send someone to get it.”
“You are being annoyingly bossy.”
He doesn’t respond. Just opens the passenger door of his car, and before I can climb in, he turns me around and kisses me.
It’s not gentle.
It’s not even sweet.
It’s deep. Possessive. Thorough.
His hands are on either side of my face, holding me still while his mouth does what it always does–wrecks me.
I kiss him back just as hard. Tasting the faint trace of whiskey on his lips, feeling every nerve in my body respond to his. There’s nothing soft about this moment. It’s claiming. It’s raw.
When he finally pulls away, he rests his forehead against mine. His breath
Successfully unlocked!
“I’ve been meaning to do that since I saw you in istlobby
warm on my lips.
I’m still breathless and unsurprisingly horny. How does one become so needy all the time? I had him today. Literally hours
ago.
And I still want more.
CHAPTER 053 Share A Bed
“Take me to your house,” I whisper, hands resting on his chest. “I want to see where you hide at night”
He smiles at that a quiet, sideways curl of his mouth that makes my stomach dip–then guides me into the car like it’s instinct. Like we’ve done this a thousand times. His hand stays warm against the small of my back as i lower myself into the seat. He doesn’t speak, just shuts the door gently, then rounds the hood and gets in on the driver’s side.
The car roars to life. We pull away from the hospital with nothing but the sound of the engine keeping us company. It feels weirdly intimate–like the world has shrunk to this car, this air between us. I settle into the seat and glance at the glowing clock on the dashboard,
Fifteen minutes pass.
Then twenty.
I turn toward him. “So this place of yours that’s supposedly ten minutes away…”
He keeps his eyes on the road. “Time is subjective.”
“Is that so?”
His lips twitch like he wants to laugh but is trying not to give me the satisfaction.
I shake my head and let out a breath through my nose, smiling despite myself. The things this man does are a constant mystery to me. What did he think would happen if he didn’t lure me to his house? That I’d make a pit stop, wait for him to leave, and sneak back to Finn? Is it insecurity or distrust? If it is distrust, is it toward me or Finn? I have a lot of questions! need answers to, and I’m going to get them one at a time. I’m patient.
The drive stretches past Bronx lights, then into Riverdale. By the time he finally turns onto a quiet, tree–lined residential street, I’ve stopped counting the minutes.
The house he pulls up to doesn’t scream bachelor pad or criminal enterprise. It’s modern. Soft black siding, large glass windows with warm amber lights glowing behind them. A low privacy hedge runs along the perimeter, and the lawn looks like it’s been trimmed with actual scissors.
He parks in a private drive, hits a remote, and the garage door lifts. As soon as the car slips inside, the door rolls shut behind us.
Once he shuts off the engine, he opens his door and comes around to mine. Pulls it open like we’re on some kind of old- school date. And when I step out, his hand finds mine.
I let him lead me.
Inside, the air is warm and clean and smells faintly of cedar and something spicier–like his cologne but softer. We walk into a wide, open space that looks like something out of a magazine. Minimalist but not cold. Dark wood floors. Cream walls. Tastefully placed art. The living room bleeds into a sleek kitchen with black marble countertops and matte gold hardware. A low fire glows in the gas fireplace like it’s been waiting for someone to admire it.
“You really have a bad concept of timing,” I say as he closes the door behind us.
He doesn’t miss a beat. “Did we exceed ten minutes?”
I side–eye him. He smiles.
Then I notice him slipping off his shoes by the door.
“Am I supposed to take mine off too?”
He looks down at my feet. “Why would you want to bring your muddy shoes into the house?”
“Didn’t know you were a germaphobe.”
He exhales a quiet laugh. “Haha. Funny. Take your shoes off, Bunny.”
I kick off the flats I’d thrown on in my rush to the hospital, placing them beside his. Before I can step away, he bends and adjusts mine until they’re lined up perfectly.
Huh.
Weird.
Add that to the long, ever–growing list of Things I Don’t Understand About Knox Hartley.
He takes my hand again and starts leading me up the stairs. The hallway is dim but clean, and I can’t help glancing in‘ rooms we pass. I don’t even know what I’m looking for. A stash of rifles? An underground drug ring? A sign that I’ve gon in too deep?
Nothing, of course. Just closed doors and a house that looks like it was staged by someone way too obsessed with symmetry.
“Here we are,” he says, opening a door to what I assume is the master bedroom.
It’s massive. King bed, soft gray comforter, floor–to–ceiling windows. Warm lighting and no clutter. It looks like no one lives
CHAPTER 053 Share A Bed
here, like everything is always this neat.
“I see you like massive beds,” I say.
He smirks. “Sometimes I roll.”
“Fair warning.” I say, stepping inside. “If you push me off the bed, you’re coming down with me.”
I strip off my hoodie and let it drop to the floor.
His gaze drops too, falling on my bare chest.
His eyes change the way they always do when I undress–like he’s trying to memorize every curve before he even touches me. I tug down my sweatpants slowly, watching the tension in his jaw build with every inch of skin I reveal.
When I’m completely naked, I don’t move.
I just wait.
He comes forward without a word, wraps an arm around my waist, and pulls me flush to his chest. Then he leans down and kisses my forehead.
“You don’t have to worry about me pushing you off the bed,” he murmurs.
“Why’s that?”
“I’m staying in the guest room.”
I stiffen.
I pull back. “Come again?”
His face is unreadable now. Just calm. Like this is normal.
“I don’t share a bed with anyone, Sloane.”
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